Early last week I came across a story about a high school football player that wanted to improve his football skills. My immediate thoughts were good for him taking the initiative. I understand the mindset that he had because I had it as an athlete.
This football player got what he thought was the best opportunity available when a coach from a 14 and under youth league invited him to workout with the team he was coaching. After receiving this invite the football player was overjoyed because he knew he would have the extra workouts he needed to become a better player.
However, it wasn’t long before things made a turn for the worse. He was suspended from being able to play in three of his high school football games, because he played in a pre-season game with the youth league team. Evidently the young man was unaware that the Michigan High School Athletic Association rules do not allow players to play for a youth league team.
I can’t help but wonder whether or not the youth coach knew the rules that prohibit high school football players from playing for a youth league team. Even if the youth coach didn’t know the rules, he should have been responsible enough to review the rules as to not put the young player’s eligibility in jeopardy. Worse yet, apparently the youth coach visited this high school football player at his home to invite him to workout with his team? Where were this football players parents during this process? Why didn’t they review the Michigan High School Athletic Association rules? These are questions that we as parents need to ask, if we are not sure about something. Our student athletes’ have quite a bit on their plate and it’s up to the coaches and parents to make sure they don’t miss out on opportunities because of honest mistakes that could have been avoided.
This young football player like so many others across the country was only trying to become better and he lost valuable time doing what he loves because of it. We should always encourage our young athletes to strive for greatness and push themselves in every opportunity given. However, it is our responsibility as parents and coaches to make sure they push themselves within healthy boundaries and within the rules.
There are some coaches who believe that athletes’ get all the work they need within the parameters of their organized team practices. I see nothing wrong with that. I on the other hand was an athlete that chose to put in extra work outside of what my high school football coach obligated. I believe that the extra work I put in before and after practice is what helped me elevate my level of play to a Division 1 level. During that time my father made sure that my workouts and my work ethic stayed within the rules and within healthy limits. Going the extra mile isn’t for everyone, but we must help support those who do choose to go the extra mile.
Labor Day did not become a federal holiday until 1894, but it was marked by cities and towns before that. Labor Day came about because of the changes in American manufacturing. There were few if any restrictions on the treatment of workers in American manufacturing. Due to the limited restrictions many workers worked 12 hour days and often times seven days per week. What’s worse, children as young as 5yrs old worked in factories under unsafe conditions with no guarantee of minimum wage.
As a result groups called labor unions formed to represent workers and protect them against unfair labor. These labor unions organized strikes and rallies to protest poor working conditions and pay. Over time labor unions grew in number and influence.
College sports and football in particular have become one of America’s favorite past times. Athletic Director’s, football coaches and boosters invest a lot of time and money into helping their teams win. Over time college coaches began to push their athletes’ harder while demanding that they spend more time practicing their sport. Due to the aforementioned the NCAA created the 20/8 hour rule. The 20/8 hour rule limits the playing and practice seasons and in particular the practice hours a student athlete is allowed to participate in. In-season, a student athlete is only allowed to participate 4 hours per day and 20 hours per week. Out of season, a student athlete is allowed to participate 4 hours per day and 8 hours per week.
There is however no limit or governing body to monitor how often and how much parents’ train their youth. I know it’s very difficult to nearly impossible to tell a parent how to raise their child. Yet and still it’s important that coaches’ and parents, exercise temperance and balance when putting their children in sports and in their overall training.
I for one believe that hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard. Everywhere you turn in today’s society you hear someone talking about “Grinding”. Working hard has become something that is glorified and you’re looked down upon if people don’t think you “grind” hard. As I’ve become a seasoned coach and parent I’ve discovered that rest is just as important as hard work. Failure is almost guaranteed without an adequate balance between working hard and resting.
Yes, many people would agree that this generation of children is a lot lazier than generations from the past. With the explosion of technology there has been a continual decrease in physical activity in homes and schools. This definitely needs to change, but we can’t go from one extreme to the other extreme. I encourage every parent and coach to try and find balance in teaching their children to work, but to also know when it’s time to rest. An over trained athlete is just as bad as a lazy athlete.
There are so many young athletes’ who were standouts as youth and either quit or started giving little to no effort as they got older because they began to experience burnout. Kids should be playing sports because they want to and not because their parents are living vicariously through them.
