Halfway Up a Rugged Mountain

      
     When I started Extreme Team Wrestling back in 2013, my mission was to provide a platform where young people could develop their perseverance and resiliency through what those of us from the wrestling world call the squared circle. Hence the name "Extreme" which I related back to the scripture in Colossians 3:23 "Whatever you do in word or deed, give it all you got as you are doing it for the Lord and not for man." My translation, GO EXTREME!!, which became our trademark logo, and as Extreme expanded into volleyball, the catch phrase adorned on our spirit shirts was "Think Extreme, Play Extreme, GO EXTREME!!" I don't know about you but when Paul was teaching this critically important lesson to the people in the church in Colossae I can almost picture him blowing his whistle and shouting out words of encouragement as the believers developed their gritty mindsets through their day to day struggles. I had one of those such instances with my Extreme Team wrestlers on the side of a mountain where I conveyed the message about mediocrity which is our topic for today's Flat Tire Ministry Thought.
      The word mediocrity has Latin roots in two words medius meaning middle and ocris translated rugged mountain. In other words, if you are mediocre you are literally halfway up a rugged mountain. Well finding object type lessons to drive home a point to my athletes has always been of paramount importance to me. I believe the lessons you learn on the mat, in the gym, on the court, or out on the field are lessons you will retain throughout your life, so we as coaches better make sure they are worthy of remembering and beneficial for use in times of struggle or victory! So, how does the wrestling coach of a group of 5-13 year old wrestlers teach his team about the concept of being mediocre and the potential outcomes of not giving your best on the mat, in the classroom, or in life? We head out for a hike at Panther Creek State Park.
     As a coach, one of the main objectives I strive for is to have the athlete dig down as deep as possible into the depths of who they are or who they can potentially be and drag every ounce of that person to the forefront of their abilities and use it to be the best you, you can possibly be. It really isn't about wins and losses as much as it is about giving it all you got, digging in deeper when it would be easier to give up, or searching for the possible in the impossibility staring you right in the eyes of your soul. Dramatic? Possibly, but is life filled with one drama, one adversity, one affliction, one after another? You better believe it, so if we are going to be facing these challenges all of our lives then why wouldn't we want to develop a gritty, resilient young man or woman that can stand in the face of adversity and not give up?
      Thus, the journey up "Point Lookout Trail" a two-mile hike rated moderately difficult on the park registry. On a Saturday morning, our coaching team and about 25 boys and girls, Kindergarteners up to kids getting ready to enter high school met at the trail head for a trek to the vantage view of one of the highest points in our local state park. As we took out from the base many of the kids were bouncing out to lead the group, some running, some swinging on low hanging branches from the canopy above. As the trail turned from flat and straight to curvy and vertical many of those same grapplers were beginning to wane back a little to the middle of the pack and the enthusiasm levels were visibly diminishing. That's where a good coach sees it's time for a break. We stopped on what presented itself as an ideal stopping point, a rocky shelf jutting out of the earth in multi-tiered formations provided an auditorium like setting for the coach to share some motivation.
     Literally, we were about halfway through our hike so the appropriateness of the message was visible and tangible. "Boys and girls, we are halfway up this hill", I exclaimed. From there the message was clear and distinct. It went something like this. "We are halfway there, look around, what do you see? dirt, trees, moss, some flowers, and a bunch of rocks. Mother Nature created all this and it is beautiful, but that isn't why we chose a trail that has the word "lookout" in the title. We chose Point Lookout Trail to climb because when you get to the top that is where the view lives. We can't see that view from halfway up the mountain, that is where a mediocre view exists." I went on to explain that mediocre means halfway up a rocky mountain, exactly where we were at that moment. I shared that you can't see the view from the top if you are just mediocre. And from there the motivational opportunities just seemed to flow from my mouth much like a stream flows down through the valley.
      The bottom line from this object lesson is as applicable for you and I today as it was for those young wrestlers some seven years ago, and it will continue to be a message each of us needs to remember as long as we traverse this big round rock called home. In your job, you can give a mediocre effort, but don't expect to rise to the position in your career field that you could and should achieve. In your marriage, you can go through the motions of being a "good" husband or wife and you will survive, but don't think that your marriage will be the example you want to provide for your children to emulate in their own lives. What about when the going gets tough? Anyone out there want to be on the team with the leader that says "Well we made it halfway through this crisis, I think we probably should just quit here while we can and count our losses, it probably won't work out anyway." Not me. I want to follow leaders who are going to take me to the precipice of life. I want someone on my team in life that looks at the rugged mountain and the only thing they can see is the tip top point where we are headed, and the distance between where we are and where we are headed is just that a distance that we must journey!
      So, what about your faith? Are you halfway in and halfway out? Are you in for the long haul, up the mountain, past the rocky cliffs and steep upgrades, whatever it takes hand over foot to reach the place where God has destined you to reach? You won't, no you can't get there with a halfway there mentality. God has a plan for you, but to see that plan to feel that plan, to own it and to relish in it, you have to be all in. No mediocre attempts at being called His own. "So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth." Revelation 3:16. I don't think that message needs any interpretation, it's that simple. Get in or get out, give it your best or stay with the rest, get up, get moving, and never quit! You can reach the mountain top, our wrestling team did and wow what a view the payoff provided! I encourage you today to reflect on where you are in life. Are you halfway up that mountain and find yourself nestled into the rugged rocks of this life? You don't have to be, you can pack your bags and make that trek up the side of the mountain right up to the vantage view that not everyone, unfortunately, gets to enjoy. Don't settle on being mediocre, choose to be all in and go all the way today, tomorrow, and for the rest of your life!
Coach Carter