CHAMPIONS DO EXTRA

From the outstanding book "Legacy" by James Kerr comes a great story of perseverance and resilience:

Champions do extra.

It's true in all kinds of sport.  There's the story of marksman Karoly Takacs who was denied a place in the 1936 Olympics as, in pre-war Hungary, only officers could qualify.  Undeterred, he set his sights on the 1940 games.  But in 1938 a hand grenade shattered his his right hand -- his shooting hand. He trained himself to shoot with his left hand but the 1940 and 1944 Olympics were cancelled as war ravaged Europe.  Finally, in 1948, thirty-eight-year-old Takacs competed in his first Olympic event, winning gold and setting a new world record, a right-handeder shooting left-handed.

Champions do extra.

TOM SEAVER: "PITCHING DETERMINES..."

The following comes from Angela Duckworth's outstanding book "Grit."  It gives a great example of Tom Seaver's decision making process on a daily basis and shows what the absolutely best often use a mindset.  Seaver thinks in terms of whether even the smallest of choices he made each day would make him a better pitcher:

Consider Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Seaver. When he retired in 1987 at the age of forty-two, he’d compiled 311 wins; 3,640 strikeouts; 61 shutouts; and a 2.86 earned run average. In 1992, when Seaver was elected to the Hall of Fame, he received the highest ever percentage of votes: 98.8 percent. During his twenty-year professional baseball career, Seaver aimed to pitch “the best I possible can day after day, year after year.” Here is how that intention gave meaning and structure to all his lower-order goals:

"Pitching… determines what I eat, when I go to bed, what I do when I’m awake. It determines how I spend my life when I’m not pitching. If it means I have to come to Florida and can’t get tanned because I might get a burn that would keep me from throwing for a few days, then I never go shirtless in the sun… If it means I have to remind myself to pet dogs with my left hand, then I do that, too. If it means in the winter I eat cottage cheese instead of chocolate chip cookies in order to keep my weight down, then I eat cottage cheese."

COMMITMENT TO PRACTICE

How's this for commitment to practice and improving? Michael Phelps is the most decorated Olympian of any sport with a total of 28 medals.

“Most people lose because they are trying to take shortcuts.  But there are no shortcuts.  Do you know why Michael Phelps is the greatest Olympian of all time?  He never took a shortcut.  He once went five straight years, 365 days per year, without missing a workout.”

-From “Pound The Stone

by Joshua Medcalf

THE MINDSET OF BEING THE BEST YOU CAN BE

Here is an excerpt from a book that shows the mindset of competitor -- someone who is serious about being the best they can be.  It also shows the mindset of a coach that recognized greatest in someone and was determined to get the best out of that athlete.  It's a story of Dean Smith and Michael Jordan.

If anything, some thought, Dean Smith was a little harder on Jordan every day in practice then he was on other young players, as if accepting his greater possibilities and his own limitless ambition and holding him to it, setting higher standards for him than for the others. Roy Williams was also always pushing Jordan to work harder in practice. “I’m working as hard as everyone else,” Jordan answered.

“But Michael, you told me you wanted to be the best,” Williams once reminded him. “And if you want to be the best, then you have to work harder than everyone else.” There was, Williams thought, a long pause, while Jordan pondered that. Finally he said, “Coach, I understand.”

From "Playing For Keeps" by David Halberstam

STAY WITH IT UNTIL YOU GET IT

Kevin Eastman once asked Kobe Bryant how long did he work on a move.  Kobe's reply? "Until."  Meaning there was no time limit. It is rumored that Mamba might work on the same move for two or more hours straight -- until he had reached the level of execution he desired.  The best stay with it until they have it.  Or as David Foster Wallace said, "If you are immune to boredom, there is literally nothing you can't accomplish."

Hall of Fame Coach Marianne Stanley once shared a story of talking to Coach John Wooden and asking him what made Bill Walton such a great player. His response was "He didn't get bored with the repetition that you need to be great." 

How many players are good but don't work at something long enough and hard enough to excel at it?  The word Marianne used was "mastery."  She said the great ones didn't mind the constant repetition because their goal was to master the parts of their game.

