Take Responsibility

We must take responsibility for our actions. How we respond to our experiences and circumstances is our choice. We control it, but we give our power away when we blame others.

“When you blame others, you give up your power to change.” – Author Unknown

By making the choice to take responsibility we simultaneously gain the power to make the changes we desire to see.

“If you take responsibility for yourself you will develop a hunger to accomplish your dreams.” - Les Brown

By taking responsibility over your own performance you give yourself the power needed to enhance your own abilities.

Action Item

What actions can you own up to today? Decide right now to own them and take on the power to make the change.

Commitment

Commitment is at the center of excellence. Excellence cannot be achieved without a high degree of commitment. It is giving yourself totally to the task and directing all your resources toward the achievement and realization of your objective. It is when your objective becomes your responsibility, an obligation that can only be realized if you do it.

Task

Decide today what objective you want to achieve. Commit fully to it, direct your resources towards it, and take the first step towards making it a reality.

Teamwork

The pinnacle of excellence is achieved when every player has humbled their self to the point of simply desiring to contribute to the success of the team and sacrifice their own selfish ambition for the good of the whole. When team members are willing and able to embrace the team’s values, commit, buy-in, and believe in the team’s mission, then this is a team that is on the path.

What Does It Take?

It takes a change in the philosophy of individualism to the collective transformative wisdom that says, “We’re all in this together.” This change requires the individual to make a choice; a choice to let go of the self and embrace the values of the team.

"If a team is to reach its potential, each player must be willing to subordinate his personal goals to the good of the team." Bud Wilkinson

Discipline

Discipline is all too often perceived as negative. But discipline is the key ingredient in being a champion. But what exactly is discipline? It is activity, exercise, or a regimen that develops or improves a skill such as training. Its purpose is to shape behavior in accord with specific rules of conduct. In athletics where instinct and muscle memory are critically important to compete at a high level, it is important to train the body and mind to function in accord with higher levels of competitive excellence.

Through discipline we learn to control our eating habits, exercises, our mind, how we respond to challenges, how to tackle obstacles, and many other behaviors. Sometimes we need a coach to help us shape these desired behaviors and break old habits that hinder our growth. 

“Discipline is the defining fire by which talent becomes ability.” Roy Smith

Clear Choices

Every morning we get up we have a choice to make. Many of us make this choice habitually. We have unconsciously triggered a set pattern of behaviors that has led us to the point we are today and positions us for future experiences.

Are we aware of the choices we make and the habitual behavioral patterns we have triggered?

The good news is we have all been given the gracious gift of free will to choose who we are and what we want to become in any given moment.

“It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” – Joanne Kathleen

Life Lessons

Sport provides such an excellent platform to teach important life principles and values that help shape the character of young people. All experiences are of value to youth development. The exhilaration of victory and the pain and disappointment of defeat have their place.

Life will deliver its blows. What we must teach is how to respond. The question is, how strong are we mentally, physically, and spiritually to take these blows and make the choice to keep standing back up and moving forward?

“There are two primary choices in life; to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them.” Denis Waitley

Picture found at: specialistpainphysio.com

The First Day of Practice

The first day is always weird for everyone; new faces, new challenges, and many other unknowns. Parents, players, and coaches all feel it in the beginning. But it all ends up working itself out. Players get to know each other, parents get more comfortable with the routine, and coaches gain a better understanding of the team’s strengths and weaknesses.

Once the stress and pressure of the first practice is over there are a few days of relief, then the focus moves towards anticipation of the first game.

It’s all part of the process we enjoy so much.