The bullet points in the post are taken from Ryan Renquist’s “The Notebook of Champions” Building Success One Victory at a Time (Eighth Edition) for his team at Walsh High School in Walsh, Colorado.
I have also included a download link at the bottom of this post if you are interested in seeing his entire notebook.
Perhaps these thoughts will give you some inspiration to modify these and make them your own for your team.
“Life is like a basketball, it just keeps bouncing up and down.”
“I’ve got a theory that if you give 100 percent all of the time, somehow things will work out in the end,” Larry Bird
What Do I Want in a Player?
I want a player who is willing to make a commitment to being as good as he can be each time that he plays.
I want a player who is willing and ready to do what has to be done to make a positive contribution in the most difficult of games.
I want a player who competes in each game as though there is nothing he will ever do that will be more important.
I want a player who more than anything, wants our team to be the very best that it can be.
Is this too much for me to demand of you?
Is this too much for you to demand of yourself?
One of the most important benefits of sport’s participation is the relationships that are formed. Players make lifelong relationships with their teammates, coaches, managers, fans, opponents, and everyone who helps manage the games (maintenance crews, scorekeepers, bus drivers, athletic directors, principals, superintendents, and even the referees). In today’s technological world, networking is very important. Through sports participation, athletes have a far greater network than those who do not participate.
WE PLAY HARD: We give maximum effort at all times and in everything we do. We take charges, and are eager to dive for a loose ball.
WE PLAY SMART: We know our assignments and make wise decisions.
WE PLAY TOGETHER: Five people working together can achieve much more than five people working independently.
WE PLAY AGGRESSIVE: The most aggressive team will get more of the calls and win the game.
WE COMMUNICATE: We make eye contact with each other whenever someone is talking. We talk at all times when we are on the floor.
“Good talent with bad attitude equals bad talent,” Bill Walsh
The average American will meet 10,000 people in their lifetime. If we each change the lives of 10 people, and they change the lives of 10 people, and they all change the lives of 10 people, and so on, in 5 generations, the 30 people in our family will have changed the lives of 300,000 people. Lives can be changed anywhere, and by anyone. Admiral William H. McRaven, Commander, Navy Seal
The Wolf Inside Submitted By: Cullen Hair, 2012
An old man is telling his grandson about a fight that is going on inside himself. He said it is between two wolves.
One wolf is evil: anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego…
The other wolf is good: joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith…
The grandson thought about it for a minute, and asked his grandfather, “Which wolf wins?”
The old man simply replies, “The one I feed.”
Attitude
By: Charles Swindoll
The longer I live, the more I realize
the impact of ATTITUDE, on life.
ATTITUDE, to me, is more
important than facts.
It is more important than the past,
than education, than money, than
circumstances, than failures, than
successes, than what other people
think or say or do.
It is more important than
appearance, giftedness or skill.
It will make or break a
company… a church… a home.
The remarkable think is we have a
choice every day regarding the
ATTITUDE we will embrace for that day.
We cannot change our past… we
cannot change the fact that people
will act in a certain way.
We can not change the inevitable.
The only thing we can do is play
on the one string we have, and that
is our ATTITUDE…
I am convinced that life is 10%
what happens to me and 90% how
I react to it.
And so it is with you…
We are in charge of our
ATTITUDES.
Humility:
In basketball, we can value a player for his speed, shooting ability, or how he jumps. But, ultimately, it’s the humble superstar that most guys seem to admire and want to emulate. Humility is a quality worth desiring.
If we are really humble, after a game you won’t be able to tell whether we’ve won or lost. Or whether people are saying nice things about us or criticizing us. A truly humble person is constantly deflecting praise to their teammates and recognizing others for their efforts.
Many of our losses are designed to humble us and shape us into the people we want to be. We have to let those times do their work on us.
Chuck Tanner, the manager for the 1979 world champion Pittsburgh Pirates, said, “You have to play everyday like it’s Opening Day.” In baseball, it is easy to get excited about opening day. The stands are packed. The locker room is filled with optimism about the upcoming season. We have to capture that Opening Day Enthusiasm and release it before every practice and every game.
Click this link to download the entire Notebook of Champions
