Under absolutely no circumstance do I condone any form of hazing or initiation by clubs, groups or teams. I have no room for the arguments that claim these actions have always taken place or happen more than the public knows or say it's just "kids being kids." On every layer and in every situation, it is completely out of line and unacceptable.
Wikipedia says, "Hazing is a term used to describe various ritual and other activities involving harassment, abuse or humiliation used as a way of initiating a person into a group." The dictionary describes is as "to subject (freshmen, newcomers, etc.) to abusive or humiliating tricks and ridicule." No one will ever be able to convince me that any of this acceptable.
Defending individuals who initiate any form of hazing enables this type of behavior.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Thursday, May 26, 2011
More than conquerors
Last night I was blessed with the opportunity to speak at the River Falls High School Baccalaureate service. The Baccalaureate service is hosted by Souled Out Youth Ministries in River Falls. It's a community of youth groups from area churches. There was somewhere in the ballpark of 200 people in attendance and I was charged to speak on Romans 8:37 and being "more than conquerors."
I spent a few weeks researching the passage and understanding the text surrounding it. I didn't really have a grip on what the Apostle Paul was talking about when he said we are "more than conquerors through him who loved us." Studying this chapter and particular passage was very enlightening and gave me a fresh perspective of the Gospel. A lot of individuals offered positive feedback to what I shared last night, but I think I benefited from the experience more than anyone else.
I shared a few important and relevant insights into what it means to be more than a conqueror, however, the most significant point I had to offer is that conquerors are victorious over their struggles while more than conquerors are victorious in their struggles. We're fighting a battle that is not temporal, but eternal. The war is already won and we're not fighting for victory; we're fighting from victory. This idea has given me an abundance of peace in my life today. We all face difficult situations and God's word promises us that if we're in Christ we don't have to wait until we've overcome our situation and circumstance, we are victorious IN those situations. "in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us." (Romans 8:37)
I will post the video on Facebook shortly.
I spent a few weeks researching the passage and understanding the text surrounding it. I didn't really have a grip on what the Apostle Paul was talking about when he said we are "more than conquerors through him who loved us." Studying this chapter and particular passage was very enlightening and gave me a fresh perspective of the Gospel. A lot of individuals offered positive feedback to what I shared last night, but I think I benefited from the experience more than anyone else.
I shared a few important and relevant insights into what it means to be more than a conqueror, however, the most significant point I had to offer is that conquerors are victorious over their struggles while more than conquerors are victorious in their struggles. We're fighting a battle that is not temporal, but eternal. The war is already won and we're not fighting for victory; we're fighting from victory. This idea has given me an abundance of peace in my life today. We all face difficult situations and God's word promises us that if we're in Christ we don't have to wait until we've overcome our situation and circumstance, we are victorious IN those situations. "in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us." (Romans 8:37)
I will post the video on Facebook shortly.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Wrestling in the Happy Zone
Last night at practice I worked together an analogy to help our athletes understand the best approach to developing solid offensive attacks in the sport of wrestling. If you don't understand wrestling (or baseball), this blog might be difficult to follow, however, the overall principle holds true everywhere in life.
Youth athletes interested in the sport of baseball often learn how to swing a bat and hit ball by using a special tee that holds the ball in a fixed location. The tee can be adjusted at any height to meet the needs and strengths of the individual swinging the bat. Upon graduating from the tee, athletes enter a form of baseball with a pitcher who throws the ball to them. The ball is no longer in a fixed location, but the pitcher (usually a parent) asks where the hitter wants the ball. He/she is asking where the hitter's sweet spot, power zone, wheel house, etc. is - the place of greatest comfort swinging at a moving ball.
It sounds simple. It is, and I challenged our athletes to consider their own wrestling to be more like tee ball. I continued with the analogy by explaining how professional baseball players have the ability to break down the strike zone in order to choose the pitches they'd like to swing at. To the amateur fan, we are confused when we witness a disciplined major leaguer lay off a pitch that it right down the middle of the plate. To the professional, there is more happening than a ball simply going across home plate. One of the greatest hitters of all-time, Ted Williams, broke the strike zone down into 77 parts and only swung at pitches he knew he could work with in a positive way. He called it the Science of Hitting. Guess what? It works.
