On February 29th, Leap Day, we had the pleasure of filming with the University of North Carolina Women’s Soccer Team. UNC Soccer has an incredible history of winning– over the last 36 years they have won 22 NCAA national championships. While filming practice that day, we got to witness first-hand the speed, strength, and grit of these champions.

Clockwise from left: Center midfielder Joanna Boyles; Coach Anson Dorrance; Poetry in America Producer Leah Reis-Dennis; Elisa New; Center midfielder Darcy McFarlane

After practice, we had the student athletes and their coach, Anson Dorrance, discuss the poem “Glad” by Coleman Barks. It was fascinating to have a championship team discussing a poem in which a team loses a game 10 to zip.

Later in the day we were joined by researcher and MacArthur Genius award winner Angela Lee Duckworth. Her work looks into “Grit,” a characteristic of successful people defined by passion and perseverance for long-term goals– a characteristic that we might argue is exemplified by both the study of poetry and the elite athletes of soccer.

Angela Duckworth discusses Grit and “Glad”

Together, Duckworth, Coach Dorrance, and Elisa New explored the protagonist of “Glad”– does this young athlete have grit? Can feeling “glad” after a loss coexist with grittiness? What do you think? We’d love to hear from you.

-Steven