The best Labor Day Deal I’ve ever made is the deal I’ve made with my children that they will always get beneficial and adequate rest when they work hard first. Enjoy Labor Day and remember that hard work is beneficial, but so is rest.
Every day there’s another young ball player who stands out amongst the rest. People begin to talk about them, write about them and speculate about how great they might be one day. I’m sure all of us can think about one or two athletes’ we’ve seen who are just light years ahead of their peers. Some are ahead because of the hard work they’ve put in, but many are ahead mainly due to their natural athletic ability. They have natural athletic ability that we can’t see and often times can’t explain. Coaches, parents and fans just sit and marvel at their unexplainable talent.
Their unexplainable talent however isn’t the only thing we know little about. Many of our young athletes’ have struggles at home that we know little to nothing about. As a matter of fact, often times we get so consumed with winning games that we overlook the signs of a child having trouble at home. Now, I’m not saying that coaches should be counselors, but I do believe that we play a major role in the development of our young athletes’ especially when we spend as much time with them as we do. Take a look at the current team your coaching and I’d be willing to guess there’s at least one player on your team who feels like they’re living in darkness.
Kris Dunn was one such player. Dunn is currently a point guard in the NBA for the Minnesota Timberwolves, but his rise to stardom was rougher than you might expect. Dunn endured a lot of darkness before he was able to shine in the light. Dunn went to High School in Connecticut where he started on varsity as a freshman. Things looked well while he shined on the basketball court, but he experienced a lot of darkness outside the basketball arena.
Prior to moving to Connecticut with his father, Kris and his older brother John lived with their mother who was in and out of jail for offenses ranging from credit-card fraud to driving while intoxicated. Kris, 9, and John, 13, began to care for themselves in their mothers absence. They eventually realized that they were on their own. For five months they told no one that they were living on their own and taking care of themselves because they feared being placed in foster care. They stopped going to school and started to dabble in criminal behavior to support themselves.
All the long their father John Seldon wondered where his children were. He lost contact with them 8yrs ago when he came home from work and the boy’s mother had packed up and left their home with Kris and John. Eventually Seldon was able to locate both Kris and John and move them in with him. The struggle continued as Kris tried to adapt to his new family and to obeying rules. Eventually Kris and his father found common ground.
Kris father wasn’t the only person that Kris found common ground with. A coach named Ed Cooley first saw Kris at an AAU game when many coaches were overlooking Kris because of his lack of size. After being named Providence new basketball coach, Cooley called Kris Dunn to tell him, “You’re the only dude in America I want.” Wow, what great words for a young man to hear especially when everything in your life has been pointing to you being unwanted. Cooley didn’t just stop there. He went on to tell Dunn about himself. Cooley told Dunn how he lacked a father figure for years and about how he often had an empty refrigerator growing up. Cooley also told Dunn how sports saved his life and how the hunger that fueled his early years was still the driving force pushing him forward today.
Dunn found common ground with Cooley and eventually went on to star at Providence where Cooley not only helped Dunn become a better basketball player, but a better man. Cooley was paid to be a coach, but he chose to be so much more to Dunn and countless other players. Are you a coach who just does what you’re paid for or do you take it to another level for the athletes’ entrusted to you?
Without a doubt we’ve all had to perform under some level of pressure before. Some of us perform well under pressure and some of us don’t. I think I did pretty well under pressure when I competed in football, track and wrestling as a kid. However, I have to be honest and admit that I always struggled when faced with pressure in school. Usually it was because of a test or a pop quiz. I hated and I mean I hated taking test. No matter how much I studied, I almost always succumbed to the pressure of taking a test.
Kendra Harrison is a U.S. Track & Field Hurdler who has been having a great year and was widely regarded as the fastest woman in the world headed into the Olympic Trials. Harrison had all the reason to be confident headed into the Olympic Trials because no woman had run a faster time than her this year. Despite being the fastest female hurdler in the world, Harrison failed to make the Olympic Team having finished a disappointing sixth in the finals. She was heartbroken to say the least.
