The University of Connecticut Women’s Basketball Team has been the most dominant women’s basketball team in college basketball for the last 4yrs. Many would argue that no team has dominated their sport the was the UConn women have over the last 4yrs. Over the last 4yrs they have won 111 games straight and have won four consecutive NCAA championships.
This past Friday the UConn women played in their 10th consecutive NCAA Final Four Tournament and were chasing their 12th NCAA Championship. NBA great Kobe Bryant gave them some words of advice prior to the game. Bryant said, “I know 12 isn’t the magic number. The magic number is 1. . . Focus on the play that’s right in front of you and execute the way that UConn does.” The words spoken by Bryant are very true and without a doubt motivational. UConn however lost Friday night for the first time in 111 games. The streak was broken. Countless women’s basketball fans were shocked and in somewhat disbelief. Mississippi State’s Women’s Basketball team pulled off the seemingly impossible feat of beating women’s college basketball’s version of goliath. Mississippi State didn’t have some historic come from behind win after being down the entire game. No, Mississippi State actually jumped out to an early lead on UConn and fought hard to keep to keep the top-seeded UConn at bay until they could secure the upset.
So how did Mississippi State upset one of the most dominant sports team to ever exist? They came into the game knowing all they needed was “one.” Kobe Bryant gave the motivational message to the UConn women, but the Mississippi State women embodied it. UConn had not lost since November 17, 2014 and Mississippi State beat them because of the power of one. Mississippi State wasn’t fighting to keep a 2yr undefeated streak alive. They weren’t fighting for their 12th NCAA Championship. Mississippi State was fighting for just one win. Mississippi State came into the game with confidence and focus as evident by them jumping out to a 16 point lead in the first quarter and eventually leading by eight at halftime. UConn though having won the majority of their 111 games with ease still believed they would come back and win because they always had. UConn did come back and tie the game by the end of four quarters and the game went into overtime. Mississippi State did not get discouraged. They continued to believe they all they needed was “one.” They only needed one win and they knew that in order to get one win they needed to win one play at a time. It all boiled down to who could execute one play at a time enough times to come out with the victory in the end. In the end, Mississippi State was the team that was able to execute at least one more time than UConn and come away with a victory. It was one shot in overtime that won it all. Mississippi State knew that perhaps no one in the Country believed they could win, but they knew they only needed one person to believe; themselves.
Mississippi State went on to lose to South Carolina in the Women’s National Championship, but their game against the UConn women showed how any team can win on any given night when you embody executing on one thing at a time and you know that you don’t need anyone else to believe in you if you believe in you.
It’s imperative that we teach our young athletes’ the Power of One. They need to understand that success is about executing on one thing at a time and believing in you without worrying about what others think. Too many of our youth get discouraged and develop low self-esteem because of they’re worried about what others think of them. Let’s teach them to focus on themselves and what they’re doing in the moment. The Power of One not only applies to sports, but it also applies to life.
Almost all of us can remember a time in our lives when we worked really hard to get to reach a goal professionally or perhaps physically and felt great when we accomplished it. Reaching goals are some of the best feelings in the world. When the goals are big, the journey is typically harder and longer. It takes great determination and patience to achieve goals that take longer than expected. The end result of achieving the goals however usually feels better than expected.
When I was just 5yrs old I decided that I wanted to play in the NFL. I know there are millions of kids that say that, but I actually studied game film and did pushups and sit-ups religiously as if I was already in the NFL. I knew that there were some steps I had to take prior to the NFL and I was determined to do that. I succeeded in little league football and then I succeeded in high school football. The next step towards achieving my ultimate goal of playing in the NFL was to succeed in college football. I didn’t just want to play college football; I wanted to play Division 1 college football. I was recruited by numerous Division 1 football teams and I eventually decided to sign a letter of intent to play for Central Michigan University. I knew before I signed my letter of intent that I needed to be more than just another player on the team. I knew that I needed to be a starter if I ever expected to get a chance to play in the NFL. In the recruiting process, my soon to be coach told me that I would get every opportunity as a freshman to prove that I was ready to play and possibly start. I traveled to almost every away game as a freshman and dressed just in case they needed me to play, but I never did. Halfway through my sophomore year at Central Michigan however, I got my opportunity and from that day forward I was a starter.
