Basketball on the Edge – The Difference Between a Winner and a Loser – Vintage Edition

What is the difference between a winner and a loser? The characteristics of a winner listed here apply not just to basketball but to life.

Read this list together with your child and discuss what each statement means. Try to think of real life situations inside and outside of basketball where these principals might apply. Make the list a teachable moment. Print out the list and have your young player tape it to the mirror in their bathroom so they see it every day when they wake up. Help them develop the mindset of a winner!

20 Ways to Tell a Winner

1. Winners first want to win!

2. A winner says, “Let’s find out”; a loser says, “Nobody knows.”

3. When a winner makes a mistake he says, “I was wrong”; when a loser makes a mistake he says, “It wasn’t my fault.”

4. A winner goes through a problem; a loser goes around it and never gets past it.

5. A winner makes commitments; a loser makes promises.

6. A winner says,” I’m good, but not as good as I ought to be”; a loser says, “I’m not as bad as a lot of other people.”

7. A winner tries to learn from those who are better than him, a loser tries to tear them down.

8. A winner says, “There ought to be a better way to do it”; a loser says, “That’s the way it’s always been done.”

9. A winner listens and learns; a loser talks about what she’s going to do.

10. A winner asks questions and listens to the answers; a loser never listens.

11. A winner discusses opportunities; a loser complains about problems.

12. A winner welcomes taking a risk to meet a challenge; a loser won’t take a risk.

13. A winner repeats behavior that works and avoids behavior that doesn’t work; a loser repeats behavior because he is comfortable with it.

14. A winner has plans and goals that can be measured; a loser hates measurements.

15. A winner is extremely loyal; a loser doesn’t know the meaning of the word loyalty.

16. A winner keeps statistics; a loser doesn’t want statistics.

17. A winner sets goals daily; a loser doesn’t want to know what goals are.

18. A winner works harder than a loser, and has more time; a loser is always “too busy’ to do what is necessary.

19. A winner isn’t nearly as afraid of losing as a loser is secretly afraid of winning.

20. A winner knows what to fight for and what to compromise on, a loser compromises on what she shouldn’t, and fights for what isn’t worthwhile.

Which one will you choose to be?

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