Character meets Athletics
The are many storied coaches who try to make sure their teams play well, play hard, and play with character. One of the big things that is breaking down youth sports, in my opinion, is the win at all costs mentality. You should try everything you can, inside the rules of the game. When you start looking outside the rules of the game you are setting a very bad precedence. Even pushing the rules of the game or purposefully taking advantage of rules in the game can create a breakdown with your athletes. The idea of playing with character has to start with us as coaches. Some of the most admired coaches have such a focus on character. Let’s look at an example from the NBA.
Gregg Poppovich has a very good record when it comes to winning. 5 time NBA Champion. A record in the NBA finals of 5-1. In this last season he became the most winningest coach with one franchise, 1,128 games. He has won the NBA Head Coach of the Year award 3 times. And a lesser known fact is the year he took over (halfway through the season) the Spurs went a paltry 20-62. From there he has just gone from strength to strength as a coach and enjoyed a lot of success. In the book Forces of Character Poppovich says this about the draft and the importance of character in sports:
“Being able to enjoy someone else’s success is a huge thing. If I’m interviewing a young guy and he’s saying things like, “I should have been picked All-American but they picked Johnny instead of me,” or they say stuff like, “My coach should have played me more; he didn’t really help me,” I’m not taking that kid because he will be a problem one way or another. I know he will be a problem. At some point he’ll start to think he’s not playing enough minutes, or his parents are going to wonder why he’s not playing, or his agent’s going to call too much. I don’t need that stuff. I’ve got more important things to do. I’ll find somebody else, even if they have less ability, as long as they don’t have that character trait.”
His focus is not on getting the best players and trying to win. His focus is on what is going to be best for the team and character is a major piece of this. There are tons of examples of coaches and athletes who play and lead with character. At the same time there are tons of examples of people who do not. We see winning becoming the most important thing and taking measures that should be outside of the game in order to win. Some recent examples include, the MLB and PED’s, Deflategate, Lance Armstrong, Luis Suarez handball in the World Cup, and the Russian Olympic team doping allegations.
Sports isn’t only there to teach character, it is there to reflect character. There are other reasons why character is absent from sports, but one of the biggest is the win at all costs mentality. I don’t propose we don’t try and win. I want to win just as bad as the person next to me. I want to be the best at something and I will strive with all my energy to be the best. I will practice and grind and demand the same of my players. I will push and raise my voice and challenge, but I will not ask my teams to play without character. I would rather have somebody say, they gave it all and played with character. Rather than, they were dirty, classless, and they won.