My Senior year of college, the unexpected happened. My head coach abruptly quit and my teammates and I were faced with the challenge of impressing a new coach. I still ended up starting at linebacker for the third year in a row, but halfway through the season my coach decided to have me split time with a redshirt freshman so that he could get playing time. I couldn’t believe it. I had earned a starting position as a sophomore and now I’m splitting time with a redshirt sophomore. I felt as if I was promoted at the beginning of my career and now I was being demoted at the end of my career.
It took some time for me to get over my emotions and accept the fact that I had no choice but to share time with the young linebacker who was being groomed to take my place. I eventually realized that I had actually been promoted and not demoted. I may have been demoted in terms of my playing time, but I was promoted in terms of being given an opportunity to teach someone everything I knew so that they could step in after I left and be the leader for the defense. I also learned how to appreciate the game of football in an entirely new way. If you’re not careful, success can go to your head and you’ll stop working as hard as you did before you were successful. Somewhere along the way of becoming successful, I lost the work ethic that got me to the Division 1 level. My hunger wasn’t the same because I thought that I had already made it and the NFL was just the next stop on the train to success.
Losing playing time to someone younger than me was a demotion in terms of playing time, but it was a promotion in terms of a life lesson. I have to say that going from being demoted to promoted was one of my first real life lessons that prepared me for the real world. It was the beginning of me learning that it’s not all about me.
Many athletes start playing sports at a very young age. Some start as early as 5 or 6yrs old. You can drive past a park on any given Saturday and see numerous kids running around chasing a soccer ball or rounding the bases on a baseball field. In the fall you will undoubtedly see 100’s of kids tackling each other and scoring touchdowns on the football field. You’ll hear the coaches and parents on the sideline screaming words of encouragement and making coaching points. This is an exciting time, both for all involved. For some people, it’s the highlight of their week.
It is the highlight of the week for so many because of the countless hours that have gone into preparing for the game. It’s an opportunity for the parents’, coaches and athletes to see the fruit of their labor. You might not look forward to the labor, but everyone looks forward to the reward that comes from hard labor. Whether you look forward to it or not, most everyone acknowledges the positive mental and physical development that hard labor produces. Sports have always been considered a great tool for developing character in young children. Most people would say that it’s the discipline required to be successful in sports that has the biggest impact on the character development of young children and teenagers. I couldn’t agree more. I however wonder how much the tools acquired in sports actually translate over into the day-to-day lives of these athletes.
No matter how good an athlete is at their particular sport, there will come a day when their athletic career is over. Then, they will have to transition into life after sports. Many athletes struggle with this transition because they don’t understand how the tools learned in athletics apply to their day-to-day lives. What’s more, many athletes still playing sports don’t understand how to apply the principles learned in the respective sports to their life when they leave the practice of game throughout the week. Thus, we are guilty of developing athletes’ who are strong athletically, but weak when it comes to coping skills
Coping skills are tools we use to successfully overcome difficult times. Everybody has stressors, but athletes stressors are sometimes magnified because of the platform they stand on. The platform in and of itself can often times be a stressor. Money, fame and power are often seen as glamour’s, but they can also be a major source of stress for any athlete.
Earlier this month I was reading a story about NBA Basketball player Larry Sanders. Larry Sanders retired from the NBA after only 5yrs and released a five-minute video documenting his battle with mental health issues. Throughout his short NBA career, Sanders had various off-court issues. Sanders was quoted as saying, “I get put in certain situations now that I never did before–we all do–and we have to learn how to maneuver in those situations. There’s no book. There are no guidelines. There’s really not much guidance.” Perhaps it’s time to develop a book that serves as a guideline for athletes. Maybe we need to have guidance counselors in place for professional athletes. There are academic guidance counselors for high school and college students. It’s time to provide character guidance counselors in high schools, colleges and on the professional level.
