This story initially appeared on Behind the Whistle, the official blog of the IWLCA, and is being republished with permission from the organization. Emily Parros is an assistant coach at North Carolina and a member of the U.S. women's national team.

If you mention the word “COVID” to a coach, there’s an immediate negative reaction, followed by a little trip down memory lane filled with PTSD from having a season ripped out from underneath us. While we all blissfully hoped that in 2021 we would have moved on from the pandemic, we are still very much in the fight and greatly impacted by this virus.

It is shaping our practices, our game schedules, our rosters, and our travel with very little permanence to any of it. How do we move forward and how do we continue to build a team with all of the unknowns? Simply put, we plow ahead.

No one could have predicted our very first game of the season would be canceled, and we would be scrambling around trying to find a replacement at the last minute. One of the most underrated aspects of this job is when you have a flexible staff and an adaptable team (shoutout to Jenny Levy and Phil Barnes). “Going with the flow” has never been more important than this year, and the ability to avoid getting caught up in small details that don’t matter in the end is what will get us to the finish line.

Some of the greatest teams in history faced extreme adversity over their seasons. Think about MJ and the Bulls (if you haven’t watched the documentary, what were you even doing during quarantine?), the 1980 Olympic hockey team and so many more. As Nick Saban says, “One thing about championship teams is that they’re resilient. No matter what is thrown at them, no matter how deep the hole, they find a way to bounce back and overcome adversity.” The “hole” could be losing a game, losing your best player(s) for the next three games, being down a coach ... we’ve all played the “what if” game in the office.

If we’ve all learned one word over the past year, it is flexibility. In order to create that flexibility, we need approach everything with gratitude. Our ability to maintain gratefulness is imperative to our sanity this season. The reality of this year for our players is that anyone and everyone could be playing on game day, which only magnifies the importance of each player needing to do their part to get better and compete at the highest level they are capable of. It is about shifting the mindset from “we have to” over to “we get to.” Every day is an opportunity, and that is all you’re guaranteed.

If you can keep that perspective, you can play in the moment, you can compete in the moment and you can grow on a daily basis. Although it is always easier said than done, those who do it best will see the greatest growth.