The Country School is an independent, coeducational, Pre-K through 8 school founded in 1934.

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"Hope Springs Eternal"

By: Chris Nittle
Mr. Nittle delivered a powerful and inspiring speech at our winter athletics awards assembly on Wednesday.
"Boys, after yesterday’s emotional game and an equally emotional season, I came home pretty spent. After dinner, I settled down for a game of Chutesand Ladders with Palmer, and wouldn’t you know? Every time I made a run and climbed past the third row on the board, I hit a chute and slid back to the beginning. This process repeated itself throughout the game, and soon, Palmer‘s game piece crossed the finish line, while my token and my spirit were still stuck on the bottom row. Sounds like the story of our season, doesn’t it? Scratch and claw and find some success, only to hit a chute and find ourselves scrambling to catch up!

Losing to a five year-old at Chutes and Ladders was an undeserved and painful end to the day, but sometimes, the hits just keep coming. When it rains, it pours, right? My father-in-law blames all of this on a man named Murphy, whose law states: 'Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong.' For much of this season, it felt like Murphy was on our sideline - after every great practice or great half or even a great possession we met an opponent who was a little bigger, a little faster, or a little older.
But such is life. Whether it’s Chutes and Ladders, B-Team basketball, or even the Super Bowl, sometimes, you lose. Losing isn’t fun, and you’re disappointed right now; we all are when we think about the season that might have been, and the excitement we felt after a few really great practices and a thrilling opening game.

As you crawl into your emotional Man Cave to find your quiet space in the next few days, remember that losing does not make you LOSERS. In fact, LOSING will never define you, but your RESPONSE to losing will. Let’s consider three 'losers' - and how their response to failure fueled incredible success. 

1. Michael Jordan - one of the greatest players in basketball history - was cut from the varsity team in high school. He currently owns six NBA championship rings, holds at least thirteen NBA records, and scored 35,264 points in his professional career. Commenting on failure fueling success, Air Jordan wrote: 'I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.'

2. By 1995, twelve major book publishers had rejected JK Rowling’s story about a young wizard and his friends. Rowling refused to accept defeat, however, and she finally found someone to publish her stories. Since then, the Harry Potter series has sold over 400 million copies worldwide. When asked about her rise from the ashes, Rowling shared: 'I am not going to stand here and tell you that failure is fun. That period of my life was a dark one, and I had no idea that there was going to be ... a kind of fairy tale resolution. Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the determination to succeed in the one arena I believed I truly belonged.'

3. Finally, consider the life of this US President prior to his election:
  1. His first business failed when he was 21 years old.
  2. The next year, he was defeated for Legislature.
  3. His second business failed a year after that.
  4. Two years later, he suffered a nervous breakdown.
  5. Over the next twenty years, he was
    1. Defeated for Speaker.
    2. Defeated for Elector.
    3. Defeated for Congress.
    4. Defeated for Congress ... again.
    5. Defeated for Senate.
    6. Defeated for Vice President.
    7. And defeated for Senate ... again.
In 1860, after more than twenty years of misery and failure, Abraham Lincoln was elected president of the United States. The eternal optimist, Lincoln famously wrote: 'I will prepare, and some day my chance will come.' For the last three months, each one of you prepared to succeed. You brought your best every Tuesday and Thursday, and despite our final record, you always arrived eager to play basketball. Keep preparing; keep dreaming. Your time will come.

Before we close, let’s take a moment to recognize three teammates who made a real impact at practice and in games. The first certificate recognizes our Most Valuable Player. People often assume the MVP scores the most points, but we believe the MVP is the one player whose presence makes his teammates better and whose absence is immediately felt by everyone. The one player you overwhelmingly felt was the heart and soul of our team this winter? Schuyler Brumbaugh.

On a team where half of us had little or no organized basketball experience, this young man stood out. He carries his basketball with him to practice, games, recess, and he might even have it with him now. Yesterday, he was a key piece of some of our best offensive possessions of the game and of the season. Fletcher Parsons, you were voted our Most Improved Player this season.

Finally, this young man is a passionate competitor. While he can be hard on himself, he is never critical of his teammates or his opponents. He is the epitome of hard work, dedication, and passion. The recipient of the Cougar Award this season is... Chillian.

Let’s borrow a page from Coach Cox and end with a quote. Cervantes wrote: 'The journey is better than the inn.' In other words, Cervantes believed the process of reaching a destination is more fulfilling than the destination itself. Traveling somewhere can be fun - especially when you turn off the GPS and enjoy the 'scenic route.' We’ve had an exciting journey learning to play better basketball and enjoying each other’s company - especially at practice. But I’m pretty sure we’re all thankful to have reached the end. After all, long family car rides eventually boil down to 'Are we there yet?' Perhaps we should remind Cervantes that if the journey was truly better, the final destination wouldn’t be called 'The Promised Land,' would it?
You’ve worked hard this season, boys, and have earned a much-deserved a break. Start dreaming of next winter. And be prepared. Your time will come. 
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