“Let’s Have Fun”

15th seed Middle Tennessee was leading 2nd seed Michigan State by a fitting score of 15-2 at the beginning of their game yesterday. We’re all now recuperating from the shock today of tournament favorite Sparty being bested by…I don’t even know the name of Middle Tenn’s mascot. Quick google search, OK… the Blue Raiders. What kind of a mascot is that?! Although 15-2 was a sizeable lead, did any of you really think that Michigan State was going to stay down? It is amazing looking back that Middle Tennessee did not even relinquish the lead once against a team many thought would win the whole thing.

But late in the 2nd half, Michigan State did pull to within 3 with 2 foul shots awaiting. During the preceding time out, I would imagine that most 15th seeded teams would despair. Coach Kermit Davis: “We looked at each other, and said, ‘Let’s enjoy this. Let’s have fun right here’.” I want you to notice these words. “Enjoy this” “Right here”. Very present moment. Under the microscope of the NCAA tournament a lot of athletes in this particular situation would remain in the past: “How did we let a lead like that get away?” “Should have made that shot!” “Why did I make that turnover?!” Or think forward into the future: “We let this one slip away. All that we’ve been through this season…well, it was a good run” or even “We still have a chance to make history”. Nope. The players and coaches looked at each other and as one said “Let’s have fun right here.” Right now. Will this attitude guarantee a win every time? No.  Is this attitude difficult to have?  Hell, yeah. But with a mindset of being open to a present moment experience that is sitting in front of you, it does make it more likely to play the game, and I mean “play” in every sense of that word, “relaxed and real confident” as witnessed by Coach Davis.  No, you may not “win”, but you’ll sure have fun.

Anger and Fighting

I’ve been watching HBO’s Hard Knocks profile on the Atlanta Falcons, and the first two episodes have certainly shown a lot of fighting. Add this to the article written by Jeff Schultz in the Atlanta Journal Constitution Sunday 8/10/14 and you’ve got a team that looks like it’s on edge. According to defensive end Ra’Shede Hageman “Fighting shows how physical you are and hungry you are.” Make no mistake about it, this is a new Falcons team that has not forgotten last season’s humbling 4-12 record. No one’s position is safe. The August Georgia sun, fatigue, and uncertainty–that sets up a tense atmosphere where impulse control goes out the window. In a physically aggressive sport like football, violence is valued….until the whistle blows. I think arguably the most important thing in sport is discipline: discipline with practice, discipline to learn, discipline to train, discipline to remain focused, discipline to fight or to know when to back down. Anger can certainly fuel discipline, but it can also lead to wild, undisciplined physical fighting. There was no discipline or thinking behind some of the fighting seen on Hard Knocks, as evidenced by Hagemen nearly breaking his wrist after hitting his teammate’s helmet–there was no long term thought process in this act which could have ended disastrously for Hagemen and his team.

Anger is different from fighting. Anger is an emotion we all experience, serving an evolutionary adaptive purpose to socially communicate a wrong that needs to be fixed. Which method you use depends on your mental tool-kit. Aggression is a primitive tool, but can serve a purpose to communicate. Like when your quarterback gets a cheap shot. The message: “We as a team will not tolerate that.” And in football which is already physical, it’s no wonder that the communication style needs to be equally on par in order to get the attention of the person/team perceived doing the wrong thing…as long as it doesn’t get out of hand. It’s important to be mindful about what it is you are trying to communicate; is it about pushing (no pun intended) the agenda of the team, and what’s good for the team? Or is is self-serving? I can understand that the nature of training camp for many is to try to “win” a spot on the team, which is a very individualistic goal. When it comes to trying to make a roster spot, the other guy’s failure or lack of performance/enthusiasm assists your success. To relieve the tension, why not stand out and show you are “physical” or “hungry”. It is difficult to think “team” when there is a real possibility you may not be on it. But being injured in fighting and undermining team cohesion….not much of a future in sport in that either.

Values and Purpose

I know this is the second consecutive blog on Lebron James, and at the risk of appearing sycophantic, I feel compelled, moved even, to write on his return to Cleveland. His return home. I am impressed, and this is why: Here is still a young man in the prime of his career who seems to be mature beyond his 27 years. Who was able to look past the events of his departure from Cleveland to Miami, just 4 years removed from the hatred, the letter and vindictiveness of Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert, the boos and the burning of his jerseys despite giving all he could to that city. Where most men would have dared not turn around and repair that burned bridge, Lebron James felt a sense of community obligation, of commitment so that he may forgive and be forgiven. And so he reached out to those who lit the flames. He did it for Ohio’s future generations, returning to where his chances of individual immediate success such as rings and MVP trophies are unlikely. The best basketball player in the world could have done whatever he wanted to ensure his individual legacy in basketball. Instead James shunned his ego, choosing to use his talents as he knows them to make a difference to others–isn’t that what we should strive to do in our own lives?

