Soccer Life Lessons.

Sometimes, the important things in life can get hidden behind fear.

This weekend, again, I relearned a few life lessons.

1) Courage comes in difference sizes. It can appear in a 5'2" frame, carried off the field of play with a serious fracture, or in a 5'7" frame who is hurt but refuses to leave her teammates, and every height in between.

2) Courage doesn't always mean confronting your fears head on, on time. Sometimes, it means coming back to be there for your team before it is too late.

3) Nothing -- exhaustion, superior numbers, seeing a friend rushed to hospital -- nothing is bigger than pure heart. Want to know the definition of team? Come watch Lightning play.

4) Nothing is more overwhelming than a bunch of 11-yr olds looking at you for direction. Trust personified.

5) You realize that even though some players may support Virginia Tech or Notre Dame or (God forbid) Duke, they are still angels in your book. After all, it is usually the parents who are making horrible mistakes. Not everybody is nice enough to be a Carolina fan.

Win or lose, these ladies have won my heart, and I am learning, at the very least, as much from them as they are learning from me.