I don’t know that any of us desires to be average, certainly Todd Rose in his Ted Talk, The Myth of Average and his book The End of Average (2015) would suggest that when we design for the average we design for no one. Normal is another word that has been used a lot lately, as in I look forward to things getting back to normal. I am not sure that anything really has been normal for quite some time and it’s fair to question whether normal is really what we want.
In 1959 the first-time head coach in the NFL, Vince Lombardi, stood in front of his team for the first time, a team that had won one game the year before, and said, ““Gentlemen we’re going to relentlessly chase perfection, knowing full well we won’t catch it because nothing is perfect. But we’re going to RELENTLESSLY chase it because in the process we will catch excellence. I’m not remotely interested in being just good.” Over the next nine years they would play in 6 championships winning 5 including the first two Super Bowls in NFL History. The reset and reframing of expectations in word and in deed set the path. Vince Lombardi reset and reframed the expectations and then ensured the coaches, players and organization worked toward those expectations. The pursuit of perfection indeed led to excellence.
Let’s look for opportunities to reset and reframe what we do in the circumstances that are presented before us. It can be in what we read, in what we watch, and of course it’s witnessed by what we do. One such opportunity is the upcoming Student focused Impact Leadership Conference in Alberta, for Alberta student leaders and their teacher/coach advisors that runs the afternoon of May 3 and the morning of May 4. Earlybird registration ends April 15 ($5 dollars a participant the rate bumps up to $10 on April16) Student leaders grades 9 – 12 and their teacher mentors can help reset and reframe their own focus and that of the school and their peers. Check it out here https://www.sapdc.ca/conference/130
Rose, T. (2015). The end of average: How we succeed in a world that values sameness. Toronto, ON: HarperCollins.
Life is the School... 
Sports analogies are always my favourite. They are relatable, transferable across many life events and scenarios. Coaches – good coaches – are so much more than guiding a team through the game. They are mentors, fathers, friends and guidance counsellors. They shape the hearts and minds of their players which will shape who they become as men, husbands and fathers*. Good coaches become great coaches when their heart, knowledge and insight is heard way beyond the field or court – and they become infamous when they are revered and quoted by the masses far beyond who they coached directly. This world is a better place because of coaches, this world is a better place because of YOU as a coach. Thank you for continuing to guide, shape, provide wisdom and inspiration…..and always being a Coach.
*This is not to negate or leave out all the female coaches and players. My nephews have benefitted from amazing female coaches and there are women, wives and mothers who are equally shaped from their coaches.