This time around, the main purpose is to serve, to give back what has been given. Sure he’s going to make more money, and he still cares about winning (how will he influence if he doesn’t?) and chasing Michael Jordan’s greatness. But I believe the hard work will be motivated by something more transcendent. Something that will carry him through the waking up at 5am, pushing his own physical limits, losing, questioning media pressure–because the purpose is beyond self-absorbed motives. It involves sacrifice for a greater good. It’s a daunting but noble challenge. One that I can’t wait to see unfold.

Pressure, Present Moment, Performance

“So history is made to be broken, and why not me be a part of it? That would be great. That would be a great storyline, right? But we’ll see what happens. I’ve got to live in the moment, though, before we even get to that point.” “But understanding what means a lot to me. Understanding what’s important and understanding what’s not important allows me to kind of just live in the moment and not focus on what’s happened in the past. I can’t control the past. I can’t redo it. I can live in the present, try to affect the future and live with the results while I’m in it.” –Lebron James

There are a couple of things that come to mind from what Lebron James talks about: the idea of “perspective” in the grand scheme of things and “being in the present”. I can see how his statements may infuriate a passionate Heat fan who may view what he said as a casualness, a lack of a “do or die” attitude that must be had to come back from the brink of a 3-1 disadvantage in the Finals. But really, would I want a player I’m rooting for to be tense? Or would I want him to be relaxed when it comes to performance? Yes, too little pressure leads to a lackadaisical effort, but too much pressure leads to overwhelm–a breakdown in performance. Anxiety and adrenaline rises which steal away precious mental and physical resources and endurance necessary for precise athletic execution. A balanced perspective doesn’t take away the sense of urgency but rather allows one to not be consumed by it.

When it comes to peak athletic performance, “being in the present” is a foundational skill, and yes, it is a skill, upon which performance thrives. When nothing else matters but the moment, one is said to be in “the zone”. However, just like many things, “being in the zone” comes and goes as your mind comes up with various ways to get you out of the zone: regrets, insecurities, preoccupation with the future/past, and ironically the conscious attempt to stay in the zone. Even something like “no team has come back from a 3-1 deficit” can weigh heavy on a Heat player–to elicit a sense of futility in the athlete: “Why should I even try? No one has ever done this because it can’t be done.” etc. Thus, you are defeated in your mind before you even start playing. And what the mind believes, the body follows.

Being in the present is where the vitality of living resides…whether in sport or in your own daily life. Time is not a “thing”. At the level of experience, there are no words to conceptualize time–what you have only is the present. There is nothing that can be done about what has happened and the future is not yet here. You only have the present. There are certainly many distractions around us which I’m sure you’re well aware of that can take us away from the vitality of present moment. There’s nothing inherently wrong with these distractions. But in the pressure cooker that is the NBA Finals, I know I would want my athlete, my team to have their “head in the game”. Because I’m rooting for the Miami Heat, I’m glad Lebron James understands this.

University of Florida Football

“We didn’t take care of the football. And when those things happen, emotionally it’s a killer. It’s a killer for your entire organization,” he said. “So when you spot them the ball on the 4-yard line, right now we’re not strong enough mentally to handle that. A year ago, maybe early in the year, we were. Right now, we’re not. It’s a ‘woe is me’ mentality right now. We’ve got to overcome that. Our leadership needs to step forward.” –Will Muschamp

Dear Florida Gators,
This is what your coach said…after Vanderbilt. How can you be anywhere but rock bottom. I don’t think I’ll ever see a FCS team beat a FBS team like this. This is like, once in a decade, and for you, once in a lifetime. You paid Georgia Southern a little over half a million dollars to clobber them, and they won on your field…without completing a pass. No doubt, they played their guts out, literally ( I saw their running back puke on the sidelines), but you still should have won that game. Knowing you’re playing for “nothing”–yes, that mentality is difficult to overcome. Now, you have a moment, an opportunity…..will you take it? Regroup, refocus, set new goals because Florida State looms. Play with the abandon and joy you used to when you first learned this game, on the playground, in a backyard–where flexible creativity was allowed to flourish alongside your game plan. Now is the time to move beyond your current perceived limited potential, and there is so much more to you. Believe.

