DENNIS OLEJNICZAK

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Check out this tremendous article about legendary Decorah High School head baseball coach, Dennis Olejniczak, one of the greatest coaches that the state of Iowa has ever seen in any sport at any level.  What an icon in our state...the link to the article is here

THE MAGIC OF THE POSTSEASON

One of the greatest aspects of any sport at any level is the postseason because of the magic and the memories that engulf fans, players, and coaches alike.  Not often does a regular-season .500 team win a championship, but recently it happened in high school baseball in Minnesota with Henry Sibley High School capturing the Class 3A championship, the team with the lowest win % of a state champion in Minnesota high school baseball history.  In fact, at one point during the season, Henry Sibley was 4-14...and now they're state champs.  This amazing display shows the true magic of the postseason and that anything can happen, among many other lessons that other teams can learn from the Henry Sibley Warriors.  Check out a link to an article about their championship game here.

DABO SWINNEY: THERE'S NO ELEVATOR TO GREATNESS

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It wasn't long ago that we posted about Clemson head football coach Dabo Swinney, but these quotes at Clemson youth football camp are too good to pass up:

“There’s no elevator to greatness. There’s no elevator to your goals and dreams and desires. You must take the steps,” Swinney said. “Everybody got that? Nobody’s giving you an elevator to take you (there). If they did, it ain’t gonna last, because you’re not going to be prepared, because you didn’t pay the price, alright?

“What I’m telling you is y’all 15. You’ve never been 20. You’ve never been 25. But hopefully, lord willing, you will be, so what we want to do is try to prepare you, through our experiences, through our mistakes, through our successes, so hopefully, you’ve got a leg up on being successful.”

Check out the quotes in the article, along with the audio/video of Swinney speaking, linked here

GOOD CHOICES = SUCCESS

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In his page-turning and excellent biography of Alabama head coach Nick Saban, called Saban: The Making of a Coach, author Monte Burke offers these excellent thoughts from Saban:

"Our goal is to help the players become more successful people, to develop thoughts, habits, and priorities to make good decisions.  We lose games because of a lack of good judgment, both on the field and off.  A player who is doing poorly in school can cost us a game.  If you have the right thoughts, habits, and priorities, which in one sense is the definition of character, that determines the choices you make.  We're trying to affect those things.  If they can do those things here, they can do them anywhere.  They can be successful as players, students, and people."

JON GORDON "TED TALK" ON GRIT

Check out this video, where best-selling author and speaker Jon Gordon provides a 16 minute "TED talk" on grit.  It's definitely worth the watch...click on the link here

HOW STEPHEN CURRY BECAME THE BEST SHOOTER IN THE NBA

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Steph Curry and the Warriors just dominated the Cavs to go up 2-0 in the NBA Finals...and much has been written over the past several years about Curry, but this article about how he has become the best shooter in the NBA might be the best, because it simplifies some of the main reasons he has risen to the top of the basketball world, and the article links many other outstanding pieces and videos for you to read/watch on Golden State's star.  The article is linked here

JAKE ARRIETA

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Chicago Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta is in the midst of one of the most amazing stretches of any pitcher in MLB history.  People watch Arrieta pitch and are amazed at his success...but little do people know that Arrieta had to overcome adversity, a lack of success at times early in his career, and doubt from himself and others, in order to reach the heights that he pitches at right now.  In fact, Arrieta almost walked away from the game (excerpt from the SI article linked at the bottom):

“I’m thinking about not playing anymore after this season.”

—Jake Arrieta, 2013

Before he was Beast, before he had unstoppable stuff and confidence, Arrieta was so lost on a pitching mound that he shared with Brittany his recurring thoughts about quitting baseball. This was three seasons ago, after the Orioles demoted him to Triple A Norfolk just four appearances after making him their home opener starter. He languished there for two months, interrupted by one start with Baltimore in which he gave up 10 hits and five runs in fewer than five innings, swelling his ERA to an unsightly 7.23.

He was 27 years old. He looked at his newborn son, Cooper, and realized that he didn’t like what the misery of pitching was doing to him as a father and husband. He needed only a few more credits to complete his business marketing degree from TCU. He was good with people. He could go into business, maybe sales.

 An hour or so later the competitor inside Arrieta sounded an alarm: How crazy an idea is that—that you would stop playing this game you love?

But then the next time Triple A hitters smacked his pitches around the yard, Arrieta sank into the abyss of doubt again. Flight or fight, fight or flight. The waves kept washing over him. “Norfolk in general was O.K.,” says Brittany, who has known Jake since elementary school, “but I’m O.K. if we never [go] back.”

So what changed with Arrieta?  Take a few minutes to read the full article from Sports Illustrated, linked here because there are great lessons in the article for people of all ages and walks of life.