The Courage to Adjust

There are a few basic responsibilities that every coach has (I've listed them in the back of The Discovering Greatness Playbook). One of the biggest is The Courage to Adjust.

It's difficult. You go in with a game plan. You've practiced a set of plays. You've committed to a roster. But if your system isn't working, you need to have the courage to throw it out.

It's a common mistake that coaches make at all levels; they get so committed to the virtues of what they planned that their egos won't let them make the changes their team needs for victory. The stick with the starters who don't have their heads in the game; they run the same bad plays . . .

You know that's the definition of insanity, right? To keep doing the same thing over and over but expecting a different result.

Youth Baseball Season is upon us (local sign-ups are next Saturday). If there's one thing that baseball, as a sport, does correctly, it's having the courage to make a change.

The rosters are designed for it: a variety of pitchers and hitters are available at the disposal of a well-prepared baseball coach. If a guy is having an off-day from the mound, pull him. Hey, in baseball we recognize that any pitcher can be out of rhythm. With no disparity or disgust, we simply shrug it off and give the next guy a chance. The success of the team comes first.

Sure, you may give a guy a chance to get into step, and you should, but if it's just not coming together you pull him. You'll give him a shot another day. No harm, no foul (like the pun?), you're still a good guy and a quality pitcher, today's just not your day.


In business, especially in tough times, we often wait too long to make a personnel change. We've got the wrong guy on the mound; we're running the wrong playbook. But we stick with it, our egos to big for us to acknowledge we've made a mistake. If we want to win, if we want to survive, we need to have the Courage to Adjust.

J Mac

I write about and coach sports because I see the potential to uplift the human spirit.

One of the beauties of the Internet is that even if an event is "old" by news standards, through video posting and archiving it can reach a new audience any time.

One such video is that of young Jason McElwain's amazing basketball performance the one time he saw actual playing time. You've got to watch the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngzyhnkT_jY

Any honest viewer has to be impressed. And moved. It's these moments that sports are all about: to revel in the achievement of a hero; to see the underdog get his due. If you want to learn more about J Mac, check out:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_McElwain

I'm grateful for the friend that told me about Jason so that I had time to share his story with my kids before the Superbowl. It gave the commercial he was in an added sense of triumph for all of us.

“Diem perséquere!"

Hunt the Day Down. Attack today. Go out and make it yours.

Roids

Roids. As in Steroids, not Hemorrhoids, although the news of late has me thinking that the two words aren't that far apart . . .

What should be the response of league officials when an athlete tests positive for a banned substance? And should that response be any different if a confession is made?

The whole situation reminds me of Pete Rose.

Now wait a minute; hear me out. I'm a "rules are rules' kind of a guy. If the league has rules against the use of certain substances, or gambling, then the punishment must be carried out. And yet the Pete Rose situation has always bothered me. OK, the guy gambled on baseball, which is dumb. And yes, I get that the MLB is very sensitive to that particularly surrounding the Black Sox Scandal of 1919, but being Banned for Life from playing (especially after one has retired) and be kept from the Hall of Fame are two different things.

In the same regard, while I admire Alex Rodriguez for coming clean about his past steroid use, and think that his honesty merits a little leniency, something needs to be done. It's A-Rod's own words that trouble me the most, citing his reason for doping that he caved in to "pressure to perform".

What message does that send? What are kids supposed to take away from that?

Does anyone think that future Hall-of-Fame hopefuls aren't going to figure out that his "banned substance use" coincides with his move to the Texas Rangers, his record breaking seasons, and his $10-million-a-year deal?

Steroids will wreck your life (am I the only one that remembers Lyle Alzado?) and yet their use in professional sports is out of hand.

So what should be done?

In the case of Alex Rodriguez, I advocate fines. Fine him, fine the Rangers, and maybe even the Yankees. There's no question that A-Rod's income, and the income of both teams, is tied to his "enhanced" performance. What to do with the fines? A PR campaign? Maybe, but the bottom line is that kids need to hear "use the juice, and it's gonna cost ya".

Should A-Rod and other users be allowed to continue to play? I say "yes", so long as they submit to regular testing and stay clean. Hall of Fame? Maybe, but I strongly advocate erasing any statistics from any player's record that are the result of banned substances. Not just in baseball, but every sport. If we remove the batting averages and home runs from those Texas Rangers years will Alex still qualify for the Hall?

Not likely. But that's an appropriate response for irresponsible behavior. If Pete Rose can be kept out of the Hall for things he did outside of Baseball, Alex Rodriguez should have his induction influenced by the things he's done while playing.

And Hank Aaron should be re-crowned the rightful Home Run King.

