An Equal Opportunity for Fun

Today's post was written by Demetrius Jackson.  Demetrius is a junior at Notre Dame and is majoring in Sociology. He is a student in the Social Foundations of Coaching course taught by Play Like a Champion Founder and Director Professor Clark Power and Program Director Kristin Sheehan. Demetrius is also a guard on the Notre Dame Basketball Team,.

During my time at Notre Dame as a student-athlete, I have had the opportunity to be a role model to a lot of young basketball players. It is important to us to represent the program standard on and off the court--not only for ourselves, but for our families, and all the young players who want to be like us someday. Every year, the program hosts a camp for the kids. Usually, we only have a little interaction with some of the campers through autograph sessions. They also watch us play pick up every night. However, since I live in South Bend, I was able to stick around when my teammates when home, so I was able to be a coach-counselor for the camp. 

My experience as a coach was very exciting, as I had a great group of young kids. The camp was open to both boys and girls, and the one young lady on my team, was also the most talented player on our team. Most, if not all, of the kids at the camp had parents or relatives that were season ticket holders. The campers were very familiar with the players on the Notre Dame Basketball team. I felt a special need to be a great coach and a good role model because a lot of them told me that they thought of me as their favorite player, which definitely increased the pressure.

One of my biggest struggles was making sure each of my players got equal opportunities. This meant equal playing time, making sure we played as a team and shared the ball, and making sure everyone had fun. Making sure that everyone had fun was the biggest challenge, but what is any job or task without a challenge? I set up an offense that required us to make sure everyone touched the ball before a shot went up in a half court setting. I tried to keep things exciting for my players by celebrating everything. Whenever an individual made a big shot or a minor defensive block, I celebrated with them like I was a player. I did my best to focus on teaching them how to play the game the right way while also having fun. In youth sports today, there is such a emphasis placed on winning that some kids get “burnt out” or lose their passion by the time they are young adults, and I didn't want that to happen with my kids. 

From our reading in the Social Foundations of Coaching class, I have learned that play gives children the encouragement and physical activity they need to develop their brains for future learning.  Through play, children discover, invent, and create. They mature in their social skills and ways of thinking, learn how to deal with emotions, improve physical abilities, and find out about themselves and their capabilities. A child’s “play’ forms a solid foundation for a life of learning.  I was able to apply this by giving the kids fun drills and keeping them actively engaged and promoting an environment where worked hard and built each other up.

Navy Football: The Essence of College Athletics

Today's blog post was written by Zachary Grant. Zach is a senior accounting major at Notre Dame, and a student in the Social Foundations of Coaching course taught by Play Like a Champion Founding Director Clark Power and Program Director Kristin Sheehan.  

College football has many programs people consider “great.” Millions of fans across the country exuberantly cheer for their team to win on Saturdays. However, in my opinion, one team has won a lot of Saturdays this year, but has won for life every year. This team is truly “great.” They are the Navy Midshipmen. Navy is comprised of young men who are the future leaders of our country. They are devoting their lives to service. Football, for them, is a secondary activity for fun. The lives these men lead will not be determined on Saturdays in the fall. They are unique in that their team is full of members of the Naval Academy who happen to play football, while many other teams seem to be comprised of football players attending school. However, while their primary focus isn’t football, they happen to be very good at it.

Keenan Reynolds is the face of Navy Football, and a perfect example of what Navy represents. He is a record-setting quarterback of the potent Midshipmen triple option attack. But more importantly, he is a tremendous leader off the field – like so many from Navy. He is assigned to information warfare after college. Rather than trying to head to the NFL, he has devoted himself to a life of service. Football is just a diversion from the rigorous, structured, days in the Naval Academy. While he is a standout on the field, he is more of a stand-out off of it. He is what the term “student-athlete” means, because he truly places academics above athletics.

Head coach Ken Niumatalolo also shows the unique and genuine nature of Navy Football. On so many weekends, ESPN and other networks’ cameras show football coaches yelling at and berating their student-athletes. Ken Niumatalolo is not one of those coaches. He never publicly yells at his players, yet has the respect of every single one. In its essence, sports should be about fun. And it is never fun when you are being constantly yelled at as a player. Niumatalolo does not put his student-athletes through that, and it pays off. Of course, the Navy players are driven to win by nature of their competitiveness and drive. But the fact that the Navy program itself does not put more emphasis on that than academics, leadership, and service is the reason they are the standard for what is good about college athletics.

