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!

7 MONTHS SIDELINED

I have never had the opportunity to meet Amy Jump, a three-point shooting guard that plays for Wright State.  But she has a big fan in me.  Amy has spent the last seven months rehabbing an injury...being away from basketball as she has known it for the better part of her life.  But instead of wallowing in self-pity she has utilized the time to look at herself and the game through a different set of lenses. 

One of my friends made through our relationship with Coach Don Meyer is Keith Freeman who is an assistant coach at Wright State.  This past weekend at the PGC/Glazier Coaching Clinic we were talking about Coach Meyer, basketball and student-athletes that had great attitudes and worked hard.  This morning, he shared with me a paper written by Amy in which she speaks to the process she's gone through and how she has grown from it.  Our team at Texas A&M currently has three players rehabbing from injuries and I will share this with them as well.

Thanks for sharing Amy and continued success in your rehab:

7 MONTHS SIDELINES

As a basketball player you prepare yourself everyday. Offseason, regular season, and post season, you are always preparing. Preparing for practices, games, individual workouts, lifting, and if you want to get more specific, studying your plays and opponents. However, the last thing you prepare for is an injury, especially a long-term injury. We can handle full court presses thrown at us and 1-3-1 traps but as soon as an injury happens, it is natural to immediately hit the fetal position. The way I see it, when an injury occurs you can still look at it as if it is a full court press. How you handle and overcome an injury can either be a quick turnover or a hard- earned layup at the other end.

For seven months I wondered everyday if I would play basketball again. Some of those days I wondered if I would ever walk, sit, or stand without pain again. Back injuries can be severe and scary. For those seven months I was not only thinking of basketball, I was envisioning my life outside of it. My injury taught me about myself and about others. It opened my eyes to things I have been blind to everyday. It showed me the hard knocks of life and how to see the light at the end of the tunnel. It showed me the game stripped down from the sidelines everyday.

I could never deny that I was angry, scared, and frustrated everyday. But I also was thankful that God entrusted me enough to throw something of this caliber on my shoulders and know I would make it through. Because I know I would never be given something I could not handle. Although some days seemed the complete opposite.

Like I said, you are always preparing in basketball. What I did not realize was my injury was preparing me for life, whether I liked it or not. For seven months sidelined I wrote down notes of what I realized and learned about life and basketball from my coaches and teammates. Although no two injuries are the exact same and everyone handles them differently, my hope is, these notes may help some basketball player trying to break a full court press of their own.

There is enormous value in being a good friend and teammate.

You never accomplish all that you accomplish alone.

Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.

The most important stat for players to pay attention to: Leading your team in effort.

Three attributes for backup point guards:
◄Rarely turns the ball over.
◄Defends the dribble.
◄Respects the starting pg.

Be grateful for every ounce of talent and opportunity God has given you. He chose you to give them to. Be thankful.

Opportunities are not seen with your eyes. They are seen with you mind.

High character players all have these in common:
◄Works hard everyday.
◄Accepts their role.
◄Coachable

YOU CAN WIN WITH THESE PLAYERS

Fear and frustration only has two goals:
◄Ignore grace
◄Forget joy

If you only look at what you don’t have and what isn’t there, you will never enjoy what is there and what you do have.

You may have succeeded in high school off of raw talent, but you will never succeed in college without a tremendous work ethic and tremendous attitude.

Sometimes the biggest obstacle in life is getting over yourself. BE HUMBLE.

Enjoy all there is to enjoy about basketball because one day, no matter who you are or how great of a player you are, one day that ball will stop bouncing.

Your coaches and teammates learn a lot about you from the way you handle things being thrown at you. Not just what you do with a ball in your hands.

A choice to have a great attitude is something that nobody or no circumstance can take from you.

A rising tide will raise all boats. Make the people you are surrounded by better!

How great of a teammate and a leader you are isn’t determined by how much power you have. It’s determined by how much you serve and sacrifice for the people around you.

Be a servant leader, you’ll never regret it.

