Team Spirit

"Individual commitment to a group effort- that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work." ~Vince Lombardi, legendary NFL coach

"If anything goes bad, I did it. If anything goes semi-good, then WE did it. If anything goes really good, then YOU did it." ~Paul "Bear" Bryant, NCAA Football coach

"Team Spirit means you are willing to sacrifice personal considerations for the welfare of all. That defines a team player." ~John Wooden

It's not about me. It's not about you. It's about the squad, the program, the team & fans we're cheering for, the school, the town, the community. You and I are a part of something bigger than either of us alone. We are BULLDOGS.You've heard the old cliche', "there's no 'I' in TEAM."

It's not about me. It can never be about you.It's all about US.Be a team player and you'll become a leader. What's it gonna be? 7 individuals who all want their own way? Two or three factions that each coalesce behind different individuals who each want to be in charge? Or ONE unit, one group, one team, one family, one squad with the same purpose- to get the crowds going and make games more fun- for EVERYBODY?

As you've read before, about other bricks in the Pyramid of Success, it might take sacrifice, selflessness, maturity, patience, compromise- but those are all things that genuine and successful leaders do. Be a leader by being a TEAM player.

Coach Wooden on Team Spirit: "This means thinking of others. It means losing oneself in the group for the good of the group. It means being not just willing but eager to sacrifice personal interest or glory for the welfare of all.

There is a profound difference between mere willingness and eagerness. A prisoner on a chain gang may be willing to break rocks to avoid punishment, but how eager is he?

Of course, we all want to do well and receive individual praise. Yes, that's fine, if you put it to use for the good of the team, whatever your team is: sports, business, family, or community.

Team spirit means you are willing to sacrifice personal considerations for the welfare of all. That defines a team player."

For my money, this may be the most difficult block in the pyramid to put into practice, but it may be one of the most rewarding and most important.

The reason King Aurthur's table was round, instead of rectangular, was because he saw his knights as co-equals. He wanted them to know that it wasn't all about him- they were a team. One version of the legend says that the round table was inscribed with this motto: "by serving each other, we become free."

Poise

"The key to winning is poise under stress." ~Paul Brown

Coach Wooden put Poise and Confidence near the top because they are the natural result of having the first 12 qualities in place.

You've heard of old saying like, "she makes it look so easy," the reason some people make things LOOK easy, is not because they are easy, but because those people have poise.

POISE:

1 : a stably balanced state : EQUILIBRIUM poise between widely divergent impulses --

2 a : easy self-possessed assurance of manner : gracious tact in coping or handling; also : the pleasantly tranquil interaction between persons of poise poise of the meeting

b : a particular way of carrying oneself : BEARING, CARRIAGE

synonym see TACT

Fashion magazines will tell you that runway models need to be poised, so you might think that poise is all an act, but really it's about being comfortable, unflappable even. It's about being stable.

Coach Wooden says that his definition of poise is simply being yourself. Not acting. Not pretending to be something you're not, you are who you are and you're comfortable with that. You'll function at your own level of competence. Granted, as a cheerleader you may sometimes have to pretend to be happy and you have to work at being positive- but if you have enthusiasm (love/spirit) then you'll be able to smile and act excited and still be genuine even when life is hard or you're having a bad day.

Poise means that your goal is not to satisfy anyone else's expectations but your own. You give your total effort to becoming the best you are capable of being.

Here's a famous poem about poise:

"If..." By Rudyard Kipling If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you, If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too; If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or being lied about, don't deal in lies, Or being hated, don't give way to hating, And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise: If you can dream - and not make dreams your master; If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim; If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat those two impostors just the same; If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, Or watch the things you gave your life to broken, And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools: If you can make one heap of all your winnings And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss, And lose, and start again at your beginnings And never breathe a word about your loss; If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew To serve your turn long after they are gone, And so hold on when there is nothing in you Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!' If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch, If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you, If all men count with you, but none too much; If you can fill the unforgiving minute With sixty seconds' worth of distance run - Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it, And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son! (or may I rephrase, you'll be a woman my cheerleader! or how about, you'll be a leader, not just a cheerleader)

"You understand that the goal is to satisfy not everyone else's expectations but your own. You give your total effort to becoming the best you are capable of being. It takes poise to accomplish this." ~John Wooden

Confidence

" Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent."

