Mindset: Keep Going

Mindset: Keep Going!

The last couple weeks, I’ve had the privilege of going back to my alma mater to help coach the football team. Even though the season hasn’t been what they wanted it to be, there was a lot of hope that the tides will turn soon. When I got there the team was 0-6. Usually when a team starts off like that there is a lot of strife between players and players/coaches stop really caring. What was encouraging was that was the opposite of what was going on here. The practices were high energy and players were working hard. Even the coaches were staying pretty positive and pouring into the players anyway that they could. This is one big lesson that I have learned through my playing career. You can’t pick and choose when you want to work hard. You have to work hard regardless of the situation and show up each day like you are winning. That’s one thing that I love about sports is that you are constantly being evaluated and challenged each day. When I was out of football for a while, it was challenging to stay motivated because I wasn’t being constantly evaluated or really had anything to work for. That is why it is important to make sure you have goals and if you have to, evaluate yourself each day. I think it makes life way more meaningful and fun. Having goals turns your life into a game. So, the biggest mistake I see teams or players make is thinking that they will work hard when things start to go their way or someone comes to help them. The harsh reality is that nobody is coming. If you don’t put the work in right now and create goals that you are working towards then you are ensuring failure will take place. I see this a lot in scout team players. It’s one thing that I think needs changed at Umass so the starters get more realistic game reps. It’s hard going from an easy practice to the game. Easy practices that don’t challenge oneself will cause one to just go through the motions. I think that scout team players think that they aren’t important so why would they really try hard. When I was coaching at practice, I was in charge of one of the scout team corner backs. At first I saw him wandering around not really practicing his technique and letting the receivers get open easily. I started to get on him a little and by the time I left, when you watched the film it was night and day. It actually looked a little more realistic. For him, that will take him a long ways and when he gets his opportunity he will be more prepared for it then if he went through the motions each day. He is also helping out the team by giving the guys playing a good look. It goes to show that every role on a team is important. One thing that must be emphasized by the coach. Taking time to show less meaningful roles of the direct result of the game love can seem like a waste of time. The coaches have a lot of other things to worry about and to take time to do that may not seem worth it. At the end of the day, people are human. Humans want to know that what they are doing is helping and humans like to contribute. If someone doesn’t feel that way than I doubt that they will care much and it will trickle down to everyone else eventually. So for that scout team player and for the team in general, you may not be where you want to be right now but not caring/going through the motions will guarantee that you aren’t successful. Like I said before, nobody and I mean nobody is coming to save you. It is up to you and the work that you put in each day in order to get better at your craft. The last game I was there was a rough one and we never really got going the whole game. There was every which reason for the players to throw in the towel but they fought till the end. It will pay off and you have to believe it. It’s the hard thing about winning. 3 weeks earlier we almost beat a really good Buffalo team at home but lost it at the end. That’s what life is sometimes. Winning will tease you, it will hold out that win right in front of your face and when you reach to grab it then it’s gone. It asks are you willing to keep trying not knowing if you’ll ever succeed? Because taking it easy will guarantee that. Going through the motions will guarantee that. So are you willing to keep striving forward each day? Keep going!