10 Lessons to Learn from Women’s World Cup Soccer 2015 and the Final Match with USA and Japan

10 Lessons to Learn from Women’s World Cup Soccer 2015 and the Final Match with USA and Japan 

Sporting events teach us some great lessons in life. Here are 10 lessons to learn from US WNT 2015.

But wait !!! If you live in the USA, you probably will NOT qualify to…

Qualify to what … ? Only a handful of  people in the USA will qualify to read and understand this blog.

Here are the Five (5) Requirements to Qualify to …

… to read and benefit from this blog.
  1. Ya gotta know International Futbol (called soccer by the peeps of the USA).
  2. Ya gotta love Women’s World Cup Soccer.
  3. You must have watched all seven (7) of USA World Cup Matches, especially
  4. The entire Final Match of Women’s World Cup Soccer 2105 – USA v Japan.
  5. And most of all, ya gotta believe.
USWNT 2015 - ya gotta believe
USWNT 2015 – i believe that we will win – click the pic to see… Carli’s Magical GOAL !

If you do NOT qualify on all five points,

… you have not earned the right to understand this blog.

So just share it with a friend to see if they qualify. On all five points.

Sporting events are great teachers for the lessons of life.

Here Are the Ten [10] Lessons to …

… to learn from the World Cup Tournament and the Final Match of World Cup Soccer with USA and Japan. You will understand these 10 points if you were watching and “listening” to the matches.

Lesson # 1 – Here’s how to create…

… to create a stand alone and highly recognizable brand.
US WNT 2015 - No Maybes - Dominate with ExceLLence
No Maybes – Dominate with ExceLLence – click image to buy US Jersey

Dominate and show your excellence.

Just do it.
Then no one compares you to anything else.
USA futbol aficionados have now stopped comparing every match to 1999.
US WNT 2015 - Women's World Cup Soccer 2015
US WNT 1999 – Brandi Chastain – No More Comparing 
Or how close the USA came to victory four years ago. It is done. The USA dominated and made a worldwide statement.
Do it. Accept no maybes.
US WNT 2015 - WORLD CUP TROPHY
US WNT 2015 – a new level of excellence – ya gotta believe

Women’s World Cup Soccer 2015 has now defined…

… a new level of excellence. Here is the new brand of excellence – US WNT 2015.
Read about how US Women Shattered TV Ratings (23 million). Newer information says 25.4 million viewers watched the USA defeat Japan to win the Women’s World Cup title.
Ya gotta believe.

Lesson # 2 –  Once you have momentum,

… use it. When you survive the Group of Death, you start believing. They call it the Group of Death for a reason.

And when you defeat a giant like Germany,

… you can conquer the other Goliaths of the world.
Ya gotta believe.

Lesson # 3 –  When  you have a hungry closer …

US WNT 2015 - Women's World Cup Soccer 2015
Carli Lloyd – Unleash Her – Let Her Run Loose – click pic to see US tank top  jersey
… at your business or a hungry striker on your team, let her run loose.
  • Untethered.
  • Unleash her.
  • She just might have a world record hat trick in her untapped arsenal. Ya never know. Ya gotta believe.

Lesson # 4 –  When it’s game time, be fast

… and furious. Score early and score often. The so-called Giants are beatable. Ask Carli Lloyd for clarification on this point.
Ya gotta believe.

Lesson # 5 –  After you get your world record

… your world record hat trick, just keep firing. Raise the bar for the next world record.
Why ? Hey, this needs no explanation.
Ya gotta believe.

Lesson # 6 –  When you have just won

.. the game of your life – when you have won the ultimate victory, good for you. But wait !!! You now have more to do.

This is the time for some humility.

  • Acknowledge your trainers, your parents, your support system – who have all sacrificed more than you have.
  • Respect the pioneers who led the way.
  • Put your pioneers in the front and center to lift the trophy. The trophy that they – NOT YOU – rightfully earned.