"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do."

~Eleanor Roosevelt

"Courage is being scared to death- but saddling up anyway."

~John Wayne

"You must have confidence," writes Coach John Wooden, "You must believe in yourself if you expect others to believe in you. However, you can't have poise and confidence unless you've prepared correctly. (remember that failing to prepare is preparing to fail.) Every block is built on the others. When all are in place, poise and confidence result. You don't force them to happen. They happen naturally from proper preparation. "

Webster's Dictionary explains that it is "a state of mind or a manner marked by easy coolness and freedom from uncertainty, diffidence, or embarrassment... faith in oneself and one's powers without any suggestion of conceit or arrogance confidence that comes from long experience>...an ease or coolness under stress that reflects perfect self-control and command of one's powers... a manifest self-possession in trying or challenging situations."

Some kids bring confidence to cheerleading. Generally cheerleading gives kids confidence.

Flying, basing and spotting in stunts. Leading chants; shouting, jumping and kicking in front of hundreds of people. Leading pep-rallies... practice, practice, practice... being LOUD and PROUD!

Heck, just having to perform in front of the whole student body or half the town gives you a certain amount of confidence- once you get over whatever stage fright you had, there won't be many times you'll be afraid to be in front of people anymore!

I wish we still had 10-20 people trying out for cheer- not because the competition means you get a higher caliber of cheerleader- you guys are great- but because having to go through the tryout practice is a real teat or confidence. Over the last 20 years I've known a couple of girls who gave phenomenal tryouts, you'd think they were college cheerleaders, unfortunately they became lazy and sloppy in practice and at games. These girls were "over confident." True confidence is built on the other 13 bricks and includes not just poise, but work, conditioning, alertness, loyalty, Enthusiasm, cooperation, etc.

Then there were a few girls who I absolutely knew had outstanding skills, knowledge, and work-ethic- but unfortunately for them, they completely freaked out when it was time for tryouts. A couple of times girls wound up in tears. It was too bad because I knew that they were brimming with potential. At least once they decided they couldn't stand being in front of crowds, at least once there wasn't anything I could do- there were too many other candidates that performed better, and I know a couple of times it worked out in the end. Even the girls who don't make the squad have said that just having to go through the tryout process helped build their confidence.

And as Coach Wooden explained, working on industriusness, friendship, loyalty, cooperation, enthusiasm, self-control, alertness, initiative, intentness, conditioning, skill, team-spirit, and poise- these are going to give you REAL confidence.

My hope is that through cheerleading, you will build all 15 of these bricks into your character and your thinking. If you do, they may not make you a billionaire or the first woman President, but I guarantee that they will bring you success- that is, the peace of mind that comes from knowing that you did your best. And THAT could make cheer one of the most important things you do in high school. Even if this is the last season you cheer and you don't come out again (and I hope you all will, whether it's during football or basketball or both), but even if you don't- it will be worth it if you gain at least some confidence from it. That will probably happen even if you think this Pyramid business of Coach Wooden is a bunch of bunk.

I've known tons of girls who agree that it made a difference in their lives. Some who were timid, shy and unassuming before cheer and confident and comfortable both with themselves and with others after. But remember, if your confidence is not merely building up an immunity to stage-fright, but if it's backed up by the other 13 bricks in the Pyramid of Success- you'll be ready for just about anything life throws at you.

Everybody need a little confidence. How do you get it? It's not about a sense of entitlement, it's about a sense of accomplishment. Esteem may give you value, but efficacy gives you confidence. If you have the other 12 blocks of the pyramid, then confidence and poise will come along naturally. If there's anything that cheerleading (and I'm sure other sports like VB, XC, BB, and Track) can give a girl, it's confidence.

