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Friendly Competition

May 16, 2012

When Walled Lake Central junior Taylor Krumm dove for third base during her final game of the Michigan Stars Tournament two weekends ago, an opposing fielder stood in front of the bag, hoping to tag her out.

But it wasn't a stranger in that green and white uniform; it was a friend. 

Krumm and Pontiac Notre Dame Prep's Carly Joseph are members of the MHSAA Student Advisory Council. On this day, they also were softball opponents -- but not complete strangers, unlike most who face off over the course of a season.

In this week's SAC Sound-off, Joseph never mentions the score of that game -- Notre Dame won 2-1 -- but instead, the perspective she gained from this opportunity to see a familiar face on the opposing bench. Click to read her take.

PHOTO: Notre Dame Prep's Carly Joseph (left) waits for a throw at third base as Walled Lake Central's Taylor Krumm prepares to slide in under a tag. (Photo courtesy of Lynn Wroubel.)

“How” Matters More

March 4, 2014

“It’s not whether you win or lose; it’s how you play the game.” We’ve all heard that bromide, especially when we were just starting out as young athletes.
Well, it does matter who wins. Any time a score is kept, the result of the competition matters to people. And there is very much that is very good about trying to win – giving one’s best effort to prepare for and execute a victory. Trying to win is much better than not trying to win. Sloppy effort does not benefit the participants, or anybody else for that matter.
And this unveils the deeper truth of that tiresome platitude: how you play the game is more important than who wins the game.
One of many events that proves this point to me is a football game played late in the season nearly two decades ago. A team from the east side of our state played against a team from the west side. I don’t remember the final score. I don’t remember which team won the game. But I do remember that there was an ugly incident at the end of the game. 
How that game was played in its closing moments has stayed with me for longer than who was victorious.