I have five kids in the 11-12 year old age group, all on the same soccer team.

Four boys and a girl, all right good athletes, faced a tough team late last week that could have eliminated them from the playoffs. I’d pumped them up, “Face down this team, play hard and make them afraid to go up against all y’all. Go for it, I know you can win this game.”

The youngest one, CW, here since birth, jumped in with all his might, leadership skills evident, ready to rumble and his force on the field was contagious to his team. They played their hearts out against a previously undefeated team and they won.

They were as high as kites, backslapping each other and very proud.

The playoffs started today and I again pumped them up all the way there, a five minute ride at best where I explained that attitude was everything, they needed to want to win this game.

Within the first minute of the game, the other team scored. Oops.

The parents and I, along with about 10 of my older kids, kept hollering encouragement and, “shake it off y’all!” until they pulled it together and that team never scored again in the entire game, our team scored twice and impressed the fans with their fire.

I’d told them the ‘as if’ principle by William James. Act as if something has already happened, act as if you’re happy and you’ll catch yourself smiling, and go out there and act as if you’re playing a team that you just can’t help but beat.

And they did.

I’ll keep pumping them up all week, just as I often do before school and other events. They want to revert back to the negativity from which they once lived in while I continuously stress the positive.

“Y’all were called out for a reason, “I stress to them. Only a small percentage of children from the foster care system go on to be adopted, even less after the disruptions that occur for various reasons.

I don’t know why they were called out, only that they were. It’s up to them to each find their niche in life, I’ll help but they have to choose.

I use sports as a very small microcosm of the society in which we live, analogies that they love and understand; whatever it takes to get my points across to help them all learn to be successful and content with their lives.