After failing to qualify for the Olympics, Harrison began to try and figure out what went wrong. Harrison concluded, “It was just mentally, the pressure got to me.” She went on to say, “To make myself feel better, I told myself to just make the team instead of the same mindset I’ve had all year, which is to dominate.” Wow, what a difference a mindset makes. Here you have the fastest female hurdler in the world who failed to qualify for the Olympics mostly because she had the wrong mindset. Most athletes’ think it’s all about the physical attributes when in actuality your mindset is the most important attribute.
Harrison said that she wanted to quit after failing to qualify for the Olympics, but she “knew (competing) was the only way I would feel better.” Harrison told herself, “Go back to training and go after the world record.” She could have laid down and threw herself a pity party, but she chose to get back up and compete. It’s imperative that we teach our young athletes’ that there will be days when they don’t do their best, but that doesn’t mean it has to be over. Character isn’t what you do when it’s easy, but what you do when it’s difficult.
After the Olympic Trials, Harrison began to train with the mindset to dominate. Harrison said, “My practices after the trials were great, so going into the race, I had so much vengeance and so many emotions inside me.” Harrison went on to set a 100m hurdles world record at the London Diamond League meeting less than a month after she failed to qualify for the Olympics. Wow, a person’s mindset can actually be the difference between not only winning and losing, but between losing and being the fastest ever. Harrison ran 12.20sec in the 100m hurdles breaking the previous record of 12.21 set in 1988.
We spend so much time making our young athletes’ bigger, faster and stronger, but we miss too many opportunities to develop their mental fortitude. Harrison admitted that she succumbed to the pressure which caused her to change her mindset headed into one of the biggest races of her life. Perhaps we should place more focus on developing an athletes’ mindset than their athletic skillset.
When you are a person of character it will show in everything you do and with everyone you meet.
Tony Dungy was a quarterback in college at Minnesota and went on to play with the New York Giants and his playing career ended in 1980, when he was released. His coach talked with him about his plans for the future, and thought Dungy had a good mind for the game and maybe a future as a coach. Dungy was not quite sure of what to make of the statement. He then went on to work as a graduate assistant at his alma mater. When the football season was over Coach Chuck Null of the Pittsburgh Steelers offered Dungy a coaching job working for him.
Now Dungy’s dream was to play 10 years and retire, but at the age of 25 and having only played three years, he didn’t know what he was going to do. Coach Noll told him “we will put you to work.” Dungy wanted to know what he needed to do, and Coach Null said ‘just help your players play better, that’s what you do’, this stuck with Dungy, and he applied this on and off the field.
Dungy lived and coached by this mantra as an assistant with the Steelers, Minnesota Vikings and others, before becoming a head coach with Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Indianapolis Colts. One of my favorite Tony Dungy quotes says, “The secret to success is good leadership, and good leadership is all about making the lives of your team members or workers better.” For Dungy the most important thing was winning in life not in football. Dungy dedicated his time as a coach to making the men entrusted to him better all around people and not just better athletes’. Championships come and go, but championship character last a lifetime and leave a lasting legacy that impacts generation after generation.
We can all recall turning on a football game and seeing a coach screaming, cussing or just having a tirade because they’re upset about something that happened on the field. Screaming, swearing and tirades have almost become synonymous with successful football coaches; Not so with Tony Dungy. Dungy showed that it is possible to win the respect of your players and lead them to a Super Bowl win without screaming and swearing at them or demanding that they put football above everything else in their life. Dungy is the epitome of a high character coach and he showed us all how to win without compromising faith and family.
Tony Dungy led the Indianapolis Colts to victory in Super Bowl XLI and made history as the first African American coach to win the Super Bowl. What’s more, he showed millions of people that it’s possible to be successful with a quiet, authoritative style. He faced much adversity throughout his Super Bowl run but never wavered from his success principles, practices and priorities. Throughout Dungy’s career he faced firings, stereotypes, and the painful loss of his son. Even still, Dungy clung to his faith and his principles all the more. Dungy not only became an inspiration for his players, but the entire NFL and all those watching.
On August 6, Dungy became the 24th coach enshrined in the Pro Football Hall Of Fame. When Dungy went on the tour and at orientation he found it hard to believe that he was going to be in this group of people with such accomplishments. The Pro Football Hall Of Fame is seen by most as the greatest honor for a coach and a player. Dungy on the other hand sees the growth and development of a person’s character as the ultimate reward. Trophies, plaques and honors fade away, but helping someone become a better person last a lifetime.
