When I think of miracles, my mind always goes to the story of the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey team. Even if you’re not a hockey fan, you can probably appreciate this incredible story. The American hockey team was composed of a bunch of college kids. They had little hope of defeating the mighty Soviets. But in the final seconds of the U.S. vs. Soviets game, the Americans took down the mighty Soviet team and won the opportunity to play Finland. In the final game against Finland, the U.S. team won the gold medal. The quote, “Do you believe in miracles?” was made famous by the sports announcer, Al Michaels, as he called this exciting moment.
While winning the gold medal was truly a miracle, it didn’t happen by chance. It happened because Herb Brooks, the coach of this dream team, believed it, visualized it, and took the action and hard work necessary to make the dream a reality. Along the way, he built a team of believers from assistant coaches to the players themselves. He didn’t quit, no matter what! Coaches aren’t the only miracle makers. Teachers and parents are miracle makers too. Creating miracles in students requires unwavering belief and extraordinary effort. You must believe in your students and children until they are able to believe in themselves. It’s not easy. To build winning teams like Brooks, you need to apply Hal Elrod’s formula: an unfailing belief in the potential outcome + extraordinary effort = a miracle. I believe in miracles. Do you?
Elrod, H. (2019).The miracle equation. New York: Random House Large Print.
Photo from Team USA/USA Hockey website.