The Meeting

I am going to talk about our 2 hr team meeting we had last Monday. We sat up in the field house, on the bleachers, and began to talk about “what it takes to really get to another level”, separate yourself from the rest of the pack, go the extra mile and in some cases just do what know we should & and advised to do. That is a good place to start and in most cases will set you apart from your competition. I asked the team what they thought we were capable of this season. Several guys said close to the same thing. The destination they uttered was one that will take a mighty jump from where we are now. I believe what they said is also realistic, and who cares if it is not. These guys have to be able to dream, to buy in to the fact that most things are indeed possible. I don’t want this group to stay safe in their destination. Let’s put something out there that will take great effort to accomplish. I want these guys to dream, to believe, set goals, and more important than the goal itself, what are the action steps that we have to take to actually reach the goals? Staying safe in athletics, life, will rarely, if ever, get you where you not only want to go. But more importantly are capable of going. The fruit is always on the limb. But back to our starting point which is just doing what you know you should do and instructed to do. This place I am talking about is a place that has almost become instinct. We have to be able to do at a minimum what we know is right, hell, if we will do these things alone, myself included; we are going to have success. This team is not ready to talk about going the extra mile yet. Because right now we have to eliminate cutting corners and taking the easier, well worn path. The one thing about this path is most will find it is crowded. So you certainly will not be alone. But you will never know what you are capable of. This is a human crime. There ought to be a punishment for it. Guess what? There is its regret. This is a punishment that lingers well into the yrs. Many people may think this is to extreme to word it like this when we are talking about sports. But we are talking about people, their lives, attitude, commitment, hopes, dreams, identity, quality of life, how one thinks and views themselves. This is more about life than athletics. So really it’s an intensive camp to prepare for life. There is much carry over into the way these guys live and look at themselves, feel, their careers, family, 10, 20, 30, 40yrs later. What we want to do is get the most out of these guys. To do what they are capable. To accomplish what they are Capable get outside their comfort zone, break into new and different ways of thinking, break new barriers mentally, and have no limits in their pursuits. How can any of this be accomplished unless we get up to the starting line and just do what we know, coached, and advised to do. We are not there yet. We need to have a standard and it has to be a high one. But this standard has to be met daily regardless how you feel. This means responsibility and accountability with no excuses. Excuses are leaks, they weaken us.

I asked the team to honestly share by raising there hands “who has cut corners in the last week?” I already knew the answer; most of them raised their hands. Now does this mean that guys are not working hard? Are not giving a great effort? Are not sacrificing? No! Because most are. But if we only do what most are doing, how can we catch all those in front of us? We never will unless we hold ourselves to a high standard. I talked a lot that day but also gave the guys an opportunity to say things, many spoke up, which was what we wanted and needed. Many said “I am hard to read” there right. Sometimes this is by design, other times I am not aware. In any case I as a coach have just as much to work on as them being athletes. They all got a chance to come up and speak in front of the team telling them what they were going to do on a daily basis. I think it was good and we will continue to do this exercise. But the next day as I watched in practice, not a lot had changed for most. Talking is no indication of change, effort, or holding ones self accountable, especially when adversity sets in. Let’s face it in any arena of life change is very difficult for all of us. But this is the gate that one must go thru to get capable. Desirable and favorable results. Another thing we talk about a lot is “how you feel” It does not matter how you feel. If our folks only went to work when they felt good than most of us would have died from starvation. If our teachers who taught us growing up only showed up when they felt good, we would all be ignorant and probably not be able to read and write. I think you get my point. Fact is, you may have to compete for your national title on a day you feel weak and sick. If one is living right, living the way we advise, he will feel better than average and better than most daily. It all comes down to daily choices, maximizing the things you can control. If one just does that, he is way ahead of the rest. What can one control? Let’s just start with these two powerful places EFFORT & ATTITUDE, look no further for the time being. Master these two horses, than get back to me. All of the world’s most clever wording and information is useless unless these guys take it and put it into behavior. This is where change, growth, improvement and success await, in behavior. Why would we or do we cut corners? My thought is because on a daily basis our choices do not really seem to matter, nothing major happens as we wilt away our potential choice by choice. If a big hammer came out of the sky and smashed our finger’s each time we floundered we would get the message loud and clear. But it’s much more clever and subtle. Over time little choices either good or bad, make all the difference.

Each athlete only has to take care of himself, just start there. Do your part to the best of your ability today, do it better tomorrow, and than your link in this team chain will be solid. And when you are solid so are the guys next to you. And they are solid for the guys next to them. My point is your discipline or lack of it affects the team one way or the other. And no one has the right to ill affect our team because they are not doing their part. You take on a responsibility when you join this program. The first rule of success here is “Show up” nothing else can happen if your not there. Bottom line is cutting corners never works, never has, yet its still at its height in popularity. Cutting corners are bigger than Elvis and the Beatles ever where. This line is where we are striving to get to, some are there, and many are not. We all need to get there, myself included. Awareness is first, but than it has to be in our behavior. The time is now. Not another day can go by, if it does, we are just very subtly sabotaging ourselves, our future, and those around us.