Canadian Soccer: Execution, Not Excuses
Great editorial from the Citizen's Andrew Potter today. Yes, the refereeing was atrocious, and the call blatant. So what's new?
Execution, Not Excuses
"Canada’s women’s soccer team gave the country the defining moment of the London Olympics so far, with a spectacular effort Monday in a heartbreaking 4-3 loss to the Americans in the semifinal. Too bad they went and spoiled it by blaming the loss on the referee.
“We feel like we got robbed in this game” — that was from Canadian goalkeeper Erin McLeod. From forward Melissa Tancredi: “That was our win to have. We put it all out there on the field. And it was just ... taken away.” Team captain Christine Sinclair, who scored all three goals for Canada in the game, was more blunt. “We feel like it was taken from us,” she said. “We feel cheated.”
Success in sports is a function of five elements: preparation, strategy, tactics, execution and chance. But in the thick of the action, the only things that remain in the athlete’s control are tactical choice, and execution. By far the most important of these is execution.
Chance is a security blanket. It is what provides the excuses for when things don’t go the way they hoped. The track was wet and I slipped. I drew an outside lane. The referee jobbed us. Almost every athlete reaches for the excuses at one time or another, and for good reason: it deflects criticism away from poor execution, or from questions of whether the athlete prepared properly or made the right tactical decisions, or if the coach chose the proper strategy.
The very best athletes have a different perspective. For these competitors, execution is the only thing.
Listen to Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt after his victory in the 100 metres: “It wasn’t a perfect start, so I had to execute from 50 metres and I knew I was going to do well after that,” said Bolt. “I just ran. I’m not going to say it was a perfect race because I know my coach is going to say no.” This from a man who had just run the second-fastest time in history.
Or consider then Canada’s greatest ever Olympian, Clara Hughes, who finished what was a disappointing 32nd in the women’s road race, under pretty bad weather conditions. But what many people had trouble understanding was why Hughes didn’t seem even slightly upset with her position.
“When I look at my placing, you can say that I’m disappointed,” she said. “But when you look at my effort and everything I put into this, I’m not. I felt good — in the sense that it felt like hell. But in terms of what my effort was I suffered, and that means it was good. I gave everything I had, but it just wasn’t good enough.”
The refusal to make excuses for anything other than execution is what distinguishes mere Olympic athletes from true legends. The problem with excuses is that they engender weakness, rather than courage. Worse, they prevent the excuse-maker from making the adjustments or corrections they need to make to ensure superior execution next time.
This is not to take anything away from the Canadians. They played a magnificent game. But what the players need to realize is that blaming the refereeing is no different from blaming the weather or a bad bounce. If they are going to have a hope of winning the bronze medal on Thursday against France, they need to stop claiming they were robbed, and think about why they weren’t able to deliver the knockout when they had the Americans on the ropes".
In short, they need to focus on execution going forward, not excuses for what is past. That is the path to greatness.
Brilliant piece.
Bad ref? Score two more than the other team.
Do yourself a huge favor: don't waste your time arguing bad calls.
