A November 22, 1982 letter from recently deceased women’s college basketball coach Pat Summit to a freshman before her first game explains the importance of sports to how one learns how to compete in life.
A pioneer in women’s college basketball, Pat Summit, passed away June 28, 2016 at age 64 after a five-year battle with early-onset of Alzheimer’s disease. She won eight national championships as head coach of the University of Tennessee and had 1,098 victories when she stepped down at age 59.
Washington Post columnist Sally Jenkins wrote an inspiring column on Coach Summit entitled “The game is never over: …” The column included a letter dated November 22, 1982 from Coach Summit to a freshman player who kept her letter all these past 34 years, a letter that answers why sports-based youth development is so important.
Shelia, This is your first game. I hope you win for your sake, not mine. Because winning’s nice. It’s a good feeling. Like the whole world is yours. But it passes, this feeling. And what lasts is what you’ve learned. And what you’ve learned about is — life. That’s what sport is all about — life!
The whole thing is played out in an afternoon. The happiness of life, the miseries, the joys, the heartbreaks. There’s no telling what will turn up. There’s no telling how you’ll do. You might be a hero. Or you might be absolutely nothing.
There’s just no telling. Too much depends on chance, on how the ball bounces.
I’m not talking about the game. I’m talking about life. But it’s life that the game is all about. Just as I said, every game is life, and life is a game. A serious one. Dead serious. But here’s what you do with serious things. You do your best. You take what comes.
You take what comes and you run with it.
Winning is fun . . . Sure.
But winning is not the point.
Wanting to win is the point.
Not giving up is the point.
Never letting up is the point.
Thank you Sheila for sharing your letter. Thank you Coach Summit for your wise words.
