That is what I learned last night. Quite the lesson.
My teachers?
Goalkeepers with Down syndrome. I was honored to show up and they honored me with smiles and utter joy. A joy so infectious that I had to share it with you this TOVO Tuesday.
Four keepers, four pairs of colorful gloves, and uncountable moments of pride. These amazing kids carried no burden. No burden of judgement. No fear. No barriers. No worries about meeting performance thresholds. They were playing to their best and that was more than good enough. They missed, no worries. They made crazy good saves, all the better.
Each keeper alternated in goal, two shots per session. Each and every transition was accompanied by encouragement. I was the official “high fiver” with nothing to teach and everything to learn.
Down syndrome but upbeat.
That’s it.
We choose our energy.
We are either infectiously positive and joyful in play or we are not. We either celebrate only in victory or we celebrate relationships regardless of results.
We choose.
I’m going with upbeat and on task.
We are going to do some amazing things today.
But if we don’t, we are going to celebrate anyway.
Reprinted with kind permission from Todd Beane Founder of TOVO Training and TOVO Academy Barcelona. In TOVO Training, Beane has combined proven pedagogical practices of experts in the field of education with the visionary components of a total football legend into a dynamic and practical training methodology.
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