Providing Insights on Leadership and Success. Coach Bechler is a John Maxwell Leadership Team Member.
Unless you landed on earth in an UFO and hail from an alien planet, you have some issues that need solving. Let’s face it . . . we all have problems. We all are faced with hundreds of choices per day.
(Originally written on July 1, 2016)July is here. That means one month left until the start of official practices for many athletes. How will you spend this month? Will you be prepared when October and November asks you to pay up for what you did in June and July?
Bobby Knight used to say “Failing to prepare is preparing to fail”.
It seems that every high school and college student-athlete is using some form of social media almost constantly. With the advent of smart phones, it is easier now than ever before to communicate and share opinions and thoughts. With this greater opportunity comes a greater responsibility to be wise.
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.”
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?
(originally published on January 9, 2015)
The Oregon Ducks and the Ohio State Buckeyes will battle Monday night in the first-ever College Football Playoffs Championship Game. Both teams have glaring examples of people who took advantage of opportunities presented to them and didn’t quit or become disruptive to their teams. I will come back to these Bucks and Ducks in a moment.
As a long-time coach and now an athletic director, it pains me every time that I see a student-athlete get disgruntled over playing time or their role on the team. In nearly every case, the player quits. Oh, they might not quit the team and they might not even make a visible show but slowly and surely they cash out mentally. Instead of seeing the opportunity in every challenge, as Winston Churchill used to say, they see the difficulty in every opportunity. Unfortunately instead of persevering, they make excuses and take on a victim-mentality.
(originally published on January 1, 2015)
It’s the first day of the new year. This is a day of new beginnings. It is a day that gets people thinking about change. I went to the gym this afternoon for my normal exercise session. There were a number of new people there that I haven’t seen before. I think this will become the new normal…at least for a month or so. New Year’s resolutions abound. Promises are made. Commitments are revealed.
Big Blue Nation and the University of Kentucky recently won its’ 8th NCAA men’s basketball national championship (editor’s note: originally published on April 26, 2012). Head coach John Calipari and his much-publicized dribble drive offense finally got his first national title after a near miss with the University of Memphis in 2008 against the Kansas Jayhawks. Though Coach Cal added to his already spectacular career, the dribble drive did not really add a national championship to its resume.