You can only hold your teammates accountable if you can be honest with yourself and accept your role.

You have to recommit yourself everyday to the cause. Some days you won’t feel well or don’t want to be there, but that’s never an excuse. Be committed.

Great teammates want to see the guy next to them succeed just as bad as they want to succeed themselves. Be selfless.

When you wake up in the morning, one positive thought in the morning can set the course for the entire day.

Find a way to win the day.

Coaches Pet Peeves:
◄Missed layups with no defense
◄No box outs
◄Dumb fouls – contest, make them shoot over you
◄Bending down for loose balls and not diving for them
◄Not knowing plays – be prepared when your name is called
◄Not screening a body in set plays
◄A silent bench with selfish teammates – don’t suck the life out of the gym

It’s all about the process. Putting people together that believe in each other, play hard for each other, are accountable for each other, and are selfless. If a team can buy into that then they can be successful.

5 Things That Kill Offenses:
◄Weak screens
◄Lazy, non credible cuts
◄Poor spacing
◄Holding the ball too long
◄Over dribbling

Too many people forget that happiness doesn’t come from getting what we don’t have. It’s about recognizing and appreciating what we do have.

When you have something taken from you. Whether it’s a short or long amount of time, it’s humbling. You become even more grateful for having the opportunity to do something you love.

Life is too short to be bitter. Bitterness never takes away from the pain, it adds to it.

When you have a 4 low baseline out of bounds offensive play, make sure your pass will be caught. If not, no one will be back for transition defense.

Even experiences we think are awful can carry the seeds of a great blessing.

Less is more. Don’t try to be a player you aren’t.

It’s important as a guard to have a go to move and a counter move in transition.

When you have the right culture it will attract high-level players.

Players think little about body language! Be aware that your body language to your teammates and coaches doesn’t whisper, it screams!

One of the main things I learned about leadership: People always say leadership is not about you. I disagree. I think is about the example YOU set and example YOU live for OTHERS. Be conscious of your actions and your decisions.

There’s a huge difference between interest and commitment. When you are interested in something, you do it only when you feel like it. When you are committed to something, you do it ALL the time.

The problem with players today is, they are only committed when they are conditionally bought in. Meaning, when things are going well for them, then they are committed to the cause. If things are going well, then they have a good attitude and they are coachable, they listen. But if it’s not, they are the complete opposite. They think it’s ok to not be coachable, to have a bad attitude, and to be a bad teammate.

Don’t fear making mistakes! That is the greatest mistake you can make in life is to not take enough risks. That is how you grow! Not by doing everything perfect.

You become your habits in pressure situations.

Make the right decision. Never make the easy decision because more than likely it isn’t the right one.

Peer govern your teammates if you are a leader. Don’t just worry about yourself and making sure you do right, make sure your teammates do right also.

PGC: 6 INTANGIBLES THAT MAKE YOU INVALUABLE

One of the great acronyms from Point Guard College is SCHAPE:

SPIRIT...good teams practice with enthusiasm and zest...a quiet gym is a losing gym...Enthusiasm = Excellence...demand energy.

"Championships are won with high levels

of energy, spirit, and enthusiasm."

COMMUNICATION...talk on the floor, call names, give them re-minders often.

HUSTLE...is on all the time—not a sometime thing…"sheepdog mentality...persistent, enthused, work, everyday.

ATTITUDE...body language is important.

PRECISION...exactness...attention to detail...accuracy...sharpness of approach.

ENHANCEMENT...Contribute to environment—don’t contaminate it...make I better doing something extra...expect to do more than your expected of...do extra...come earlier, stay later, compliment someone, smile, push a broom, pick up trash…...and don’t expect praise for doing extra.

