EVERYONE LOVES A WINNER...

Elk City Boys team, L-R: Brock Walker,
Cody Lake, Keegan Hall, Berek Dyson,
Joby Gray (low Elk City player 2011).

On Monday, I had the pleasure of watching our Elk City Boys Team play their first 36 holes of the State Tournament at Lake Hefner Golf Course. It is really enjoyable to be walking alongside boys that you care for, regardless of what they score. Sure, you want them to do well, but that is secondary because you want them to succeed, not for you, but for themselves. You are there only to walk along and see their smiles and share their frustrations. It somehow makes me think that it is easier on them when they can share the painful feeling of a bad shot, and makes them happier to share a good shot or round. 

On Tuesday, I could not attend and did not get any updates on the scores of the third round until the end of the day when I received a text message that Joby had scored a 74, for a 222 total (76,72,74), but no notice about what place he (or the team) ended up. The 74 surely kept him in the top 10, and I am sure it also gave him something to think about because he has all the tools beyond a good swing, including the sincere desire to improve and find out how far he can go.

That said, there were four other boys  who represented Elk City in the State Championship. Four other boys who gave the best, but who came up short in their goal. The four also have a good game, but this year it was not to be and did not play to their potential. Excuse me, lets include the coach, so it is five other people, who gave us the best they had. They might be down, but they did not let us down.

Here is the side that you should recognize: they played giving you and me their heart out, they played with honor and integrity, and with the knowledge, not to mention the added pressure, that there are those whose only measure of acceptance is by seeing the results and not ever recognizing personal effort, or their respect of people or the game. Many people don't even recognize the difficulty in winning, even more, winning back to back championships.

These five boys, led by a coach who wanted to win as much as they did, played with the unselfishness of giving you and me another state championship, not to make themselves happy, but our city. I saw it, I witnessed it, every day since March, and I saw it in Weatherford and in Oklahoma City. There will be other opportunities. Having tasted victory once, gives you thirst for more wins. They'll regroup and practice and do what needs to be done to get in contention again, but this year, although they might be disappointed on their performance (understandable), we shouldn't be disappointed at all. This is one time in which the more you dig for answers about why they did not perform as well some thought they should, the more character you'll find in these young men.

And that is what this game is all about.