As a former rough water lifeguard and eager health enthusiast, I completely support physical exercise being part of growing a whole child.  However, I struggle with the emphasis on sports in today’s youth culture.  Every kid walks away from their chosen sport someday…….then what?  Many coaches and parents fail to identify the lifetime value of sports because they falsely assume they are training the next state champs. So when the lights go out, when the cheering stops, when it is time to “leave it on the field”…. what do we have when the game is over?

Perhaps the most important quality to success is grit. Grit is a strong determination to finishing. Grit is an unyielding courage to face hard things, danger or impossible odds. Grit is the stamina to complete a longer than anticipated project, goal or task. Grit is knowing the end game matters. Grit is seeing the finish line and lunging forward no matter the obstacles. Check out these 5 characteristics of grittiness.