Outside of Professional Sports, how much control should a company have over the off-time habits of it's employees?

None.

Unless those off-time exploits effect the workplace, as they are almost certainly bound to do.

Mangers and Owners need to first have rock-solid policies in place. Even in a small company you need a manual that clearly lays out a zero-tolerance while on-the-clock rule. While clocked in, you're liable for a lot of what they do, you've got to protect your business.

Habitual users of any drug are guaranteed to have their work performance and production effected. Suspecting someone of being under the influence and proving it are two wildly different things. They best tool you have may be regular performance reviews (which I recommend NOT tying to salary or wage increases), and by regular I mean "formal" and "at least quarterly". By focusing on an employee's performance, not your suspicions of drug use, you'll stay above any legal entanglements.

Man Enough

People will gather at the water cooler today and boast about the greatness of their team. They'll use words like "miraculous" and "dominate". They'll string together superlatives as if they think there's an opening for Madden's job.

Some will talk about fairness and calls and challenges and penalties called and not called.

And that's OK.

It's all part of the social decompression that we need to do. It helps us feel more a part of the contest on the field. Monday Morning Quarterbacking? Call it what you want, but the camaraderie that is built upon the common ground of having witnessed the same event; around analysing its moments, momentum, and miracles, is a positive byproduct of the spectacle of sport.

What I worry will get lost amid the discussions, something that would have been mentioned in every article, commentary and column today had the game but slightly swung the other direction, is a little thing that happened just before kick off: Kurt Warner was awarded the "Walter Payton Man of the Year Award".

Awarded every year since 1970, the NFL's Man of the Year (Walter Payton's name added after his death in 1999, Payton himself winning the award in 1977) honors excellence on and off the field.

In a world where our media is dominated by the foibles of the rich and famous, this award recognizes the charitable community contributions of the recipients (as well as the 31 other nominees) every year.

Wouldn't it be great if every profession had a Humanitarian award?

If after the awards for best picture, actor, actress and director the highest honor was given to the celebrity who had done the most to help those in need?

The "Man of the Year" may not hold for Kurt Warner, or even for the rest of us, the joy of the Lombardi trophy, but I submit to you that, whatever team you follow, we should all be proud of the Cardinal's QB. For having served his community, he's Man Enough.

There are unsung heroes in our individual workplaces as well. On their time off the clock they volunteer as coaches, in homeless shelters, and food banks. They lead scout troops, teach skills and mentor young people. They help us move and move us to tears.

Maybe I'm caught up in the economy of the times, but I'd love to see public recognition of the everyday heroes by the big companies that employ them. They're easy to find. Today they'll be huddled around the water cooler.

Fair Game

100-0

Is it fair? Is it right?

Covenant High School beat Dallas Academy one hundred to nothing. The Christian Covenant issued an apology, asked for the league to accept their forfeiture of the game, and then fired their Girls Basketball coach when he stood up for his team and stood his ground.

He had every right, he said, to run up the score to record breaking territory. They "played with heart", he said of his starters. They never gave up, never let down. Can he be blamed for the poor performance of the D.A.'s team and coach?

No. But while I was initially convinced that the reaction of Covenant High School was political correctness gone bad in the worst way, I've since gathered a little more information, and realized that, while I'm not ready to agree that he should have been fired, Covenant's Coach was wrong.

I'm a competitive guy. I believe in scoring early and scoring big. As a coach, parent and player, a healthy lead helps me relax. How healthy? Enough that, whatever the game may be, the momentum of the competition won't steal the game away from me. In football that's a minimum two-touchdown lead; in Little League Baseball with the 6 runs per inning mercy rule, I like to be up by seven or eight runs before I ease off on the heat.

There's something fundamentally unsettling about holding back. For many it smacks of point shaving and game throwing (dare I make the analogy between the Black Sox and current political headlines here?). Isn't it disrespectful to your opponent to adopt an attitude of "you're so bad, you need us to help you score"?

Well, yeah, it is. When you come to play, bring your A-game. A half-effort attitude is just as much poor sportsmanship as trash-talking and running up the score. I think it's interesting that no one is talking about firing the Dallas Academy coach who couldn't lead his girls to score one single bucket even after Covenant's starters retired to the bench. How is that possible? Has he totally failed in teaching the fundamentals of the game? Can there be any other explanation?

And yet what must it have been like to be the parent of one of the non-starters? I've been there. You hope your team gets ahead early so your child will finally see some quality game time. Up 55-0 at the half, and yet the bench was still full of cold players; when were they going to get to play?

