Edgar Ayala – Sports Writer
Even though every athlete’s focus is on winning games, there are going to be times when they encounter defeat.
Southern’s student-athletes weigh in on what it’s like to lose, what they do to get their mind of being beaten, and how they recoup from defeat.
Vasilios Grigorakos, sophomore on the football team, is one athlete that hates other teams triumphing over him. He said he doesn’t let losses affect his day, but likes to vent his anger and frustration during practices.
“I hate losing, it’s honestly the worst feeling in the world,” said the linebacker. “Even if I have to play my mom in basketball I’m still trying to beat her. No matter what the circumstance, my natural instinct is to just win.”
Incidentally, Southern’s football team managed to pick up their first win of the season against Stonehill College, making their record stand at 1-4 on the season.
However, the agony of defeat is still there for Southern’s football team. One might wonder what the atmosphere of their locker room looks and sounds like after a tough loss.
“You see anger; you see guys wanting to suit up and play again,” Grigorakos said. “Obviously you don’t like losing, but losing gives you the fire the next day in practice to work even harder.”
Unfortunately for Southern’s volleyball team, it has been the same. The team totaled a record of 3-15 on the season.
Taylor Flowers, junior middle blocker on the team, said after seeing the same mistakes reoccurring in their games, it’s hard to not start doubting that those mistakes will be fixed anytime soon.
On the other side, Flowers said she feels skeptic after losing a game and stated the things she does to get her mind off them.
“I always talk to friends and listen to music. Many times, I’ll throw the TV on and try to relax. Then at times I’ll feel like having a venting session with someone close to me, and that usually tends to help,” said Flowers.
Unlike Grigorakos with football, Flowers said volleyball players have to have short-term memory loss to recover from losses a lot quicker. Football players only play once a week, while the volleyball team plays up to six games a week.
Field hockey players have to learn to recoup from losses quickly since they play multiple games a week as well.
Junior Zoe Fanolis, midfielder for the field hockey team, said after a loss she thinks about the mistakes she made in the game. She said that losses make the athlete learn from their mistakes and in return, become a better player.
“Nothing good comes from dwelling on a loss,” Fanolis said. “Instead of being down, I try to focus on how I can prepare myself for the next game. I focus on recovering my body and working harder to win the next game.”
Like Fanolis said, losing should be taken as a learning experience. It should help fuel the athlete’s hunger for their next win and help light a fire to work even harder the next time around.
Sure it can be tough, but one needs to lose first in order to learn how to win.
As Sylvester Stallone once said in his 2006 “Rocky Balboa” film:
“It ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward; how much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done!”
Photo Credit: John Liu