The basketball phenomenon, better known as March Madness, always brings back memories of growing up in Chester, South Dakota. Particularly, the advice of one coach.

"Don't practice until you get it right, practice until you can't get it wrong."

Every March, without fail, I always think back to that one particular day when Coach Swier challenged all of us with those words during a routine practice.

I'll be the first to admit that back in my "high school days" I wasn't much for taking advice to heart. After all, I was a teenager - and teenagers know everything, right?

But that one particular day, when Coach Swier said those words, for some reason it really hit home - practice until you can't get it wrong.

When you think about it, that little bit of wisdom can be applied to not just sports but anything one chooses to do - music, dance, you name it.

It's funny how certain little life experiences stay with a person. I'm quite sure Coach Swier had no idea that what he had to say that day I would be writing about in 2017.

Actually, now that I think about it though, that pretty much defines life in general - a culmination of experiences and lessons learned while growing old.

Why did what a coach had to say back in 1978 stick with me all these years? All I can figure is it must've been a time in my life when I needed to hear what he had to say.

And from that point on, that's been my motto when it comes to both work and play - practice until you can't get it wrong.

So the next time you hear someone complain about having to practice, quote Coach Swier. Who knows, maybe 39 years later they'll be writing about what you had to say.


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