How The Game Of Football Is Like The Game Of Life

Life Is Like Football

Well, it’s football season again and it got me to thinking. In many ways, the game of  football is a lot like the game of life.  Just like in football, simply being selected to be on the field already makes you a winner.  It means that you made the cut…you’re in the game.

We All Start At The Beginning

Everyone starts with no score on the board…a clean slate.  We all have our own goal line to strive for and there are an infinite number of  routes that can get us there.

We are all moving toward the final score.  We all start out with the intention of getting as many points on the board as we possibly can.  Somewhere along the line, some seem to give up, others get a second wind while a few persevere and continue to increase the score.

You can only get there one step at a time.  No one wakes up one morning as a pro.  It was a daily process of doing what needed to be done that day.  It’s impossible to cram in a year’s worth of effort into a day, a week or even a month.  You get there incrementally…one step at a time, always building on the previous step.

Always Put In Your Best Effort

You never know where the tipping point will be. What will create the needed momentum in your favor for things start to going your way. Anyone can make up their mind to keep on keepin’ on.   To keep playing hard even when the present score on the board is not in your favor.  To be the one who inspires the rest of the team to keep trying even when the odds appear to be against them.  The movie Rudy is a fantastic example of this principle.  It is a truly inspirational true story about a kid named Rudy Ruettiger who’s dream was to play on the Notre Dame football team…against all odds.

Like Football, Life Is A Team Sport

No one comes into this world knowing anything.  We all have to learn from others.

The game is played with a TEAM.  No one goes it alone on the field.  Can you even imagine if one lone soul showed up to play against a team?  They’d get creamed!  In life we all need other people on our side helping us and rooting for us.

There is this myth out there about the self made person.  No one can achieve anything of greatness on their own.  It is impossible, so why even try. In fact it is actually a delusion.  The sooner we realize this, the sooner we can put ourselves in a position to start scoring.

Surround yourself with like minded people and help each other.  Become a cohesive group.  You can move down the field farther and faster together and with less struggle.

When you get tackled your teammates are usually right there offering their hand to help you up off of the ground…if you’ll let them.  Take their hand.  Offer your hand to any of them to help out when you can.

Good sportsmanlike conduct is in order on the field as well as in life.  Penalties aren’t always assessed instantaneously…there are makeup calls that are made down the line so play with that in mind.  Don’t be the cause of the game losing penalty.  Treat everyone with the respect that you desire also…even those that oppose you.

Try New Things

There are many different positions at work on the team.  Everyone has their own position that they are most suited to.

During the season, almost everyone has some opportunities to act as though they are playing another position.

The quarterback or a defensive lineman occasionally get a chance to score a touchdown, the safety sacks the opposing quarterback, or the punter runs for a first down.   If the quarterback throws an interception, suddenly, the whole offense is now playing as if they were members of the defense working to get the ball back.

A team does what is necessary in any given situation to make it work.  Be prepared to take your place on the field and then be ready for the chance to make a difference, even in a way that isn’t usually part of what you do.  It should go without saying that you must remember that without the other players and their special abilities, there would be no hope of winning.  You would be all alone out there.

Everyone on your team has to have the same goal.  This takes communication.  No one can read minds.

Life, like football is a game of acquired skills.  The more you practice while making sure that you are working on improving, the better you become and the better you can handle anything that comes your way with poise and grace.

Errors Are Part Of The Game

Everyone starts at the bottom…at level one.  Achievers know that it’s perfectly okay to make mistakes and to possibly even look like a fool for a while until they have mastered the skills needed to take them to the next level.

Even when the pinnacle is reached, there are still times when mistakes are made (think fumbles, sacks and interceptions).

Everyone who has reached any level of excellence (or even just proficiency) has given themselves permission to fail over and over until they get it right.  They do what others may not be willing to do by putting in the time and effort.

When the team arrives on the field on game day, they must come there prepared.  It shows if they haven’t put in the effort off the field…or if they didn’t work on the right things…or maybe if they just haven’t perfected their form.

Having A Coach (Or Mentor) Helps

All teams need a coach.  The better the coach, the better the chances are for the team.

A good coach will analyze  the performance of their team and critique their execution accurately and then advise them about what they need to do in order to improve and excel.  Coaches make the team better by making them do what is necessary.

Of course, when the game is actually being played, the coaches are always on the sidelines.  They can’t be on the field with the players.  They can’t play the game for them.   Their role is to help mentally prepare the team before each match…and then during the game as each play unfolds.

Have A Plan

The final score is always vastly better when there is a game plan.  In order to be really effective though, the plan must be flexible. It’s not written in stone…only on paper (hint: goals should be written down).

If what’s in the playbook isn’t working, it’s good to rest and regroup…make a new plan.  Rethink things from time to time. Sometimes it’s necessary to throw out the old playbook and start over.  Other times it’s just a matter of refining what’s already there.

Be agile. Ever adjusting to what is coming at you.

Go around that linebacker…much easier than trying to force your way through him.  This is an excellent example of what the saying “what you resist persists” means.  As long as you are willing to fight him, he will remain there, working against you.

