As my time in Limerick starts to wind down, I have tried to focus on two lessons for the people I coach, specifically my Under-16 boys team. The first is to always play with passion and the second is to have a good attitude. These are two life lessons that I have learned through basketball and can apply to any area of someone’s life.
Ever since I was born, I had a love and passion for sports. I always like telling the story about how my first word was “ball” because it perfectly illustrates how quickly my love of sports started. Before I focused solely on basketball, I grew up playing soccer, baseball, and basketball. I always said that my favorite sport was whatever season I was in. Competing hard and playing with passion always came natural to me. Whether it was playing one on one in my living room as a five-year-old on the Little Tikes hoop that still stands there today, or in the State Championship game, I always competed as hard as I could. Whether or not I was the most skilled or athletic player, I wanted to find a way to succeed. Throughout the years, I have realized just how special and rare this passion is. This love and passion for basketball is the reason I am where I am today. Whenever I coach I try to share this love and passion with my players. When I find someone like me, who is as passionate about basketball and dedicated to getting better, it is easy to coach them. They understand the level of commitment that it takes to get better and are willing to put in the work. I love to talk about what I’ve learned throughout my life, because I have been blessed with some great coaches throughout my life. I know that I wouldn’t be where I am without them, so I want to give back as much as I can. What I struggle with more, is coaching kids without the same level of passion. When a coach sets up a drill, I was always tuned in listening and learning, and when the drill started I went as hard as I could to get the most out of it. As I coach, I try to focus on convincing players to work hard for each other. I know not every player has the same level of passion or skill level, so I try to focus on playing for each other. The best part about team sports is just that, it’s about the TEAM. You’re not playing for yourself, you’re playing for your team. If this is the focus, then instead of working hard for yourself, you’re working hard for your teammates. This is the special bond that team sports create and what I have tried to focus on for motivating kids. Whether or not they are passionate or in love with basketball, it is expected that you give everything you have for your teammates. Effort is the most important part, and everyone controls their own level of effort. One of my favorite lines from a former coach is, “It doesn’t take any talent to work hard.” You can control how hard you work, no matter how skilled you are. This is what I want to reward as a coach.
The second lesson, which came much less naturally to me, is having a good attitude. When I was younger, my passion and competitiveness often got the best of me. I would treat referees, my teammates, and coaches poorly because I would want to win so badly. Luckily for me, I realized that it doesn’t help you win, it just makes you look like a fool. My mom always told me, “Nobody will care how good you are if you’re a jerk. They won’t want to watch you play or play with you.” She wouldn’t care how well I played; she only cared about how I acted out on the court. Fortunately, I started to listen to her after a couple of years. In a sport filled with over-involved, Lavar Ball-ish parents who are only focused on their kids as basketball players, I am thankful that my parents focused on the life skills taught through sports. This was the lesson that I tried to convey to my Under-16 team in their last tournament of the year. We played some very strong teams, which led to a lot of frustration and finger pointing. The point I wanted to make was that this isn’t how we get better. It doesn’t matter how talented you are, if you have a bad attitude then you won’t be successful. I would rather play with 5 kids who are willing to work hard and work together, than 5 of the most talented kids playing selfishly. It will amaze you how far a positive attitude will take you in basketball and in life.
So my final lessons before I leave Ireland are to find something that you are passionate about and do everything with a positive attitude. Some pretty amazing things can come from doing something that you are passionate about.
