I was 11 and playing soccer in a local youth league for the team pictured here (a gold star to anyone who can find me in the pic). A teammate took a nasty cheap shot from an opponent so I stepped-in and decked the opponent. Not the right move, obviously. I got red-carded then suspended.
I asked my dad to get the suspension lifted. “It’s not fair”, I said. “I was sticking up for my teammate.” My dad’s response was “I can’t help you; you know how you play the game and it finally caught up with you.” He was right.
The lessons I learned (not so much then, but certainly now) on how to handle difficult situations, adversity, emotional issues:
- Process the situation, consider your options
- Keep emotions in check, be calm and objective
- Focus on being wise and not just right with your actions
- When you do act, own your decisions and their consequences