The Navy football team is a collection of students who understand what it takes to be a champion in more ways than one. They strive to be champions in the sense that their actions can set examples for generations to come. They are also champions in the sense that they realize that the values they gain by having a great team can last a lifetime. Chris Swain, a surface warfare service assignee and fullback on the football team told Fox about the reason they have had success on the field this season: “We just bond together, we all love each other and we play for [one] another.” Navy is exactly what College Football should be. They are great leaders who are excellent students, playing football for the enjoyment and love of the game and their teammates. We need more teams like Navy.

Coach Your Kids!

Steve Treacy is a sophomore Science-Business major at the University of Notre Dame.  Steve is a student in the Social Foundations of Coaching class taught by Play Like a Champion Founder and Director Clark Power and Program Director Kristin Sheehan, and is a photographer for the Notre Dame Athletic Department.  

As I went outside this morning, the sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and there was a cool breeze of air blowing across my face. My body was filled with joy and excitement, as this feeling brought me back to the days of playing baseball with my father as my coach.

From the age of four up to age of eighteen, I played baseball on my dad’s team in my town’s recreational league. Through those 14 seasons, my dad helped me evolve from a little kid who ran the wrong direction around the diamond after hitting the ball off the tee into an athlete who was hitting home runs and stealing bases. As I grew as a player, the relationship between my father and I grew stronger as we spent countless hours together out on the diamond. The stories of the memories that we created through baseball could fill the pages of a million blogs; however, there is one story in particular that I would like to share.

The author and his father at home plate.
Photo courtesy of the Treacy Family

In my junior year of high school, I decided that I wanted to try out for the high school varsity team. After playing in the recreational league for so long, I wanted to get the chance to prove that I belonged on the same field as the top players in my town as we competed against the top baseball players throughout the state. I trained all winter long--hitting in the cages daily, going to all the extra practices and workouts, and I even practiced staying in my catcher’s stance while I watched TV in order to continue improving my strength and my form. When tryouts came, I was in the best baseball shape of my life, and put everything I had into making the team. However, I was cut on the last day of tryouts, and told to “try again next year.” Needless to say, I was pretty bummed out. 

A few days later, I was in the cafeteria eating lunch with my buddies Ty and Jack, both of whom were on the varsity team. They were talking about their upcoming opening-day game. I told them that I wished that I could have been out there with them, playing for the varsity team. Jack looked back at me and replied that he was jealous of my position because I got to play baseball with my Dad as a coach. He said that his dad never had the time to coach a team, even when he was little. He had always wished that he could have gotten the chance to play with his dad.

I realized that what Jack said to me was 100% true. While maybe I had not gotten to play for varsity, getting cut meant that I got to play another season with my dad by my side. I realized how lucky I was to get a chance to go out there and spend hour after hour with the man who I look up to the most in this world. The next year, when my senior season rolled around and my dad asked if I was going to try out again, I responded “Why would I do that? That would mean 12 less games with you!” Looking back on it, being cut and getting the chance to keep playing with my dad was one of the greatest silver linings in my life.

In summation, this is my message to all parents reading this blog: Please, if you have the opportunity to coach your child, do not hesitate to take that opportunity. I know it sounds cheesy, but playing baseball with my dad was a part of my life that I will never forget, and I hope it will be the same for my future children. I would give anything to get the chance to go back and play another game with my dad coaching me from the dugout. By coaching your child, not only will you get a chance to share with them your love of the game, but it will also provide you and your child with fantastic lifelong memories, and will elevate the loving parent-child bond to a whole new level. 

For Love of the Game

Today's Blog was written by Ted Williams.  Ted is a senior Civil Engineering major at the University of Notre Dame and a student in the Social Foundations of Coaching course taught by Play Like a Champion Founder and Director Professor Clark Power and Program Director Kristin Sheehan.  Ted is also a Senior Football Equipment Manager for the Notre Dame Football Team.

