Post by shocktroop34 on Jul 18, 2014 12:06:07 GMT -6
Over the years, I've read a lot of posts with coaches seeking advice on various aspects of toughness regarding football. I just finished Jay Bilas' book called Toughness. He provides a great perspective on the subject.
I'm not a big, 'you gotta run out and grab this book' kind of guy, but I thought this was a great read. Though we all know him as a basketball guy, many of his examples, analogies, and stories can be applied to all manner of sport and life.
I took the liberty to highlight some of the quotes that stuck out to me:
In the foreword by Coach K he speaks on toughness in life: "In life, it maintains itself in making a tough decision because it is the right one, and holding oneself to high standards of honesty and integrity."
Bilas: "The most common definition of "tough" is being able to withstand great force without tearing or breaking."
Coach K: "Some of the strongest guys in the world, physically, aren't tough, and some of the toughest guys in the world aren't physically strong. It's mental."
Gruden: "You have to coach toughness..."
Tom Crean: "players have a responsibility to develop it like any other skill."
Bilas: "Doing tough things needs to be expected, but it also needs to be valued. Acknowledging and celebrating that those around you are doing tough things, and doing them for the good of the team, is important to a culture of winning."
"Most players believe that accountability means blame. It doesn't. Accountability is being held to the standard you have accepted as what you want, individually and collectively."
Coach K: "Toughness is the ability not to rationalize. Rationalization is to make an excuse for not achieving more than you have to that point."
"You are not tough alone. The best teams have a collective toughness, and that toughness is contagious."
Regarding adversity: "A setback is a set up for a comeback."
"Failing doesn't make you a failure. Failing makes you a competitor. Every competitor fails."
Discipline: "Discipline is doing what you should do over what you want to do."
Maturity: "...what you should do is what you want to do."
Coach K on goal setting (after his players came up with a handful of obvious and hollow suggestions): "Our goal has to be to get better and closer as a team every single day. If we keep those as our focused and cherished goals, we will reach our proper destination, whatever it may be."
Curtis Strange: "If you prepare properly, you love the stage."
Strange also said, in a five hour round of golf, it takes under five minutes of actual time to hit the shots that make up your final score. He went on to say that because there is so much time to think before you act , "it's why you're ready for the rubber room if you're not mentally tough."
Courage: "The toughest players have the courage to acknowledge failure and take the necessary steps to learn from it and work not to repeat it."
"Entitlement don't win championships. Investment wins championships."
Crean: "You cannot feel entitled and be tough."
Saying among NASA engineers: "Responsible to the element, accountable to the mission."
Tom Izzo: "I was always taught, discipline is the greatest form of love you can show."
Persistence: "Persistence is a mind-set." It's about how much you are willing to endure.
"No coach can make you work as hard, or want to work as hard, as a tough teammate can. Coach-directed teams only go so far."
Julie Foudy: "I do think there is a common denominator in tough people. They don't quit."
Skip Prosser: "No Pearl Harbors." Prosser didn't want any surprises.
Accountability: "today's culture has allowed too many of our young people get away with not being accountable. Every player, especially every tough player, has to be responsible for mistakes and correcting those mistakes, and has to be tough enough to handle constructive criticism."
Bill Self: "I don't know if you can be truly tough for all forty minutes of every game. But you can be tough at the most important parts of the game."
Though there is much more I could add, I don't want to ruin the experience of those who may purchase this book.
I'll leave you with this: Some college coaches had visited troops in Afghanistan. They noticed black flags being raised on a particularly severe heat day. The order meant 10 minutes working/50 minutes at rest. One of the coaches inquired on how they get their work done with such restrictions. The soldier responded: "Our job is to 'make mission', sir."
In other words, they find ways around things, in order to get things done. Another said, "We have brothers and sisters dying in Iraq, and they don't get fifty minutes off every hour just because it's hot. So, we don't take fifty minutes off. We make mission."
Now that's tough. I hope this was useful to you.
I'm not a big, 'you gotta run out and grab this book' kind of guy, but I thought this was a great read. Though we all know him as a basketball guy, many of his examples, analogies, and stories can be applied to all manner of sport and life.
I took the liberty to highlight some of the quotes that stuck out to me:
In the foreword by Coach K he speaks on toughness in life: "In life, it maintains itself in making a tough decision because it is the right one, and holding oneself to high standards of honesty and integrity."
Bilas: "The most common definition of "tough" is being able to withstand great force without tearing or breaking."
Coach K: "Some of the strongest guys in the world, physically, aren't tough, and some of the toughest guys in the world aren't physically strong. It's mental."
Gruden: "You have to coach toughness..."
Tom Crean: "players have a responsibility to develop it like any other skill."
Bilas: "Doing tough things needs to be expected, but it also needs to be valued. Acknowledging and celebrating that those around you are doing tough things, and doing them for the good of the team, is important to a culture of winning."
"Most players believe that accountability means blame. It doesn't. Accountability is being held to the standard you have accepted as what you want, individually and collectively."
Coach K: "Toughness is the ability not to rationalize. Rationalization is to make an excuse for not achieving more than you have to that point."
"You are not tough alone. The best teams have a collective toughness, and that toughness is contagious."
Regarding adversity: "A setback is a set up for a comeback."
"Failing doesn't make you a failure. Failing makes you a competitor. Every competitor fails."
Discipline: "Discipline is doing what you should do over what you want to do."
Maturity: "...what you should do is what you want to do."
Coach K on goal setting (after his players came up with a handful of obvious and hollow suggestions): "Our goal has to be to get better and closer as a team every single day. If we keep those as our focused and cherished goals, we will reach our proper destination, whatever it may be."
Curtis Strange: "If you prepare properly, you love the stage."
Strange also said, in a five hour round of golf, it takes under five minutes of actual time to hit the shots that make up your final score. He went on to say that because there is so much time to think before you act , "it's why you're ready for the rubber room if you're not mentally tough."
Courage: "The toughest players have the courage to acknowledge failure and take the necessary steps to learn from it and work not to repeat it."
"Entitlement don't win championships. Investment wins championships."
Crean: "You cannot feel entitled and be tough."
Saying among NASA engineers: "Responsible to the element, accountable to the mission."
Tom Izzo: "I was always taught, discipline is the greatest form of love you can show."
Persistence: "Persistence is a mind-set." It's about how much you are willing to endure.
"No coach can make you work as hard, or want to work as hard, as a tough teammate can. Coach-directed teams only go so far."
Julie Foudy: "I do think there is a common denominator in tough people. They don't quit."
Skip Prosser: "No Pearl Harbors." Prosser didn't want any surprises.
Accountability: "today's culture has allowed too many of our young people get away with not being accountable. Every player, especially every tough player, has to be responsible for mistakes and correcting those mistakes, and has to be tough enough to handle constructive criticism."
Bill Self: "I don't know if you can be truly tough for all forty minutes of every game. But you can be tough at the most important parts of the game."
Though there is much more I could add, I don't want to ruin the experience of those who may purchase this book.
I'll leave you with this: Some college coaches had visited troops in Afghanistan. They noticed black flags being raised on a particularly severe heat day. The order meant 10 minutes working/50 minutes at rest. One of the coaches inquired on how they get their work done with such restrictions. The soldier responded: "Our job is to 'make mission', sir."
In other words, they find ways around things, in order to get things done. Another said, "We have brothers and sisters dying in Iraq, and they don't get fifty minutes off every hour just because it's hot. So, we don't take fifty minutes off. We make mission."
Now that's tough. I hope this was useful to you.