In a recent email from one of my oldest and dearest friends, he references a “dark place” in his life and how football and his teammates, now lifelong friends, helped him overcome it.
In a football game, we conveniently have a scheduled break allowing us to evaluate our situation and make changes accordingly. It is called halftime. Good coaches and good teams use this opportunity to make halftime adjustments enabling them to achieve a more desirable outcome. We solicit feedback, discuss observations, and cultivate concepts and ideas.
In our championship game a week ago, we found ourselves only up by 1 point at halftime. The first half of our game had not gone the way we planned. We needed to make some adjustments and fortunately had the halftime to do so. Refocusing our players on expectations, clarifying and confirming their commitment to each other, and belief in their collective potential, we scored the game’s next three touchdowns and finished the game with a comfortable win.
Life rarely offers such a convenience. There is no scheduled halftime, and chaos often relentlessly assaults us. Yet, to be successful, you must make and take the time to evaluate your life to determine if it is one well lived. Your current situation does not need to be your permanent situation. But sometimes it’s hard to see a way ahead and not everyone has a coach to help them make timely adjustments. As we have described before, “where you sit determines what you see…” However, we rarely find our best selves when inwardly focused, and benefit most when helping others. As my friend described, teammates helped him see a different view, and he found a better outcome.
It’s easy to cocoon, and particularly so in times like these. Seek the help of your family, friends, teammates, teachers, mentors, bosses, clergy to help you make positive changes in your life and the lives of those around you. In doing so, you may just find the very thing we help new teams discover every year: “Together, we’re always stronger than any one of could ever hope to be alone.” Draw on the strength of your team, and accomplish more than you ever thought possible.
Coach Rich Alercio is available to discuss coaching philosophy, X’s & O’s, or teach his O-Line “techniques in the trenches.” Contact Coach at richalercio@gmail.com and share http://www.olineskills.com with your colleagues and friends. Thanks for supporting this blog and joining our conversations, and as always, thanks for your time!
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