"The greatest test of courage on earth is to bear
defeat without losing heart." - Robert Green Ingersoll
By Bob Weaver
There was great sadness in the huddle Saturday following Calhoun's loss in a Class-A playoff game with Moorefield.
Fortunately, feelings are not facts, they are just feelings.
It is a paradox in life, that losing is sometimes winning.
A lesson not likely understood by the young men on the Red Devil football team after they went down to defeat.
They will understand that lesson much later in life.
When the dust settles, what will matter most will be the words their coaches spoke from their heart within the huddle.
In competition and in life, how one handles losing and moves ahead is life's great challenge.
 Coach Sterns expressed his sorrow after a hard fought game, speaking eloquently about the lessons of defeat
Referring to himself and the other coaches, Sterns (right) said "It has been our privilege working with such a wonderful bunch of young men."
"You have been truly blessed to have great families and a great community in this small county to give you wonderful support."
Sterns said he shared in the sorrow of losing the game, but life has many ups and downs, and dealing with each and every one of them is what winning is really about.
The coaching staff offered words of gratitude and encouragement to the players and their families for "a job well done."
In the really big game, it has been said that losing a battle could very well mean winning the war.
Richard Bach wrote in his novel "Jonathan Livingston Seagull" - "It is not whether we lose the game, but how we lose and how we've changed because of it and what we take away from it that we never had before ... Losing, in a curious way, is winning."
The Calhoun Red Devils are a bunch of REAL winners, and so are the dedicated coaches who have led them.
Thanks for a great season
 | 
