Sweep the Shed

Has it really been eleven years? It feels like yesterday. I was at Andrea's Pizza in Grand Rapids on a warm summer night after a Thursday night training run with teammates and coaches. We were coming off of a National Championship in DIII Cross Country. I was the one runner in Division I, II, and III that was not an All-American the previous year. I was on a mission to not let this happen again. I remember asking my coach that evening what it would take for me to finish in the top 35 of the country. "Tell me coach, what do I need to be my best." I expected for him to say to run 80 miles a week for the rest of the summer. I had already committed to it. I thought he would suggest lifting. I had started. Perhaps swimming or aqua jogging was what he would suggest. I was on it. He didn't tell me to do any of these things. He told me to serve my teammates and do my part in leading the team. Really coach? That's all that it will take to be great? The more I coach or observe teams, the more I believe what my coach told me back in 2004. It's not about what I'm going to get out of it, it is what I can give. The miles were important, but more important for team and individual success was giving, leading and selflessness. 

John O'Sullivan hit the nail on the head in a Changing the Game Project blog article entitled, The One Quality Great Teammates Have in Common. He writes, "In the age of the selfie, Instagram, Facebook and a million other ways to say 'look at me,' the concept of teamwork and the importance of service to others has gotten lost in the shuffle." Our students expect to get something out of a season more than ever before. It isn't worth it for many players to go through a season and not play. We need our students to "stop asking what they can get, and start asking what they can give. They must serve!" 

What does it mean to give? John lists the following attitudes and actions that players can bring to their teams:

- I can give my best effort in practice and games

- I can give my team a positive attitude no matter what the circumstances

- I can give my team a boost no matter how many minutes I play

- I can give my team a better chance to win no matter what position I play

- I can do the dirty work so my teammate can score the goal and get the glory

- I can sacrifice my personal ambitions for the better of the group

- I can lead by example

- I can be an example of our core values in action

I believe we will have more competitive teams with more people who come to practice and games with a "giver" attitude and not a "getter" attitude. However, I believe we owe it to our athletes to teach them what it means to give and not receive. This is woven into our beliefs as Christians. In my devotions a few days ago I wrote down Matthew 20:26-28 and now have it sitting on my desk. "Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant. Whoever wants to be first must be your slave. Jesus did not come to be served but to serve."

I encourage you to read the article by John O'Sullivan and how he uses the All Blacks New Zeeland Rugby team motto "Sweep the Shed" as an example. All the players take part in cleaning their locker room after every game. Former NY Yankee Don Mattingly said, "When I gave up me, I became more. I became a captain, a leader, a better person and I came to understand that life is a team game." 

- Engbers