As a basketball fan, March Madness is one of my favorite times of the year. Seeing the best college basketball teams in the country compete head-to-head for a chance at the national title is a high-stakes event that represents the peak of student athletics. But as exciting as the NCAA tournament can be, it also offers us a big life lesson that goes well beyond the world of sports.
March Madness is most famous for all of the thrilling buzzer-beaters that get featured on highlight reels, in which the outcome of a close game is decided by the very last play. As that final shot goes up, the future of dozens of student-athletes, coaches, and college athletic programs hangs in the balance. If it goes in, that team moves on to the next round; if it doesn’t, they lose and go home, their chance at the title disappearing in the blink of an eye.
But while it might seem like the outcomes of those last-second shots all comes down to luck, the truth is that they really come down to preparation.
Good coaches prepare their teams to be ready for every possibility. They run practice drills that recreate unusual situations, like their team needing to score on the final possession of a game. That way, if their players ever do find themselves in that situation, they have some experience with what that kind of pressure feels like and they’re better prepared to play well despite it.
Even more importantly, good coaches preach the fundamentals of the game. They focus on developing players’ basic skills like confident ball control, crisp passing, proper defensive spacing, and making free throws consistently. Why? Because once you master the basics, you’re less likely to make the kinds of mistakes that will lead to a close game in the first place.
This same kind of preparation also applies to school, and to life itself. Our children’s academic success should not hinge on the outcome of one single test any more than their success in life should hinge on a make-or-break decision at work, or while driving, or in an otherwise tense situation. By teaching them to master the basics — of learning, of communication, of defensive driving, of personal finance, etc. — we can help them make good habits second nature, which will reduce the odds that they’ll ever find themselves facing one single decision that could make or break their futures.
And if they do? By teaching them to remain calm under pressure, to think about the consequences of their actions, and to ask for help when they need it, we can help them prepare to do their best in those high-pressure moments too.
Because if there’s one certainty in March Madness — and in life — it’s that even the best of us will eventually find ourselves in at least one buzzer-beater situation. And when that happens, our odds of succeeding are much higher if we have been mentally, physically, and emotionally preparing ourselves to make that final shot count.