From a coaching perspective, Covenant missed a great opportunity. How much stronger would there team be if they had a coach that would grasp opportunities to give his less experienced players more game time? Is not the improvement of the team more important than the record?

There's more to sports than humiliating your opponent; the elements of mutual respect and good sportsmanship are waining in too many arenas. Perhaps that's one of the reasons participation in Organized Youth Athletics is on the decline. Yes, there are winners and there are losers, but as this game has brought to our attention, that distinction is not based on score alone.

Should a business hold back when it starts to decimate the competition?

Well that's a complex question.

When a "big box" retailer moves into a growing community, the mom and pop stores may take a hit. If they're unable to offer something the national changes can't (superior customer service being the best choice), they're going to suffer, and maybe they should. But it's not good for either establishment to obliterate the other, one by taking advantage of price breaks and the other wielding the power of taxes and the local government. The coexistence, the competition, makes both of them better at what they do.

Or rather, it should make them both better if they can but grasp the spirit of competition. Monopolies aren't good for anyone, not even the one left standing. If my business has no competitors, what incentive will I have to be the best?

I'm not suggesting that you pull your best people when you start to win and win big, I am suggesting that you play fair. Become the best you can be by improving yourself, not by destroying everyone else.

You'll sleep better.

To quote a favorite sports movie: "Score, don't spite."

Pocket Protectors

No, not those plastic pen holders that keep the ink from ruining your new 50-50 Stafford Button Collar JC Penny dress shirt; I'm talking about those unsung heroes that make the difference between hoisting a trophy and crying in the locker room.

Yeah, we know names like:

Roethlisberger, Ward, Polamalu

and

Warner, Fitzgerald, James

Names worth noting for their excellence on Sunday, no doubt. We heard them because they touched the ball. But watch the highlight reels:


http://www.nfl.com/videos?videoId=09000d5d80e36f66

http://www.nfl.com/videos?videoId=09000d5d80e3622b


All four teams had big plays in games that were a lot closer than the die-hard fans want to admit. How do big plays happen? How do long passes get made? How does McNabb hit Curtis in the third quarter? Why doesn't he connect with Jackson with only two minutes left? Who's creating and then protecting that pocket?


With respect to the Eagles and the Ravens, both of whom played excellent football, it all comes down to the Offensive Line. When you watch the clips you can see that when plays work its because the O-Line does a great job; when plays fall apart, its because the O-Line looks like Swiss cheese.

How many times do I have to say it? You can have the best Quarterback, the Best Running Backs and Receivers, but they won't make the highlight reel without a great Offensive Line.


So today let's acknowledge and give credit to names like:

Hartwig, Kemoeatu, Stapleton, Simmons, Colon, Capizzi, Essex, Hills, Parquet, Starks

Sendlein, Lutui, Wells, Brown, Gandy, Ketih, Vallejo, Pope

You wont find their names on the NFL.com Game Center site, no-one is reporting their stats, and that's a mistake. Without great performances by these guys, we'd be looking at a different match up in two weeks.


Who are the unsung heroes where you work? The down-in-the-mud, grind-it-out-every-day front line workers without whom you'd never be able to make the big plays?

You better acknowledge them, and acknowledge how much you need them, or next year they may be playing for someone else, racking up championship rings while you cry in the locker room.

Defense

What's the value of Defense?


Is it true that "Defense Wins Championships"?

Statistically it's not defense that wins championships. Teams that go into the big game with offensive momentum, that can score at will, typically come away the victor

At least that's how the arm-chair annalysts see it. As I've said many times, without a solid Offensive Line, the best Quarterback is worthless. Likewise, without a hard working defense limiting the opponent's offensive time, games won't be won.

Did you see the San Diego - Pittsburgh game?

At 10:25 in the 1st Quarter San Diego's Jammer showed perfect tacking - low, at the waist, hit-wrap-drive, forcing Rothlesburger's pass to Ward to be incomplete. Kids, if you play Defense, go back and watch that hit over and over again: that's how hitting is supposed to look.

In the third quarter Sproles amazing 63 yard return was negated on the next play, not because Rivers threw a bad pass, the pressure wasn't high, but the Steeler's defense had the presence of mind to tip the ball and snag the interception out of the air.

Shouldn't any professional football team be able to score on fourth and goal, only one yard out? Theoretically, but the Chargers defense prevented that score at the beginning of the fourth quarter, keeping their team's hopes alive.

We talk a lot during these economic times about having a good offense, going out, finding new clients, and making sales happen, that's good advice. But how about building a strong defense?

Do an internal audit; are your costs in line? Where can you save money? Are you carrying debt that you shouldn't?

When sales are slow, good defense can win championships.