Work Your Plan

When it’s time to play, ACTION is always required.  While thinking about what to do and planning are all good, necessary even, when you’re on the field you must DO what you have rehearsed in your mind and discussed.

What would happen if no one did anything?  Accomplishment takes ongoing focused activity.  You must be ready to be in motion when the ball snaps.

When we are out on the field, it’s smart to keep our eye on the ball.  We all know what happens when we don’t.

This is called focus.  At the same time, it is imperative to be aware of what is going on around us or we can get tackled from what seems like ‘out of nowhere’. When we are focused, we are now-here instead of no-where.  When in the now, we can survey the situation and act accordingly.  Your goal must always be in mind.

What are the chances of the quarterback connecting with  the receiver if either of them are focusing on the crowd and what they are doing?  You must always be focused on the task at hand if you expect to accomplish great things.

During the season and also during each game, there are many opportunities that can contribute toward winning.  Keep your attention on the task before you.  Keep working toward increasing your score.  Celebrate each victory as they come along, then get back to work.  Very few games are won with one field goal…or even just one touchdown…certainly not an entire season.  You won’t get to the Superbowl with that record.

Imagine what it would be like if there were no yard lines, no goal line, and no uprights.  How would the game even be played?  What would be the point?  Who would even show up to watch?

When the quarterback has the ball and is ready to throw it, he scans the field and checks to see which of his receivers is open and then he looks to the spot where the receiver will be and then launches the ball to that target.  In the mean time, the receiver breaks toward that same spot so that he can be there as the ball arrives in order to catch it.

Each game is made up of many plays.  Each one gets you to the next. Every play is important. When the runner has the ball, he must continually be scanning the field, assessing what is the best, most expedient way to advance the ball down the field. Always ready to deviate from the play book when circumstances call for it.

As he is running, his first short term goal is to make forward progression with the ball firmly in his possession.  As he scans the field and looks for options of how to accomplish that feat, he may actually run back a few yards in order to have a clear path to fly forward.

His intermediate goal is to get to a first down.  After the first down is accomplished, now he can keep running and possibly get to the goal line for a touch down.

Each touchdown and field goal brings the team closer to winning the game and their ultimate goal of winning the season.

There is no way to plan the whole game in advance.  It can’t be done.  You can only prepare as best as you can and then you must handle each moment as it comes.  Moving forward, from side to side, or even what appears to be a temporary backward movement always with the goal firmly in mind

If you get tackled, get back up, brush yourself off and keep going.  Shake off whatever happened during the last play.  It’s over.  You can’t go back. Move on.

You can use instant replay to your advantage, though.  Not to beat yourself up over and over, but to evaluate and learn from what happened.  What went right.  What went wrong.  And how can you use it to your advantage going forward.  After you have evaluated your performance, you can use the phrase “Next time I’ll…” to diagram your improvements.

Become Mentally Tough

Football is a mental game as well as a physical game.  This is true of life as well.  Your head must be in the game.

While playing, if things aren’t going well,  it can be easy to psych yourself out…to throw the whole game away.  Take your inspiration from the teams that were loosing badly and came back to win the game when everyone else, including their own fans up in the stands would have given up.  How many times have we seen the fans leaving in droves only to miss a spectacular comeback?

How much more rewarding is it to win when defeat appeared to be inevitable to others.  How much more exciting of a game is it to watch…or even more so, to participate in.

Another possible mental obstacle that isn’t quite as obvious, is when you are ahead and instead of continuing to play to win, you go into the “prevent defense”, playing not to loose.  Many a team has had victory snatched from their grasp with this strategy.  Their focus is in the wrong place.  Instead of keeping their goal in their sights, they begin to focus on what they do not want…to loose.

Fear Is Natural

Many people don’t even attempt anything that they aren’t sure that they can do, because they are AFRAID. Well, I’ve got news for you.  You are in good company because everyone is afraid at some time or another (maybe even most of the time).

The only way to concur fear is by DOING the thing that causes the fear in the first place.  This is the only way to make the thing that you were so afraid of less scary (or probably not scary at all anymore).

There is a great book by Susan Jeffers that I highly recommend to help in this area called Feel The Fear And Do It Anyway.

You may have heard of the acronym:

F alse

E vidence

A ppearing

R eal

That means that as the old saying goes, we  have nothing to fear except fear itself.

If you are always afraid that you might fumble the ball, you’ll never get the chance to make that incredible play and run it in for a touchdown for all the glory.

Sometimes even with the best of intentions, we miss the ball.  It could even be intercepted.

Oh well, that’s the way it goes sometimes. Get used to it.  It’s okay.  It’s part of the game.  There is no way to score without the risk of dropping the ball.  But, (and this is an enormous but) there is always another chance until the final (and I mean final) buzzer.

It’s All Up To You

Your life is not a spectator sport…at least it shouldn’t be for you.  Be bold!  Go for the big play.  Don’t wimp out.  Play all out!  You are the MVP on your team.

Get in the game.  It doesn’t make any sense to sit on the sidelines of the game of your own life.  Get in and get some experience.  After all, life is made up of experiences.

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Last edited by Linda Gray on October 1, 2010 at 5:11 pm