Vernon “Lefty” Gomez, Major League pitcher from 1930 – 1943, was often known to say “I’d rather be lucky than good.” His first year in the big leagues, Gomez only won 2 games and had a high Earned Run Average. He was 6 foot 2 inches tall, but weighed only 155 pounds. Yet Lefty rose above the poor start and being “too skinny” to make the most of his opportunities and talent. By the time his career was over, Vernon “Lefty” Gomez was a 5-time World Series winner, 7-time All-Star, and twice led the league in Wins, Strike Outs and Earned Run Average. [1] Maybe Lefty should have said, “I’d rather be lucky AND good.”
In the past two Cave Spring girls soccer matches the shots on goal were 14-3 and 12-2. One would assume a double-digit shot differential means a lopsided victory for the top-shooting team. Nope. Both games were won by just one goal. In the first game, the Squires beat William Byrd 2-1, despite out-shooting the Terriers 14-3. Just unlucky, I guess. Cave Spring also won the second game, edging out Andrew Lewis 1-0. But this time they were the ones with only 2 shots. Were they just lucky?
If it was “luck”, it was the kind Thomas Jefferson spoke of when he said, “I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it.”[2] Cave Spring worked hard to create those 14 goal-scoring opportunities against Byrd. And they rose above a bouncing ball on a difficult playing surface to find the net just enough to win. The Squires were also more than just lucky when they defeated Andrew Lewis for the first time in seven years. A lot of hard work went into that win. Goal-keeper Lexi Miller worked hard diving after shots to save them before they could reach the net. Catherine Thacker worked hard to chase down an Andrew Lewis attacker on a break-away, arriving just in time to block the shot. Chloe Lane worked hard to aggressively challenge opposing outside mids, taking hard drives to the body and her head. Center back Aubrey Billings worked hard, over and over, to stop anything in the box and send the ball sailing back to our own attackers. Kieera Mooney worked hard to cover lots of ground in the midfield, connecting defense to offense, without a rest the entire game. Megan Doyle worked hard to find just enough room around the Lewis defender to get off a rocket shot for the game’s only goal. I could continue on, as each of the Squires contributed their own hard work and talent to an exciting game.
So, if this is luck, “I say luck is when an opportunity comes along and you’re prepared for it.” (Denzel Washington) [3]
[1] – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lefty_Gomez
[2] – http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/luck
[3] – http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/luck.html
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