Let's Go Team!

“Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean."
- Ryunsuke Satoro

***
Rick Pitino is considered a successful and well respected basketball coach. He has coached at both the collegiate and professional levels. 1n 1996 he led the University of Kentucky to a national championship. Currently, Coach Pitino is the head basketball coach at the University of Louisville. Throughout his coaching career, Rick Pitino has demanded that his players understand the true meaning of teamwork.

The following story speaks to Coach Pitino’s teamwork philosophy. In 1985, Pitino accepted the head coaching job at Providence College. Many of his friends and colleages attempted to talk him out of taking the job. Because of the basketball atomosphere at Providence, many thought he was committing career suicide. The basketball program at Providence had struggled for years. There was no winning attitude, no sense of pride and no spirit of teamwork. Pitino set out to change all that.

During one of his initial meetings with the new team, Pitino wrote four words on a blackboard: basketball, academics, work ethic, and family. He told his players that these 4 variables were critical to the success of any basketball team.

After finishing writing on the chalkboard, Pitino turned to his players and asked, “How many of you want to be play in the NBA after college?” Immediately, each player raised a hand. Pitino responded, “You had a losing season last year and not one of you averaged more than 10 points a game. He erased the word basketball and told his players, “None of you would not be considered a success in basketball.”

Next, he said, “I've seen your grades, it's also obvious you aren't successful in your school work either. With that he erased the word academics.

He turned to the team’s trainer and asked the trainer how many players had been in the gym every day since the season ended to work on their game. "'Not one, Coach,” the trainer said. Pitino sternly admonished his players about their work ethic. He erased “work ethic” and said, “It’s apparent you don’t have a good work ethic.”

Coach Pitino said, “Let’s see, you would not be considered successful in basketball, you don’t apply yourself in the classroom and none of you have what would be considered a good work ethic… Hopefully, you're a close team and you care about each other.” With that a player by the name of Harold Starks quickly stood up and declared, “We're a close team, coach”

Pitino then asked Harold Starks, if his teammate, Steve Wright had any brothers. He followed that question with what does Billy Donovan’s father do for a living. Starks had no answer and responded, “Coach, I really don’t know.” He posed the questions to all of his players and not one player could answer his questions.

Pitino admonished his players by saying, “You really don’t know your teammates. You’re not a team, you‘re really just a collection of individuals pretending to be a team.” With that he made each player stand up and talk about himself and his family. Throughout the season, Pitino continued to focus on the principles of teamwork. Each player was expected to get to know one another on a personal level. The players began to learn that they were no longer teammates simply by the virtue of being on the same team; they were teammates because they got to know one another beyond a superficial level, they learned to care about one another and they shared a common goal: win basketball games by putting the team first. Pitino’s philosophy paid off: twenty-two months later, Providence College made it to the NCAA Final Four.

Rick Pitino knows that a successful team is a team with members that not only care about the mission of the team, but the members also care about one another. When Pitino inherited his players at Providence, they knew nothing of teamwork. Instead, they focused on what was best for themselves and as a result they were neither successful as a team, nor as an individual players. Once they grasped the true meaning of teamwork, the team became better, they became better teammates, they became better players, and, more importantly,they became better people.

How about you? What teams are you on? Remember, any number of individuals with a common purpose can constitute a team. Think about your family, friends, work, clubs, and organizations. What type of team member are you? Do you genuinely care about your team members? Or, are you on the team for the sole benefit of what best suits your needs. Rick Pitino’s first year at Providence should teach all of us a lesson in teamwork. In order for a team to be successful, each member must be committed to perfecting their talent, pursuing knowledge, displaying a solid work ethic and caring for and supporting one another.

The next time you get together with your team, embrace Pitino’s philosophy for team success. I can't guarantee success on the level of a national championship, but I can guarantee that both you and your team will be better off for trying.

Let’s go team!

It’s your life: Live it, Love it & Celebrate it!
MJD

The Cinderella Man

"I have to believe that when things are bad, I can change them."

- Jim Braddock

***

Jim Braddock, known as the Cinderella Man, made one of the greatest comebacks in boxing history. Braddock was a light heavyweight boxer in the 1920’s. By 1926, Braddock had established himself as fierce competitor with a promising future. In 1929 Jim Braddock was living the good life as a professional boxer. He was offered a shot at the light heavyweight title against the reigning champion, Tommy Loughran. Braddock lasted 15 rounds against the champion, but the decision ended up going to the defending champion.