Coach Dungy is admired and praised for his love and dedication that he gave on the field and off.
This is what a man of character looks like.
What Elevates You?
I’ve never really fallen in love with Tennis, but I can say I’ve fallen in love with Serena Williams’s competitive nature. Serena is an American professional tennis player who holds the most major singles, doubles, and mixed doubles titles combined amongst active players, male or female. She is the most decorated female tennis player of all time and arguably the greatest tennis player of all time.
Serena started playing tennis at the young ripe age of three and her father was her primary coach. Serena and her older sister Venus were groomed from a very young age to compete at a high level. She initially was coached the traditional way, but her father later decided to coach her at their house.
Serena’ s sister Venus took the tennis world by storm first and dominated on a very high level until Serena came into her own and took the throne as queen of the female tennis world. Don’t get me wrong, Serena has certainly lost some matches over her career but she has always come back with a vengeance.
Serena’s style of play is quite different from anything the female tennis world has seen because of the power and velocity at which she hits the ball. You can even hear Serena scream (grunt) when she hits the ball. It can be quite intimidating for some and especially the novice. I have never seen a competitive nature quite like Serena’s on a tennis court. It’s one of a kind. She has not only taken the tennis world by storm, but she’s changed the game. Serena will always be remembered as one of if not the greatest tennis player of all time. However, lately I began to wonder what motivates her to keep pushing herself to the next level?
Serena was recently asked that very question and she said, “I get better as the woman I play get better because I have to lift the level of my game.” Wow! Serena recognizes that her competition is getting better and she’s not going to sit by and become stagnant while they get better.
I always tell the athletes’ I coach that yesterday’s great is today’s average. You have to continue to elevate your level of play. The first thing that should drive you is yourself and then you have to be driven by your competition. Don’t settle for being victorious yesterday when you can be victorious tomorrow, and the day after that and the day after that. Dust settles, but you should never settle.
Being a champion doesn’t just mean you won a championship. Being a champion means you embody the champion’s mindset. The champion’s mindset is a mindset that says I can always get better and I will always find a way to get better. Getting better isn’t just physical, mental or spiritually but all three combined. Many people think it’s easy when you reach the top of your game in your sport, but it’s not. When you reach the top you now have a target on your back and you have to find a new top level to take it to or you won’t be on the top for long. I always say, “Practice hard like you’re the worse player, but compete with the mindset that you’re the best player.”
What would you do if your body let you down? This is exactly the position that Michigan’s Erin Finn found herself in.
Erin had her sights on running in the 2016 Olympic Games. She had put in the time, hard work and was dedicated to fulfilling her dream in the 10,000- meter run, she believed!!
The unthinkable happened; pain, she worked through it, besides Erin has had many injuries through-out her career.
This has caused her to find the thin line and decide when to push away the pain and press on. This is the dream, the Olympics.
She keeps running, keeps pressing on, the pain moves to another area. She is still dreaming, unwilling to give up.
Now it is just weeks until the Olympic trials. Erin runs a race in Portland, Ore. in preparation for the Olympic Trials.
Erin is a little off; feeling some pain, but her mind is set on getting done what is needed, so she presses on finishing the race. At this point the pain is worse and continues to intensify, only to find out that she has stress fractures in her foot. Now her only option was to withdraw from the Olympic Trials.
Imagine trying to come to grips with the fact that after all the hard work and training through pain that you’re not going to be able to compete in the Olympics.
Erin’s mind and heart were still determined, but her body wasn’t up to the task.
Erin took the chance and for now it did not work out for her, Erin is down but not finished.
The goals that this young lady has set for herself are still real, still attainable
So she is going to train and work smarter and just as hard. Erin has her eyes set on 2017 World Championship Team and continuing on from there.
Being a pre-med student, Erin has the knowledge and understanding of the science of injury, so her training is done in a pool while her body is healing.
Her goals are still the same, but her methods to attaining her dreams are different.
This is Erin’s plan.
