YOUR CHRISTMAS WISH LIST

It’s hard to believe it’s that most wonderful time of the year again, that Santa's made his rounds and delivered his gifts to be opened on Christmas morning. Regardless of their age, the kids in your care have probably made a wish list of items they hope will be in their possession. Hopefully they've earned the right – through their thoughts, choices, and actions – to receive everything they want for themselves this holiday season.

I want to challenge you today, whether you're a parent or a coach, to make a wish list of your own this Christmas season, an inventory of those things you'd like your kids to possess. I also want you to see clearly how you can turn that wish list into reality. Hopefully you’ll earn the right – through your own thoughts, choices, and actions – to see them receive everything you want for them in the coming season of their lives.

So what should be on this wish list of yours? Of course if you’re raising and developing athletes, you might feel like they need all the “stuff” athletes have these days. The most advanced, high-tech equipment. The newest shoes. The expensive apparel. Absolutely, this stuff has a place in the life of an athlete, and these may have been on your kids' list this season. But this isn’t the stuff you should be most concerned with. Your kids can ask Old St. Nick for that stuff if they want, and if he saw fit, he provided it. But you’ve got a bigger vision in mind.

Instead of filling their kids' wish list with stuff to outfit their exterior, the champion parent or coach is focused on upgrading their kids' interior. They want their kids to possess the mental skills and abilities that define those who win in any area of life. These are the qualities our children will need if they're going to be great, on the playing field and beyond. They're what I call the talents of a champion - the awesome things champions do that make them unique and set them apart.

Your kids might think those things that made their list – the equipment, the shoes, the apparel – will make a difference in who they are or how they play, but you’ve got to have a clearer perspective. You’ve got to be the one who sees that it’s not the external possessions that make someone great. It’s what they possess inside – the passion, the toughness, the resilience. The selflessness, the courage, the attitude – that really makes a champion a champion. Once you see and accept that reality, then you can help your kids see and accept it, too.

Anyone can go buy equipment or shoes or apparel as gifts this holiday season, but the talents of a champion can’t be bought. You won’t find them on discount through Amazon or sitting on a special display in the aisle at Dick’s. If only it was that easy. Imagine that this morning, your kid tears into a gift with his name on it. He opens the box and peers inside. “What is it?” he asks. “It’s toughness!” you excitedly proclaim. “Santa must have known you were gonna need it to be your very best. I bet it’ll go perfectly with the passion and the selflessness you opened earlier. Oh, and there’s a note here from Santa...it says unfortunately, your courage was back-ordered, so it should be here next week.”

Nope, sorry. You can’t give your child toughness, or passion, or courage as some sort of one-time gift. If it worked that way, we'd all do it. But these possessions don't come from a website or a store, and they don't come from the magic of some chimney-sliding, sleigh-riding mystery man who shows up once a year. They are only produced through the challenging, every day work of a committed, intentional, champion-minded parent or coach.

These possessions don't come from a website or a store, and they don't come from the magic of some chimney-sliding, sleigh-riding mystery man who shows up once a year.

Please remember this Christmas that what your child needs most can’t be bought. Instead, it must be taught. It must be modeled and encouraged and cultivated every day. This is a long, slow process that includes your kids trying, failing, and struggling their way forward. Eventually it includes them learning, growing, and improving in these important areas. No, what they need most can’t be bought, but make no mistake, there is a cost involved - a significant price to pay. Giving a child these gifts will require a unique level of effort and sacrifice. And yet, despite the difficulty, this is some of the most meaningful, most fulfilling work you'll ever do.

So this is my hope for you this holiday season. First, I hope you can find the time to really evaluate where your young athletes stand in their most important areas, and to make a wish list of what you’d like to see them develop. Next, I hope you can see clearly the incredible opportunity you have to teach, train, and equip them in areas that will lead to authentic, long-term success in sports and beyond. And finally, I hope you’ll be fueled by the value and importance of this responsibility, and feel the full blessing of the tough but rewarding work it takes to raise and develop champions for yourself.

If you’re willing to do that work, then someday, likely sooner than you think, you’ll probably smile when you consider the wish list you made back at Christmas 2020. When that day comes, you’ll know you earned the right – through your thoughts, choices, and actions – to enjoy all those things your kids have in their possession. So get to work, and make all those Christmas wishes come true. Have a safe and happy holiday weekend!