(These notes were actually taken by one of my former point guards, Latasha Dorsey)

 

PEYTON MANNING: MASTER OF WATCHING VIDEO

I recently finished reading a book titled "The QB: The Making of Modern Quarterbacks" by Bruce Feldman.  It was a fascinating read about what goes into a good quarterback these days through the eyes of development "coaches" that work individually with the athletes.  But the chapter "Manningland" was worth the cost of the book alone, taking a look at some of the things that makes Peyton Manning great.  Over the next few days I'm going to share a few outstanding passages from Feldman's book on Manning.  You can read the first part here. The second deals with Peyton's work ethic including watching practice video immediately after workouts:

Florida offensive coordinator Kurt Roper was a young assistant coach at Tennessee when Peyton was the Vols’ quarterback. Roper, himself the son of a coach, said the college kid taught him more about preparation that anyone he’d ever been around. “When I played at Rice, nobody watched practice right after and took notes like he did.”

“His work ethic, and his ability to be singularly focused on winning from week to week and controlling his mind and preparing for his moment was amazing. Nobody I’ve ever been around, coaches included, have the drive that he has to prepare. He is just different than anybody else.”

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.

LOVING YOUR TEAMMATES: IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT THE GOOD THINGS

A great thought on LOVE from Coach Vince Lombardi -- so good it is our team's motivational passout for today.

GOAL FOR TODAY: "GET BETTER"

Here is a great conversation with Tom House (who works privately with quarterbacks) and Tim Tebow as taken from "The QB: The Making Of Modern Quarterbacks" written by Bruce Feldman.

House: “OK, Tim, what do you want to do today?"

Tebow: "Get better."

House: "How are you going to get better?"

Tebow: "By working on the process. Harder."

THERE IS NO EXCUSE

“There may be people that

have more talent than you,

but there is no excuse for anyone to

work harder than you do.”

 -Derek Jeter

 

YOUR DAILY GUT CHECK QUESTIONS

At sunrise, ask yourself, “How will I be a champion today?”

(This speaks to your Intentions)

 

At sunset, ask yourself, “Was I a champion today?”

(This speaks to your Accountability)

 

 

From "The Champion's Mind" by Jim Afremow

RUSSELL WILSON'S SECRET? TREAT EVERY DAY LIKE GAME DAY

I found the following in an article on Inc.com that ran the weekend before the Super Bowl. It is well-written by Ilan Mochari and you can read it in it's entirety here.  The primary concept is that Russell Wilson, like so many other successful people, do so through intentionality and taking care of details on a daily basis.  As Mochari's article states at the beginning: "Trainer Jonathan Brooks says Russell Wilson treats everyday is if it was his game day."

1. He practices the art of getting out of his comfort zone.  "I was amazed by how quickly he adapts to the different environments that he's put into," says Brooks

Though Wilson's powers of acclimation impressed Brooks, the trainer points out that adapting to new environments is a skill Wilson works on actively.

For example, anyone who has watched Wilson play knows he is quite comfortable using his speed to create operational space and improve throwing angles. Therefore, heading into last off-season, Wilson wanted to train for in-game moments when he could not use his foot speed to create angles and openings. In other words, he aimed to improve in situations where his mobility was limited or unavailable as a bailout mechanism. 

So with Brooks and the EXOS team, Wilson conducted vision drills emphasizing hand-eye coordination and quick decision making. The idea was for Wilson to use his mind, rather than his legs, to make the correct decision under pressure.

For instance, Brooks would run a drill in which he had multiple balls of multiple colors thrown toward Wilson. While the balls were in the air, Brooks would shout out a particular color. It was the balls of this shouted-out color that Wilson had to catch. At varying intervals, Brooks shouted out different colors, forcing Wilson to hear-see-move at a moment's notice.

"The goal is to work on that vision that you need to have on the field," explains Brooks. "It's about his continuing to open his vision and identify patterns and schemes, and progressing with his anticipation and reaction skills."

2. He challenges himself and others to be at their best, even though it is technically off-season training. "He prepped for every day as if it was his game day," says Brooks. "His approach was a lot different from what I've seen, based on his self-motivation and his leading others." 

