I spent a lot of time at the skating rink growing up. That eventually led to me joining a speed skating team, something I’d long dreamed of doing. 

In preparing us for any race or meet we had, my coach Sam Johnson would always repeat the phrase “Skate through the line.” 

Most adults know what this means, but at the time I didn’t. 

When you line up next to someone with the intention to race, it’s natural to “let up” just before you cross the line. 

But Coach Sam had seen enough races in his life to know that the winners of the close ones always went to the skater who continued to skate through the line. 

Not to the line. 

Through the line.

Last week, the group of seventh grade homeschool kids that I’m blessed to tutor each week presented their science fair projects. 

It was the culmination of nearly two and a half months of work.

Coming into the final week of preparation, I had but one piece of advice for them: finish well. 

In fact, here’s a piece of what I wrote in my weekly parent email:

“Mandy and I were just talking about this last night – I don’t know one adult that I’ve talked to that doesn’t have memories surrounding their own science fair day, no matter how long ago it was! I might not remember my exact project, but I have lots of memories from that entire fiasco, I mean project.

That brings me to one very important point I’d like to highlight for you parents just as I have for the kids a few times now:

The Science Fair Project is really the first “BIG” project that these kids have worked on in their academic career. It’s the culmination of a lot of time, energy, sweat, tears (lots of tears??), frustration, and relief. I really want to implore you to help them bring this thing across the finish line next Tuesday. No matter how good or bad they feel about their project, an immense amount of value surrounding this entire thing is simply the completion of a big project. For this reason, next Tuesday should be an immense source of pride for them, not because they checked all the boxes perfectly, or have the best experiment, or anything like that. But simply because they finished the race.”

As dads, we see this play out all the time. Our kids start projects, sports, commitments—but the real lesson isn’t in starting, it’s in finishing well.

And if we’re honest, we’re no different. Whether it’s work, marriage, or parenting, we all face the temptation to “let up” just before the finish line. To settle instead of pushing through. Or we get distracted by the shiny new object.

But what if we made finishing well a standard in our homes? What if we modeled perseverance for our kids—not just in the big moments, but in the daily ones?

It’s worth reflecting on: Where in your life right now do you need to “skate through the line” instead of coasting to the end?

Hit reply and let me know—what’s an area where you’re recommitting to finishing well? I’d love to hear.

And yes, if you want to go to the skating rink, I’m your guy!