6 Tips for Returning Home After a Big Loss

Coming home after a tough loss is hard. Whether you lost a cheer competition or were cheering for a losing team, losing isn’t any fun. Sometimes your bus comes back to the school and no one is in the mood to hang out like you normally would after the game, or maybe you have to go to school the next day and you can still feel that disappointment in the air. Here are six tips for returning home after a major loss to keep you grounded and help you turn the loss into something that makes you better in the long run: Take responsibility. This isn’t to say that whatever went wrong or didn’t go right was your fault, but there’s always something you can do better. This is simultaneously one of the best and must frustrating things about sports. Even if someone else had the obvious mistake that cost you the game or competition, focus on what you can do to better yourself and the team. Don’t blame the refs, judges, coaches, teammates, weather, etc. What’s done is done and placing blame is only going to make it harder to bounce back from the defeat. source Don’t take it out on each other. Just like you shouldn’t blame your teammates, you should also avoid letting your mood affect your teammates. The way you treat each other has nothing to do with the outcome of events. It has everything to do with the fact that you are on a team and whatever happens, you are in it together. source Don’t take it out on your family and friends. It is OK to be sad and disappointed, but it is not OK to let your feelings about a game or competition come out in how you treat your family and friends. This loss has nothing to do with your little sister, so don’t yell at her for something insignificant just because you are grouchy. It also has nothing to do with your parents, so appreciate their interest and support instead of pushing them away. These people are your support group” “let them help you! source Talk about it as a team. Sort it out and figure out what went wrong and what went right. The only thing that would make this loss totally unacceptable is if your effort wasn’t 100 percent. source Make a plan. What steps can you take to make sure you do better next time? source Get to work. Now that you have your plan, get on it! source What helps your team recover from a big loss at a game or competition?