By R. Vincent Tupaz
For Variety

AHH, a fresh slate for all of us.
New Years are always a great time to contemplate, reflect and resolve to do better than before And though we may fail, we should try and try again until we reach success.
Practice is trying, training and learning to do. Perfecting the art or craft of a skill. Athletes know better than most that practice makes almost perfect and almost perfect makes a winner in any sport. But in order to become the very best in competition, it will always be a TEAM effort and I think I’ve shared with you all before that the Acronym for TEAM is “Together Everyone Achieves More.
Even solo-athletes must rely on trainers, managers and so on for success. A team relies on every member’s contribution, small or grand. Each and every person on a team has his or hers responsibility and each should do their very best to ensure success for all.
In the Spring of 1992, I traveled to Japan with the Guam Community College Tradesmen coached by Joey Munoz and Ron Camacho for an exhibition game against Kansai University in Osaka. What our team saw astonished us. About 19 of us were readying to go against some 100 players. And most of them had a specific position that they just practiced and practiced and practiced at until they were proficient. Now for my teammates and I on GCC team, this was a foreign and hard concept to grasp because we were used to iron-man football and damned be the player that didn’t know ho to play another’s position when called upon by Coach Munoz.
Anyhow I tell the story to illustrate that no matter how many on a team, success will not be had without every single member doing their part. Against the 100 Kaisers, the 19 or so of us Tradesmen were victorious. Not because we were better, or were more skillful than the competition, it was because we as a team fulfilled the mission of the day to play our best and beat our opponents and we practiced diligently before we left the island.
Prior to that trip, we played in the Island’s Interscholastic Football League and were at about the halfway mark in success. I can tell you as a player and participant that we didn’t have the same disciplined or mentality as when we went to Japan as a team. We had so many other things we wanted to do and save a few, most of us were distracted with local happenings – i.e., a barbecue during practice time, a hot date or homework, there was a always an excuse.
But when we knew we were off to represent our island that March, just a couple of months after the IFL season, we focused, practiced and stated our intentions. And that was the difference between victory and defeat.
So as we all start the New Year with a resolution or two, vow to practice, practice and practice daily what we hope to fufill. In other words, be ever mindful of your stated intentions via reminders to do, and try and try again as we always do. Happy New Year Guåhan.
R. Vincent Tupaz is a former beat reporter for the Variety, journalism teacher, and entrepreneur and a “has been” football player and coach. Currently he’s an all around nice guy. Feedback, comments, and or suggestions are always appreciated via email at mvsports@gmail.com . Please send angry comments elsewhere.