WRITTEN BY

Kelli L. Hicks
 Level: M Word Count: 346 Words
100th word: before page 8

Area
Content Building Background
lar y:
Vocabu Knowledge
do
d t h e li st. What
Rea s mean?
w o r d Before reading a book, it is important to tap into what
these your child or students already know about the topic.
nship This will help them develop their vocabulary, increase
champio their reading comprehension, and make connections
defeat across the curriculum.
s
emotion
honor 1. Look at the cover of the book.
nity What will this book be about?
opportu
privilege 2. What do you already know about the topic?

respect 3. Let’s study the Table of Contents.

nship
sportsma What will you learn about in the book’s chapters?

team 4. What would you like to learn about this topic?

victor y Do you think you might learn about it from this
book? Why or why not?

5. Use a reading journal to write about your

knowledge of this topic. Record what you already
know about the topic and what you hope to
learn about the topic.

6. Read the book.

7. In your reading journal, record what you learned

about the topic and your response to the book.

8. Complete the activities at the end of the book.

Written by Kelli L. Hicks

Content Consultant
Taylor K. Barton, LPC
School Counselor

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Library of Congress PCN Data

Dealing with Defeat / Kelli L. Hicks

(Social Skills)
ISBN 978-1-62169-902-6 (hard cover) (alk. paper)
ISBN 978-1-62169-797-8 (soft cover)
ISBN 978-1-62717-008-6 (e-Book)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2013937297

Rourke Educational Media

Printed in the United States of America,
North Mankato, Minnesota
Also Available as:

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 Table of Contents
Win or Lose...........................................................4

What Now?............................................................8

Learn From Loss.................................................12

A Winning Attitude...............................................18

Glossary..............................................................23

Index....................................................................24

Websites to Visit..................................................24

About the Author.................................................24

 Win or Lose

It’s the final moments of the game. Your team needs

one goal to make it to the championship tournament.
Your teammate dribbles the ball past the defender and
towards the goal. She pulls her foot back, eyes the
back of the net, and kicks with all her might.
4
5
 It looks good, then uh oh! The ball sails over the
top of the goal. The whistle blows to end the game.
How do you deal with defeat?

6
7
 What Now?

It can be really disappointing to lose, but stay in

control of your emotions and be calm. Give yourself
some time to think before you overreact.

8
Dealing with defeat is sometimes necessary outside
the world of sports. Have you been a part of an
election? Your posters were colorful and your speech
told everyone of your good ideas, but someone else
became the class president. It can be disappointing,
but you can still find a way to help out at your school.

9
 Recognize it for what it is…a defeat. It is a loss that
might make you sad. It might even make you angry. But
remember, everybody has to handle defeat at one time or
another in their lives. It is impossible to win every time.
10
“Sportsmanship
for me is when
tell whether he w a guy walks off
on or lost, when the court and y
he ou really can’t
American Tenn c a rries himself wit
is Great Jim Co h pride either w
urier ay.” —

11
 Learn From Loss
See defeat as a learning
opportunity. Recognize what
went wrong, and refocus your
energy so you can fix the
problem. If you figure out what
happened, you can prevent it
from happening again.

Did you know that many authors’

stories are rejected repeatedly
before they get published? A
Wrinkle in Time author Madeleine
L’Engle was turned down 29 times
before her book was published.
Even Beatrix Potter and Dr. Seuss
faced the disappointment of defeat
Madeleine L’Engle by having their stories rejected, too.

12
Professional athlete
s watch videos from
their games. They
study
their plays and look for
ways to do better in the
next game.

13
 Avoid making excuses and try not to place blame.
Be sure to focus on the positive things that happened
in the game and confirm what you and your team did
well. Celebrate the things you have learned to do or the
things that you are now doing better than before.
14
It is important to look back at how you played
your game and decide if you played well.
Ask yourself these questions. Did I follow my
coach’s instructions? Were my teammates able
to trust and rely on me? Am I proud of the effort
I put forth? When you determine what you did
well, you can come up with a plan for how to
prepare for the next game.

15
 Defeat is temporary. Figure out a plan for what
to do the next time. Don’t let the loss define who you
are. Shake it off and move on. Part of moving on is
planning for the future. What can you do to improve?
Practice, of course!
16
Every person who is pa
rt of a team can help make
the team better.

17
 A Winning
Attitude

Defeat is part of the process of learning your sport

and understanding what to do to improve. Listen to your
coaches and practice. You’ll do better next time.
18
Jim Abbott knows how to overcome
obstacles. He was born in 1967 without
a right hand. Despite his disability, Jim
learned to play baseball and became a
pitcher for the University of Michigan. He
later played in the major leagues from
1989-1999. Jim worked hard and dedicated
himself to his sport. He said, “I worked very
hard. I felt I could play the game. The only
thing that could stop me was myself.”

19
 Be a good sport. The opportunity to play sports is a
privilege. Honor and respect the game you play. Most
importantly, respect yourself, your team, and the other
players.

True In School
If you lose a competition in
school, the same advice applies.
Be a good sport. Show respect
for yourself and for others.Think
of how well you did and what
you can do better on the next
time. Congratulate the winner.

20
 Congratulate the w
inning team.
Tell the winning team
they played well.

21
 Learn from defeat. Trust in your teammates,
and remember victory is in your future!

22
Glossary
blame (BLAME): to find fault with or hold responsible
championship (CHAM-pee-uhn-ship): a contest or final game
that determines which team is the overall winner
defeat (di-FEET): the act of being bested, losing
emotions (i-MOH-shuhnz): strong feelings
honor (AH-nur): to show great respect
impossible (im-PAH-suh-buhl): not able to happen
temporary (TEM-puh-rer-ee): not permanent, lasting for only a
short time
victory (VIK-tur-ee): overcoming an opponent

23
 Index
blame 14 practice 16, 18
defeat 6, 9, 10, 12, sport(s) 9, 18, 19, 20
16, 18, 22 teammates 15, 22
emotions 8 trust 15, 22
excuses 14 victory 22
honor 20

Websites To Visit
www.sikids.com
www.nflrush.com
www.exploratorium.edu/explore/staff_picks/sports_science

About the Author

Kelli Hicks is a teacher and author who lives
in Tampa, Florida, with her husband, her
daughter Mackenzie, her son Barrett, and her
golden retriever Gingerbread. Kelli is a soccer
coach who knows all about the excitement
of winning and the sorrow of defeat. She
learns every week from her girls how to work
as a team and how to support each other to
overcome defeat. Go Rangers!

Meet The Author!

www.meetREMauthors.com

24
Comprehension and Extension Activities
After reading the book, work on the following questions with your child or students
in order to check their level of reading comprehension and content mastery.

1. Why might it be impossible to win every time?

2. How should you act if you win?

3. How should you act if you lose?

4. Why is it important to show respect for others and the sport?

5. What might you learn from losing?

Extension Activity
Create a sportsmanship award for your team or classroom. Write about what
someone did that demonstrated good sportsmanship.
 Have you ever faced a challenging situation?
Have you or your team lost a game? It can be really
disappointing to lose, but stay in control of your
emotions and be calm. Recognize what went wrong and
refocus your energy. Learn from loss and move on. This
title will allow students to ask and answer questions to
demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly
to the text as the basis for the answers.

Books In This Series:

Dealing with Dealing with Respecting Skills for Skills for

Bullies Defeat Diversity School Success Social Success

Social Media Winning by Winning by Winning by Winning by

and the Internet Giving Teamwork Waiting Working

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