Being the best not only takes talent, but also a willingness to be the best that you can be. In this week’s
edition of “Coach’s Corner”, UL co-head softball coach Michael Lotief writes about how you must push yourself,
to be the best that you can be, in his “Push Yourself: You Don’t Have To Be #1, To Be #1″ blog, below.
PUSH YOURSELF: YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE #1, TO BE #1
To be #1 you have to push yourself with incredible energy
and invisible determination, you have to overcome adversity yet remain positive, and you must allow yourself to be challenged
(by the game and others) in order to be the best!
I love March Madness. The Final 4 is set – UCONN, Kentucky,
VCU and Butler. For the first time since the seeding system started, there are NO NUMBER 1 seeds in the Final Four nor
are there any NUMBER 2 seeds. UConn is a 3 seed, Kentucky a 4 seed, Butler an 8 seed, and VCU an 11 seed. If you
expect to BE #1, without being #1 then you better be prepared to take advantage of any and all opportunities afforded you
and you better PUSH YOURSELF with reckless abandon. How do you motivate a group to achieve at a higher standard than
they are expected to? VCU knocked off #1 Kansas; Butler knocked off #1 Pitt. How does that happen? You are
competing against teams with players who are stronger and faster than yours. Those teams have bigger budgets and better
equipment and MORE everything (more material things, that is). It is a stiff challenge. If your opponent has MORE
material (an advantage in talent and money) then you better surely have MORE fight, MORE energy, MORE passion, MORE belief,
MORE intensity and MORE PUSH. How do you get individual players to accept the challenge of daily improvement –
pushing forward day by day? Where does the % of improvement come from? From pushing yourself to be number 1!
PUSH YOURSELF to be number 1. You must know what you want to do (clear goals); you must know exactly what you expect
to accomplish (clear vision); you must visualize yourself achieving IT (believe in yourself); and you must push yourself everyday
to get better and better and closer and closer to your potential. Pushing yourself means breaking out of your comfort
zone. If you achieve a goal or start to get close to the finish line, then set a higher goal. Define a new goal.
Chase after a bigger dream. When you start out on the journey, we all have a bit of self-doubt. Sometimes after
a disappointing performance, we say, “I’ll never be able to accomplish that” or “I’m not good
enough to beat that person or team”. You must stay positive in your approach and eliminate all self-limiting beliefs
(the elephant with the rope around his leg). If you can believe it and visualize it and feel it in your heart, then
you can do it. Sometimes the % of improvement you need to go from a disappointing loss to victory needs to come from
working harder; but most times you do not need to work any harder (i.e. put in more hours – quantity); instead your
approach can be revised so it is smarter (quality of your work) and more efficient. Sometimes your goals & expectations
need to be set higher. Sometimes you need to push harder and allow others to push you higher. You need to surround
yourself with a support structure (TEAM) that can provide you with the best instruction and guidance; that will PUSH you and
hold you accountable to do your best; that will encourage and challenge you to persevere; and most of all, that will create
an environment where you can LEARN and achieve daily.
In law school on the very 1st day
of class, I had a professor who proudly boasted – look to your right and look to your left, 2 out of the 3 will NOT
make it, 2 out of the 3 will flunk out, 2 out of the 3 will not make the cut. WOW! The people sitting in that
classroom were the best of the best. They were SELECTED to be sitting there. They had to pass entrance exams and
rank at the top of their undergraduate classes. They were over-achievers, who knew how to work hard, who were exceptionally
smart and self-motivated. That certain professor showed up everyday and gave lectures and obviously proved to all of
us how smart he was and what command he had over the subject matter. But beyond being smart and articulate, he did nothing
more to HELP any of us reach our potential nor defy the odds of 2 out 3 not making it. He lectured, gave us the assignments
and then graded the exams. At the end of our 1st year, in
fact, 2 out 3 did not make it.
2 out of 3 flunking out is unacceptable, especially when you are working with the
best of the best. In athletics, I believe that is the coach’s responsibility to PUSH their players to make sure
they GET IT. We have to do more than just stand up and give a great lecture and hope that our students get it.
The ability of any good professor or teacher or coach is to take a complex subject (like hitting or pitching or advanced marketing)
and break it down to a level that the player/student can understand and master. And you have to explain it over and
over and over again. You have to come up with a different example or a different drill or a different analogy each day.