I would like to highlight the issue of burning athletes out of the sports they love. This is often the result of the extremely competitive culture that can be found in all levels of sports. Today, young athletes are frequently required to attend early morning off-season workouts, adhere to strict diets, specialize in one sport, have a personal coach and travel, all around the significant distances to compete. These demands have become commonplace in the sports world, because failure to meet these demands will result in less playing time, which can decrease the desire for kids to continue playing.  All of these reasons and many more have taken the fun out of sports for young athletes. Without the “fun” aspect, sports become a burden and make young athletes feel like they are all work and no play.

I feel that coaches need to focus on developing their players and be concerned about the player’s overall enjoyment of the sport. This is critical of high school and youth sport coaches. I know this from personal experience, as I work as an equipment manager for the University of Notre Dame Football Team. This job allows me to see the attitudes and mindset of college athletes on a daily basis. Players sometimes complain that football has isn't fun any longer, and they wish they could return to their high school playing days. However, I also see the techniques the coaching staff uses to combat this mindset. The coaches often schedule fun activities or events that help promote team chemistry and bonding. Some examples of this include golf outings, team dinners, and periods of practice where the players can listen to music and even dance. All of these efforts are attempts to lighten the mood in an otherwise intense atmosphere.

My advice to high school and youth coaches would be to devote time during each practice to a activity that has nothing to do with the sport the kids are playing. This will allow your players to get outside of the constant pressure of their sport. This will also be beneficial for your team because they will bond and form relationships as a result of these activities. My high school coach started every practice with a joke; the jokes usually weren't very good, but it was a fun way to start a tough workout. Anything a coach can do to make his or her players feel more at ease is heading in the right direction. The main point I would like to emphasize is that the amount of enjoyment a player has is far more important that wins and loses or anything else. Playing "for love of the game" is a right that every kids should have, and it's up to coaches and parents to ensure this happens.

Fun is the Name of the Game

Today's blog post was written by Jewell Loyd.  Jewell is a junior majoring in Film, Television, and Theater at the University of Notre Dame.  She is also a student in the Social Foundations of Coaching course taught by Play Like a Champion Today founder Professor Clark Power and Program Director Kristin Sheehan.  Jewell is also a guard on the ACC Champion Notre Dame Women's Basketball Team.

Fun is the Name of the Game

photo courtesy of 247sports

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word 'kids'? For me it is the word "fun." Have you ever asked a kid why they do something? This could be as simple as why they are writing on the wall, jumping in puddles, or playing in the mud? My guess is that the response would be something along the lines of "because it's fun."  Having fun is a key part of life. It can be overlooked, but in sports that is what drives and motivates people to play hard.

  

Growing up, I stayed at parks playing with my friends. Enjoying every basketball game, every game of tag, water fights--anything that kept us moving. My friends and I shared so many laughs and great memories at these parks. Little did I know that every time I went to the park, I was improving my skills. I was getting better everyday. I did whatever I could to go to the park because it was the highlight of my day. Having fun with my friends and playing sports was the best of both worlds. 

photo courtesy of indystar.com

I began to play tennis and I become really good at it.  However, I was also playing in tournaments every weekend, driving to unknown places, getting up early and not getting home till late. That's a lot to ask of a nine year old kid. Don't get me started on practice. Waking up at the crack of dawn, doing the same drills over and over every single day. I never got a chance to go to the park anymore, I never had time to hang out with my friends and have fun anymore. I was always busy. 

I remember one day, I was supposed to be at a baseball game with my friends, but I had tennis practice. I could hear and see my friends through the fence. I saw laughing and smiles and everyone having a great time. Then there was me, locked in the fenced in court-- no smiles, no laughter.  That's when I made my decision. I quit. I told my parents that I didn't want to play tennis anymore. I wanted to have fun and enjoy what I was doing. Playing tennis had become work; it was not fun for me anymore. When I was on the basketball court with my friends I fell in love with the game. It was fun. I worked hard at it because I enjoyed everything that came with it. When kids aren't having fun, that's a problem. The sport has to be fun and enjoyable for them to succeed. Once it turns into a job, the passion is gone and there is nothing to drive them. When you're having fun, all the rewards and everything that comes from hard work will follow.

photo courtesy of espn.go.com

Keeping Fun in the Process

Today's blog post was written by Remy Lewis.  Remy is a Psychology Major at Purdue University North Central and is a former Division One Track and Field Athlete at Indiana State University.  He is currently an intern with Play Like a Champion.  He is also a Coach, Scout, and Trainer for Sports Prep NBA.

