Denying The Bully

I’ve got two regrets from high school—never trying out for wrestling or tennis. I ran track and cross country, gave it everything, but was a solid “B” athlete. Looking back, I believe I could’ve been good at both sports—wrestling and tennis—if I had given them the shot.

Years later, I watched this play out through our son Mitchell.

He loved tennis. By high school, he made 2nd team doubles varsity—but his partner was a bully. He pushed Mitch to cheat on line calls and tore into him when he missed. Mitch refused to compromise his integrity and took the emotional hits.

It got to the point where he sat on the counter at home, frustrated and stuck.

The hard part? The coach was the bully’s dad.

Mitch made a decision—he went to the coach and said, “I can’t play with your son,” and explained why. No drama. Just honesty.

The outcome? He got bumped down to JV.

But here’s what mattered—he had fun again. He kept improving. Moved to 2nd singles, then 1st doubles—right where he belonged.

What stood out most wasn’t his performance—it was his courage. He chose integrity over comfort, knowing it might cost him.

So here’s the question:

What are you holding back on? What hard conversations are you avoiding? Where do you need to choose courage over comfort?

As Mark Twain said, “Doubt is a traitor that makes us lose the good we might win.”

Go do the next hard thing.