We don’t just fall short in ignoring the development of an athletes’ mental health; we actually set them up for failure.
First and foremost we must define what bullying is. Webster Dictionary defines bullying as using superior strength or influnce to intimidate somone and/or to force somone to do what one wants. I’m not proud of it, but I must admit that there was a time in middle school and high school when I was a bullying. I can’t really explain why I did what I did other than that if made me feel important. For as long as I can remember, I’ve always had superior strength to the people I’ve been around and it has made it easy for me to exert my superiority. I do remember however a time when I played college football and one of the offensive lineman who was more than 3x my size dumped the watter cooler on my head after practice one day. He was team prankster and it was all in fun, but I was exteremly angry because I knew there wasn’t much I could do to get him back.
I was raised in a household with a large father who liked to yell when he wanted to get his point across. He didn’t have to be mad in order for him to feel the need to yell, but most people always assumed he was mad. My dad has a very powerful voice and it shocks those in his enviornment. I would liken his yell to that of a lion in the jungle. The lion isn’t the biggest or fastest animal in the jungle, but the lion does have the biggest roar. My dad also coached sports, mainly football and track throuhghout my childhood. I was talking with a childhood friend the other day and he asked me how my dad is doing. I told him that my father is doing well and then my friend began to talk about how he can still remember how my dad’s voice use to scare him when he played football for my dad. The strength of my dad’s voice could intimdate and/or force someone to do what he wants you to do, especially on the football field. I would however never say that my dad was a bully. He was a passionate motivatior. There is however a fine line between being a bully and being a passionate motivatior.
When does passionately motivating an athlete cross the line. It crosses the line when coaches begin to shame and/or call the athletes’ names. This type of coaching does nothing beneficial for the athlete. It can actually severely damage the athletes’ physical and emotional wellbeing. It’s important for coaches and parents to understand the inherent influence that coaches have over the athletes’ they coach. Most athletes’ look up to this coaches in a way that they sometimes don’t even look up to their parents. On different levels, many athletes’ spend more time with their coach than they do with their primary guardian. This type of time indicates that coaches play an intrical part in the emotional development of an athlete throughout their childhood and early adulthood. Coaches therefore have a moral obligation to choose their words carefully.
Unfortunately, many coaches try to morally justify their behavior. It’s not uncommon to hear coaches say, “all coaches do it” or “it’s making them tougher.” These types of responses are nothing more than excuses that attempt to minimize the coaches responsibility to communicate effectively at a level of excellence that will uplift the athlete and not tear them down. Coaches shouldn’t look to other coaches to excuse their own behavior. Coaches should instead look to set the gold standard for effective and empowering communication with their athletes’.
It is also imperative that parents’ donot remain silent if their child’s coach is tearing down the athletes’ self esteem. I can’t think of any reasonable parent who would leave their infant child in a daycare facility in which they know their baby is being physically abused. Why then would a parent leave their adolescent in a environment that is breaking their self esteem through emotional abuse. Parents’ must keep the lines of communication open with the coach. With open communication lines, it will be easier for the parent to talk with the coach if a problem ever arises. Sometimes it won’t be easy, but it will always be essential to the develop of the athlete. Passionate coaching does motivate and help when games. Bullying however is never beneficial. There’s a fine line and it’s imperative that coaches and parents no the difference.
Most parents like to see their children succeed. It doesn’t matter if it’s in sports, academia, music, and dance or in some other way. A child’s success gives the parent a since of pride that most parents’ haven’t experienced since they were children. There’s nothing wrong with being proud of your child. It’s actually very beneficial for the development of the relationship between the parent and child. Is there however a time when being proud of your child goes too far?
