As an AD, I often hear people say, “Winning is not important.” I disagree. Winning is important, but the journey required to become a winner is even more important. The goal is to maximize an athlete’s talent through adversity while teaching resilience, discipline, and accountability. Losing should hurt, because standards matter. But every loss should become one step closer to winning. If we tell athletes winning is not important, we are not preparing them for life. The pursuit of winning teaches lessons that last far beyond the scoreboard.