As an example, Brooks says Wilson would constantly build up his EXOS cohorts (Tate, Ward, and the other pros training with them) so "they'd go up to his level." Early on in the sessions, Wilson led by example. He was the first one in the weight room each morning and the first one back from water breaks.

Later on, once rapports and personalities were established, Wilson, like any leader with people skills, used more vocal encouragement with those whom he felt it would motivate. "He would speak with guys individually before a session started, and he would encourage them," says Brooks. 

Interestingly, Wilson's encouragements are reminiscent of a practice habit that Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has shared.

According to Bruce Feldman's superb book The QB: The Making of Modern Quarterbacks, in 2013 Rodgers was watching Purdue quarterback David Blough during a drill. "Well, what do you think I need to work on the most?" Blough asked him. Rodgers replied:

You're staring down your target. You're throwing one-on-ones, so, of course, you're gonna stare down your receiver, but challenge yourself. You've got all the arm talent in the world. You know you're throwing to this guy, but why not stare down the middle of the field and know what timing he's going to be on, and then, on your last step, look over at him and deliver the ball. Find a way to challenge yourself even if it's on a little routine drill or routes-on-air (against no defenders).

Aside from the chief takeaway of Rodgers's advice--challenge yourself--note the manner in which he delivers it: He compliments Blough and says he grasps why Blough had not been challenging himself previously. In other words, he teaches without reprimanding or preaching.

3. He remains mindful that it is still the off-season, and that intense training must not lead to burnout. "He also works hard in the recovery state of things," explains Brooks.

That is, on recovery days, Wilson would not slack off. He would diligently show up for massage treatments and therapy sessions. "He'd still treat it as a normal training day," says Brooks. 

As a trainer, Brooks knows one of his primary goals--and ongoing challenges--is upping intensity without upping the risk for injury. A key component to it, for Wilson and the rest of Brooks's athletes, is taking time away from the sport before the season officially begins.

Another component is sleep: between seven and nine hours a night, making sure to consume no food in the two or three hours before turning in. 

It's in categories like these--daily habits ensuring rest and reducing burnout--that the parallels between training athletes and training executives are most apparent.

For example, many entrepreneurs need to be reminded about the importance of time off. Left to their own devices, they'll work long days and burn out, even though countless studies suggest they'll be more effective if they sleep long hours and take regular vacations. 

The key, as always, is to know the difference between working harder and working smarter. Of course, mastering that difference is one reason why entrepreneurs often work with coaches too. It's something to keep in mind as you're watching Wilson on Sunday night. Whether the Seahawks win or lose, you know this much: Come the off-season, Wilson will be at it again. 

BE READY FOR YOUR OPPORTUNITY BUT EXCEL AND MASTER YOUR ROLE IN THE MEANTIME

I had the honor of knowing Garrett Temple at a young age because of my relationship with his family.  You knew that no matter what Garrett decided to do in life that he was going to be successful -- he had the right attitude and mindset.  His father Collis Temple was the first African-American to play at LSU and Garrett's older brother, Collis III, was an outstanding student-athlete as well.

The following is an excerpt of an article written by Jorge Castillo for the Washington Post (you can read it in it's entirety here).  It speaks of Garrett's desire to play and compete but his maturity in understand that a professional not only accepts the role he or she has but masters it.  His ability to step in and start early in the season speaks to his being ready when his opportunity came.  I'm a big Garrett Temple fan -- here's why:

Garrett Temple understands his role on the Washington Wizards. He was re-signed over the summer to provide depth at both guard positions as a defensive specialist but, most importantly, to bring a professional presence in the locker room. Temple has fulfilled those duties. He has played sparingly over the last two months but has maintained a positive attitude. He is often the first player applauding his teammates and constantly provides words of encourage. He plays the role to perfection.

But Temple believes he can be more than just a morale booster. He thinks he can contribute on the floor and points to the 13 games he started at the beginning of the season as evidence. He supplied further proof in the Wizards 106-98 loss to the Phoenix Suns Wednesday, captaining an all-reserve unit that trimmed Washington’s deficit from 17 to four points in less than five minutes to start the fourth quarter.