This past weekend I had the privilege to watch my three boys compete in the AAU National Indoor Track & Field Championships. They did very well. My 13yr old finished 3rd overall in the 60m Hurdles and my 11yr old finished 5th overall in the 60m Hurdles. My 10yr son old finished 11th overall in the 60m Dash. I am very proud of their accomplishments. I am however more proud of the work they put in leading up to the championships.
It is important that we as parents’ and coaches celebrate the result, but more important that we celebrate the work that went into it. Think about it for a second. You must be careful not to focus so much on the result that the child starts to believe that you’re only proud of them when they achieve a certain result. If a child goes a certain period of time not achieving the desired result, they can begin to feel inadequate. Their work-ethic will start to decline once the feelings of inadequacy begin to set-in. Once their work-ethic declines, the likelihood of them achieving the desired result is greatly diminished. Their self-esteem is also greatly diminished. You should be careful to never forget the purpose of sports. Sports function to help build character and self-esteem. Most importantly, sports are an opportunity for the children to have fun.
Are your children having fun; or has sports turned into a job for them? When my children weren’t running, I had the opportunity to watch the other youth run. I saw countless parents’ and coaches yelling and running alongside their child and/or athlete as they competed. Some were screaming words of encouragement and some were screaming coaching points as the child ran. I was amazed at the excitement and energy that the parents’ and coaches showed. I began to wonder to myself if these parents and coaches showed the same excitement and enthusiasm for their children as it relates to their academics? I knew deep down that the answer was probably, no. I watched as the parents’ ran and screamed at their children and began to wonder if I’ve ever looked like that. Yes, I have.
Football and Basketball are the main sports in our household and I’ve been that loud and crazy parent running down the sideline screaming as my child ran for a touchdown. I’m not saying anything is wrong with being excited for your child, but I’ve learned to have balance as it relates to what and how much I celebrate my child for. Too much of anything can be detrimental to the emotional growth of your child. Yesterday I realized the repercussions of the way I use to micromanage my oldest son when he was younger. Just before he prepared to run the 400m dash, he looked over at me and asked me to run around the track as he ran and yell at him when to pick it up and other coaching ques. It’s not just track; it was basketball too. This past basketball season he would look up at me in the stands to see if I had anything to say or correct. Whenever he made a mistake he would look over at me to see my reaction. This is very detrimental to his growth as an athlete and as a young man. Soon he will be on his own and will need to make decisions on his own. He will need to be able to live with the consequences of them. I’ve now learned to do all my coaching and yelling during practice. The competition is the athletes’ opportunity to go out and execute on what they’ve been taught all throughout their training. The parents’ and coaches should be proud, but they should never forget that the competition is for the children. The results are for the children. My boys gave me their medals after they won them and I put them in my book bag. I could have worn them around my neck like the majority of the other parents’ did, but I realized that I didn’t win anything; they did.
Before a young child ever steps foot in an athletic arena, they typically must have some sort of motivation. Yes, I know there are some parents’ who force their child to play sports, but normally the child has some level of motivation to play the sport. For many children it’s just the idea of having fun and for others they’re really focused on winning. Whatever the reason is the first step towards competing at a high level or any level is motivation. Motivation is the all-important step that gets a person going. If you can’t motivate a person to do it, they typically won’t do it. Those that do participate without true motivation put forth very little effort in what they do.
After a person is motivated to start, it’s discipline that keeps them going. Let’s be honest; nobody stays motivated all day, every day. I always say that motivation gets you started in the race and discipline keeps you going throughout the race. I look at life like a marathon race and I know that I won’t be totally motivated throughout every turn in the race. Sports are no different. It’s easy to get an athlete motivated to play a game, but it’s typically difficult to get an athlete motivated for every practice. My first year playing college football was the most difficult year for me because I hadn’t established a high level of discipline to carry me through Two-A-Days when the motivation wore off. I arrived on campus with a high level of excitement and motivation because I was playing Division 1 college football. It didn’t take long however for the agony of Two-A-Days to drain that excitement out of me. What do you do when the excitement is gone? How do you keep going?