When most people are nervous, it is because they are focusing on the results: hitting the ball or striking out, making the shot or rimming out, getting the job or not, winning or losing.  When you focus on the results, there is a big chance that you will omit very important steps along the way.  Here at Play Like a Champion Today, I've been reminded of the importance of focusing on having fun along the way. As an athlete, I've worked for years on improving the things I can control (my running form, for example) and not letting the things I can't control (the whether) affect me.  

For example when a shortstop gets a batter out at first, he has has to 

1. See the ball off he bat.
2. Move in the direction of the ball.
3. Get to the ball.  
4. Get his glove to the ball.
5. Catch the ball.
6. Plant his feet.
7. Get the ball out of the glove.
8. Point his body towards first.
9. Throw the ball to the first baseman.

After this point, the result is out of the shortstop's hands.  The first baseman then has to:

1. Get to first base.
2. Place his foot on the bag.
3. Catch the ball.

While these 12 steps need to be completed for an out, I feel like we also should add "have fun" to the overall process. The out only happens if the above 12 steps, between two people, are completed before the batter's foot touches first base.  Based on the average speed of professional baseball players, these 12 steps need to take place in between 2.8 and 3.5 seconds. If players fail to complete one step in this process, then the desired result may not occur.  But if kids aren't having fun throughout the process, then kids also won't enjoy the game. Sometimes, coaches seem to focus more on detail-oriented drills than their players would like. However, this is because coaches know that if you learn the formula for success, then success will naturally follow. My father, Rick Lewis, one of the greatest coaches I know, has always told me that "The process is more important than the answer."  As a kid, I didn't understand this, but I've learned that that because the process gets the answer, the answer is the process.

After you have found the process that will get your desired results, commit to the process.  Practice that process until that process is the way you do what you do. Become the process or "commit to the script." Trust and believe in your hard work, preparation, and commitment.  You control the process you use.  Your process will control your performance and your performance will control your results. Don't allow your performance to be affected by focusing on the results or the negativity.  Above all, make sure that your process includes fun so that you are remembering to PLAY the GAME, and games are supposed to be fun.

For Love of the Game

Today's blog post was written by David Thornton, a senior business major and a member of the Notre Dame Track and Field Team.  David is a student in Social Foundations of Coaching, a course taught by Play Like a Champion Today co-founders Clark Power and Kristin Sheehan.

Recently, professional athletes have filled the sports world with negative news stories dealing with bullying, unhappy free agents asking for more and more money, and criminal actions off the field. Being an athlete myself, I have to ask what the heck is going on? Have we all lost sight of why we play the games we do? Growing up, my father showed my brothers and I a great movie called For Love of the Game. It starred Kevin Costner and it followed him through the different stages of his professional baseball career. Ultimately, it’s a love story; a love story about him and the two loves of his life – Kelly Preston (the actress in the movie) and baseball. My father always taught us to never lose sight of the fact that the sports we play are just games, and that it’s crucial to never lose sight of that fact. You must love what you do. 

Now you may be wondering where in the world I’m going with this story, but I assure you that I do have a point. Kevin Costner deals with a lot of ups and downs throughout the movie and at times it seems as though he may never play the game that he loves again. However, he perseveres and in the end pitches the game of his life that proves that the game you love can love you back. In a similar way, current Pittsburgh Pirates manager Clint Hurdle has dealt with many challenges throughout his life and career and has found a way to recover and become the idealized version of what a coach should be. 

Clint Hurdle had a rough professional baseball career as a player, and through different life events became an alcoholic. He would end up having only a one season of note - batting .294 for the 1980 American League champion Royals, then going 5-for-12 in the World Series, but, other than that, he became known mostly for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. He played for the Mets in 1985, one year before they won the World Series, and was then picked up by the Cardinals in 1986, one year after St. Louis reached the World Series. He was then traded back to the Mets in 1987, the same year the Cardinals returned to the World Series. 

He was always a year late or a dollar short, he even spent the 1981 players' strike bartending, and his career batting average through 10 seasons was a middling .259 to go with 32 home runs and two divorces. 