“I know I can play in this league,” Temple, 28, said. “Hopefully I showed that I deserve to play. I’ll get my chance but like I said, I’m going to be a great team player. Whenever I get a chance to play, I’ll go out there and give it my best and that’s basically it.”

“I want to play. I always want to play,” Temple said. “In the NBA you have to have some kind of confidence to be here and I know I can play in this league and I know I can help this team. But at the end of the day, it’s a team sport and we have a lot of guys that have that same mentality.”

Temple was a mainstay on the floor at the beginning of the season. With Bradley Beal sidelined due to a fractured left wrist, Temple started the Wizards’ first 13 games and reached double figures in four of Washington’s five games before his offensive production tapered off. Since then, he has had to adjust to impacting his team through other avenues.

"Me and Drew Gooden talked about this a few weeks ago; you can always affect the game,” Temple said. “If you’re not playing you can affect [a game] by how you act on the bench. If you’re smiling, you’re up being positive, that affects the game. If not, if you have a frown on your face, if you’re looking upset, you want to get into the game and you’re pouting, that’s going to be a negative effect on the game. So whatever I do, I’m going to affect the game in a positive way however I can."

THOUGHTS FROM CELTICS' BRAD STEVENS

For those of you that compete, here are some great concepts to keep in mind from Brad Stevens, head coach of the Boston Celtics:

"You have to earn your right to win the game with effort and togetherness."

"The game honors toughness."

“My goal is win the next game one possession at a time.  That’s it.  I don’t have any other goals.”

“The deal is, you can’t play basketball without a clear mind. And so you’ve got to do your best to control what you can, clear your mind, and not get too overly concerned about things that are not confirmed by people in the position that are ultimately going to make decisions.”

 

NO EXCUSES

WHAT CHAMPIONS KNOW AND DO

The following comes from Jim Afremow as a contributing editor for The Sporting News.  He also has wrote an outstanding book The Champion's Mind: How Great Athletes Think, Train, and Thrive." Follow him on Twitter @goldmedalmind.

1. Champions know that vague goals lead to vague results. They know exactly what they want to accomplish and think of each day a golden opportunity to chip away at their big-picture goal.

2. Champions don't care what the obstacles are because they love to battle and get back on top again. Tough times make them even tougher!

3. Champions always play to the max, whether in practice or games. They go out and ball out with their best attitude and a complete effort.
 
4. Champions learn to make every play (or shot, etc.) count. They relish the poor ones as much as the powerful ones. 

5. Champions keep their attitude and work ethic constant throughout the ups and downs that are part of every season. They never let up or give up.

6. Champions understand that the better they get, the harder they need to work. A true champion never thinks in terms of, "Well, I've got it made."

7. Champions take as much pleasure in the journey as the destination, the process as much as the product. 

WHAT'S MORE IMPORTANT? YOUR TEAM OR YOUR MINUTES?

What type of attitude do you have as a player in regard to what's best for your team?  Are you most worried about the success of your team or the minutes you are going to play?  Here is the greatest of stories about sacrificing individual minutes for the good of the team by possibly the greatest collection of players to ever compete -- the ORIGINAL DREAM TEAM!

The following comes from the Dream Team’s first meeting and is one of the reasons they were truly a dream:

“Look, there are twelve of you, and you’re all All-Stars and future Hall of Famers,” said Coach Chuck Daly, “and there is no way I can get all of you the minutes you’re used to having on—-

Magic and Jordan interrupted him.

“That isn’t going to be a problem,” said Jordan.

“We’re here to win, and nobody is going to care about playing time, Chuck,” Magic said.

Taken from “Dream Team” by Jack McCallum

The original DREAM TEAM included the best that have every played:
Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, David Robinson, Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, Scottie Pippen, Clyde Drexler, Patrick Ewing, David Robinson, Chris Mullin