Ted Williams understood what he could and couldn't do with each pitch in the strike zone. He looked for pitches in the "Happy Zone" where he could hit .400 or better and resisted swinging at pitches in the low outside corner where he couldn't hit better than .230. He explained, batters need to understand the strike zone because if a pitcher knows he will swing at bad pitches in the strike zone, that's all he'll ever see.
As wrestlers, our application to Ted Williams' Happy Zone is understanding our offensive attacks and developing sound "shot selection." Much like a batters pitch selection, wrestlers must rely on their shot selection. Wrestlers need to know when they can take a shot and score and when they can't. If the shot that is available is a shot that you cannot score from (because of your opponent's strengths or your own shortcomings), it's a shot that you do not take. Shot selection comes down to discipline (like plate discipline for the best hitters in baseball). I wrestled a Russian opponent in 2006 and he literally gave me his left leg (my single leg side). I grabbed it and he threw me for 3 points. Throughout the match, he continually tried to give me his leg, but I resisted even though it was right there and I could hear hundreds of youth wrestling coaches in my head telling me to, "SHOOT!"
As wrestlers, we need to find our wheel house and live there. We need to exercise discipline and stick to our plan. The problem is that many wrestlers don't have a plan or understand their own Happy Zone. They are easily influenced by coaches, parents and teammates who shout from the sidelines, "SHOOT!" Not only is their advice arbitrary and useless, it reveals the amateur side of the fan. The wrestler needs to be the professional. If Ted Williams swung at every pitch that I thought he should have as an amateur fan, he wouldn't be in the Hall of Fame. The bigger picture is the life lesson of staying true to who you are, following your convictions and not conforming to the crowd.
On blogger summarized how to apply Williams' Happy Zone to our life this way:
1. Find what works for you. "Since some players are better high-ball hitters than low-ball hitters, or better outside than in; each batter should work out his own set of percentages.”
2. Stay away from what doesn't work. "Each should learn the strike zone and not swing at bad pitches."
3. The best Happy Zone is the smallest. "Swing at pitches just two inches outside the zone and you will be a .250 hitter."
For all of this to translate into the sport of wrestling, we need to reverse engineer our thinking and understand that "shooting" is not being offensive. Often times it's being irresponsible and careless. The application of this principle comes down to treating our sport like tee ball. Teach to the strength of athletes and seek out skills in the Happy Zone. We teach an abundance of offensive attacks early in a wrestlers career and attempt to prune them as they reach higher levels. I believe it should be the opposite.
Youth athletes interested in the sport of baseball often learn how to swing a bat and hit ball by using a special tee that holds the ball in a fixed location. The tee can be adjusted at any height to meet the needs and strengths of the individual swinging the bat. Upon graduating from the tee, athletes enter a form of baseball with a pitcher who throws the ball to them. The ball is no longer in a fixed location, but the pitcher (usually a parent) asks where the hitter wants the ball. He/she is asking where the hitter's sweet spot, power zone, wheel house, etc. is - the place of greatest comfort swinging at a moving ball.
It sounds simple. It is, and I challenged our athletes to consider their own wrestling to be more like tee ball. I continued with the analogy by explaining how professional baseball players have the ability to break down the strike zone in order to choose the pitches they'd like to swing at. To the amateur fan, we are confused when we witness a disciplined major leaguer lay off a pitch that it right down the middle of the plate. To the professional, there is more happening than a ball simply going across home plate. One of the greatest hitters of all-time, Ted Williams, broke the strike zone down into 77 parts and only swung at pitches he knew he could work with in a positive way. He called it the Science of Hitting. Guess what? It works.
Ted Williams understood what he could and couldn't do with each pitch in the strike zone. He looked for pitches in the "Happy Zone" where he could hit .400 or better and resisted swinging at pitches in the low outside corner where he couldn't hit better than .230. He explained, batters need to understand the strike zone because if a pitcher knows he will swing at bad pitches in the strike zone, that's all he'll ever see.
