There’s a buzz in the air…. it’s Fall playoff season!

It’s electric, but it can also be brutal. Only one team will end their season with a win. The rest will finish with a heartbreaking loss.

Having made the playoffs and won many playoff games but never a national championship as a coach or a player.  I know this all too well.

That conversation after a season-ending playoff loss can be gut-wrenching. The silence in the locker room is deafening; heads down, gear still on because no one wants to take it off for the last time, the weight of months of work hanging in the air.

You go in believing you’ll win, because that’s what it takes to compete at a high level. So when the loss comes, it feels like being blindsided. You’ve spent months chasing the dream, and in one night, it’s gone. It feels like the whole season was a failure. That’s a hard pivot for any competitor.

But here’s the truth: your season, your career, your identity as a player isn’t built in one game.

It’s created by the countless moments that came before it; the early mornings, the extra reps, the times you showed up when no one was watching. The relationships you built. The improvements you fought for.

That’s what lasts. That’s what carries beyond the court, the field, the track.

And while it feels like failure in the moment, trust me, it’s not.In sports, and in life, the ending rarely looks perfect. But the habits, resilience, and leadership you developed along the way?

Those are yours forever.

I’ve stood in that locker room after heartbreaking losses, searching for the right words. Sometimes I nailed it, sometimes I didn’t. What I’ve learned is this: the pain is real, but so is the growth. And while it doesn’t erase the sting, time and perspective will.

The truth is, this isn’t just about athletes. Every career has chapters that don’t end the way we hoped: a lost job, a missed promotion, a business setback. The same is true for life.

So if your season just ended or if you’re closing a chapter in your career or life, take a breath. Reflect. Celebrate the work, not just the result. Reflection helps us see what we’ve learned, how we’ve grown, and what we want to carry into the next adventure.

What’s one lesson from your season that you’ll take into your next chapter?

Because the real win is what you carry forward.