Suck it up Cupcake!

Life has given me many opportunities, as a father, one of those was to coach my son's baseball and football teams. I was asked to run the summer baseball program in the off season for his high school team, an honor I'll always treasure. To bring those players to the next level we concentrated on drills and increasing speed. Colleges rate players on a timed 60 yard dash, so I thought it would be a wonderful idea to improve their 60 times, so some of them might get considered to go on to the next level.

It seems everything you do in life has a lesson if you look for it, and this was no exception. One of the things that stood out during these time trials was if you pit closely matched runners against each other, both of their times in the 60 improved. Something about reaching the finish line nose and nose pushes each of them to do their very best. Not so much if you matched a slower and a faster runner together.

I say all this to make this point. Competition brings out the best in people. The more evenly your matched the better each of you do. This my friends is where excellence is achieved. Recognition of excellence is what drives us to the finish line. America makes strides in innovation because of peer recognition. Examples like the Linus Pauling Award, given for achievement in the science community, puts the highlight on the person who gave that extra effort, and makes this world a better place for all of us. Accomplishment should be rewarded, and brought to light. Validation of achievment is the force behind the spirit of competition that has and will continue to make this country great!

There is a movement to level the playing field in our great nation. We are being asked to award and recognize participation. While the intentions of no hurt feeling are good, it promotes mediocrity. Awards for participation are little more than door prizes for attendance, and in some cases even that was less than a stellar effort. Competition is the heart beat of this economy, it provides innovation. Not everyone is good at everything, and everyone has their own individual talent. It's as important your a great oboe player as the other person is a great pitcher, they are both needed, and both should be recognized in their field of excellence.

We need to learn to highlight our strengths and accentuate them. Competition is what inspires us to hone each individual talent to it's apex. It's how we survive in this world, so the earlier that lesson is taught, the faster it can be applied. It's time to keep score. It's time to spotlight achievement. It's time for America to take it's place as a world leader.

God Bless
Capt. Bill