«

»

Apr 06

Be Perfect Today: Part VIII – How Far Can You Go?

geno-auriemma-PVAM “You can’t let a player decide, ‘Coach, this is how far I can go.’ Well then, they don’t need you. I’ll tell you how far you can go. I’ll tell you when you’ve gone far enough.  You’re gonna go at my pace, not yours.” Geno Auriemma, Head Coach of Connecticut’s Women’s Basketball team.

After watching Connecticut decimate Maryland in yesterday’s Women’s Final Four second game, I knew I had to write today’s blog on their mental toughness, and the fear and doubt they create in their opponents. As one of the Connecticut players said, “When we step on the court, we already know we beat you.  The question is, by how much.”  Coach A has instilled in his team a “You can’t lose unless you CHOOSE to lose, and you choose to lose by not doing your best” mentality.  “Even other coaches have offered the following such statements, “When Connecticut is on, when they’re playing their best game, they can’t be beat. When other teams are playing THEIR best game against Connecticut, they have to hope that Connecticut will be off their game for a chance to win.” Connecticut KNOWS they can’t be beat (even though Coach A has repeatedly said, “We’re going to eventually lose. Everyone loses eventually…).”  But their mindset is to win. To crush their opponent. They don’t expect to lose. Herein lies the difference between Connecticut and other teams.  And herein should lie the difference between you and your competition.

DSC_7723-Version-2You have to believe you can win.  In my mind, there’s even a difference in believing you have a CHANCE to win, and believing you CAN or WILL win. When prepping for shows, I never had the mindset, “I’m gonna get killed,” or “Why am I doing this?”, or “ I don’t stand a chance.”  I trained to win.  Now before many of you reading this think, “Doc, you’ve never stepped outside the Northwest, and you’ve never competed weighing more than a buck sixty five.”, you’re absolutely correct. But I also knew my limitations. I trained to be MY best and compete against MY peers.  I knew I wasn’t competitive at a National level, so why waste money, time, and effort chasing that. I wasn’t AFRAID to go to the next level. I knew I didn’t have a next level physique. In an old blog, I stated that there are ‘high school, collegiate, and pro athletes’, meaning, in our sport/profession, there are local, national, and professional competitors. I knew I was a local level competitor. I was cool with that.  And as this ‘high school’ competitor, I was determined to be one of the best throughout my 30+ year career. With close to 100 first place awards, I’d like to think I accomplished that.

How far are you willing to push yourself to achieve your goals?  How far are you willing to let SOMEONE ELSE push you? A saying I’ve used for years goes, “I can only draw out of you what you’re willing to give of yourself.”  You’ve got to have that passion, that fire, that belief that you CAN do this, and you WILL do this to allow someone to push you further than you’ve ever pushed yourself. The only one stopping you is you. If I let all my competitors dictate to me how they should train, do cardio, what they should eat, etc., then why do they need me?  They can just do what they want to do.  My job is to push them mentally AND physically to a place they’ve never been before – a place of hurt, of pain, of sacrifice.  That’s where the champions live.  The also-rans live in comfort. The wannabees live in mediocrity.  That’s where the losers live.

Pat-Summitt-stareNow before ANOTHER uproar arises with comments such as, “Doc, not everyone can win! Not everyone will be THE best!”, I’m fully aware of that. Go back 20 years and Pat Summit and her Tennessee Volunteers Women’s Basketball team was the reigning queens of basketball.  They had done something no other women’s college program had done at that time – win 8 National Championships.  But then along came Geno, and he’s now won 9.  And it is possible (although highly improbable) that there could be another great coach in the wings who will eclipse Geno’s record.

Geno Auriemma has it right, along with lots of other great coaches. “I’ll tell you when you’ve gone far enough.  You’re gonna go at my pace, not yours.”  My pace is to grind every single day. To do today what I don’t want to do to achieve the look that I desire.  And that, at this point in time, with less than 5 weeks to go means only one thing. Be Perfect Today.

Doc

As always, if you enjoyed this blog or any other blogs on this site, please share via the social media icons.  And don’t forget to subscribe to all future blogs, and follow Doc on FB and Twitter.DrBuff - Do not complain

Comments

comments

Leave a Reply