UPside of Life: You win some, you lose some

You win some and you lose some. That's the truth about every sport on this planet. No one can stay unbeaten forever.

That’s the case for our Mid Pen Wolverines, too. The squad traveled down to Bellaire and earned the first win of the season and then followed that up with a 54-26 victory over a big Brimley squad the next week.

But last week they just couldn't pull it together. A 44-26 loss to the Engadine Eagles--a well-coached and physically-powerful football team--is a stinging reminder that a few bad days at practice and some difficulty in executing can result in a loss. Maybe the wins earlier impacted the outlook? Were the players expecting a win? We'll never know, but the response they had to two wins to open the season wasn't the one anyone had hoped for.

The Wolverines are 2-1 right now and are heading this week to play against a very good Superior Central Cougars squad. It's a game that has me, personally, looking for every advantage we can get. Why? Well, I was a bit of a late comer to the coaching game last year, signing on after the third game of the season. Superior Central was my first game and they did a good job of scoring on us quite a bit. It was rough for me--first game coaching and a loss. So, I have a spot in my heart that just needs to be filled with a win.

Let's be honest here: a win against Superior isn't going to be easy. They are full of athletes and are well coached. But, so are we. Pound for pound, we probably have the better athletes. Throw for throw, they have the more potent and quick-scoring offense. Defensively? Well, we're both capable of controlling the game when we do it right.

I keep going back to the Engadine game, though, when I'm mentally preparing for the Superior game. There were some moments that were tough to deal with--players giving up, throwing their helmets down and storming off the field. It wasn't easy to be a part of, that's for sure.

As a player, I never felt that way. There was always some way to get the job done. And now the coaching staff is trying our best to teach that to the players on our team. How do you just inject that into them? How do you make them believe?

The answer is hard work and dedication. Show them in practice through repetition that they can, indeed, do what they thought they couldn't. Double team a player on a block? Check. Cover a receiver man-to-man without seeing the quarterback? Check. Hit the hole at full speed on the option? Check.

The loss last week was bitter. It stung. It left an aftertaste that stayed with the kids into the early days of practice the following week. The sweetness of two victories were overwhelmed by that loss, and I like to think the Wolverines have a bit of a sweet tooth and want to get their season back to being something worth gnawing on.

But in order to do it the team has to do a few things: They have to learn from their mistakes. They have to be prepared to execute no matter how strong their opponent is. They have to adjust on the fly. And, of course, they have to play with their heart as much as their body.

You win some and you lose some. That's a fact. But this week? It's not about winning or losing. It's about playing Mid Pen football. No hanging heads. No bad snaps. No jumping off sides. Fully disciplined football from start to finish. The rest will take care of itself.

Sam Eggleston is the managing editor of UP Second Wave and an assistant football coach for the Mid Peninsula Wolverines varsity eight-man football team under the leadership of Jeremy Herman. He bleeds orange and white and loses sleep when his team loses games. He can be reached via email.