Without consistency you can never truly be successful at anything you do. Motivation and discipline will only take you to a certain level and then something else must take over. Habit is the secret ingredient that plays a part in long-term results. Motivation got me to the football stadium and through the first week of Two-A-Days. Discipline and determination got me through the majority of the remaining practices. It was habit however that kept me coming back year after year for 5yrs. It was habit that allowed me get up for those early morning workouts at 5am. It was habit that caused me to walk into the weight room day after day even when my body hurt to walk. Great motivation led to great discipline and great discipline led to great habits. “The successful person has the habit of doing the things that failures don’t like to do. The successful person doesn’t like to do them either, but his dislike is subordinated to the strength of his purpose.” – E.M. Gray
I could talk about the benefits of playing sports for days. The biggest benefit that I’ve always highlighted however is the fact that sports help youth develop discipline. Discipline plays a very important role in reaching goals. However, over the years I’ve learned that discipline can only take you so far as it relates to obtaining your dreams. It is consistency that ultimately gets you there and no one can truly be consistent without the development of habit. Everything we do on a daily basis is the result of a habit that was established sometime in the past. It is therefore important that we create habits on purpose and not on accident.
“There’s times we cuss each other out, but that’s part of being brothers, because I know if I need something, he’ll be there, and if I need to talk to someone outside of basketball, he’ll be there. It’s a real brotherhood type of relationship. We’re like family.”
Those are the words that Kevin Durant spoke about Russell Westbrook just two years ago. A lot has changed however in the last two years. Durant and Westbrook are no longer teammates because Durant chose to leave the Oklahoma City Thunder in free agency. Durant didn’t just leave the Thunder; he left the Thunder for their arch rival Golden State Warriors. There were a lot of fans upset, especially Thunder fans. There was no one perhaps more upset than Russell Westbrook. Westbrook hasn’t said much about Durant leaving since it happened, but there has been much speculation as to why Westbrook is so upset.
Many people believe that there are two main reasons for Westbrook being angry. The first theory is that Westbrook is angry because he and Durant had a meeting prior to Durant deciding to leave and Westbrook asked how he could change and get better. Durant left despite Westbrook asking what he needed to do to get Durant to stay. One would think that it would have been easier to convince a “so called” brother to stay with the team he once said he wouldn’t leave.
The second theory as to why Westbrook is so upset is that it’s an unspoken sports rule that you never leave your team to go play for your arch nemeses. Golden State wasn’t just their arch nemeses; they were the team that came back from a 3-1 deficit in the Western Conference Finals to defeat the Thunder. If there were any team in the Western Conference that truly challenged the Warriors, it was the Thunder. Durant changed that with one decision.
Durant’s decision seems to have totally destroyed any friendship, let alone brotherhood that he and Westbrook once had. It’s rumored that they haven’t spoken since the decision. There was much anticipation leading up to yesterday’s NBA All Star Game. Everyone wanted to see if and how Durant and Westbrook would interact with each other. Other than Durant throwing Westbrook an alley-oop, they avoided each other the entire weekend.
Who knows what the future holds between Durant and Westbrook. Many fans say that time heals all wounds. I however have not found that to be true. Time creates distance between the event and the pain caused by the event. Time in and of itself does not heal anything. Ultimately it’s communication that helps heal wounds and as the pain dissipates with time it becomes easier to communicate.
Effective communication is one of the most important character traits that need to be developed. We will all face some sort of disagreement at one time or another. It is important that we develop effective communication skills now instead of waiting to something happens and then trying to figure it out when emotion is high. We must remember that is very difficult to make good decisions when your emotion is high. When emotion is high, reason is low. It’s imperative that we teach our young athletes’ great communication skills so that they can communicate at a high level as they get older. I don’t know if Durant and Westbrook will ever mend their relationship, but I know it won’t happen without effective communication.