As wrestlers, our application to Ted Williams' Happy Zone is understanding our offensive attacks and developing sound "shot selection." Much like a batters pitch selection, wrestlers must rely on their shot selection. Wrestlers need to know when they can take a shot and score and when they can't. If the shot that is available is a shot that you cannot score from (because of your opponent's strengths or your own shortcomings), it's a shot that you do not take. Shot selection comes down to discipline (like plate discipline for the best hitters in baseball). I wrestled a Russian opponent in 2006 and he literally gave me his left leg (my single leg side). I grabbed it and he threw me for 3 points. Throughout the match, he continually tried to give me his leg, but I resisted even though it was right there and I could hear hundreds of youth wrestling coaches in my head telling me to, "SHOOT!"
As wrestlers, we need to find our wheel house and live there. We need to exercise discipline and stick to our plan. The problem is that many wrestlers don't have a plan or understand their own Happy Zone. They are easily influenced by coaches, parents and teammates who shout from the sidelines, "SHOOT!" Not only is their advice arbitrary and useless, it reveals the amateur side of the fan. The wrestler needs to be the professional. If Ted Williams swung at every pitch that I thought he should have as an amateur fan, he wouldn't be in the Hall of Fame. The bigger picture is the life lesson of staying true to who you are, following your convictions and not conforming to the crowd.
On blogger summarized how to apply Williams' Happy Zone to our life this way:
1. Find what works for you. "Since some players are better high-ball hitters than low-ball hitters, or better outside than in; each batter should work out his own set of percentages.”
2. Stay away from what doesn't work. "Each should learn the strike zone and not swing at bad pitches."
3. The best Happy Zone is the smallest. "Swing at pitches just two inches outside the zone and you will be a .250 hitter."
For all of this to translate into the sport of wrestling, we need to reverse engineer our thinking and understand that "shooting" is not being offensive. Often times it's being irresponsible and careless. The application of this principle comes down to treating our sport like tee ball. Teach to the strength of athletes and seek out skills in the Happy Zone. We teach an abundance of offensive attacks early in a wrestlers career and attempt to prune them as they reach higher levels. I believe it should be the opposite.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Focusing on the process
I've written and spoke on the idea of focusing on the process rather than the outcome a number of times. As a coach, I'm much more interested in how someone gets to the destination, not just simply if they get there (reach their goals, etc.). The end doesn't always justify the means.
Last year, I coached five athletes at the Body Bar Championships in Kissimmee, Florida and saw wonderful results on the mat. People were excited about the titles won by these girls, but I was worried about the path they were on. This weekend (exactly one year later), the process leading up to the tournament is significantly different.
Your path determines your destination, not your hopes, dreams, goals or talent. A few of the athletes stayed on the same path and they are not experiencing the same success as they were last year (as I predicted). However, two of the athletes have grown and matured as athletes and women and are set-up for much greater success than last season.
As a coach, I'm always evaluating the process. Seeing athletes grow is the fuel that keeps me going. Understanding the process is the single most important ingredient to becoming a successful athlete. I'm already more satisfied with the two athletes competing this weekend and we haven't even been to weigh-ins yet. They are taking care of the "little things" within the process, and that's what matters most right now.
Last year, I coached five athletes at the Body Bar Championships in Kissimmee, Florida and saw wonderful results on the mat. People were excited about the titles won by these girls, but I was worried about the path they were on. This weekend (exactly one year later), the process leading up to the tournament is significantly different.
Your path determines your destination, not your hopes, dreams, goals or talent. A few of the athletes stayed on the same path and they are not experiencing the same success as they were last year (as I predicted). However, two of the athletes have grown and matured as athletes and women and are set-up for much greater success than last season.
As a coach, I'm always evaluating the process. Seeing athletes grow is the fuel that keeps me going. Understanding the process is the single most important ingredient to becoming a successful athlete. I'm already more satisfied with the two athletes competing this weekend and we haven't even been to weigh-ins yet. They are taking care of the "little things" within the process, and that's what matters most right now.
