Going to states isn't all it's cracked up to be

Pre-race ritual:



Here's what he took home:


So he missed qualifying for states by tenths or hundredths of a second, which on some levels is heart breaking. But it's also an opportunity to show some real character. I'm so proud of how he handles disappointment. He knows what mistakes he made and he doesn't dwell on them. He's forgiving of himself and shows great personal resilience. ( I could learn something from him ).
Here's some wisdom about dealing with disappointment as an athlete:
"successful athletes realize that disappointment is part of sport. If they won every competition they would eventually become bored with their sport and quit. They only way to win every competition would be to compete against others who were not as good as they are. Successful athletes pursue excellence, not perfection. They learn to evaluate how well they played win,or lose. When they are disappointed, they do not allow that emotion to ruin their experience. They learn to cope with adversity and loss, as well as with success. Successful athletes use disappointment to motivate them to practice so they do better in the future."
Today, my son, you WERE very successful.
I'm as proud of you today as I would be if you made States, because you showed a lot of maturity at a difficult time.