Trash talking has been around for as long as I can remember. It has been described as insulting or boastful conversation with someone in an attempt to intimidate or humiliate them. Trash talking typically occurs in sports and it’s actually encouraged to a certain level. A lot of athletes’ learn to trash talk while playing in their neighborhood and it carries over to organized sports. Football and basketball are two of the major sports in America and trash talking is rampant. It is however a little more visible in basketball because the athlete’s’ don’t wear helmets.
There is trash talking in men’s and women’s basketball, but it is more acceptable in men’s basketball than it is in women’s. Many people frown on female athletes’ talking trash because they view it as unladylike. I can vividly remember the storyline of one of my favorite movies called Love and Basketball. Sanaa Lathan played the main actress in the movie and was a great high school basketball player. There was one basketball game she was playing in when she glared at another player after making a great play and the ref gave her a technical foul. She was furious especially since she had just watched her best friend play in a basketball game the other day and he engaged in trash talking to a much higher magnitude and was never punished for it. She had a difficult time understanding how it could be acceptable for him and not her. Why is it that she was expected to act like a lady and he wasn’t required to act like a gentleman?
Many people would argue that it’s no big deal because it’s only happening when they’re playing sports. That couldn’t be further from the truth. I played sports throughout my entire life and there’s a lot of time and effort that goes into preparing for your respective sport and it’s very difficult to stop your mindset in competition from carrying over to your day to day life. Perhaps part of the problem we’re having with male athletes’ is that they’re not being held to a high enough standard on and off the court. Don’t get me wrong, the answer to the problem of athletes’ and violence is a lot bigger than trash talking and acting like a gentleman. It is however a good starting point. It starts with our youth and it starts with the coaches and parents holding the athletes’ to a higher standard. Star athletes’ are of special concern because they often get treated with more privilege than the rest.
Maybe we have forgotten the age old axiom, ”to whom much is given, much is required.” Instead of being given more privileges, star athletes should be held to an even higher standard. They must be held to a higher standard because so many other players and fans are looking up to them to be the example. If the leader isn’t leading right, the followers won’t act right.
The most important leader in sports however is the coach and not the star athlete. The star athlete is often the face of the team, but the coach is the one who establishes the foundation. Our sports teams are getting caught in scandal after scandal because the foundation is weak. Now, I’m not saying that the coaches of these players are bad. As a matter of fact, the collegiate coaches get the athletes’ after their character has been molded. The foundation needs to be set and made firm at the youth sports level. It’s not enough to teach our youth how to run, jump, kick, swing and shoot. We need to teach them how to carry their selves in and out of competition. I’m not here to tell you that trash talking is right or wrong. We do however need to help our athletes’ establish balance when it comes to their competitive nature. Not only are our athletes’ out of balance, but the lines have been blurred. It’s time for us to draw a line in the dirt between right and wrong and never move it.
I haven’t watched the Atlanta Falcons play any games this year, but I’ve heard about how great their offense is. Last night during the Super Bowl was my first opportunity to see what the Falcons are capable of and I was very impressed. It wasn’t necessarily the score that I was impressed with, but the confidence they showed from the opening whistle. Everything I’ve heard leading up to the Super Bowl has been about the Patriots Coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady. Last night’s Super Bowl was Belichick and Brady’s 7th Super Bowl together which is the most for any head coach and starting quarterback. Most people expected the Patriots to win and even those who didn’t were afraid to pick against the Patriots. The Falcons on the other hand played like they either didn’t know the statistics or didn’t care. The Super Bowl in and of itself creates a high level of stress, but the Falcons played it cool all night.
