Sports build good habits, confidence, and discipline. They make

Hear, O children of tomorrow, the words of Julie Foudy, champion of the world’s game and leader upon the field: “Sports build good habits, confidence, and discipline. They make players into community leaders and teach them how to strive for a goal, handle mistakes, and cherish growth opportunities.” These words are not the idle flattery of play, but the solemn truth of one who has walked the long road of training, sacrifice, and triumph. For she speaks not only of games, but of the shaping of souls, of the hidden forge where character is hammered and refined.

The first wisdom here lies in good habits, confidence, and discipline. Sports, in their essence, are schools of repetition. The athlete rises before dawn, trains until weary, learns to master both body and mind. These repeated acts, small in themselves, become the roots of great strength. For just as the oak grows from the daily drawing of water, so too does character grow from the daily habits of diligence and self-control. In this way, sport is no mere pastime but a sacred practice, an education of body and spirit.

But beyond the self, sports call forth the power of leadership. On the field, no player stands alone. The striker depends on the defender, the runner on the team’s pace, the victory on the unity of many hearts. Those who learn to guide their teammates with humility and courage are later prepared to guide communities, nations, even the world. Foudy herself embodied this truth, rising not only as a player, but as a captain of the U.S. Women’s National Team, leading her peers in triumph and in advocacy for equality. Thus, sport is not only training for the body, but apprenticeship for leadership.

She speaks also of the sacred art of striving for a goal. In sport, goals are visible: the finish line, the net, the scoreboard. Yet they are more than markers of victory—they are mirrors of life itself. To strive toward them teaches the soul to aim beyond itself, to reach higher than comfort, to persist even when failure comes. And failure does come, as she reminds us. Sport teaches how to handle mistakes, how to fall without despair, how to rise again with fiercer resolve. This lesson is one of the greatest treasures of sport: that failure is not the end, but the teacher of resilience.

Consider the tale of Michael Jordan, cut from his high school team, who could have surrendered to shame. Instead, he returned to the court with relentless determination, shaping himself into one of the greatest athletes the world has ever known. His story embodies Foudy’s wisdom: mistakes and setbacks are not chains, but opportunities to grow stronger, if only we embrace them with courage. So too must all of us, in our own battles, learn to stumble and yet continue forward.

The final jewel in her words is the call to cherish growth opportunities. For the true gift of sport is not trophies or applause, but the unseen transformation of the soul. Each match, each practice, each defeat and each triumph, are opportunities for growth—moments that sculpt patience, humility, courage, and perseverance. The athlete who learns to treasure these moments, rather than merely the victory, discovers the true reward: the building of a life rich in wisdom and strength.

Therefore, O listeners of tomorrow, let Julie Foudy’s words be your guide: do not see sport—or any labor of passion—as a mere game, but as a mirror of life. Build your habits with care, stand tall in confidence, embrace discipline, and learn to rise as a leader. Strive for your goals, endure your mistakes, and above all, cherish the growth that every trial brings. For in this way, whether you hold a ball, a pen, or a plow, you will live as an athlete of the spirit, and your life will be crowned not only with victories, but with greatness.

So let it be spoken, so let it be remembered: sport is the school of life. And all who train their hearts within it may one day rise, not only as players, but as leaders, teachers, and heroes of their time.