Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Tired Tuesday


I got back from Orlando yesterday. We had a nice time at Epcot. It was a good way to celebrate and unwind after an exciting, but sometimes stressful weekend. Even though travel wise it's a very easy trip to make, I feel like I just got back from somewhere far away. It can be emotionally draining, physically exhausting, but at the same time lots of fun and very challenging. I always enjoy seeing old friends, and making new ones. Then there is the Murphy factor. Good old Murphy will rear his ugly head now and then.

When a team that has high expectations for how they're going to do, it can be rough emotionally when things don't quite work out as planned. One kid or another will blame himself for the team missing first place by what ever number of points it happens to be. In this case it was a measly half point between first and second place. It's easy for one kid to feel responsible when it's such a small margin. One kid or another will say, "I was clearly winning, but blundered. If I won that game, we'd been first." However he's forgetting how in an earlier round one of his teammates said, "I was so busted, and my opponent made the wrong move. I can't believe I won that game." It's funny how easy it is to forget that the gift win may have been the difference between second and third place.

There are just too many things that can go wrong or go right. If one went by predicted performance, using ratings as the basis then the top two teams placed as expected. "Stuff happens", and when enough "stuff happens" things can change for the better or the worse. It's so easy to look at the bad, and blame it all on that, and forget the about the good. I'm just as guilty of it as any of the kids. Many of you have left me comments reminding me not to be so hard on myself. I have to give that same advice to the the kids.

I have more pictures and some games, but they will have to wait another day.

1 comment:

From the patzer said...

If one doesn't get the expected result or missing closely a higher place then the one ended it's easy to blame it on the bad because if that or that over there or ... was handled differently or got another result, ... .

While at such moments the lucky win, the opponent running thru his clock, ... is forgotten and considered normal since we only look upwards and not downwards in the standings.