Two months after the fight with Loughran, the stock market crashed and Braddock eventually lost everything. With boxing as his only source of income, Braddock continued to box. However, the loss to Loughran seemed to have destroyed Braddock’s confidence and passion to box. Lacking confidence and passion, he lost the majority of his fights. After he shattered his right hand in a match, Braddock decided to quit boxing. Without a job, Braddock filed for government assistance. The only work Braddock could find was performing odd jobs on a local loading docks. Out of work, with little food and no heat in their apartment, Braddock was forced to rediscover family values. With a new found focus on his family, Jim Braddock made supporting his family his number one concern. Braddock could no longer dwell on his fall from wealth and fame. He was facing the most important challenge he'd ever encounter in his life; making a better life for his wife and two children.

Braddock’s boxing manager never gave up on Braddock, and in 1934 Braddock got a big break. His manager was able to get Braddock a fight on the undercard for the heavyweight championship between Max Baer and Primo Canera at Madison Square Garden. Nobody gave Braddock a chance to win the fight; he had been out of professional boxing for a few years and he would be fighting in the heavyweight classification; Braddock a light heavyweight by stature was significantly underweight compared to heavyweight fighters. Braddock knew that a victory would be the beginning of that better life he envisoned for his family. Jim Braddock was no longer fighting for himself, he was now fighting for his family. With a rekindled passion for boxing and a compelling reason to fight, Braddock surprised the boxing community when he knocked out his opponent in the third round. Braddock’s victory earned him additional bouts against ranked boxers. Braddock continued to defeat his opponents and earned the nickname, “Cinderella Man.” The “Cinderalla Man” was making one of the biggest comebacks in sports history. His comeback came at a time when a nation needed it the most. The nation needed a national hero. Braddock once down and out was making a comeback. His comeback represented the hope of every American; they too would make a comeback and would emerge from the Great Depression, better than ever.

On June 13, 1935, The "Cinderella Man" entered the ring against heavyweight champion, Max Baer. Baer was favored to win 10-1. The "Cinderella man" pulled off one of the greatest upsets in sports history when he scored a unanimous decision over Baer. The "Cinderalla Man" was now the heavyweight champion of the world.

Braddock story is more than a story about a comeback athlete. More importantly, it’s a story about values. Braddock’s story teaches us about a man’s love for his family. Braddock knew that it was his responsibility to take care of his family. It was his love and commitment to his family that gave him the inner strength to get back into the ring and defy all odds. How about you? Does your love for your family inspire you? Braddock was down and out, yet his love for his family allowed him to maintain his focus on what was most important thing in his life, his family.

Jim Braddock’s story teaches us about that the power that can be unleashed if you believe in yourself. Braddock refused to accept what other people were saying about him; that he was washed up and could no longer fight. To Braddock, only one person’s opinion mattered, and that was his. If Braddock would have bought into the opinions of others, it’s likely he never would have made it back into the ring, let alone claim the heavyweight championship of the world. How about you? Are you letting what others say about you preventing you from reaching your championship potential?

Braddock's story teaches us about perseverance. Braddock refused to "throw in the towel." In boxing, when a fighter throws in the towel, it signifies acceptance of defeat. Braddock wasn’t about to throw in towel. With no job, little money and out of boxing, Jim Braddock refused to fell sorry for himself and blame the world for his unfortunate circumstances. Instead, Braddock accepted responsibility for his current state of affairs and decided to do something about it. Braddock used his adverse situation as a catalyst to resurrect his boxing career. How about you, when things go wrong, do you blame others or do you accept the responsibility for the event that you created. It’s only when you accept responsibility for an event that you can then use event as a catalyst to become a better person.

The best thing a person can do is come to grips with the fact that they are where they are at in their life, because of the choices they made or didn't make, because of the things they did or didn’t do, because of the things they said or didn’t say. When a person accepts responsibility for their life and comes to realize that are the sole author of their own life, it's then and only then that they can begin re-writing the script to becoming a better person.

It's your life: live it, love it & celebrate it!

MJD