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By: Jim Bloch - Retired Athletic Administrator How Do We Define Success? My dear friend, Doug Collins – former NBA player, coach, broadcaster, and current senior advisor to Billy Donovan and the Chicago Bulls – and I delivered a coaches' roundtable workshop at Jacobs High School in Algonquin, Illinois, in late April. We were honored to be invited by their athletic director, Joe Benoit, and principal, Barb Valle. We were scheduled to present from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. The audience was fabulous; they were interested, laser-focused, and asked purposeful questions nonstop. Truth is, we finished just before 10 p.m. and could have gone longer. Amazing effort by all those coaches! Hats off to Barb and Joe for putting together a wonderful evening. On the way home, Doug and I talked about many of the topics presented and rehashed our answers. One of the questions was about measures of success. We felt our answer targeted almost every objective and subjective measure. Then Doug turned to me and said something about how few coaches ever win a major championship, yet so many of them are winners in their own right. Bingo! On went the light. My mind raced. I instantly had my next blog topic! I thanked him for giving me direction. That's what mentors do. They make you think, feel, wonder, and grow. How Do You Define Success? So, in your opinion, how does society define success in youth and high school sports? How might you define it? Is it all, or mostly, about the winning, trophies, banners, and medals? Is it super focused on conference, regional, and state championships? Is it about the number of scholarships kids get? Are extrinsic rewards more valuable (short and long term) than intrinsic rewards? What have society, parents, and coaches used as reminders and reinforcers of success? What lessons are being taught and reinforced relative to achievement/success, and how do we define 'being a winner'? I just threw a lot at you, so take a few more moments and reflect. These are important questions – and the answers are even more crucial.
Success (noun) – the accomplishment of an aim or purpose. So, what is the aim of the athletic experience? Is it mostly driven and focused on product, outcome, and the bottom line? Or is it process-driven? The legendary UCLA coach John Wooden said, "The score, the trophy, a championship, fame or fortune are not success. They are merely by-products of success. The real contest is striving to reach your personal best." That sounds like process to me. What do you think? A wonderful, gifted young teacher/coach named Tim at Prospect High School in Mount Prospect, Illinois told me, "Success is more about intent, focus, and effort." I would agree. Who among us makes intent, focus, and effort the core of our teaching and coaching process and part of how we define success? Who among us consciously seeks to reward and herald these key attributes so our kids slowly come to believe in our process-oriented intent? Do our children feel that we validate these traits as keys to being a 'winning' human being? Getting kids to learn the value of focused, relentless effort applied toward their intent (short-term goals that may lead to longer-term goals-i.e., win the moment, win this play, win this possession) sure sounds like a valuable lesson and marker of success. It seems to be a lesson that fits in any process; anywhere, anytime. It's a lesson that can create sustained success far longer than the 'under 12, C flight trophy' that landed in a carton and, most likely, now resides in the basement. Intrinsic lessons and markers of success have a prolonged and powerful shelf life. A few years ago, in retirement, I had the opportunity to serve as an interim assistant athletic director at West Aurora High School in Aurora, Illinois. The prime focus of my service, as defined by the principal, was to help groom their new athletic director. That person, Jason, is now recognized as one of the most dedicated, innovative leaders in Illinois athletic administration. Not because of my guidance or mentoring, but because of his philosophy, his intent, and his focus. He became unconditionally committed to establishing and maintaining a teaching/coaching process-a template that, unlike a trophy, would not fade or tarnish. I asked him about this notion of "never a champion, but always a winner" and how he defines success. I'll let the poignancy of his comments stand for themselves. "The sports industry (youth, travel, high school) is littered with 'champions.' Anyone can win a tournament if you find the right tournament to enter. Forget that! Give me a team that is going to play in a difficult tournament and grind through some tough times. Win some. Lose some. Bottom line, they battle and learn. Those are the winners. Those are the successful ones." "I'll take the car ride home with my kid(s) where I commend them on their perseverance and hard work-especially in defeat-over the car ride where we talk about how much the competition sucked and how our team kicked everyone's backside and got a cheap piece of plastic that gets chucked in a corner, then mom and dad pitch it out in 20 years. "Nope. It's the winners we want to hire here as coaches and teach our kids, because they learned to sustain the grind." He concluded his thoughts by sharing a quote many of us may have seen and maybe even posted near our desks. This quote serves as a reminder of the value of creating and maintaining a process as the true measure of success: "Most people don't want to be part of the process; they just want to be part of the outcome. But the process is where you figure out who's worth being part of the outcome." He made me think about the varsity baseball team I currently help coach-and which players we've reached through our process. Which players have bought into the intent and the drive to incrementally become better by focusing on each moment, each play, each inning as we scaffold toward intermittent goals? It made me even more determined to continue verbally rewarding each action and moment that feeds this process, giving kids the reinforcement to energize and sustain their motivation. His comments validated the message: choosing to engage in our clearly defined process is what creates success. I could not be more committed to the belief