‘The object is to win fairly, squarely, by the rules’

Someone pointed out last week that a certain school’s Twitter account has in its masthead an Afrikaans translation of the cliché “winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing”.

Most would agree that it’s a pretty stupid thing for an educational institution to be saying in public. After all, if winning is the only thing then there is nothing else, and that means you have to do whatever it takes to win, and we have seen the sort of underhand methods some are prepared to use to ensure victory.

Are we to assume, if winning is the only thing in sport at school, that it’s the duty of schools to teach young people to win in whatever way it takes?

And what happens when you lose – and you will eventually lose – since winning is the only reason why you are playing the game, the implication is that you then stop playing.

What a load of rubbish!

What’s interesting about that infamous quote is that it has been attributed to Vince Lombardi, legendary coach of American Football team The Green Bay Packers.

I have read quite a bit about him and not surprisingly, given his success as a coach, and the reverence in which he was held by players he worked with, he never actually uttered those words.

Do a Google search of Lombardi quotes and you’ll see he was full of fire and brimstone in his motivational speeches and he demanded success from his teams, but he never said that winning is the only thing.

What he actually said was: “Winning isn’t everything, but wanting to win is the only thing” – there’s a big difference.

He also said: “It is a reality of life that men are competitive and the most competitive games draw the most competitive men. That’s why they are there – to compete. To know the rules and objectives when they get in the game. The object is to win fairly, squarely, by the rules – but to win.”

Note the emphasis on fairness, and playing by the rules – that’s what schools should put up on their Twitter handles.

Here’s another Lombardi quote to put you in the right mood before you go off to the game this morning: “I believe in God, and I believe in human decency. But I firmly believe that any man’s finest hour, the greatest fulfilment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle – victorious.”

l I was fortunate to find myself in the right place at the right time when I started out as a teacher who wanted to be a rugby coach and somehow managed to get myself elected at a young age to the committee that ran school rugby in the province.

There I met and worked with men who had done great things in the game and who were now putting their time and effort back into it.

It was a fantastic learning opportunity, one that I grasped, although not as eagerly as I should have, I realised later.

One of those who was kind enough to share his wisdom and philosophy was Max Arnold, another was Frank Swanepoel. Frankie passed away a few weeks ago, and I was deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Max last week.

Max Arnold was from Wales – with all that that means in a rugby sense. He was also a teacher through and through, and the best scrummaging coach I ever came across. He continued passing on his knowledge to young players long after he had retired from the profession.

He made a big impact on many people and will be greatly missed.