It’s important that we teach our young athletes’ that it takes hard work to be successful, but hard work doesn’t always guarantee success. There will be times when it’s just not their time and that doesn’t mean they quit. No, instead they should go back to the drawing board and find another way. There’s always another way.
A good friend of mine has long been viewed as being an aggressive person. No matter whom he came in contact with; if they spent enough time around him they would eventually say he has an aggressive personality. He on the other hand didn’t see it that way. My good friend would always say, “I’m not aggressive, I’m just passionate.” The first time I heard that response I laughed out loud, but over the years I’ve learned that there’s a fine line between being aggressive and being passionate.
One of the main things that passion, aggressiveness and intensity have in common is that they all deal with having or showing strong feelings or opinions. As a former football player it was imperative that I play with a certain level of intensity in order to be successful. As a matter of fact I played linebacker which is a position that requires perhaps more intensity than any other position on the field. There was never a question of if intensity was needed, but a question of what level of intensity was needed.
Intensity is highly beneficial to an athlete, but there comes a point when it can be detrimental. Intensity that boils over to being out of control is harmful to the athlete, the team and even the players’ family. It all comes down to the ability to control something that can be both beneficial and detrimental.
This past Saturday the Chicago White Sox were scheduled to wear their 1976 “leisure suit” throwback uniforms. However, when the Chicago White Sox took the field they were wearing a different version of the throwback uniforms and usual starter Chris Sale did not take the field. The Sox eventually told the media that Sale had been scratched due to “a clubhouse incident.” The Chicago White Sox initially stated only that the incident was non-physical in nature.
However, there have been multiple reports by sports writers whom indicate that Sale was sent home from the game because he got upset about having to wear throwback uniforms and decided to cut the jerseys up so no one could wear them. White Sox general manager Rick Hahn later confirmed that Sale was suspended 5 games for violating team rules, for insubordination and for destroying team equipment. Rick Hahn said in a statement, “While we all appreciate Chris’ talent and passion, there is a correct way and an incorrect way to express concerns about team rules and organizational expectations.”
I believe that there is absolutely nothing wrong with having an intense desire or enthusiasm for something, but you must remember that there is a correct way and incorrect way to express your concerns. As a matter of fact, I don’t believe you can become great at anything unless you have an intense desire or enthusiasm for it. However, the same intense desire that takes you to the level of greatness can also cause you to lose everything you gained on your way to greatness.
There are levels to intensity and it’s our jobs as coaches’ and parents to help our youth and young adults learn how to control their intensity so that they can make it work for themselves and not against themselves.
The year was 1934, and the tigers were the team to watch. The player that stole the fans hearts was a 24 year old pitcher, Lynwood Rowe, better known by “Schoolboy”. Rowe made national headlines when he made sixteen straight wins and lead the Tigers to its first World Series appearance since the days of Ty Cobb.
“Schoolboy” was not your average athlete or pitcher; he had his own approach to getting ready for game time. He had a collection of good-luck charms that he would look over before every pitching performance.
On August 17, nearly 80,000 people attended the game that “Schoolboy” held the Yankees to three hits in a complete game shutout, his manger and catcher, Mickey Cochrane, stated that “Schoolboy” had pitched one of the greatest games he had ever saw. “Schoolboy’s” story rapidly gained national attention, and he was mobbed by fans everywhere he went. With all the success and attention that “Schoolboy” was having, he always remained humble.
One example of Schoolboy’s humility was when he made his national radio debut on singer Rudy Valee’s popular NBC hour show, singing with a Texas trio just out of high school. When the segment ended, “Schoolboy said, “Hello, Ma, Hello Edna, How am I doing”? Those words would follow him for the rest of his life.
Opponents were not happy about Schoolboy’s success on the field or his love life. They mocked his words as he pitched, and if he gave up a hit or homerun they would call out sarcastically, “How am I doing now, Edna honey”? This would make him cringe, because Edna was the love of his life.
On August 19, 46,000 people turned out for the double header, hoping “Schoolboy” would pitch, he didn’t and the Tigers won. On Tuesday “Schoolboy” took the mound and completed the game, beating the Red Sox’s 8-4, this was his 15th straight win and he went on for his 16th on that Saturday. That tied the league record.