I love this passage from one of my players Seimone Augustus:

“The most common questions I get asked as a professional basketball player is, ‘What drills do you do to get better? How many shots did you take a day? What all did you focus on to be a better player? I hate being asked that.  My answer is the same — I can’t count the number of shots I took, I can’t tell you what drills I did because I used everything from a lawn chair to a bowling ball glove to help with getting better, as well as watched a VHS tape of Pistol Pete until it didn’t work anymore.  An still when you reach what you think is your goal or dream, people will still doubt you and will be uncertain of your success at the next level.  But all you can do is keep working, believe in yourself, stay focused and let the universe take you on an amazing ride!”

ANOTHER GREAT STORY ABOUT KOBE'S WORK ETHIC

Kobe's professional trainer was fast asleep. Could you blame him? It was 3:30 am in the morning. All a sudden his phone starts ringing. It's Kobe. He must be in trouble, or in some kind of emergency. His trainer is freaking out, and nervously picks up the phone.

Kobe says that he's doing some conditioning work and could use his trainer's help. The trainer then proceeds to get ready and head over to the gym. He arrives around 4:30 am. 

What did he see? He saw Kobe by himself practicing. Drenched in sweat, it looked like he just jumped in a pool. It wasn't even 5am in the morning yet.

From "4 Stories About Work Ethic" written by A. J. Agrawal for INC.com

SUCCESS LEAVES CLUES -- THE WORK ETHIC OF LEBRON JAMES

The following comes from Stack.com in which Kyle Korver talks about the work ethic of Lebron James.  You can see the entire article here which also includes some video of Lebron and the Cavs workout out on VersaClimbers.

Here is what Korver had to say:

"Behind the scenes, just how hard he works. He's a machine. You don't see guys this late in their careers, guys who've had this much success, be the first guy in the gym. He's still there," Korver said. "I was blown away." Korver would know—this is his 14th season in the NBA.

As an example of LeBron's unparalleled work ethic, Korver pointed to the morning after a regular-season game against the Utah Jazz. The night before, the Cavs had defeated the Jazz on the back of a Herculean 33-point, 10-rebound, 6-assist effort from LeBron. The next morning, LeBron was in the gym before anyone else.

"He played [38] minutes, he played hard. And the next morning, he was on the VersaClimber when everybody else got there, in full sweat doing a massive strength and cardio workout," Korver said. "He was like, 'The playoffs are coming! I've got to be ready! I've got to be able to play big minutes and play at a high level!'"

COMMITMENT STARTS AT THE HEART

"Some people want everything to be perfect before they're willing to commit themselves to anything.  But commitment always precedes achievement.  I am told that in the Kentucky Derby, the winning horse effectively runs out of oxygen after the first half mile, and he goes the rest of the way on heart.  That's why all great athletes recognize it's importance.  NBA legend Michael Jordan explains that 'heart is what separates the good from the great.'  If you want to make a difference...look in your heart to see if you're really committed. 

From "The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader" by John Maxwell

HOW DO YOU IDENTIFY YOURSELF?

The following comes from "Coaching The Mental Game" by H. A. Dorfman:

"The measure of a man's real character is what 

he would do if he knew he would never be found out."

-Thomas McCauley

What I say it, "You identify yourself by what you do when no one is watching.  The supervised athlete may be the hardest worker, the most selfless and responsible competitor.  But how he practices when no one sees him, how he interacts with teammates when the coach is not within listening distance -- that's when he defines himself.

Theodore Roosevelt extended the definition to self-awareness and independent self-evaluation, saying, "I don't care very much about what I think of what I do.  That is character!"

ARE YOU COMPETING OR COMPARING

The following comes from the book "Burn Your Goals" by Joshua Medcalf and Jamie Gilbert and I challenge those student-athletes reading this to take some time and reflect and then ask are you competing or comparing.

A lot of times in many contexts in life much of our inability to scratch our potential or play hard is down to the fact that we are comparing rather than competing.  Competition is great between players on the same team.  Someone beats you and you try hard to improve to play better next time.  The Bible talks about this as iron sharpening iron.