What are you going to do, Florida, when you tune into ESPN and see “an expert” talk about how atrocious you played, how your coach is leading you in the wrong direction, and how FSU is going to wipe their feet with you? What will you do when you’re walking across campus to class and people are looking the other way, some even looking at you with sheer disgust? How about at practice, when you see a teammate dogging it because after all, “the season is over”? What will you do? And Friday night, when you’re lying in bed and all these thoughts of self-doubt come flooding in? What’s going to happen next? For this is the stuff that makes men. Not some glory on the field. And when game time is here, and the Seminoles score first?….well, Florida, here are your opportunities. Show us.

Aftermath of a tough loss

Georgia’s loss to Auburn with a last minute fourth down tipped Hail Mary Pass was devastating to Bulldog nation. It was a great game, but as a UGA fan, it was quite painful to experience such an apparently sealed victory slip away in one play–and then follow up with another Georgia drive at the end which also ended in disappointment. Heartbreak on top of heartbreak. Whether you are a University of Georgia fan or football player it is tempting, natural even to think about what could have been or might have been. But brooding only leads to further anger, depression, frustration, etc which drains away the much needed mental energy in the now for more productive endeavors. Probably no one feels worse than Georgia safeties Tray Matthews and Josh Harvey-Clemmons. It appears both were trying to make a play to intercept the ball rather than knocking it down. I’ve heard sport pundits refer to it as a “mental breakdown” but perhaps the ball looked tantalizingly intercept-able to Matthews and Harvey-Clemmons–some refer to it as trying to “pad stats”. You would hope that any player would put their teammates and the team goals ahead of individual achievement. A play like this can stay with an athlete for a very long time, affecting preparation and performance moving forward. The mindset to have is to learn from such an experience, derive meaning and a renewed purpose in one’s actions as a result, and understand you can still effectively influence what you can control. What happened is in the past, there is no possibility to change it; Now, there must be an adaptation to a new reality. Goals that were once made at the beginning of the season may no longer be attainable. In Georgia’s case, the goal of an undefeated season ended with a loss at Clemson. Then the BCS Championship hopes faded with the loss to Missouri, and now the SEC championship is out of reach. It is fine to have goals, but it is also crucial to remain focused on values–these habits are constant and lived out in the present, moment to moment: eg. the values of hard work, perseverance, care and development of yourself and your team, your community. Goals will need to be modified. This process is what fosters resilience, and this was on display at Georgia’s last drive although they came up short.

One final note: I think it’s important to remember that Tray and Josh are both 19. In the world of college football, where we see so much bestowed on these players: athletic gifts, media attention, elevated social status, fan adulation with packed stadiums to cheer them on…perhaps we become less forgiving when they make mistakes. Especially when our investment in them is high whether emotional, monetary, or time derived. In the end, they’re still kids…young men trying to negotiate the bigger picture of team first and trying to stand out as individuals. It’s compassion for oneself and others which allows player and fan alike to get past a loss like this.

Richie Incognito

11/9/13

The emotional abuse allegations by Jonathan Martin from his Miami Dolphin teammates with Richie Incognito as a primary instigator are unprecedented yet not surprising in an environment where physical prowess and intimidation are valued. The reports that are now surfacing about Richie Incognito are indeed disturbing if they prove to be true: in addition to bullying, sexual assault against a female volunteer, “mandatory” team meetings at  a strip bar, establishment of a culture of coercion. These among other allegations of violence suggest a lack of empathy, akin to antisocial behavior. What I am curious about is the culture of football itself and the violence inherent in it, where controlled physical aggression is a skill–can empathy be turned on and off like a light switch? Where a common goal is the physical and mental domination of another human being–does a lack of empathy make a better football player? In Incognito’s case, a better lineman?—as with each and every participated play, overpowering your opponent is crucial for success. I believe without an establishment of character and a flexibility of identity, you can see how a football player without such cognitive reserve and alternatives may be limited in strategies to meet their needs. If fear and physical domination is what you are valued for and paid handsomely to demonstrate, it is understandable to see how this can spread off the football field, in the locker room, and in the interpersonal life of an individual such as Incognito. For such an individual and those of a similar frame of mind, what may be reparative is the processing of past trauma (in Incognito’s case, the intersection of being bullied himself and his own personality traits) and developing a sense of self that is beyond the limitations of a narrowed identity.