The Falcons were led all season by their MVP quarterback Matt Ryan who is affectionately called “Matty Ice”. There is much debate on where Ryan’s nicknamed originated from, but everyone agrees that Ryan is always cool under pressure. The Falcons haven’t faced much adversity in terms of losses this year, but they have faced plenty of adversity during games. Last night’s game was no different. The Falcons jumped out to a 21-3 lead in the first half and then the Patriots came roaring back in the second half to bring the score to 28-20 with 6min to go in the 4th quarter. It appeared as though the Patriots had gained the momentum and were about to assert their prowess. The Falcons however remained calm as the Patriots applied the pressure. “Matty Ice” kept his team focused on the task at hand and drove them down the field. They got within field goal range, but were forced out of field goal range due to sacks. The Falcons punted the ball back to Tom Brady and the Patriots with under 4min to go in the game. Tom Brady did what he does best as he drove his team down the field. The Patriots scored to tie the game and ultimately send the game into overtime. Tom Brady received the ball first in overtime and went on to score the first touchdown and win the game.
Last night’s Super Bowl was the first that went into overtime and Tom Brady stayed calm as he led his team to an overtime victory. There is so much that our youth can learn from these two quarterbacks. Both quarterbacks showed poise and confidence throughout the entire game. When times got tough, they did what needed to be done to keep fighting.
Tom Brady celebrated with humility and Matt Ryan showed maturity in not exploding or having a temper tantrum on the field. I’ve seen so many athletes who show arrogance after they win and so many other athletes throw temper tantrums when they lose. This Super Bowl was perhaps the greatest Super Bowl we’ve seen in a very long time. It wasn’t just great because of the competition, but because of the character that both quarterbacks showed throughout the entire game. Sometimes things go your way and sometimes they don’t. The most important thing is that you know how to handle yourself despite the final outcome. You must remain cool, calm and collect.
We all run into obstacles throughout various times in our lives. It’s not the obstacle that stops people, but their response. Your power to decide your attitude is the greatest power you have and it’s important that you use it wisely. The obstacle can either empower you or discourage you.
Wheelchair racer Josh George used his biggest obstacle to empower himself. When George was 4 years old he fell out of a 12-story window, punctured his lungs and was paralyzed from his mid-chest down. George fell 120 feet and his body absorbed the fall when he landed on his feet. From that moment on, George needed a wheelchair to get around.
Despite needing a wheelchair to get from place to place, he played basketball, tennis, swimming and a variety of other sports throughout his childhood. His body might have absorbed the fall, but his character absorbed the setback. George credits his parents with helping him stay encouraged and teaching him to continue living life to its fullest. His parents taught him not to settle and to always set a high standard for himself. George used his high standard thinking to help him play wheelchair basketball at the University of Illinois. He entered 2016 preparing for the Rio Olympics as a five time Paralympics medalist.
George says that sports have helped him learn better ways to problem solve and find opportunities to maximize his full potential. He has used the lessons learned in sports to help him be successful in his personal life. George doesn’t see obstacles the same way most people do. Obstacles are opportunities to shed light on the power of possibility. People don’t truly understand the power of possibility until they witness someone overcome something that most thought was impossible to overcome.
There is so much we can learn from George’s story, but I’m only going to highlight three. When George was faced with an obstacle at the young age of 4yrs old, he absorbed it. His body absorbed the fall, but it was his character that absorbed the circumstance. You are going to face many problems throughout your life and it’s important that you learn to take control of the circumstance and not allow the circumstance to control you.
George was only 4yrs old when he fell and there’s no way he learned to take control of the situation by himself. It was his parents’ that encouraged him and taught him to take control of the circumstance. They never looked at George as less of a person or treated him like he couldn’t do everything that everyone else could. His parents knew that the way you treat someone can be more debilitating than the actual condition itself. They didn’t treat him like he was disabled. They treated him lack he was more than able.
George has used the more than able mindset to set standards for himself that most able bodied people don’t even think of. It’s important that we teach our young athletes’ to set high standards for themselves despite any limitation they may have. The standard you set for yourself should not be based on a particular circumstance. Your standard should always be that you are pressing towards the mark of a higher calling in everything that you do. Never settle for less than you best.