WIN v STRIVING TO WIN
“Winning isn’t everything; it’s the only thing.” — Vince Lombardi
This famous quote resonates deeply with those of us who have a competitive nature.
However, there’s a problem: this is NOT the entire quote. The sentence that precedes it is: “The greatest accomplishment is not in never falling, but in rising again after you fall.”
When I read the full quote, my interpretation of what this legendary football coach meant changes entirely. If we only focus on the well-known portion, we might think Coach Lombardi believed that winning was the sole measure of value—that second place is for losers. But when I consider the entire context, I believe he was emphasizing resilience: winners are those who get knocked down and rise again, striving for something meaningful. In this light, winning becomes about the fight to improve.
Why Does This Matter?
This isn’t another argument claiming that winning doesn’t matter. Winning absolutely matters—in both sports and life. But it isn’t always defined by the final score.
Think about it: How many teams won the World Series this year? Or how many teams claimed the State Volleyball Championship in your state? (In Oregon, for instance, six out of 276 programs hoisted the trophy.) Does that mean the other 270 teams failed? Did those student-athletes learn nothing from their seasons?
Take the Oregon Ducks football team, currently ranked #1 in the nation. If the Ducks fail to win the National Championship in January, was their entire season a waste? I certainly hope not. If it were, universities would be throwing millions of dollars away every year in their pursuit of victory.
Striving to Win
The greatest lesson of sports lies in the striving to win.
Every year, 95% of high school and college coaches begin their seasons knowing, deep down, that their teams likely won’t hoist the big trophy. Yet they pour their hearts and souls into their work, striving for success on the scoreboard. They lose sleep, just like their counterparts who go on to win it all. They invest in their players because they love their sport, they love to teach, and they want to make a difference in the lives of student-athletes.
Winning is fantastic. I was fortunate to win a state championship as a Legion baseball coach many years ago. I also coached many teams over my 21-year career that finished with losing records. Did the young men who won that championship learn more valuable life lessons than those on the teams that didn’t? I certainly hope not. Sometimes, I believe those who faced adversity on losing teams may have learned even more.
Jody Redman of InsideOut Coaching aptly said: “Winning is our goal; it is not our purpose.”
While only a few teams can win it all, everyone can develop character along the journey—if coaches are intentional about teaching and modeling those values. We cannot control the outcomes of athletic contests, but we can control our effort, attitude, and sacrifices in the pursuit of victory.
Defining Success
Success in life begins when we define it for ourselves.
Success, like people, comes in all shapes and sizes. Each of us has unique life experiences that shape how we measure success. Legendary basketball coach John Wooden defined success as “peace of mind, which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to become the best you are capable of becoming.”
I think Coach Wooden was right. We get to decide what success means—and what we learn from both winning and striving to win.
The Journey Matters
In the end, the journey of striving to win is rich with lessons that shape our future selves, provided we have the perspective and guidance of great coaches along the way. Always give your all in the pursuit of victory. More importantly, embrace the lessons learned, even when the trophy isn’t yours.