I love this kid! He’s full of joy, enthusiasm and positivity. He’s been coming to the fitness club for a few years now and his positive energy is palpable to everyone in there. Having been working out for years now, he’s learned a lot and developed himself to a point that he’s happy with where he’s at in his own development. Happy, not satisfied. Because he knows all he’s capable of, and all he wants for himself. Secure in himself, he cheers everyone else on, from students to staff, trying to encourage them to be the best version of themselves that they can be in the weight room. The only problem is, in his boisterous energy he doesn’t exactly see where others are at. He doesn’t understand how their passion for physical development isn’t the same as his. His tunnel vision means he can’t see how their goals might be different than what he would like for them. And so, Peter, with all of his smiling, joyous, positive energy, and despite his sincerely good intentions, isn’t for everyone. At least not yet.
With our season just recently coming to a close, players mindsets are all over the place. Some players are thankful for a rest that they might not have been ready for, but welcome all the same. Other players may have simply switched gears and gone from focusing on one team, to their other, if they play AAU or club basketball. And still other players will hold onto a finish to their season that they did not want, that they did not foresee, that they are not happy about. For them, the next season is already too close. There isn’t enough time to shore up their shooting, to develop their bodies, to work on their explosiveness, simply – to be a better version of themselves. They’ll be the first ones trying to be ready for a season that is months away. Barely taking a breath between the court from their last game, to either the practice court or weight room, their focus and resolve only strengthens with setbacks. For them, they understand the journey of development. They get that development isn’t captured by the common measures of success like a championship or an individual award. When achieved, these are just markers along the path to the ultimate destination they seek, whether that’s just making the NBA or setting the all-time scoring record with more than 40,000 points, just as Lebron did this past week. Often times, these players know what they have to do to get better. They’ve traveled this road before, and know where to find their salvation. They seek out a coach, or a trainer to build on the regimen they’ve already built over the years. They know the formula – each day, put one foot in front of the other, put in the time and effort, trust the process, and the results will take care of themselves. They know it takes an arduous amount of time but they’ve tasted the deliciousness of its fruit and all they can think is, “more please”. They saw the value of all of their work the summer they completed 8 uninterrupted weeks of the jump program that added 8 inches to their vertical leap. They saw it the following summer, when they did the Maravich Series everyday because a coach told them they needed to be able to handle the ball like Kyrie Irving. They saw it over years of repetitive form shooting until they could shoot with either hand without a drop in their ability. But as they have grown in the game, they realized that to realize all of their goals it can’t be done on one’s own. They recognize that no matter how they develop, they will always need a team around them that is similarly prepared, similarly driven, and similarly focused, as they are. So the next step on their journey will be to see who else they can lift up with them.
Peter’s problem isn’t knowledge. He knows what he knows. His problem is recognizing where others are at. Most of the people he is trying to lift up with him don’t communicate their goals or desires, if they are even fully aware of them. So, instead, Peter just superimposes his own on them. In so, sometimes Peter loses those he is so generously trying to help take their own steps forward. Like the players that are driven trying to find a way to lift others up alongside themselves, Peter has to be sensitive to where they are at. Push them too hard, and they may never return to the gym. Push them in a direction they don’t want for themselves and similarly, he may never see them again. For the driven player that knows they not only need their teammates, but needs them to be the best version of themselves, the first task is to survey the landscape and know where each player is at, what they hope for, and how to motivate them as far forward in their goals as possible. Once a teammate has that information they can appropriately support their teammates as they collectively try to reach their goals together. As Peter can attest, it sounds simpler than it is, but that’s part of how we form team, mate.