Providing Insights on Leadership and Success. Coach Bechler is a John Maxwell Leadership Team Member.
I heard an interview with MVP Steph Curry the other night after Game 6 of the NBA Finals, in which he made a comment that got me thinking about my pre-maritial counseling.
Wait, what?!?
You mean it’s not natural to associate Steph Curry getting ejected and throwing mouth-pieces with pre-maritial counseling?
(Originally posted on May 9, 2016)
Five years ago I was inspired by Mike Neighbors, an assistant coach at Xavier University, to begin a newsletter on leadership entitled THE ENCOURAGING LEADER. Neighbors was doing a newsletter for basketball coaches and I really enjoyed it.
(originally posted on April 1, 2016)
I admit it. I like Geno Auriemma.
On Sunday, Geno will lead his UConn team as they play in the NCAA Women’s Final Four located in Indianapolis this year. The Huskies are going for their 4th straight National Championship.
Many people do not like Geno. Many people do not like UConn. Many people say that their dominance is bad for the game. I say excellence and the quest for perfection is not bad.
The following article appeared in the March 2016 issue of Athletic Management. It highlights Marion High School’s Giant Challenge Alumni Weekend and athletic director Jamy Bechler.
(originally posted on March 1, 2016)
March is finally here. If you are a basketball fan like I am, you are excited because it is MARCH MADNESS. We’ll soon be filling out our brackets. There will be 68 top-notch teams in the NCAA basketball tournament. I heard an announcer on ESPN say that this year’s tournament might be the most even tournament in NCAA history. Half of the field has a shot at winning the whole thing.
Talent alone will not set these teams apart. There are so many teams that have fairly equal talent. Just like our team that has started their quest for an 8th high school state championship. We are talented but so are other teams.
What is going to take us from talented to good? What is going to give us an advantage over other talented teams? What differentiates us from the competition? Successful people do things differently. Here are a couple of ways that we can gain a winning edge:
In our most recent Student-Athlete Leadership Team meeting, a student asked a question that had the rest of the group nodding in agreement and adding their two-cents worth to the conversation.
“How do I get my teammates to listen to me”?
There are many variations to this question, but they all come down to student-athletes wanting to influence their teammates in some way. John Maxwell, the #1 leadership expert in the world, says that “Leadership is influence. Nothing more, nothing less.”
Leadership guru, John Maxwell, says that “Leadership is influence and influence is leadership, nothing more, nothing less.” Many people mistakenly think that leadership is a title. Titles may give a person some prestige or artificial power, but true leadership involves the amount of influence that a person has. Maxwell further states that a leader without followers is just a person going for a long walk. [Read more…]
Has your season been disappointing? Are you frustrated with your results? Do you have a sense of despair? Do you feel that there is little hope? If so, then I want to encourage you today to run the race with perseverance and finish strong. Don’t be discouraged.
I am reminded of the Jacob Riis’ quote concerning rock sculptures…
Look at a stone cutter hammering away at his rock, perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred-and-first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not the last blow that did it, but all that had gone before.
“I hope we do better this year.”
“I hope that I start.”
“I hope that we win the championship.”
“I hope that I get recruited by college scouts.”
Have you ever said any of those statements? Have you ever used the word ‘hope’ in describing something about your athletic team or your athletic career? Have you ever wished that something was different but did nothing about it?
This editorial appeared in the Chronicle-Tribune on May 21, 2015We are both grateful and concerned about the effort to plan spending for the Marion High School athletic department. Last week Athletic Director Jamy Bechler came to the school board and said he has been working in the past year to clean up the spending of funds that fall outside of the overall school budget.