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Editorial: Until the final out
Op-Ed · August 03, 2017


Alas, the 2017 season was not kind to West Branch ball teams this past summer.


The softball team finished 15-23 overall and finished fifth of seven in the River Valley Conference South and endured head coach turnover just a few weeks before the end of the season. However, they did earn a shutout and a 10-run-rule win over Wapsi Valley in the first round of regionals. The next day, though, they met Regina in round two, a team that went on to play in the state tournament.

The baseball team also had a rough year, finishing 7-18 overall and sixth of seven in the RVC South.

Individuals fared well in post-season honors, with the softball team putting four on a range of RVC’s All-Conference teams: DaLana Kron, Taylor Thein, Kaiya Luneckas and Nicki Henson. And statistics showed some of the team’s strengths, with a .342 batting average, 17th in Class 2A; a .414 on-base percentage, 20th in Class 2A; .441 slugging percentage, 20th in Class 2A; and 57 doubles, 15th in Class 2A.

The baseball team faced a tough conference, too, with thee top-10 teams in the River Valley Conference. Yet Head Coach Rich Stout reports quite a bit of growth and progress. All-Conference honors went to Tanner Lukavsky and Trey Eagle, two of the younger players. Lukavsky also received Southeast All-District honors.

Syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer wrote a piece earlier this month posing the question: Why do they even play the game? The column goes on to explain that the pain of losing is worse than the pleasure of winning, and he gives examples of how athletes with multi-million-dollar contracts hung their heads and moped around after losing big games.

Many folks who commented on the column assumed Krauthammer implied that athletes ought to just give up. Yet the columnist even called his closing comment — “losing is worse” — conjecture. That means, he does not have enough information to provide a solid conclusion.

But talk to any experienced athlete or coach — no doubt, many of those reading this column fall into that category, from Bears to Hawkeyes and more — and they will, to borrow a phrase, knock this question out of the ballpark.

Pleasure and pain are feelings that fade quickly; you don’t play for them. Many play as children for fun, which is good, but Krauthammer is talking about competitors. Competitors know something greater: The hard work and dedication to learning a particular sport builds healthy habits, for sure, but even more important are the long-term feelings of self-efficacy and the kind of personal pride that leads to joy.

Self-efficacy — self-confidence — psychologist Albert Bandura writes, is one of the top emotions that enables us to tackle new tasks, or encourage others to do so.

Author Grantland Rice tells us that, “It’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game.” Yet in this case, it’s how the game plays you, or changes you, for those times when life challenges your tenacity.

So even though the Bears’ win-loss records did not show well this season, the athletes themselves learned to play hard until the final out, as we all should.