At White Oak, we want our program to provide each of our players with the opportunity to be successful. People define success in many different ways so it is important that everyone in our program understand our definition.  Success is the peace of mind which comes as a direct result of the self-satisfaction of knowing you maximized the gifts and talents that God has given you in preparation for fulfilling His purpose for your life. It is by this definition of success that we measure our accomplishments…the White Oak way.

Goals are important, but it’s also important to understand that people are not defined by their goals and whether or not they reach them.  Therefore, it is crucial to understand the difference between “purpose” and “goals” and how these two distinctly different concepts apply toward measuring our success.  Basically, our goals define what we do  and our purpose defines who we are.  Consequently, there is a difference between winning and success.

Winning is a consequence of achieving a goal and for competitors there are very few emotions that compare to the elation that comes with the thrill of victory…..the feeling of knowing you were the best.  Many times winning is the result of dedicating and applying yourself to the same attributes that lead to success.   However, winning does not necessarily correlate to success.  Many individuals and teams have “won” championships by using various types of unethical or illegal tactics.  Some have been caught and stripped of the awards that acknowledge their achievements while others will live the rest of their lives knowing their victory was tainted.  Occasionally, championships are won or influenced by things totally beyond our control….injury to a member of your own team or the other team, a lucky shot at the end of a game, and sometimes purely because the other team just has more God gifted talent.  Winning is our goal and it is what we strive to do.  However, it does not measure our success or define who we are.

Our definition of success defines our purpose….this is who we are.  This definition of success requires individual evaluation and invokes a personal accountability system for everyone involved with our program while eliminating the external characterizations of success such as championship banners and trophies.  It concentrates on the journey…..the process of relentlessly exhibiting the characteristics which allow you to maximize the opportunity for meeting your goals while assuring that you accomplish your purpose.  This is the White Oak way.