Oklahoma suffered the worst loss in Women's College World Series Championship history last Monday night. The worst part was OU's expectations going into the series were sky high. They only lost 2 games all year. They had a 41-game winning streak, the longest single season streak ever. The team was top 5 in every major statistical category. Some commentators thought this could be an all-time great team. UCLA then beat them by 13 runs. One possible response would be to give up on game 2 the following night. In the first inning of game 2, UCLA hit 2 more home runs. Everyone thought another rout was on, but then OU played with every ounce of grit they could muster. They lost in the bottom of the last inning, but not before tying the game with a 2 out home run in the top of the inning. Even in defeat, Coach Gasso said game 2 was one of the most impressive performances due to the circumstances. Players said they flushed the defeat and fought the next game. Law students need a similar mentality.
Spring semester grades will roll out any moment. Some students will feel major defeat. Defeat they never experienced before, or at least not before 1st semester grades released. The rout could be on. Getting down and resigning to continued struggles or frustration is a natural and easy response. Our students have high expectations, so they could get especially down.
The OU response is informative. Flushing the bad experience may be the best way to help our students. Flushing it doesn't mean ignore everything that happened. Students should still analyze study habits, determine what happened in particular classes, and make adjustments. OU adjusted their hitting and pitching strategy for game 2. Ignoring the result isn't the answer. Coach Gasso talked about how they trusted the process. Encouraging students to make adjustments and trust the process is critical. I meet with students every semester that second guess everything. They wonder if they should have studied differently or completed a different practice question. Second guessing doesn't help. They have to trust the process. Help students work through a good plan and keep working with them to trust it.
Difficult results are right around the corner. Helping students flush those results and figure out the changes to fight next semester is the goal. The summer may not be the perfect time to reach out and meet with students, but we also can't wait until the defeat is completely gone. Help students use the experience to fight through next semester.
(Steven Foster)
