OVERCOMING SOMEONE ELSE'S POOR OPINION

We have read and shared stories about amazing athletes that overcame negative opinions of coaches at an early age.  Michael Jordan, Shaquille O'Neil and Bob Cousy were all actually cut from their high school team.  From www.successmagazine.com comes another story from Mike Zimmerman on another of sports greatest who had to dig past the opinion of a coach:

When David Beckham was 13 and dreaming of playing pro football (soccer to the Americans among us), one of his coaches said the magic words: “You’ll never play for England because you’re too small and not strong enough.”

As Beckham told me, the coach wasn’t joking or trying to be ironic. He meant it. And young David was devastated. Temporarily.

It occurred to him, even at 13—or maybe because he was 13, since adolescent rage can carry you far—that he could re-dedicate himself and prove that coach wrong. “As much as I was upset at the time, it made me think, Well, I’m going to prove that I can play football professionally,” he says. “Back in those days there were a lot of people who thought to be a player in England you had to have a full-grown beard and be big enough to kick the ball as far as possible. It’s changed now.”

Beckham helped change the thinking. Even though he wasn’t the biggest man on the pitch, his speed and uncanny scoring ability helped him become one of the great players in the history of the game—and one of the most popular athletes in the world. Captain of the English national team for six years, he collected more than 100 “caps,” meaning he played for his country more than 100 times, an honor few players have achieved.

Stories like Beckham’s are always interesting to us—maybe because it’s fun to root for the underdog (though no one thinks of Beckham as an underdog today). Maybe because we have an innate desire to see people proved wrong. But when does a story like this become more? When do you make it your own?

All of us have had someone tell us we can’t do or be something we dream of doing or being. Maybe it was a coach, teacher or family member. But these days, the person telling you that you can’t achieve a dream is more likely the one person you absolutely must have on your side: you.

Henry Ford said something similar: “Whether you think you can or you can’t, you’re right.”

Here’s an interesting exercise: Every time you hear that big voice in your head (there are no little voices in our heads), think of it as some frustrated, ignorant coach telling you you’ll never play for England. Get angry. Get motivated. Then get moving.

...BEFORE I BECAME HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION

"Before I won a gold medal at the Olympics, before I became the heavyweight champion of the world, before I stoop up to the United States Government for my religious beliefs, before I was named a United Nations Ambassador of Peace, and before I became the most recognized person in the world, I was just a kid from Kentucky who had the faith to believe in himself and the courage to follow his heart."

LIFE = RISK

Special thanks to Coach Ray Lokar for posting this in Lok's Ledger and bringing it to our attention:

WHEN YOU ARE ALONE, WHAT DOES YOU ACTIONS SAY ABOUT YOUR CHARACTER?

“The measure of a man’s real character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.”
-Thomas McCauley

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.  His character.

Theodore Roosevelt extended the definition to self-awareness and independent self-evaluation saying, “I care not of what others think I do, but I care very much about what I think of what I do. That is character.”

From “Coaching The Mental Game” by H. A. Dorfman

WHAT DO THE GREAT DO IN THE OFF-SEASON? WORK TO BECOME BETTER

The following comes from an SI.com  article on LeBron James.

He's working out twice a day, trying to erase some of the sting that's still there after the Heat lost to the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA finals.

"Right now I've just been focusing on being a better player, working on my game every single day," James said at a news conference before the AP interview. "Like I said, the Dallas Mavericks were a great team and they deserved to win that championship. And I'll just use that as motivation coming into this season."

He's also trying to deliver on his vow to be even better whenever the Heat resume play, saying he's been in Houston at times this offseason to learn post play from one of the game's all-time greats, former Rockets star Hakeem Olajuwon.

"I look at what he was able to do throughout his career," James said. "Unbelievable talent. Multiple champion. Just to see how he was able to dominate in the low post, for me as an individual, I just try to look at some of the things I feel I need to get better at and hit home at it. Our team becomes better if I continue to get better and that's what it's about."

Read the entire article: http://bit.ly/o6vgH0

"A LIFETIME OF TRAINING"

"A lifetime of training for just ten seconds."

~ Jesse Owens

(on running the 100-meter dash in the Olympics)

"I run on the road long before

I dance under the lights."

~ Muhammad Ali

 

"It's better to look ahead and

prepare than to look back and regret."

~ Jackie Joyner-Kersee

I HATE TO LOSE

"If you're going to play at all, you're

out to win. Baseball, board games,

 playing Jeopardy, I hate to lose."

-Derek Jeter

CHARACTER -- IT'S IN THE TRYING

Shout out to Ray Lokar for posting this scene from Friday Night lights on twitter...great message for us all!

FOR US TO BE CHAMPIONS

Jason Kidd addressing his Olympic teammates:

“For us to be champions, I think we need to be three things.  First, we need to be unselfish-with playing time and in making the extra pass.  Second, we need to be smart-taking good shots and always being aware of time, score and fouls.  And third,” I concluded, “we need to be aggressive-not just when we have the ball but in movement away from the ball.  We need to hit the offensive boards and attack the passing lanes on defense.”

From "The Gold Standard" by Mike Krzyzewski

TEAMWORK AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL

WORK BEFORE GLORY

EVEN THE GREAT ONES KNOW HOW TO ACCEPT THEIR ROLE

During my recent recruiting trip, I have enjoyed reading Tim Tebow's book and really believe it would be a great book for athletes to read -- especially those that are very gifted.  Tim shows throughout the book the importance of being and staying grounded through a variety of obstacles. 

Early this week I tweeted that it isn't always about the accomplishments but about the hurdles you overcome during the accomplishments.  Tim is a great example of handling a variety of speed bumps in maximizing his potential.

For instance, coming out of high school, he was one of the nation's most recruited athletes -- to the point that ESPN did a documentary on him in high school.  Many athletes is this light would expect to start as a freshman and some would pout if they didn't.  But Tim Tebow understand what was important for the team as he writes:

"For me, more important than winning the quarterback job was earning some playing time, being part of the team, building the trust of the coaches and my teammates, and being able to contribute.  That's what I took so much pride in and what I wanted to accomplish.  I hoped to carve out a role for myself that contributed to the good of the team in every game."

From "Through My Eyes" by Tim Tebow

HOW DO YOU DEFINE YOURSELF?

"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.  His character."

-H.A. Dorfman

MJ: ALWAYS HAD TO WIN

Leroy Smith on teammate Michael Jordan:

“He and I practiced every day together and he always had to win. If it was a game of Horse and you beat him, you would have to play another game until he won. You didn’t go home until he had won.”

TY COBB ON CONFIDENCE

“Every great batter works on the theory

 that the pitcher is more afraid of him

than he is of the pitcher.”

-Ty Cobb