You have to sit down and watch video with the players. You have to continuously encourage and challenge each one of
them to stay at it. You have to stay after practice and explain it again one on one and watch them do the drill or perform
the skill and give them specific feedback on every swing or every pitch. You can be book smart and throw out all of
the big 10 syllable words or you can be an All-American athlete who knows how to perform the skill effortlessly, but if the
player does not understand what you are talking about, or if the player is struggling with getting their body to get in the
proper position or to feel what you are explaining, then there is no way that their skill level will improve. They will
flunk out. So, you come up with yet another drill or you watch some more video or you throw more batting practice or
you come up with another way to describe the material or do whatever and whenever to PUSH the player to get it.
Not only are coaches and teachers and professors challenged to PUSH their students and players to master the skills (hitting)
or the subject matter (marketing), but there are greater challenges. How do you make sure the player is PUSHING mentally
too? How do you make sure that the player is properly MOTIVATED? How do you get the player to get rid of self-limiting
beliefs? How do you get the player to set higher goals and standards for themselves and the team? Coaching
& leadership & teaching is not cheerleading or giving a great pre-game speech. It is getting ALL of your players/students
to play the game at a certain standard. To do that, you must invest plenty of time and energy into a relationship and
into the process. You have to get that player to perform at their potential, and most times that involves some PUSHING.
You can’t just give the lecture and the ones who get it, get it — and the ones who don’t, flunk. It’s
a four-year journey; and sometimes a 5-year journey.
The following two quotes from George Bernard Shaw and Thomas Buxton
give further meaning and perspective to what it means for somebody to PUSH themselves. The first one by Shaw is about ATTITUDE
and the next one by Buxton is about EFFORT. You have to have the right attitude and then put forth the required effort
in order to push yourself to be number 1.
“The true joy in life is to be a force of
fortune instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself
to making you happy.” — George Bernard Shaw
It’s all about your attitude and
your perspective. Are you a “force of fortune” or a “clod of ailments”? Having the opportunity
to play college athletics is a “fortune”; a wonderful opportunity. First of all, it is suppose to be hard.
The hard is what makes it special and the hard is what makes it worthwhile and the hard is what makes it fun and so rewarding.
This generation of college athletes are fortunate to be stronger and faster and smarter and more talented and skilled and
more schooled in the nuances of the game. They have the talents/abilities to succeed at a high level. Especially
in female athletics, this generation is fortunate because more and more resources and exposure and opportunities are available
than just a generation ago. But more important than the material resources, are the fortunes of having a support structure/TEAM
in place to catch you when you fall and love you when you fail yet challenge you to push harder and dream bigger and hold
you accountable to do your best day after day. Playing the game and having the “fortune” to push to be your
BEST is fun. Too many people are of the opinion that resources should be devoted to appease the “selfish clod
of ailments and grievances”. If you are trying to be the best THEN no whining; no excuses; no blaming and pointing
the finger; no pity parties are allowed.
“The difference between one person and another,
between the weak and the powerful, the great and the insignificant, is energy – invisible determination….This
quality will do anything that has to be done in the world, and no talents, no circumstances, no opportunities will make you
a great person without it.’ — Thomas Buxton
PUSHING YOURSELF to be number one involves an “invisible
determination”. Players who push themselves are absolutely relentless. They are intrinsically motivated.
They have devotion and discipline. They pursue excellence. Everyday they PROGRESS and move forward with a plan
to do something that makes them and the team better. They are determined to practice until they are able to play to
the best of their ability. Ordinary effort and energy is mediocrity. The challenge is to find a way to elevate your
environment. That is not easy. You must actively pursue the highest possible performance level. It’s
tough to consistently compete at a high level, day in and day out over a number of years. But if you train at the most
INTENSE levels, then and only then will your improvement be remarkable. Also, being a part of a team (something bigger
than just you) should encourage and motivate you to work harder. The fruits of your labor not only benefit you, but
more importantly, it matters to others; the quality of your work directly impacts the success of the team. Just like
the flock of geese, everyone is responsible to do their part. Teamwork is the most essential ingredient of success.
Being on a team helps you learn how to be held accountable to others as you work towards a common goal. The combination
of pursuing excellence, being a part of a team and being challenged and held accountable and the feelings you feel deep down
inside go a long way towards determining how hard you will push.
