The 2024-2025 boys JV soccer team is unlike any other team we have seen at Seven Hills! From the team’s hard work and discipline to their relentless determination and philosophy of the game and life in general, we can learn three main life lessons from this team that will help us succeed in life.

The first lesson that can be learned from this team has to do with balance. Understanding the concept of balance will give you an advantage in succeeding in sports and life.

First, let’s see how the concept of balance can help you succeed in sports. This concept may not seem related to sports, but when digging deeper, there is a strong connection between the two. According to the philosophy of super athlete Bruce Lee, in sports, there are techniques which are unnatural and instincts that are natural. In order to be successful in sports, athletes must have a combination and balance of both natural and unnaturalness, and then they will be in harmony and be successful in whatever sports they play. The coaches and the players within the boys JV soccer program have both implemented this concept, which has helped lead them to success this season. Junior defender Charles Dubay said, “The philosophy of balancing techniques and instincts have definitely made me a better player because almost 90% of the time, I am in balance and harmony when I play.”

Now, let’s see how you can apply the concept of balance to help you succeed in life. In life, make sure you have a healthy balance of all opposites. It doesn’t have to be exactly 50-50, but make sure you have a healthy balance of whatever opposites you are dealing with in life. “Mastering the concept of balance has not only helped me succeed on the field, but it has also helped me succeed off the field,” junior offender Thibaut Briquet said. “Whether it is opposites like happiness or sadness, eating too much or eating too little, etc., I know that the key most of the time is to have a healthy balance of all opposites in life.”

The next lesson that can be learned from this team is about mastering the mind. Almost everything in life comes down to a person’s mind, and mastering it can give the key to success in life and sports. First of all, understand what the mind actually is: thoughts and emotions.

Let’s get into how mastering your mind can lead to you being successful in sports. In sports, an athlete’s mind affects their physical performance and their perception of any situation at any given time. A coach who would rather not be named gives an example of this: “Imagine there are two players on the same team. They are losing the game 2-0. One player has negative thoughts and emotions about the game, and the other player has positive thoughts and emotions about the game. The player with positive thoughts and emotions ends up scoring a goal and the other player with the negative thoughts and emotions ends up giving up and does not score a goal. Two players with the same exact situation and the only difference between the outcome/result of their performance was their mind. This is why I teach my players to master their mind and how important your mind is.” Mastering their mind has led the team to major success. Freshman Jacob Dant said, “Mastering and understanding our minds have played a big part in our winning record and success this season.”

Now let’s get into how mastering your mind can lead you to success in your life. The team has implemented this concept and has led to them having major success on and off the field. Your mind creates your actions and your actions lead to your results and outcomes. If you want to change your results and outcomes in anything in life, you first have to change your mind. You also have to understand that your mind is how you see and perceive reality, and in order to change how you see and perceive reality, you have to change your mind. This has changed and affected player’s lives off the field in a positive way. Junior defender Elliot Domet said, “Off the field I also now understand why I get the results and outcomes in my life.”

The final lesson we can learn from this team is about kindness and empathy. Mastering the art of kindness and empathy can lead you to having success in sports and in life.

In sports, kindness and empathy is a huge key to being successful. Junior Felipe Valdivia said, “Kindness and empathy are a big part of being successful in sports because if you cannot show kindness and empathy towards your teammates, you will never be successful.” Without kindness and empathy, you will not be able to be on the same page as your teammates and cannot connect, grow and learn with them. The team has seen big success with implementing and practicing the concepts of kindness and compassion. Coach Byresis said, “I have seen and witnessed firsthand that the idea of kindness and empathy has definitely helped us win games, come out of tough situations, and overall helped us be successful this season.”

Finally let’s see how kindness and empathy can help you be successful in life. Super athlete and philosopher Bruce Lee said, “It is compassion rather than the principle of justice which can guard us against being unjust to our fellow men.” If you want to connect, learn, grow, and help others, you must have kindness and empathy. The idea of kindness and empathy has helped transform the players’ lives off the field. Junior Charles Dubay said, “I have seen a massive way in how I treat others and how I connect, grow, and learn from others since I have implemented the idea of empathy and kindness.”

These three concepts have helped the team not only win games and have a successful season but also have led them to become closer as a team and improve their lives as well. Freshman defender Jelani Lewis said, “Mastering and learning these concepts have helped me both be successful in soccer and in my life in general.”