He turned his life around, bit by bit, but the first step was going to manage in the minor leagues. Hurdle was quoted in a recent conversation, "These are the questions a 17-year-old going to pro ball has about their manager," Hurdle says. "'Can I trust him? Does he trust me? Can he make me better? Does he care about me?' My goal was to get those questions answered under my watch. Because then their skill set will come out. They won't let you coach 'em up until they trust you." That is exactly what we have been learning in class and Hurdle has been putting this into practice. There must be a mutual trust and connection between players and coaches. Hurdle’s players ran through walls, not stop signs at third base for him. He would act macho with the snide players and thoughtful with the sensitive ones. He coached the mind as much as he coached baseball.

He went to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and did his best to get his life back together. He began sending daily emails to his players and staff with motivational quotes and sayings that acted as a daily reminder that he was there for them and that they were in this thing together – as a team. People begin to deeply appreciate these emails, and to-date over 1000 people see Hurdle’s emails daily due to the widespread sharing of them. An example of one of these emails: 

These were simple messages, but they had an overwhelming power and effect on Hurdle’s players and staff.

In an era of sports where the game is no longer loved for its true meaning and purpose, Clint Hurdle has attempted to find the happiness in the game of baseball and spread it to everyone around him. He believes in his players, and his players believe in him. There is a trust there that cannot be put into words, and that is the true purpose of being a coach. Clint Hurdle is molding his players into better people by taking the negative experiences from his life and learning from them. There is a reason that the Pittsburgh Pirates had there best season in my lifetime this past year, and that reason is Clint Hurdle. Don’t be surprised if you see a World Series title go to the city of Pittsburgh in the next few years. If you stick it out long enough, give 100% of your body and mind, and truly believe in the game you love, the game can love you back. 

Is the Goal to Have Fun or Humiliate?

Today's blog entry was written by Andrew Brock, a senior Accounting major in the Social Foundations of Coaching course this semester.  Andrew is a member of the Notre Dame Track and Field team, competing in the shot put and weight throw.

This past weekend a news article came out about a Texas high school under scrutiny for “bullying” another high school after beating them 91-0 in a football contest. This seems ridiculous in a high school game, doesn’t it? However, in the realm of college football, it’s almost a weekly occurrence for some teams and there is never a word mentioned about it in the press. Alabama has won all of their games, with the exception of one, by more than 25 points this season - their biggest mark of victory resulting against Arkansas with a score of 52-0. Baylor won a game this year 71-7 against Iowa State. Oregon, another team that historically puts up a lot of points against its opponents, has won each of their games by an average of about 40 points this season. In fact, when it comes to college football, blowing one’s opponent out actually tends to receive positive press for the most part, while the Texas high school team was being scrutinized for it in the national media.

This story seemed to be featured on just about every network last week.

Has the goal of competition in college and now even high school football become to have fun or to humiliate? It appears that in a world of votes, media, millions of dollars, and rankings that the point is to humiliate.   At least the teams that are blowing their opponents out each week are having a lot of fun in the process. Now, let’s put ourselves in the shoes of the teams that our losing by 40, 50, 91 points… Do you think that they are having fun?

According to Play like a Champion's GROW model, sports are played for the purpose of having FUN! In fact, it is only at the end of the GROW model that we see the word "winning" and this is not a coincidence. Coaches who disrespect their opponents by blowing them out and humiliating them in front of all their fans are not abiding by the GROW model. Winning is an outcome of the game. There has to be one winner and one loser--that is the way the game works. With this in mind, we should remember that competition should and can be fun, win or lose. Success in competition is found in putting ones best effort on the field, court, track, diamond, etc.  When winning becomes more important than the outcome of the game, true competition is lost. Athletes compete and coaches coach for the love of the game. Why should we crush someone else’s love by humiliating them during competition?

Therefore, when our only goal of a competition is to win and destroy all who stand in the way of us winning, we have lost our love of the game. We have become too caught up in the outcomes and have lost sight of the intrinsic reasons of why we started playing the game in the first place. We all began playing for the love of the game. Consequently, out of our love for the game we should practice good sportsmanship and respect our opponents by not humiliating them. The real joy of sports comes from the competition itself, not from the outcome.