Recently, I had the opportunity to speak to a high school football team on Hilton Head Island—a small private school whose team has faced significant challenges.
Their head coach, hired last year to revitalize a program that hadn’t won a game in two years, managed to secure three victories in his first season—a clear sign of progress!
However, a fundamental issue persists: the players struggle to overcome adversity. Their wins last year were games they led from the start. The troubling trend is that as soon as difficulties arise, they tend to give up.
They lack the resilience to endure a brutal hit, get back up, and fight back. This has led to a reputation that they are privileged and unaccustomed to real adversity—quick to fold when challenged.
The coach even shared his frustration, stating he’s never coached a team where players ask to be taken out because they think they need a break. This highlights a critical deficiency: a lack of heart and, more importantly, a lack of grit.
Society now tells us that to live right, we should seek a life of comfort. It seems that this has become the status quo.
For this team, the status quo has meant quitting when things get uncomfortable. However, grit is a disruptor of the status quo.
My message to them was straightforward: to transform their program’s culture, they needed clarity and commitment to three core principles:
- Faith – The belief in something greater than themselves. Where or in whom do they place their faith?
- Purpose – Understanding their team’s “why.” The ultimate goal of a football team isn’t merely to win games; winning is a byproduct of clear purpose and a relentless pursuit of excellence. They must have unity and conviction in their shared purpose.
- Perseverance – What changes when you embrace the struggle and push through when plans go awry? You learn to be content with your circumstances while maintaining forward momentum.
I have a business partner who played football at the University of Nebraska. During his five years there, his team lost only five games and achieved two consecutive undefeated seasons.
One of their guiding principles was: “The team that can’t be beat, won’t be beat.”
This mantra isn’t about the scoreboard; it’s entirely about mindset. Imagine the impact on an opponent when they see in your eyes an unwavering determination—a resolve to keep fighting with everything you have, no matter how dire the situation. That’s a team that won’t be beat.
My hope for the Hilton Head Prep team is that they understand being gritty means showing up with determination, perseverance, and an absolute refusal to quit when faced with difficulty.
Grit isn’t about achieving perfection; it’s about consistently pushing forward, day by day, even when desired results don’t materialize as quickly as we’d like.
Scripture echoes this profound truth:
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
– Galatians 6:9
