Learn across domains. Retired Alabama football coach Nick Saban may be the greatest college football coach ever. As a boy, he helped run his father's service station/car wash. Saban's father inspected every finished wash and made his son rewash the whole car if there was one spot. That explains a lot.
Nick Saban literally gave one of the best explanations of teamwork and commitment pic.twitter.com/ADMhGV8XYp
— Coach AJ 🎯 Mental Fitness (@coachajkings) May 18, 2025
What resonates? The individual doesn't have the right to bring the team down. "There is an "i" in "Win." That "i" includes:
- Intelligence, make great decision on and off the court.
- Intensity, compete at your best level at all times.
- Immediacy. Focus on the now, this play.
Here's a harsh truth. a head coach and his/her staff don't decide who plays, their role, and their recognition. The quality of YOUR EFFORT defines your individual and team destiny. You write your story. Make it memorable.
Lagniappe. There's a profile of Alex Bregman in Sunday's Boston Globe. Here are a few quotes:
“They (his parent) just told me if I wanted to do anything, I better work — work for it every day.” Do the work.
Bregman, armed with an iPad, digested at-bats, pitches, and plays. He talked about approaches, mechanics, mind-sets — seeking and giving feedback to hitters, pitchers, and anyone else. Be a great teammate.
Bregman talks of “falling in love with the work before the game” and then allowing himself to treat the game itself as the reward for everything he does over the rest of his day. Process over results.
“I know for a fact he’s made some of our younger players better [be] hungry, and [helped them] understand this is what greatness is.” Exceptional players show the will to become exceptional.
Lagniappe 2. Words help and our actions define us.
— Jon Gordon (@JonGordon11) May 17, 2025