Danny Amendola is interviewed by ESPN Boston today.
“I had a feeling it was the case before I came here, but then I got here and I was just in awe with how hard he works,” Amendola said of Brady. “I feel like the best of the best in any sport not only plays well, but they get everyone around them to play really well, and the best they can. That’s what Tom is about. He gets everybody around him to work really hard, and in turn, that gets everyone to play hard for him and everyone respects that.”
Whether a player or a coach, you need to determine what you want and whether you are willing to pay the price.
In "First, Fast, and Furious" Brian Hiner writes about the "swim buddy" system employed by the SEALs. It assures that organizational performance is higher and that individual performance becomes subservient to team goals.
"Two are one and one is none," is how they express that. The stronger member of the team helps the weaker excel and collective performance improves.
Optimizing communication at every organizational level (coach-player, coach-assistants, player-player) is one of the great challenges faced. Part of that is normal until everyone's goals are aligned.
Last year we had only one award, the "Teammate Award", presented to the player voted by her teammates as best representing the concept of a "good teammate." I'm considering awarding a different award this year, called the "Craftsmanship Award", to the player the girls vote as working hardest at the craft of basketball. Danny Amendola's comments reflect the craft excellence of Tom Brady and how that informs the Patriots' success.