that our charge, as coaches, is to use the athletic journey to teach the most powerful of life's lessons. While I understand trophies, medals, banners, and championships have a specific purpose, I believe that purpose is episodic. Episodic in that they serve as a brief benchmark-a reminder that a process, engaged with purpose and fervent intent, works. It's the process that bears dividends. Does it automatically ensure the desired outcome? No, of course not. But it surely increases the probability of success. It's healthy to remember there is only one state champion, and only about 2% of high school athletes earn a college scholarship. Are championships and scholarships something to be proud of? Yes, of course. Can they be reminders that hard work, effort, and purpose matter? Absolutely. But subtract the one state champion and the 2% scholarships, and you have the vast majority of participants. Are we saying they aren't winners simply because they didn't reach those benchmarks? Scholarships, like state championships and trophies, should not be the focus of our definition of success. Because if they are, then we are creating a plethora of 'losers.' I simply refuse to accept that notion. We offer so much more to all those we coach. Joe, an athletic director at St. Charles North High School in Illinois said: "I realized something as a high school coach and teacher. The greatest joy comes from being part of the journey of a kid's life. Winning is such a small part of that bigger journey." Unlike 'The Wizard of Oz' – Pay Attention to The Woman Behind the Curtain I am fortunate to have someone who drives my blog writing. She is the 'blog boss,' and I say that with admiration and respect. She drives the technology, edits my writing, and centers me. I was fortunate to meet her when I taught at Northeastern Illinois University after my retirement from New Trier. She was a '2nd BA' student with desires to teach and coach. Lynn is so accomplished in her own right-amazing wife, mother, educator, and administrator, not to mention she was an accomplished high school and collegiate athlete. "The most important life skills-work ethic, focus, and goal-oriented effort-are what makes a winner," Lynn said. "I can teach them to value the relationships they are building with their teammates. I can teach them to take pride in themselves and what they are doing together. I can teach them to do the right thing, be good human beings, show good sportsmanship. Success is best built and defined by those lessons." Lynn's powerful comments strike at the heart of the book Tuesdays with Morrie. This amazing, real story and its numerous life lessons serve as a shining example of the power of relationships, connectivity, mentoring, and caring. These are the attributes we can help create and give to those we teach, coach, and guide. If you've read the book, you know exactly what I am talking about. The immense power of the teacher-student or coach-athlete relationship is not to be denied. If done well, as Morrie did with Mitch, 'winners' are created through the power of connectivity and caring. Morrie was never a champion-but he was undeniably one of the most prolific winners in our profession. His influence continues today through the poignant writing and powerful storytelling of renowned author Mitch Albom. Peace of Mind When I moved from Glenbrook North High School to New Trier High School to be their athletic director, I was the subject of several interviews. During one session, the writer asked me how I define success. I paused, looked him in the eye and said, "Peace of mind." I said, "Yes. I hope we teach these student-athletes the peace of mind that comes with learning to do the right thing, the right way, at the right time-and to do it with maximum, unrelenting effort. Why? Because those four points are, in my opinion, the ultimate template for increasing a person's opportunity for success." I went on to explain that I believe this template would work anywhere in someone's life-relationships, school, sports/activities, and work. I've always believed that through the athletic journey, our coaches were 'tour guides' charged with the wonderful responsibility and good fortune to teach these life lessons. Pressure is a privilege. Teachers and coaches are under pressure from a variety of sources-some warranted and expected, some not. However, I believe no one is better trained and equipped to help young people grow. The key is that we, as teachers and coaches, are intent and focused on delivering processes that enable kids to effectively manage the twists and turns of the path. We understand our job is to prepare the kid for the path-not prepare the path for the kid. Never a Champion; But Always a Winner I was never a part of a team that was a proverbial champion. But I'm reminded I may be viewed as 'a winner' each time a former player contacts me for advice, consultation, help preparing for an interview, to invite me to their wedding, or simply calls to say, "Hey coach, I was just thinking about you." So many of you have been in these wonderful situations because of the process you've created to help others grow. Take a moment and think about the impact you've had on kids-you should be proud. I believe our processes will not only help 'prepare kids for the path' but will instill in them a powerful belief-a belief in themselves. The staying power of that belief probably outshines most, if not all, extrinsic rewards. As an example, I recently received a call from a student-athlete I coached in high school. I was a very young head baseball coach in the late '70s. He told me he was going to be honored by his colleagues and had to deliver a speech as part of the event's festivities. He said, "Coach, your ears are going to be ringing on May 18." When I asked why, he said, "Because I'm going to talk about you. I'm going to tell the audience about your influence and the difference you made in my life. I wouldn't be where I am today without you." His words literally brought tears to my eyes and a warmth that reverberated. Nope, no trophy for me. No medal. No championship rings. Just the knowledge that, as a coach, I somehow made a positive difference in a person's life. The process worked. He won; I won. And that notion will never end up in a box in the basement or be discarded. |
Never a Champion; But Always a Winner [NIAAA]
