| re literally hundreds of different ways to dissect a | | | | they ask more questions about the offensive plays |
| championship team. We can look at overall speed, | | | | and defensive sets, they flat out care more, and |
| agility, quickness and raw athletic power, defensive | | | | they flat out find more ways to win. Do you see |
| ability, game time offensive and defensive execution, | | | | how different this is from just mere practice and |
| shooting ability, passing, rebounding, ability to perform | | | | game intensity? But here is the downside. In my |
| in the clutch, and the list goes on and on. I believe in | | | | years of working with countless teams and |
| stripping things down to their most basic form, and | | | | programs, many athletes find it easy to verbalize this |
| as important as each of the aforementioned | | | | emotional commitment vs. truly making the emotional |
| elements are in their contribution to a championship | | | | commitment. Why? The reason relates to not |
| season, there is a basic question that must first be | | | | wanting to risk the emotional pain of coming up short |
| answered by each athlete individually, and by each | | | | and the damage to the self-esteem — of not |
| team collectively. | | | | being all you thought you were. One of the axioms I |
| 1. Are you willing to emotionally commit to a | | | | use often is that the pain of not achieving your goals |
| championship run? | | | | will always be greater than the pain it takes to |
| At first glance, this question appears so basic and so | | | | achieve them. Forgive the poor grammar that I am |
| easy to answer as to appear almost laughable. Many | | | | about to use for emphasis, but truly caring aint |
| coaches are much more interested in discussing the | | | | easy,’ yet it is critical to win a championship. |
| need to commit the necessary practice intensity, | | | | How do you know your athletes have emotionally |
| time, blood, sweat and tears in individual and team | | | | committed to the task of winning a championship, |
| practice sessions to give them the right to play for a | | | | and not just verbally committed? You will see it in |
| championship, but as we will discuss, this is not nearly | | | | their eyes after every loss, you will see them with a |
| as important or difficult as truly committing to a | | | | desire to put someone in the 7th row with a legal, |
| championship run emotionally. Well what’s the | | | | ethical, but extremely powerful and determined |
| difference? | | | | box-out in the game following that loss because it |
| The primary goal of our mind is to preserve life. Put | | | | was a must have rebound. And you will see it on the |
| someone in a room that is on fire, and all of a sudden | | | | practice floor, when you sneak into the gym and |
| the need to eat, brush your hair, wash, play | | | | hideout just to observe your team practice for a |
| basketball, expand your knowledge through | | | | few minutes without you around; and you will see a |
| education, or anything else, becomes relatively | | | | team practicing with the intensity, energy and focus |
| unimportant. And so in this instance, the mind makes | | | | of a team that wants to win a championship, treating |
| it a primary priority to get the heck out of that | | | | every play like a life or death possession. |
| room. For the mind, a close second to life | | | | However, the thing that is truly amazing about an |
| preservation, is preserving the self-esteem. Unlike the | | | | athlete’s self-esteem is that truly putting it |
| body, which can at times heal itself, the | | | | on the line’ emotionally, and truly caring about |
| mind’s self-esteem has no such function when | | | | playing for a championship, only creates a fear and |
| damaged, and damaged self-esteem left unchecked | | | | façade’ of damage to the self-esteem. |
| leads to depression and ultimately total dysfunction. | | | | True, the pain of defeat (if it occurs) is real enough, |
| So what’s my point? To emotionally commit | | | | but the real result of truly committing to something |
| to something is to put our self-esteem on the line, | | | | on this level is ultimately a heroic rise in self-respect |
| feeling the potential for damage and emotional pain if | | | | and self-esteem that few things in life will ever equal. |
| we do not succeed and come up short, suffering the | | | | I tell athletes to be a hero to themselves.’ |
| anguish of realizing we are not all we thought we | | | | And yes, they can be and will be if they ever have |
| were. Many athletes will give you 100% practice and | | | | the courage to commit to something in life on this |
| game intensity and yet you will never know that | | | | level. As a result, their self-respect and self-esteem |
| they have not emotionally committed to a goal of a | | | | can only be improved, regardless of the end result. |
| championship, and this is one of the most | | | | And there are so very few things in life as sacred, |
| misunderstood concepts in sports and our overall | | | | pure and inspirational as emotional commitment on |
| understanding of how the mediocre mind vs. the | | | | this level. The great Bill Russell, one of the greatest |
| mind of a champion operates. | | | | winners in the history of all sports - winning 11 NBA |
| Many coaches will just be pleased with athletes that | | | | Championships in 13 years - once said that the |
| will physically commit close to 100%, because truth | | | | heart of a champion has to do with the depth of our |
| be told, just that type of commitment alone is not | | | | Commitment. |
| always common. But intensity alone does not win | | | | For the athletes who are able to give this type of |
| championships. Athletes who have decided that they | | | | emotional commitment to you, the physical follow |
| TRULY care about playing for a championship will also | | | | through in practice intensity and game intensity will be |
| take care of the INTANGIBLES that are critical for | | | | a formality. These athletes will show up to EVERY |
| championships. These athletes lead better, they hold | | | | practice, and their games will be a mere extension of |
| each other accountable in practice and in games vs. | | | | the way they practice. They take pride in |
| always relying on the coach to make corrections, | | | | themselves, and pride in their team. |