Comparison is different.  Comparison is about worth.  He beat me so he is a better person.  She trains with the national team so she is always going to get the starting spot.  He has closed more deals for the company this year so why should I even bother to try harder?  Comparison usually leads to diminished or inflated worth and takes our focus and energy away from things we can control.

DEFEATING THE INSTINCT TO SLACK OFF

"There is something that can happen to every athlete, every human being -- it's the instinct to slack off, to give in to the pain, to give less than your best...the instinct to hope to win through luck or your opponents' not doing their best, instead of going to the limit and past your limit, where victory is always to be found.  Defeating those negative instincts that are out to defeat us is the difference between winning and losing, and we face that battle every day of our lives."

Jesse Owens, Olympic Champion

THE WORK ETHIC OF THE GREAT: TED WILLIAMS

One of the problems with young athletes today is that when they see the best they believe in large part that they have achieved greatness naturally -- though their talent.  The great ones can at times make it look easy. I spend a lot of times sharing stories of hard work and sacrifices of sports finest with my teams so that they hopefully realize that greatness comes with a price and that it must be earned.

One of the greatest hitters in the history of baseball is Ted Williams.  What made him great was a tremendous desire to be the best.  In the book "The Kid" written by Ben Bradlee, Jr., there was a story of someone who told Ted when he was young that he went to see too many movies and that it might strain his eyes.  Ted stopped going to the movies.

In 1936, Ted signed a minor league contract with San Diego.  Here is story from the book:

Frank Shellenback (William's manager) was impressed early on by Williams's work ethic, drive and determination.  After home games Ted would ask Shellenback for a couple of old baseballs.  When the manager asked what he did with them, Ted said he used them for extra batting practice after dinner at the park near his house. Shellenback found that hard to believe, having seen Ted come in to Lane Field at ten in the morning for extra hitting in addition to the regular workout every day.  As Shellenback told the Boston Herald's Arthur Sampson in 1949, one evening he drove to Williams's neighborhood to investigate and saw the rookie "driving those two battered baseballs off over the field.  Ted was standing close to a rock which served as home plate.  One kid was pitching to I'm.  A half dozen others were shagging drives.  The field was rough and stony.  The baseball I had given him were already showing signs of wear.  The stitching was falling apart.  The covers were rough as sandpaper.  Blood was trickling from Williams's hands as he dripped a chipped bat.  But he kept swinging.  And hitting.  Ted made himself the great baseball players he is today."

IT'S DRIVE!

Kobe Bryant was once asked: What makes one guy a champion and not the next guy?

"It's drive.  It's the will.  There are certain people that have a tremendous hunger.  There are certain people that have a will, determination, hunger that you need to be the best in the world.  Those people -- and those people alone -- become champions."

MONE ON WORK ETHIC, DEDICATION AND STEPH CURRY

I am obviously a huge Seimone Augustus fan -- was incredibly blessed to have coached her.  But there is a reason I'm a "fan" of Mone -- she gets it!  And she got it at an early age.  You can read here a blog post I wrote a few years ago about what made her one of the best to ever player the game.

Yesterday, in Instagram, I saw this post from Seimone and wanted to share it because I thought it was outstanding:

The most common questions I get asked as a professional basketball player is, ‘What drills do you do to get better? How many shots did you take a day? What all did you focus on to be a better player?  I HATE BEING ASKED THAT.  My answer is the same — I can’t count the number of shots I took, I can’t tell you what drills I did because I used everything from a lawn chair to a bowling ball glove to help with getting better, as well as watched a VHS tape of Pistol Pete until it didn’t work anymore.  An still when you reach what you think is your goal or dream, people will still DOUBT YOU and will be UNCERTAIN of your success at the next level.  HINT: Steph Curry in the photo below.  But all you can do is KEEP WORKING, BELIEVE in yourself, STAY FOCUSED and let the universe take you an amazing ride!

YOU HAVE TO BE OBSESSED WITH WINNING

The following comes from LakersNation.com in a column written by Corey Hansford.  The article interviews Robert Horry who spoke of Kobe Bryant's work ethic: 

"Kobe’s dedication to the game is unreal. And I mean that in the truest sense … it was literally unbelievable. The common denominator in every championship team is the mentality that Kobe has, and the mentality that Hakeem had with me at that Christmas party. You have to be so obsessed with winning that you pull no punches with your teammates, even when you’re in first place. Even when you’re a defending champ."