The pioneers (and your team’s defenders) have spent

US WNT 2015 - Julie Johnston - defense wins championships
Julie Johnston – defense wins championships – click her pic to see Julie’s Facebook page

… have spent more time earning that coveted trophy than you – even if you did score the goals.
  • You did NOT get there on your own.
  • You are standing on the shoulders of your worn and torn pioneers.
  • Even if they are sitting in the stands or on the bench today.

Lesson # 7 –  Celebrate your unsung heroes

… unsung heroes -like  Morgan Brian. Honor your play makers – even if others do not. Especially when others do not. In fact, honor your play makers more than your goal scorers.
The people who really understand the game – the people who really matter – know who the play makers are. Those who create the opportunities for you to score. 
Morgan Brian allowed Holiday and Lloyd to combine for four goals. Allowed is the operative word. That is, created opportunities for others to score.
Meghan Klingenberg - StreetFighter and US Defender - US WNT 2015
Meghan Klingenberg – StreetFighter and US Defender
And the tireless defenders who kept the team in the game. By making the other team pay for every inch of artificial turf trespassed with their blood. And sweat. And tears. And then more blood.

Lesson # 8 – Coaching Matters.

US WNT 2015 Jill Ellis - coaching matters
Jill Ellis – Yes, Coaching DOES matter.
Yes, coaching does matter. As the tournament progressed, so did the USA. Was this just luck ?
Luck, no. The team and the coach progressed – strategically and intentionally. With a great coaching plan. 
Luck ? Winners do not believe in luck. Winners just grind and then grind some more. Winners create their own luck. Losers create excuses.

Coaching Matters.

A lot. More than players will admit. Not everyone in the USA agreed with the coaching strategies of Jill Ellis. What ? One of the world’s leading goal scorers was sitting on the bench.
But coach Jill Ellis had coaching integrity. Doing what was right for the team – regardless of what others were thinking and saying.
US WNT 2015 World Cup Soccer
No room for whiners. ONLY WINNERS. Click pic to see “divers and cheaters” 
And no players were whining.
There’s no room for whiners on a winning team.
US WNT 2015 - Hope Solo
Hope Wears the # 1 for a Reason – Hope Works Solo Sometimes – click pic for more HOPE !

And if you have the world’s best goalkeeper,

… use her – regardless. She can “ice” the world’s best PK shooter by just being herself – and she can do it Solo. When it matters. Coaching matters. Ya gotta believe.
Solo vs Sasic of Germany - solo iced sasic
Solo iced Celia Sasic – a near perfect PK shooter – click pic for details

Lesson # 9 –   Ya gotta peak

… at the right time – at exactly the right time. US WNT’s first matches in the group stage were definitely underwhelming.

US WNT 2015 - Megan Rapinoe - peak at the righ time
Megan Rapinoe – ya gotta peak at the RIGHT time – CLICK PIC for MORE Megan

Do you expect your employees

… to give their peak performance all the time every day? If you do, then you don’t know much about performance.
Ask the performance experts. I don’t have the time nor the patience to explain this one to you. Ya gotta believe. Believe me.

Lesson # 10 –  Cheesy Slogans Still Work.

  • Yes, believe.
  • I believe…
  • I believe that…
  • I believe. Do you ?

Your opinion matters. Comment below. 


fun things to do for kids this summer
Your coMMents maTTer…

At what point (which game, which play) did you start believing in the US WNT 2015 ? Comment below.

I’ll start. I starting believing in match # 5 (?) – the (?) quarterfinal match – USA v Germany – when Hope Solo, the US Goalkeeper, “iced” Germany’s Celia Sasic on a critical PK. Up to this point, Germany had been nearly perfect in PK’s. And Solo’s antics and mind game literally jumbled the neurons in the mind of Germany’s Sasic to the point where Sasic missed the entire goal. Only Hope Solo could do this. Incredible. At that point, ya just gotta believe.

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