Friday, May 6, 2011
Find your sound and play it loud
I'm an avid watcher of American Idol. I have been for the past six seasons. This season has been the most exciting to me because the talent pool is much deeper than in the past and, as performers themselves, the judges are more passionate about the contestants. The advice these judges give time and time again is to focus on who you are as a performer - to stay true to who you are as an artist.
This advice comes as no surprise to us as viewers because we also believe each contestant should stay true to who they are, but do we actively heed this advice in other arenas of life? Does the advice "discover who you are as an artist" ring true outside of the music industry? To me, the answer is a resounding yes.
I believe it is the responsibility of every individual to discover who he/she is as an individual and embrace the uniqueness that God has gifted him/her with.
God created you as a masterpiece. You are one of a kind; an original piece of art. There will never be another you. You are a masterpiece created by the greatest artist who has ever lived.
One of the single most important roles I see myself in as a coach is guiding each one of my athletes to embrace their own strengths (on and off the mat) and be the unique men and women God has created them to be. Today, we live in a carbon copy world with institutions that are trying to stamp out uniqueness, but the thing that makes you unique also make you powerful.
Steven Furtick, one of the most relevant and inspirational pastors of this generation, sums up this idea by using another analogy from the music industry. He says we need to "find our sound and play it loud." The best musicians and best musical groups in history have made their mark because they had a unique sound. The Beatles took America (and the world) by storm because they had a sound that was different than anyone had ever heard. Michael Jackson sang and danced in way that no one else had experienced and even dressed in a way that no one had experienced. They knew what made them unique and they stood out because of it.
Our world doesn't need individuals who are striving to become someone else. Our world needs individuals who are willing stand out by being different that everyone else. We don't need more "normal" people, because normal is not working. We need more people who understand what God has given them that makes them unique and embracing it.
Stay true to who you are as an artist. Embrace the qualities and gifts that God has given you that makes you unique. Stand up and stand out by being who you are created to be. There will only be one you that will ever live on this planet. What is it that you can contribute to this world that no one else can? What is that you're good at that is unique to only you? What makes you come alive? Figure that out and do that with your life. Find your sound and play it loud.
This advice comes as no surprise to us as viewers because we also believe each contestant should stay true to who they are, but do we actively heed this advice in other arenas of life? Does the advice "discover who you are as an artist" ring true outside of the music industry? To me, the answer is a resounding yes.
I believe it is the responsibility of every individual to discover who he/she is as an individual and embrace the uniqueness that God has gifted him/her with.
God created you as a masterpiece. You are one of a kind; an original piece of art. There will never be another you. You are a masterpiece created by the greatest artist who has ever lived.
One of the single most important roles I see myself in as a coach is guiding each one of my athletes to embrace their own strengths (on and off the mat) and be the unique men and women God has created them to be. Today, we live in a carbon copy world with institutions that are trying to stamp out uniqueness, but the thing that makes you unique also make you powerful.
Steven Furtick, one of the most relevant and inspirational pastors of this generation, sums up this idea by using another analogy from the music industry. He says we need to "find our sound and play it loud." The best musicians and best musical groups in history have made their mark because they had a unique sound. The Beatles took America (and the world) by storm because they had a sound that was different than anyone had ever heard. Michael Jackson sang and danced in way that no one else had experienced and even dressed in a way that no one had experienced. They knew what made them unique and they stood out because of it.
Our world doesn't need individuals who are striving to become someone else. Our world needs individuals who are willing stand out by being different that everyone else. We don't need more "normal" people, because normal is not working. We need more people who understand what God has given them that makes them unique and embracing it.
Stay true to who you are as an artist. Embrace the qualities and gifts that God has given you that makes you unique. Stand up and stand out by being who you are created to be. There will only be one you that will ever live on this planet. What is it that you can contribute to this world that no one else can? What is that you're good at that is unique to only you? What makes you come alive? Figure that out and do that with your life. Find your sound and play it loud.
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