THOUGHTS FROM PAT SUMMITT

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Undoubtedly, it was a sad day today as former Tennessee women's basketball coach Pat Summitt passed away at the age of 64.  Summitt will forever be known as one of the greatest coaches of all-time, regardless of sport, gender, or generation.  Below are a few quotes from the great one, Pat Summitt, accumulated through the years through books from her:

--Winners are not born, they are self-made.

--Self-discipline is a matter of how hard you are willing to work when no one is watching. 

--Disciplined people finish the job. 

--A task has not been done properly until it has been done completely.  

--Here’s how I’m going to beat you:  I’m going to outwork you. 

--When you prepare to win, belief comes easily.  

--Somehow, you have to make a commitment to get better every day, no matter how successful you were the day before.
  

--Individual success is a myth.  We are all dependent on those around us. 

--You’re going to be the hero or the goat when the game’s on the line.  You’re going to stick your neck out.  Whether you succeed or fail, I’ll never criticize you for that. 

--Belief in yourself is what happens when you know you’ve done the things that entitle you to success. 

--Success is a project that’s always under construction. 

--We think too much about what we can’t do…think about what you CAN do.  

--Losing makes you examine yourself and what you need to do to succeed. 

--Personal ambitions and ambitions of the team are one and the same

INCREDIBLE READ: "THE GAME KNOWS"

Every person should take a few minutes and read this unbelievably great blog post entitled "The Game Knows" from former Alabama softball catcher Jordan Patterson because it will be well-worth your time.  The blog post is linked here

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