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Richard was the kid with inbuilt abilities. As he grew up in primary school his sporting talents shone. He took to field hockey like a duck to water and by the age of 14 he was captain of the most successful under 16 team in his state.
Everyone in Richard’s team knew he was a champion. He would encourage his team at practice and show them new ball skills, which they used in their real time match games.
The team continued to play together as they grew into adults and they all still wanted to win, but they were no longer the best team and Richard was no longer their captain. They hadn’t won a premiership since they were all aged 15.
Richard had changed. At around the age of 15 his attitude to one person, Joshua, on the team was one of dislike. Although they went to high school together for many years they really didn’t know each other and were quite different.
One day Richard was standing outside a classroom at his school and heard Josh talking about him. Josh was telling a group of boys about Richard’s performance at the game on Saturday. He was telling them that if Richard had passed the ball when heading at goals they would have won the game and it was Richard’s fault that they lost.
Richard was hurt. He was upset to hear a team mate bitching about him, blaming him and embarrassed because he thought that the team was responsible not one player. Reflecting back he knew that passing the ball would have helped, but he didn’t. Richard thought ‘How many other mistakes have I made that I don’t know about and how many times has Josh talked about me to others, but never to me?’
The years went on and the team went from the best, to winning some and losing some. No one on the team was happy anymore and the tension between Josh and Richard grew.
As the tension grew and they grew older, the team felt split because they liked them both but felt pressure because they didn’t want to take sides.
Their game performance had dropped and at the adult age 22 they were no longer happy or winning until one day after another losing game.
Richard gathered his courage, which he had all along, and when everyone else had left the changing room he turn to Josh ready to ask his question.
Taking a deep breath he looked at Josh and Said ‘Josh we are different people and for some time I have been upset about you talking about me behind my back. I have worked hard to play well but we no longer pass the ball to each other, which puts strain on the other players both during and after the game. Please stop talking about me behind my back and help me learn from my mistakes so that we can work better and the team wins the premiership.’
Josh stood there. Didn’t say much this time and simply responded with ‘OK’.
The next week things were still a little tense but the team noticed Josh and Richard had said hello to each other. It was such a small step but as the year progressed Josh and Richard continued their talking after each game.
They learned from each other and realised they both could improve as they both had different strengths.
The team worked more cohesively to hit the balls into the goals and although they didn’t take the Premiership at the end of the year they took second place on the ladder.
It was the following season and after time, many talks and continuously learning, their team took the premiership plaque and took the honour of being adults who put their team needs first while still achieving their personal desires.
Author:
Samuel Day
Managing Director
Happening People Pty Limited
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