Competitive Greatness

UCLA Coach John Wooden with some of the artifacts that came from his success, which he attributes to his Pyramid of Success.

“'When the going gets tough, the tough get going.' Be at your best when your best is needed. (competitive greatness is a) Real love of a hard battle." ~John Wooden

Get your game on.

Put your game face on.

Keep your head in the game.

And of course what cheerleader doesn't know "Bring it on?"

All of these cliches mean the same thing; keep your edge.

It's not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game.

All of these mottos mean that the athlete relishes the opportunity to bring all their skill, talent, experience and character to bare on whatever problem or challenge they face.

Coach Wooden says "a hard struggle is to be welcomed, never feared. In fact, when you define success this way, the only thing to fear is your unwillingness to make the full 100% effort to prepare and perform at the highest level of your ability."

Over 20 years of bus rides, I've overheard a lot of conversations between basketball coaches. They talk a lot about who's giving 100%, 90%, 60%, and 110% both in practices and in games.

Competitive greatness isn't about winning competitions (especially in cheer, where yeah, there are such a thing as cheerleading competitions, but the whole purpose is really to help the football or basketball players reach their competitive greatness). Competitive greatness isn't about defeating an opponent or a rival. You can be competitive in an insecure, jealous, selfish, ambitious way like that, but true competitive greatness isn't about vanquishing enemies- it's about overcoming obstacles, solving problems, meeting challenges, and accomplishing personal goals.

The love of a hard battle isn't about destroying enemies or getting attention or power- it's about sojourning on even when you're faced with the most difficult trails. It's about not being lazy, apathetic, or lethargic but industrious, intentional, confident, determined and to bring us full-circle- it means being enthusiastic.

The point, that sharp top (competitive EDGE), the summit of the pyramid isn't possible without the force of the bricks below it, perhaps most importantly the corner stones of industriousness and enthusiasm- but not as high, not as powerful, and not nearly as meaningful or as successful without friendship, loyalty, cooperation, and team-spirit.

You can jump over a hurdle, avoid it by going around, or plow right through it. Sometimes competitive greatness means having to get a little dirty, it means having to work up a sweat. It means not giving up, even if you do lose. It means moving on and trying again after you have failed.

Winston Churchill once said, "Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts."

That's why I always want you to keep trying to rev up the crowd no matter how unresponsive they are for your time out and quarter break cheers. And that's a lesson that will take you far in life. Another old saying says that if you aim for the moon, even if you miss, you'll end up in the stars.

Take a look and read through the 15 bricks. Do you have the peace of mind that comes from knowing that you give it your best? That's what it means to be a true success. You can review them at my "Cheer Positive" wiki, at http://cheerpositive.wikispaces.com/P000+The+Pyramid+of+Success-+Intro or at my Coach's blog at http://cheercoach.blogspot.com/search/label/Pyramid%20of%20Success. 

Pyramid of Success; 2nd Teir

"You must not be afraid to fail. Initiative is having the courage to make decisions and take action. Keep in mind that we all are going to fail at times. This you must know. None of us is perfect. But if you're afraid of failure, you will never do the things you are capable of doing... Never fear failure. It is something to learn from. You have conquered fear when you have initiative." ~Coach John Wooden

“If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.” ~Albert Einstein

“For an athlete to function properly, he must be intent. There has to be a definite purpose and goal if you are to progress. If you are not intent about what you are doing, you aren't able to resist the temptation to do something else that might be more fun at the moment." ~John Wooden

You don't have to be a Vulcan or a robot, emotions can be valid and its certainly healthy to be in touch with your emotions- HOWEVER, emotions can cloud your judgement and lead to mistakes or worse, injury- not to mention hurt others and damage relationships. If you're going to base your actions on what needs to be done and what's best for everyone in stead of reacting or over-reacting to situations, you need to keep your feelings in check.

