This article was written and contributed by Scott Rosberg
At Wal-Marts, Targets, JC Penneys, and just about every other department store out there, the signs are plastered all over the place – BACK TO SCHOOL! While those three words conjure up all kinds of feelings for just about everybody who reads them, one thing they always indicate is that summer is coming to an end. The hope and promise of summer that we all had as Memorial Day hit (which seems like about three weeks ago!) faded quickly, as within no time we were watching the parades and fireworks on the 4th of July. And now the “Back to School” signs are telling us that it’s over. The never-ending sunshine, warm days, barbecuing, sleeping in (for students and many of you), the feeling that nothing is as urgent as it is during the school year, and overall feeling of freedom and laziness are about to be gone for another 9 months.
Don’t Wait For the Future – Create It
And yet, along with those signs are some other signs – signs of anxiousness, excitement, possibility, and hope. While the end of summer is just that – an end – it is also a beginning, the start of something new. Many people wonder, “What will this school year bring?” Well, here’s a thought for you – don’t focus on what the year might bring to you.
Go get whatever you want from the school year.
The concept that something or someone is going to bring me something is very passive. It means that I am waiting for whatever is going to happen to happen. While there is nothing wrong with hoping for certain things to come our way, it is much better to go after the things that we seek in life. This is an active mentality, a mentality that says, “I am going to create my future, not wait for my future to come to me.”
For coaches & advisors (as well as your athletes, and activities participants), it is imperative that you work to create your future. If you sit around and wait and see what happens, the success you seek will never come. In fact, many of you don’t take the summer off the way that others do. The best coaches, advisors, teachers, athletes, musicians, actors, etc. put in a lot of time and effort throughout the summer to work on their crafts. Many worked on their skills, read books, watched videos, strengthened their bodies, went to camps, and played in tournaments trying to improve themselves. They understood that the off-season is a great chance to impact their future by doing something in the present.
To those of you that put in the time to your professional development and your team’s skill development, strength training, and team-building, “Thank you.” You have demonstrated a commitment that is necessary for any team to develop to its potential. The more of you and your team members who did so, the better the chances are that your teams will have the kind of success you are all seeking.
Commit to Be Your Best to Help Your Kids Be Their Best
For those of you who weren’t able to work as much as you would have liked to on your or your team’s development, now is the time to rev it up and kick things into high gear. While you can’t go back into the past and re-do your summer, you can do all that you are capable of now. It’s not too late to get “caught up” on your own professional development, so that you are ready to move your teams forward in the direction you want to go, and to develop yourself and your teams to your potential.
The start of school is a great time to commit to your & your team’s future. Don’t wait for your future to come to you. Decide what you want your future to be and go get it. Determine what culture you want to create for and with your teams, and then do all you can to develop that culture. Attack this new school year with a sense of purpose, desire, and focus, and don’t let anyone or anything knock you off track. Create great habits that will help you focus and allow you to reap the benefits of your efforts and help you overcome the inevitable dips in motivation and excitement that will hit after the first few weeks back. Anything is possible this year if you focus your effort and attention, and you then act on that focus.
Before you know it, we will be in full swing with our fall sports and activities practices and competitions, and school will be back in session. Enjoy the last bit of summer that you have left, but make sure that while you are doing that, you are also preparing yourself for your seasons by taking care of last-minute duties and responsibilities. That way when it all starts up for you, you will be ready to go full-speed ahead. Have a great end of your summer and a fantastic start to your new school year!
For those of you who receive my AD Newsletter and Coaches’ Newsletter to send to your coaches and parents, you saw this post a couple weeks ago in your Coaches’ Newsletter. For those of you athletic directors out there who would like to receive those two newsletters to send out to your people, email me at [email protected] and let me know you are interested in those. Around the 15th of each month, I will email you the following month’s newsletters, so you can tweak them for your specific audiences and send them out with your school’s newsletter at the beginning of the month.
About the Author of this Article
Scott Rosberg has been a coach (basketball, soccer, & football) at the high school level for 30 years, an English teacher for 18 years, and an athletic director for 12 years. He has published seven booklets on coaching and youth/school athletics, two books of inspirational messages and quotes for graduates, and a newsletter for athletic directors and coaches. He also speaks to schools, teams, and businesses on a variety of team-building, leadership, and coaching topics. Scott has a blog and a variety of other materials about coaching and athletic topics on his website – www.coachwithcharacter.com. He can be reached by email at [email protected].
Scott is also a member of the Proactive Coaching speaking team. Proactive Coaching is dedicated to helping organizations create character and education-based team cultures, while providing a blueprint for team leadership. They help develop confident, tough-minded, fearless competitors and train coaches and leaders for excellence and significance. Proactive Coaching can be found on the web at www.proactivecoaching.info. Also, you can join the 200,000+ people who have “Liked” Proactive Coaching’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/proactivecoach. Scott can also be reached through Proactive Coaching at [email protected]