Reporters well-wishers, and agents waited in the lobby to speak with “Schoolboy”, they would not let-up calling him in his room, knocking on his door at all hours, to filling his mailbox. “Schoolboy” s roommate tried to guard his time, but “Schoolboy” accommodated all news requests, answering questions and doing private interviews. ”Schoolboy” also obliged the photographers.
During the time the Tigers were in Philadelphia for four games in four nights, “Schoolboy” didn’t get much sleep because of the interruptions and commotion. The pressure was almost unbearable. It was said he was becoming nervous, with high expectations coming from teammates.
On the day of the big game more than 33,000 people packed into the stadium. “Schoolboy” was hopeful but exhausted, having lost several pounds. In the fifth inning of the game with Philadelphia ahead by three, Cachrame spoke with “Schoolboy”, Rowe’s arm was dead. Cochrane had realized it at the beginning of the game. Midway through the Seventh inning, Cochrame removed “Schoolboy” Rowe, he was given a rousing ovation, and the streak had ended.
Many observers blamed his defeat on the stress from the swarms of people hounding Rowe and his lack of sleep. “Schoolboy” Rowe took the defeat in stride, “I guess it was just not my day”, he said.
This story is a great example of how an athlete should handle the jubilation of success and the agony of defeat. You must be balanced in your responses to everything that happens throughout your life. You can neither be too high or too low. I love the fact that Rowe did not make excuses. He was the true epitome of “No Excuses, Just Execution.”
Play to Win or Play not to Lose
I can still remember it like it was yesterday. Four years ago Gabby Douglas or as she was sometimes called, “The Flying Squirrel” was flying through the air on her way to becoming an Olympic Champion. I never did watch too much gymnastics, but what Gabby was doing and with the grace and humility she was doing it with made it almost impossible not to rush home and turn on the T.V. to watch excellence at its best. Gabby was quoted as saying, “I believe in God. He is the secret to my success. God has given me this amazing God-given talent, so I’m going to go out and glorify His name.”
I am a former athlete that prides myself on being able to say I’ve never been outworked, but when I began to watch and study the way Olympians’ and especially gymnast prepare for the Olympics I had to reconsider just how hard I really did work. I watched a special documentary on Gabby Douglas and it goes into detail about how she moved away from home to a foreign place with a foreign family while still a teenager just to focus on accomplishing her dream. She worked out at an elite facility morning, noon and night constantly preparing herself for a shot at the Olympics. Just imagine training for four years just to get a chance to qualify to represent your Country all the while knowing that there’s a chance you might not make the team and will have to wait four years for another shot.
Not only did Gabby get her shot in 2012, but she became the first African American woman in Olympic history to become the individual all-around champion and the first American gymnast to win gold in both the individual all-around and team competitions at the same Olympics as well as being the only American all-around champion to win multiple gold medals in a single Olympic Games. Oh, did I mention she was only 16yrs old in 2012 and was named female athlete of the year. That might not seem as surprising in light of the fact she won the Level 4 all-around gymnastics title in Virginia at the age of 8. Gabby is use to wining.
Gabby rose to fame quickly after the 2012 Olympics and she became one of the most famous women’s gymnast off all time. Soon after the 2012 Olympics, Gabby decided to take two years off from gymnastics which some thought was well deserved and others questioned.
I didn’t watch much of any of the 2016 Women’s Gymnastics Olympic Trials, but I heard rumblings about how Gabby was “struggling” and that she might not even make the 2016 Olympic Team. Had her taking off two years from gymnastics caused her to lose a step I wondered? Headed into decision time, Gabby was ranked 7th in the overall standings. I sat down in front of the T.V. Sunday night and anxiously waited for the Olympic coaches to announce the 5 ladies that will represent the U.S. in the 2016 Women’s Gymnastics events. Then finally I heard Gabby Douglas name called.
Former gymnastic great Mary Lou Retton said of Gabby Douglas, “It’s very difficult to come back. She’s out there on the floor, as reigning Olympic champion, and it’s a pressure that’s very difficult to describe. There’s two ways to go out onto the competition floor. . . To go out there to win or to go out there trying not to lose”
Gabby Douglas went out there to win and we should approach every day when the same attitude. I’m here to win!