Pyramid of Success

Here are the first 5 bricks in legendary UCLA Basketball Coach John Wooden's "Pyramid of Success." If you want to read more about them, visit our Cheer "Wiki" at http://cheerpositive.wikispaces.com/P001+Industriousness
Next week I'll try to post 4 more bricks, then 3 more the week after that, then 2, then one last one.

You can also search for either the pyramid or Coach Wooden on this blog to see things that I've written in past years. I'm also posting these bricks on Pinterest & Facebook- so don't trip over them.

Awesome Book

A Game Plan for Life: The Power of Mentoring by John Wooden

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Many years ago, when I was teaching at Los Angeles Lutheran High, our friend and former Vice Principal had become a family therapist. The psychologists she worked with had developed what they called a "Life Model." One aspect of the life model was a mentoring continuum, having people older than yourself whom you learn from and friends younger than yourself whom you can try to spiritually parent.

I remember thinking that it was a noble ideal, but wasn't sure how I could put it into action. I didn't have a lot of friends above my age range and wasn't sure that I could fit it into my schedule. As a teacher I was sold on trying to disciple young people, but figured I was better off allowing relationships to develop rather than trying to deliberately fabricate them.

Later on this same concept was proposed by the Promise Keeper's movement. I attended a couple of PK conferences with my Principal, who I suspect was seeking to be my mentor- but for whatever reason, we never seemed to "click." PK recommended having older men mentor you and hold you accountable and younger men whom you could challenge and teach as well.

At this time I had a couple of pastors who were older than me and a prestigious painter who'd retired from LALHS before I started teaching there, but I never seemed to manage to become the close confidant with any of them that I imagined being mentored entailed. Meanwhile I felt like I was managing to shepherd and be available for some students, but it seemed like most of them were young women- it didn't seem like I had the same kind of connections with boys. No doubt being a cheerleading coach and Art teacher had some to do with that.

When we moved back to Iowa and left Lutheran High for a public school, I wanted a way to reach the girls I coached and be able to help develop their character since I'd now be in a secular setting. At first I leaned on Norman Vincent Peale's Power of Positive Thinking and eventually discovered Coach Wooden's Pyramid of Success.

It didn't occur to me that I hadn't just found material to help me mentor students and athletes, I had myself, found a mentor.

In this book, Coach Wooden explains that mentors can be real people you have meaningful relationships with, like his father, leaders you look up to and who model a great example for you, like his high school coach and principal, people who care for you and try to guide you, like Wooden's college coach at Purdue. But leaders may even be people you don't actually know personally, whom you study and admire, and whom you either try to emulate or who's thinking and ideas shape your own. In Wooden's case, Abraham Lincoln and Mother Theresa. AND, mentors may be peers and loved ones, not just your elders- people who influence you and who you learn from, like a close friend or even a spouse.

The second half of this book was written by seven people for whom Wooden was a mentor. They each write about how he influenced their character, philosophy and lives. Sure there are famous athletes he coached, like Careem Abdul Jabaar, but there are also other coaches he worked with and a teacher who had never really met Wooden- but who had read everything by the Wizard of Westwood until he was asked to contribute to this book.

Last week I attended a conference for college and high school teachers where the key note speaker challenged us to do something positive that would help us build community. He asked us to contact at least 3 people who had contributed positively to our lives and let them know how much we appreciated it.

At first I was stumped. My old Psych Professor had passed away. My old newspaper publisher had passed away. I didn't have an address for my old Education Prof. who was starting a school in Vietnam of something like that. What could I do?

I looked behind me instead of looking ahead of me. I wrote some of my former students who had meant a lot to me. Then, coincidentally, I stumbled across another Ed. Prof. on a professional networking site. Then I found the email address of the first Ed. Prof. Then a google search turned up the new church where one of those old pastors was now serving.

They all replied to my emails by telling me that I'd made their day. One of the students wrote back to tell me how much I had meant to them.

What I realized by reading this book is that mentoring is both simpler/easier/less forced than I had assumed, and at the same time even more profound and important than I realized. It is definitely something we should all be doing, for ourselves, and for others.



View all my reviews

Building Confidence

(originally written for my column in the Charter Oak-Ute NEWSpaper in 2005)

“Confidence is the inner knowledge that when you are yourself and others are free to be themselves, everything works out for the best.” ~Brian D. Brio, Beyond Success; 15 secrets to Effective Leadership and Life Based on Legendary Coach John Wooden’s Pyramid of Success.

One of the biggest struggles in coaching cheerleading is helping build confidence. It’s one thing to yell and kick along with five other people during practice, but doing it in front of several hundred people on a Friday night is quite another. Doing it in front of a couple hundred of your peers and classmates at a pep rally is even more nerve-wracking.

People have asked me how I can speak in public. Simple; I know that I’m going to make mistakes that people may laugh out eventually in life, so I may as well be prepared to laugh at myself. If I can do that, that I don’t have to be afraid of making a fool of myself. Now I’m not charming or funny enough to be very good at deliberately making people laugh, but I can manage to get in front of a big group of people and talk to them about just about whatever, without panicking.

Retired UCLA Coach John Wooden’s Pyramid of Success is one tool that I’ve tried to use to help kids learn about teamwork and important character traits like work-ethic and confidence. Another one is Norman Vincent Peale’s classic The Power of Positive Thinking. A few years ago an author named Mary Lou Carney wrote an adaptation of Peale’s book for Teens. In The Power of Positive Thinking for Teens, she lays out ten simple steps for building your confidence:

1. See success- it’s an age-old coaching technique, you imagine, “visualize,” you picture yourself doing well. Starting with the end in mind, that’s all it is.

2. Nix negativity- sometimes this is the most difficult step. It means not letting yourself talk yourself out of being able to do whatever it is that you have to do. Force yourself to not be doubtful.

3. Don’t build obstacles- you’ve heard the old saying, “you’re your own worst enemy?” It can be true, so be on your guard against self-sabotage. Don’t look for excuses to fail, don’t make things harder than they have to be.

4. Be yourself- That’s all you can be, don’t try to pretend to be something else, lay it all out there and if they like you, great, if they don’t, oh well, their loss, don’t take it too personally. This is what my opening quote is about. Just know that when you are yourself and allow be themselves, everything will work out for the best.

5. Know your strengths- Many coaches have you list your assents and then focus on what your good at, not what you’re not good at. A lot of times that will compensate for your weaknesses. It’s also helpful just to list and review your strengths in order to remind yourself that you’re at least good for SOMETHING.

6. Know yourself- this is not the same as #5. This one could be written as, “know your limits.” If you know what your values are and, yes, what your weaknesses are, you can look for ways to maintain a balance, delegate out responsibilities, or ask for support.

7. Use the antidote (Philippians 4:13)- Memorize and recite this verse at least ten times a day. “I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me.

8. Aim high- If you shoot for nothing, you’ll hit it every time. If you shoot for the moon- even if you miss, you’ll reach the stars.

9. Put yourself in God’s hands- We don’t know what the future holds, but we know Who holds the future. Sometimes all you can do is to do your best and let God do the rest, also known as “let go and let God.”

10. Be unbeatable

Pyramid

"Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming."

~John Wooden

Competitive Edge
Poise - Confidence
Condition - Skill - Team Spirit
Self Control - Alertness - Initiative - Intentedness
Industriusness - Friendship - Loyalty - Cooperation - Enthusiasm

Click on any of the links above to re-read any part of John Wooden's pyramid of success! Obviously I have one more block to write about. I'll try to do that later this week.

I want to remind you of the pyramid and repeat it's lessons over and over again. Last week I had a new cheerleader confide in me that old cheerleaders are trash talking the current squad. Listen, I absolutely love and am proud of the Football Squad- don't believe me, click here to read what I wrote about them. But let's face it the Basketball squad knows more chants, they're more synchronized, they've even developed new chants and borrowed chants from other schools, they're stunting.

I am sorry if this hurts anybody's feelings, but Football squad, even the BEST two out of six, has no place putting down the Basketball squad. It has nothing to do with being "popular" kids or having the right last name, it has to do with being positive and trying to build up school spirit. Sure, I wish that I could have had 7 cheerleaders, and if her grades had been higher and her teacher-reccomendation scores had been higher, there's one candidate who I might have bent the rules to (click here for back story) but there's no reason, ever for any cheerleader or former cheerleader to bad-mouth the current squad. It's disloyal (not only to the rest of the current squad, but to the program, the school, and especially to me your coach), it's negative (the complete opposite of what cheerleaders are supposed to be), it shows a lack of poise, a lack of team spirit, and a lack of self control and it dammages friendships.

The Pyramid is not just something that will help build a stronger squad, but it can help each of you to get along better in life, to build your success in life/carreer/family/relationships on character and maturity. Please, PLEASE. read these, think about them, maybe even pray about them, remember them and try to make decisions based on them- unlike these old cheerleaders who'd rather complain about change and remain angry about things not going their way.

PYRAMID

" Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent."

"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do."

~Eleanor Roosevelt

"Courage is being scared to death- but saddling up anyway."

~John Wayne

"You must have confidence," writes Coach John Wooden, "You must believe in yourself if you expect others to believe in you. However, you can't have poise and confidence unless you've prepared correctly. (remember that failing to prepare is preparing to fail.) Every block is built on the others. When all are in place, poise and confidence result. You don't force them to happen. They happen naturally from proper preparation. "

Webster's Dictionary explains that it is "a state of mind or a manner marked by easy coolness and freedom from uncertainty, diffidence, or embarrassment... faith in oneself and one's powers without any suggestion of conceit or arrogance confidence that comes from long experience>...an ease or coolness under stress that reflects perfect self-control and command of one's powers... a manifest self-possession in trying or challenging situations."

Some kids bring confidence to cheerleading. Generally cheerleading gives kids confidence.
Flying, basing and spotting in stunts. Leading chants; shouting, jumping and kicking in front of hundreds of people. Leading pep-rallies... practice, practice, practice... being LOUD and PROUD...

And as Coach Wooden explained, working on industriusness, friendship, loyalty, cooperation, enthusiasm, self-control, alertness, initiative, intentness, conditioning, skill, team-spirit, and poise- these are going to give you REAL confidence.

Only one brick left!

"Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are."
~John Wooden

"Consider the rights of others before your own feelings, and the feelings of others before your own rights."
~John Wooden

Poise

"The key to winning is poise under stress."

~Paul Brown

poise

1 : a stably balanced state : EQUILIBRIUM poise between widely divergent impulses -- F. R. Leavis>
2 a : easy self-possessed assurance of manner : gracious tact in coping or handling; also : the pleasantly tranquil interaction between persons of poise poise of the meeting> b : a particular way of carrying oneself : BEARING, CARRIAGE
synonym see TACT

Fashion magazines will tell you that runway models need to be poised, so you might think that poise is all an act, but really it's about being comfortable, unflappable even. It's about being stable.

Coach Wooden says that his definition of poise is simply being yourself. Not acting. Not pretending to be something you're not, you are who you are and you're comfortable with that. You'll function at your own level of competence. Granted, as a cheerleader you may sometimes have to pretend to be happy and you have to work at being positive- but if you have enthusiasm (love/spirit) then you'll be able to smile and act excited and still be genuine even when life is hard or you're having a bad day.

Poise means that your goal is not to satisfy anyone else's expectations but your own. You give your total effort to becoming the best you are capable of being.

Team Spirit

"Individual commitment to a group effort-
that is what makes a team work,
a company work,
a society work,
a civilization work."

~Vince Lombardi, legendary NFL coach

"If anything goes bad, I did it.
If anything goes semi-good, then WE did it.
If anything goes really good, then YOU did it."

~Paul "Bear" Bryant, NCAA Football coach

"Team Spirit means you are willing to sacrifice personal considerations for the welfare of all.
That defines a team player."

~John Wooden

It's not about me. It's not about you. It's about the squad, the program, the team & fans we're cheering for, the school, the town, the community. You and I are a part of something bigger than either of us alone. We are BULLDOGS.

Boyscouts taught me: God, Country, Family- in that order.
You've heard the old cliche', "there's no 'I' in TEAM."
It's not about me. It can never be about you.
It's all about US.

Be a team player and you'll become a leader.

Happy New Year

Guess what I got for Christmas? A copy of 'Coach Wooden; One-on-One.'
Our friends Anne & Randy go to Shepherd of the Hills Church with Coach in Northridge, CA. Here is a picture of Coach with their daughter, Tasha, she's about the same age as our daughter, Ellie. Anne graduated about 4 years ahead of us at Concordia, then she was the guidence counsellor and later the Vice Pricipal at LA Lutheran Jr/Sr High- so she was a real mentor to me my first few years of teaching and best friends with my wife, Bethany. After the 1994 earthquake when we lost our apartment, we lived in Anne & Randy's Condo when they moved to their first house. Anne tells me that Coach is an amazing speaker and very active at church & community for being in his 90's.

'One-on-One' is an awesome 2 month devotional book that Coach wrote with Jay Carty, a Santa Barbara pastor who played for the Lakers and coaching at Oregon State, bofeore being part of Coach Wooden's staff at UCLA.

I hope you check out at least one of the books I've made links to on these posts, they're really a great way to work on your self discipline, positive thinking and mental and spiritual conditioning. Naturally, if you can't or don't want to buy any of them on the internet, you're more than welcome to borrow any of my copies that I keep in my classroom.

Skill

"A winner is somebody who recognizes his God-given talents,
works his tail off to develop them into skills,
and uses them to accomplish his goals."

~Larry Bird, Boston Celtics

Skill is the knowledge of and the ability to PROPERLY and quickly execute the fundamentals. It means being prepared and covering every single detail. For a cheerleader it means being acurate and sharp. It means being able to keep tempo and stay in sync. It means controling the different aspects of your voice (pitch, inflection, volume & expression) etc. etc.

Webster's defines it this way-

2 a : the ability to use one's knowledge effectively and readily in execution or performance b : dexterity or coordination especially in the execution of learned physical tasks
3 : a learned power of doing something competently : a developed aptitude or ability skills>
synonym see ART

And what does it take to develope skills? Work. Practice, practice, practice...

"Skill to do comes od doing"

~ Emerson

"Weare what we repeatedly do"

~ Aristotle

Conditioning

"Some believed my players were simply in better physical condition thatn the competition. They may have been, but they also had tremendous mental and emotional conditioning. You must identify your conditioning requirements and then attain them. Without proper conditioning in all areas, you will fall short of your potential. It is impossible to attain and maintain desireable physical condition without first achieving mental and moral condition."

~ John Wooden

Rest, diet, exercise must be considered. Moderation must be practiced. Sure, that's important. It's important to run, do crunches and push-ups, run eight-count drills, and give 100% every practice and 110% every game. But it's also important to be balanced and well-rounded and self-disciplined.

You must PRACTICE self-control, alertness, risk-taking, goal-setting, cooperating, being loyal, being a friend, working and being enthusiastic. It takes work and it takes practice. If you haven't set any New Year's resolutions yet, I challenge you to resolve to exercise your mind, body and spirit. 1) Read, 2) Walk/Run/or Exercise, and 3) pray/meditate/worship/or serve at least three times a week.

