For a niche audience

http://www.canadiandesignresource.ca/officialgallery/miscellaneous/radio-canada/

10. Jim Peplinski

 

 

Sent to you by nigel via Google Reader:

 

 

10. Jim Peplinski

via Sport At Its Best by duffgibson on 1/12/10

What is the purpose of sport?  Is it to win Olympic medals?  Is it to prove the dominance of a political system?  Or is it ultimately about teaching life lessons and leading a healthier and happier life through physical activity?

I met Jim Peplinski, the former Flames captain almost a year ago now at the announcement of the construction of WinSport's new Athletic and Ice Complex here in Calgary.  I was asked to give a few comments at the event about the benefits of the centre in terms of generating enthusiasm for sport in the next generation and how that was a benefit to our community as a whole.  Jim approached me after the talk and asked me if I was familiar with a business concept – that your mandate was first and foremost to make your employees happy.  The offshoot of the philosophy was that you had a successful money-making business.  It's a little bit of a reversal from the usual mandate which is to simply make money.  Jim believes very much that the same philosophy applies to making someone a great athlete – that you first focus on the person and if you can make them a great person, then you are also more likely to make them a great athlete.  Either way you win.

I prodded Jim a little to write down his philosophy in terms that anyone could understand and I'm very grateful that he came up with this…

*****

What is the purpose of sport?

Sport can make people great athletes…

Or

Sport can make athletes great people.

Many people participate in a sport or get their children to participate in sport, invest countless hours and thousands of dollars with a view to becoming a great athlete or raising a great athlete.

This can work.

Is there another objective? A better objective? An objective that can cause you to play longer? An objective that increases your chances of reaching your athletic potential while improving personally through the lessons of sport?

Should we change our thinking on how we coach and approach sport?

If you approached sport with a goal to enjoy what ever sport you chose to participate in, to do your best and enjoy it, would you play longer? Would you be better rounded? Would you get more out of sport? Would you be a better person? And maybe become a great athlete too?

I believe so.

To me sport teaches character. Character is doing what you said you would do when it costs you!

To me sport teaches discipline. Get discipline. Get better. At anything !

To me sport teaches the value of fundamentals. Get great at skating, shooting, passing and you reach a high level in hockey. Get educated, you reach a high level in life.

To me sport teaches the value of health. Look after your body it looks after you.

To me sport teaches commitment.  It is rarely the most talented who succeed. It is regularly the person who does the work and hangs in longest who is rewarded.

To me sport teaches empathy. Know how you teammate feels, instead of only thinking about how you feel.

To me sport teaches performance. Keep score. Measure yourself. Get better.

To me sport teaches mental toughness. Fall down. Get up. Push yourself through discomfort.

To sport teaches responsibility. Take responsibility for your actions. Entitlement doesn't win in sport. Entitlement doesn't win in life.

So, get involved in sports. Stick with it.

Get good at a sport. Be a better athlete. You bet.

Get good at what makes you good at a sport, be a better person. You win both ways.

Best athlete, best person. Absolutely.

Jim Peplinski.

 

 

Things you can do from here:

• Subscribe to Sport At Its Best using Google Reader
• Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites

 

 

The psychology of pace

and winning versus individual goals.

 

 

Sent to you by nigel via Google Reader:

 

 

The psychology of pace

via ESPN.com - TrueHoop on 1/11/10

Players in the D-League want to be noticed.

In the game of getting called up to the NBA, how many points, rebounds and assists you get matters. So, you can forgive players for hurting their teams at time by being selfish, for instance by taking shots when they're not open.

The coach in Idaho has assuaged player fears by playing at an insanely high pace -- faster than any NBA team. The extra possessions inflate everybody's numbers, and seem to be working nicely as a trick to get players to pass the ball when they're covered.

By building in a way for players to get the stats they need, the team has been able to inspire a certain kind of selflessness. Which has helped winning. And, in fact, the team has stats showing that call-ups are much more common from D-League teams that win.

It's like a big circle of psychological tricks, one feeding into the next. Kind of beautiful.

 

 

Things you can do from here:

• Subscribe to ESPN.com - TrueHoop using Google Reader
• Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites