THE EXCUSE MAKER

In sports, when things go wrong you begin to hear excuses. You find out what athletes are made of when a team begins to lose games.

A few weeks ago when I began to compose this blog entry,  I read an outstanding quote from Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin;

“Excuses are the tools of the incompetent.”

When a team is struggling the athletes tend to point fingers.

A team loses a game, someone blames a coach or even a teammate.

If an athlete is unhappy with their role on the team, they look to place blame.

Or the latest one, “They are not having fun.” Or how about, “It’s all about having fun.”

FUN is an interesting word when it comes to competitive sports. How do you mix intensity, hard work, toughness, focus, and concentration with FUN?

Here’s a secret that many successful people subscribe to; instead of blaming others, why not find a way to fix it? No excuses, no explanations. We know the team is struggling – go out and find a way to get it done.

How about playing a little harder?

How about hitting the open man?

Playing tougher defense?

Bringing energy to practice.

How about spending time working on your outside shooting? Working on your dribbling. Doing some push-ups to get stronger. Running a few miles at night or even in the morning. Whatever happened to dedicating oneself to improvement?

Everything we do that helps us achieve success is due to energy; and that comes with committing to a goal.

If an athlete directs their energy into doing a better job, instead of complaining, things will improve.

Success in sports is like a potter’s wheel. When you put pressure on that clay, something useful comes about. If he doesn’t apply pressure, he will never have a useful object.

A few losses in the beginning of the season is not the end of the world for a team. There’s no need to panic, its way too early. But instead of talking about the problems, why not try to find a solution? Why not work harder?

Magic Johnson, the greatest point guard the game has ever seen once said, “Ask not what your teammates can do for you, but what you can do for your teammates!”

Don’t be part of the problem, be part of the solution.

HOOPS135@HOTMAIL.COM

TWITTER: @CoachFinamore

WEDNESDAY’S WORD

“Excuses are the bricks that build the road to failure…”

-Anonymous

EXCUSES ARE LIKE…

Is it me or do we have people making excuses more than ever?

Maybe it’s because we have more access, thanks to the Internet and radio talk shows?

I read a sports story and someone is complaining about not enough protection from the offensive line, the refs don’t protect so and so or a team doesn’t have enough pitching.

Let’s not forget about the popular excuse, “They had a lot of injuries.”

There’s that old adage, ‘nobody’s perfect’. Which brings me to something I heard this morning on the Dan Patrick Show.  We all remember Chicago Cubs fan Steve Bartman. He’s the fan who interfered with a Cubs outfielder on a foul ball in the stands. Well Alex Gibney, a filmmakerr has directed a documentary for ESPN and their ’30 for 30′ series titled, ‘Catching Hell’. Gibney was on DP’s show this morning and made a great point:

“As fans we experience sports with great passion. Something weird happens when we lose, especially when you’re a long-suffering fan. It’s that mechanism that takes over. ‘Let’s find somebody or something to blame’. That process to find a scapegoat exists in all of us.”

I was excited about this comment.

Gibney is right; matter of fact, he nailed it.

Instead of being accountable people try to find excuses when things don’t go their way. Instead of looking for the good and being a bit more positive, we get negative and start the blame game.

Which asks the question, ‘Are you part of the problem or part of the solution’?

hoops135@hotmail.com

Follow me on Twitter:@CoachFinamore