Horry used an example from Kobe’s rookie year about he and other Lakers’ veterans beating Kobe in a shooting contest after practice every day. Kobe would be the first person in the gym practicing every morning and challenged them until he finally beat them.

ARE YOU PREPARED FOR YOUR MOMENT?

"The secret of success is to be ready

when your opportunity comes."

 -Benjamin Disraeli

 

Andre Iguodala did just that.  And because he was prepared for his moment, both he and his Golden State Warrior teams was rewards.

We are talking about a quality basketball player that didn't start a single game in the regular season.  Instead of pouting or complaining or making excuses he kept working on his game and contributing what his team needed from him.

 

The key to championships is to have complete buy in.  You need players who not only accept their role -- regardless of how they feel about -- but embrace that role.  To win championships, players must put aside personal goals in work towards the good of the team.  They must believe in the coaching staff and what they are asking of them.

 

As Tyler Conway wrote for BleacherReport.com:

 

All season long, Andrea Iguodala sacrificed. When Steve Kerr came to him and asked him to come off the bench, he obliged. When shots that used to be his went to Klay Thompson, he never blinked. When media members wondered if he had fallen off, he never once wavered.

 

Now he's your NBA Finals MVP.

THE ART OF PROPERLY INVESTING YOUR TIME

ATTITUDE + DETERMINATION CONQUERS ALL

The following video is an account of a young man with a tremendous attitude and great determination.  After losing his eyesight to cancer he went on to play high school football.


But he didn't stop there.  Now he is a member of the USC Trojan football team as a long snapper!

HOW WE VIEW FAILURE CAN LEAD TO SUCCESS

Here is a great passage from "The Maxwell Daily Reader" written by John Maxwell.  Each calendar day there is a message and it is always amazing how it fits in with something going on in your life today. Today's, March 11, spoke about how we view failure and how our thought process in this regard goes a long way towards success.  To make his point, Maxwell used one of my favorites, Tony Gwynn as example:

On August 6, 1999, a major-league baseball player stepped up to home plate in Montreal and made another out -- the 5,113th of his professional career.  That's a lot of trips to the batter's box without a hit!  If a player made all of those outs consecutively, and he average four at bats per game, he would play eight seasons (1,278 game straight) without ever reaching first base!

Was the player discourage that night? No.  You see, earlier in the same game, in his first plate appearance, that player had reached a milestone that only twenty-one other people in the history of baseball have every achieved.  He had made his 3,000th hit.  That player was Tony Gwynn of the San Diego Padres.

During that game, Tony got on base with hits four times in five tries.  But that's not the norm for him.  Usually he fails to get a hit two times out of every three attempts.  Those results may not sound very encouraging, but if you know baseball, you recognize that Tony's ability to succeed consistently only one time in three tries has made him the great hitter of his generation.  And Tony recognized that to get his hits, he has to make a lot of outs.

One of the greatest problems people have with failure is that they are too quick to judge isolated situations in their lives and label them as failures.  Instead, they have need to keep the bigger picture in mind.  Someone like Tony Gwynn doesn't look at an out that he makes and think of failure.  He sees it within the context of the bigger picture.  His perspective leads to perseverance. His perseverance brings longevity.  And his longevity gives him opportunity for success.

THE GREATS ARE CONTINUAL LEARNERS

I loved this story from "The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth" by John Maxwell:

I recently read an anecdote about a meeting between Ted Williams and Boston Celtics coach Red Auerbach in the 1950s.  As the two greats discussed their sports, Williams asked, "What do your guys eat on the day of a game?"

"What do you want to know for?" Auerbach replied.  "You seem to be doing all right with what you're doing."

"I'm always looking for new ways to improve what I do."

Auerbach said of Williams, "He thought of the little things, what's important to being great.  When you're great and you excel, some athletes would coast on that...Here's the best hitter in baseball, and he's trying to get another little percentage point."