And yes, if you want other kids to take cheerleading seriously as a "SPORT," that means that YOU HAVE TO take practice seriously, focus, work and get as much out of it as you can.

Itentedness

Itentedness means keeping your eye on the prize and raising the bar. It means staying motivated by staying focused. We should always set realistic goals, concentrate on achieving them and resisting all temptations to give up and stay determined and persistent.

I told Varsity once we got the step-up into a half-extension "prep," and the cradle-catch that NEXT we need to work on getting it up with an elevator and get it all the way up into a full-extension. NOW that we have our chants and sidelines down, we should develop some floor-cheers and we should borrow, make-up, and re-coreograph new chants.

Now that JrHi cheer has most of the chants down, we deed to add conditioning time and begin learning the fundamentals of stunting.

Can we do these things? Like "Bob the Builder" would say, "Yes we CAN!"

Author & Coach Brian Brio says that there are 2 kinds of questions that hurt and 2 kinds that help:

When you catch your self asking these, STOP-
Hopelessness-inducing questions- "WILL this work?
Hopelessness-assured questions- "Will this EVER work?"

Try asking THESE instead-
Possibility-inducing questions- "HOW will we make this work?"
and Exciting Possibility-inducing questions- "How will I contribute so that we MAKE this work for the squad and our school?"

I really want to reccomend Beyond Success and the updated Beyond Success; 15 secrets of a winning life both by Brian D. Brio. He's a former high school swim coach and motivational speaker & writer. He uses Coach Wooden's 15 pyramid blocks better than I have and it's a pretty easy/quick read, even for teenagers. Think of it as along the lines of Chicken Soup for the Soul only with the success pyramid.

Initiative

"With courage and initiative, leaders change things."

~Rev. Jesse Jackson

Every cheerleader needs to work on the ability to make decisions on their own and act on them. Never be afraid of failure, but learn from it. No matter what, there are going to be times when you're gonna make mistakes or when something you try isn't going to work the way you hoped. No one is perfect. If you let fear paralyze you, you'll never achieve anything.

I've never had captains because I don't want popularity contests, and I don't want political battles. EVERY cheerleader is a leader. ANY cheerleader can begin any chant and the rest of the squad should jump on board. Besides just how they perform at a game, initiative means that cheerleaders bring their ideas and controbutions to practices. It means they become the "movers and the shakers" at school because they start projects and programs, through student council or other clubs, or just sparking trends, beginning or maintaining traditions and setting an example.

Alertness

" Alertness and courage are life's shield."

~Phillipino Proverb

"As you strive to reach your personal best,
alertness will make the task much easier.
Be observing constantly,
quick to spot a weakness and correct it or use it,
as the case may warrant."

~Coach John Wooden

This means constantly observing what's going on around you. It means keeping an open mind. It means always being eager to learn and improve. It means to "look alive," and "stay-awake."

Obviously this is important during a game so that you don't look rediculous. You have to know what's going on in the game in order to call appropriate chants, stop chants when it's the right time to stop, key-into what gets the fans to respond, the needs of your squadmates, etc. These are skills that get built with experience.

Obviously it's important while stunting to stay focused, to keep your eye on the flier and make sure that she never hits the ground.

But perhaps most importantly, it's important when it comes to self-awareness. Were you AWARE that your grades were slipping? Were you AWARE that adults were watching when you were smooching your beau? Were you AWARE that preschoolers were around when you were kussing?

Self Control

"I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquuers his enemies;
for the hardest victory is the victory over self."

~Aristotle

"While we may not be able to control all that happens to us,
we CAN control what happens inside us.

~Benjamin Franklin

"He who conquers his anger has conquered an enemy."

~German Proverb

How can you have any kind of work ethic, or any cooperation without self control? Besides that, without self-control, you cannot remain loyal and you're liable to lose friends. Having self control, means being responsible and it's part of maturity. I tell students that to be responseable is being response-able, that means being able to control your RESPONSE to anything that happens and anything that anyone else says or does.