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Life Lessons From Losing

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Kayla Bashore Smedley is a former U.S. National Field Hockey team member, who played for Indiana University and competed in two Olympic Games.

Kayla believes that youth athletes can learn a lot from losing, and she encourages coaches, parents, and athletes themselves to consider and value those lessons. She shares here her experiences from the 2008 Olympics. Losing was especially difficult to accept after all of the training that went in to preparing for the Games. But, she remained positive and gained a lot, because losing provided her a space for growth and learning.