Today we celebrated Martin Luther King day. He once famously
said “I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation
where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character”.
It has often been said that sports build character. Sports allow
people to learn many lessons. The games themselves, though, don’t
necessarily build character. Instead, they reveal character. Just like a
test that you might take in school doesn’t build your knowledge base,
but it reveals what you already know. The homework that you’ve done or
not done is revealed when you take a test.In the same way, what you’ve
done in practice and your workouts is revealed during the games. Your
habits can make or break you.
I often told my players that bad players remember the good things
that they do. Good players remember the bad things that they do. A good
player will remember the time that they didn’t dive for a loose ball. A
bad player will make a big deal about that time that they blocked out.
Good or bad habits can lead to success or failure. A person’s habits
oftentimes come down to their motivation. What is most important to a
person? What makes them tick? Most players and teams that I talk with
will tell me that they want to win a championship. However, their
actions do not always back up this claim. Many players do not act as if
winning a championship is the most important thing to them.
