Are You a Dreamer or An Acheiver?
Now that summer is upon us, student-athletes will be busy performing their off-season workouts, attempting to develop their individual skills and becoming stronger, faster and quicker. It all comes down to one simple little phrase: Games are won during the season, but Champions are built in the off-season. However, athletes should not be the only ones preparing themselves for the upcoming seasons, coaches should be preparing themselves and their staff as continuous learners. Ask yourself these two simple questions: Are you Interested or Are you Committed? Are you a dreamer or an achiever?
There's a difference between interest and commitment. When you are interested in doing something, you do it when it is convenient. When you are committed to something, you accept no excuses.
What does it take to be a Champion? It takes commitment. It's a personal commitment to develop your skills and abilities on your own, during open gym and in the weight room. It's working hard each and every day to the best of your ability, not just because it's "convenient", but because you will not accept any excuses! It's also a team commitment to develop as a team by each team member taking personal responsibility to working hard in the off season and commiting themselves to the team...not because everyone else is doing it, but because the team is not accepting any excuses!
Think about the level of commitment you are putting forth towards developing as an individual and as a team member. Are you working out on your own? Are you working hard at open gyms? Are you running the floor, hitting the open man, making the extra pass, finishing strong at the basket, diving on the floor for a loose ball? Are you the first to arrive and the last to leave, taking some additional jump shots and free throws? Are you working hard in the weight room?
Or, are you quick to leave the gym to go hang-out with your friends? Are you worried about the voicemails and text messages on your cell phone? Are you late to arrive at open gym? Do you complain about the amount of time you have to put in during the summer? Do you only work on your game when its convenient? If this is the case, then you are not committed! You are not committed to yourself or the rest of your team and you will most likely be willing to accept excuses for not being successfull.
Ask yourself why you are doing these things, why you are playing basketball? A CHAMPION is someone who who trains even when nobody is watching! Everyone wants to be great, everyone wants to be a player, everyone wants to win games, everyone wants to win a championship, everyone wants to be all-conference. But, the difference between a dreamer and an achiever is that an achiever is somebody who is willing to put in the time and the effort towards making those dreams become a reality. Achievers are Champions...they are committed to getting better. They have a vision of what they want to be and have the commitment to preparing for how they will get there. Right now, it's not too late to start working towards being a CHAMPION!