Along the way, we all have to face some adversity on our
journey. When the adversity arrives, then we have to even PUSH harder than before. In softball, we have had players
who have torn their ACL, torn their labrum, broken their ankle, and had appendectomy surgery. These kids were performing
at a high level athletically and then comes the injury. The game presents them with a challenge. Before the injury,
they were the fastest or they could pitch the hardest or they could hit the farthest, and then comes the injury and the adversity.
No longer can they rely on just pure athletic talent and ability. The test is whether these kids can find a way to PUSH
themselves. Even if they are a step slower or lose a couple miles of an hour on their fastball or hit the ball 20 feet
less on the line drive — can they make that up in their intensity level or with an A+ attitude or with greater effort
or with smarter play and better decisions? If your edge is not pure talent and ability, then can you still find a way
to win? If you are not number 1, then can you still find a way to be your best? Failure and injuries and losses
and disappointment and setbacks and mischance and rough seas are all part of the journey. Adversity provides
opportunity to PUSH and develop your indomitable will. It allows you to let your soul shine. It forces you to
become more than just talented; it forces you to become skillful.
“Show me someone who has done something worthwhile
and I will show you someone who has overcome adversity.” — Lou Holtz
“The beauty of
the soul shines out when a man bears with composure one heavy mischance after another, not because he does not feel them,
but because he is a man of high heroic temper.” — Aristotle
“Strength does not come
from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.”–Mahatma Gandhi
“Smooth
seas do not make skillful sailors” — African proverb
When the GAME CHALLENGES you or when
ADVERSITY rears its head or when the SEAS ARE NO LONGER SMOOTH, you must answer the challenge and overcome the adversity and
BECOME A SKILLFUL SAILOR and let the BEAUTY OF YOUR SOUL SHINE. Players do not have to have the most talent or be the
biggest or the strongest nor the fastest, to put every ounce of their energy into getting better. The player that sees
the adversity as a growing experiences and a learning opportunity is the one that is going to PUSH through it. The player
who puts every ounce of their energy into getting better and who embraces the adversity and welcomes the challenges of the
game to push even harder, can and will beat the faster, stronger, bigger athlete who refuses to commit to the process of becoming
their best and who shies away from the adversity and is content to never be challenged outside of their comfort zone.
Players who are talented but who do not PUSH themselves to improve must understand that they will never reach their potential.
They are doing themselves a huge disservice and are a wasting a valuable opportunity to become of champion. Furthermore,
they need to understand how their actions not only undermine their own talents but they also undermine the potential of the
TEAM.
Lastly, if you have figured out how to PUSH yourself to be the best, then it is your responsibility
to help your teammate PUSH too. It’s not necessarily easy to get players to perform at a desired standard.
It takes COURAGE to constantly provide direction to others. It takes commitment to continuously communicate and demand
that people perform to a standard that is consistent with their talents and abilities. Most competitors welcome
“any kind” of communication “at any time” that helps them get the job done and that challenges them
to be the best. If the standard is high and the ambition is to be the best and we are all striving to realize our potential,
then it is ok to demand excellence of everyone in the organization and to hold each other accountable to that higher standard
and to require each other to push themselves daily. Leadership (truly caring about your teammates) means driving others
and pushing them and expecting them to play at the highest level. Demanding excellence, holding each other accountable
and requiring each other to push themselves and by requiring that they get rid of the rope (limiting beliefs) around their
ankles are steps to becoming number 1.
I think too much of our culture wraps success around winning and
losing. In college athletics, there is absolutely no guarantee that if you work yourself to death, and do everything
right, that you will win. Everyone wants to create a formula for success that says if you work incredibly hard, things
will always go your way. But we all know, that thing do not always go your way. Win or lose, the focus is on continuing
your development. How do you get a 20 year old kid who is constantly being told “how good she is”, and the
game has rewarded her with a certain amount of success, to realize that she could be better (that she must be better) and
that she must keep pushing to be number 1? Winning is not the goal – it is finding out what your very best is.
Athletics allows you to see yourself more clearly. If you bring the proper perspective, mindset, and spirit to the game,
then the competition will allow you a chance to PUSH YOURSELF to be NUMBER1 even if you are not NUMBER 1!
