Eric took the stage at UNC Chapel Hill to deliver a commencement speech to the next generation of Tar Heels, sharing a message for the graduates as they step into what comes next.
Watch the speech in its entirety here: https://t.co/DbqOdqiymt
Every training camp I had at Washington State University, Coach Leach would share the same story.
The story of two kids. The rich kid and the poor kid.
The rich kid has two choices. He can become spoiled, entitled, lazy, and expect everything to be handed to him because he has been given more. Or he can take every advantage of what he has been given—resources, coaching, opportunities—and use it to become even better.
The poor kid has two choices too. He can say, “I never had a chance. Nobody gave me anything. The world is against me.” He can feel sorry for himself and use it as an excuse. Or he can say, “I may not have what they have, but I am going to outwork everybody.” He can become tougher, more driven, and more relentless than everybody else.
It was a powerful message in a locker room full of people from different backgrounds, different families, and different life experiences. Some guys came from wealth. Some came from almost nothing. Some had every opportunity. Others had to fight for every inch.
But despite all of those differences, everybody still had the same choice.
You can take ownership and use what you have as fuel.
Or you can become victim-minded. You can look for excuses, blame your circumstances, become entitled, and convince yourself that because of what you have—or because of what you do not have—you cannot become what you want to be.
It is not about how you start. It is about what you choose to do with how you start.
The rich kid can waste what he has been given or use it to build something greater. The poor kid can use his circumstances as an excuse or as fuel.
In the end, greatness does not come from starting with more or less. It comes from which person inside of you that you choose to feed.
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Louisville falls in a tough 70–65 overtime loss to Duke in the ACC Championship game.
After the game, Jeff Walz had an exchange with a reporter, pushing back on criticism about the program over the last couple of seasons.
Walz defended the consistency of Louisville women’s basketball, pointing out the program has made the NCAA Tournament every year, won 20+ games for over a decade, and previously made five straight Elite Eights.
Walz was honest and direct in his response as he addressed the narrative surrounding the program. 🔴🏀
Kelvin Sampson unfiltered:
"All these daddies who hire people to work their kids out... what does that do? Nobody's guarding you. If you're playing one-on-zero, you're gonna be pretty good. Problem is, we play 5-on-5. Kids need to be challenged"
My biggest coaching pet peeve?
The VICTIM Mindset.
It leads to mediocrity. It kills growth. It robs kids of success.
Don’t let it happen.
Here are 5 ways it shows up—and how to stop it.
1. The Blame Game - Did you lose a game? Why did you lose? It is always easier to point the finger. What do victims do?
- Blame your teammate.
- Blame the coach.
- Blame the refs.
- Blame anyone.
Don’t be a victim.
2. Excuse Makers - Do you take responsibility for your actions or make excuses for your inaction?
- They got lucky.
- I don’t have time.
- They were born with it.
Don’t be an excuse-maker. OWN it. Learn from it. Accept responsibility.
3. Live in Fear - Are you afraid to make mistakes? Are you afraid to take risks? Do you fear failure? The most successful people do not believe in failure. They believe in learning, and they believe in growing. Your mindset matters.
4. Comparison is the thief of Joy - When you constantly compare yourself to others and do not accept your strengths and weaknesses, you present yourself as a victim. You will never be able to win the comparison game. It is a dangerous place to go.
5. Lack of Ownership - Athletes with a victim mindset often fail to take ownership of their training, preparation, and performance. They have a fixed mindset. They perceive themselves as powerless and at the mercy of external circumstances.
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Always have fun spending time with @chadbkbcoach & @JLOVEcoach25
Great guys…They & staff run a first class Christmas Classic @Richland1978
Side note- Best concession stand hotdog I’ve had in 35 years:)
Grill master is @CoachBlairRS
Thank you and best of luck in 2025:)
High school basketball humbles a lot of kids coming from AAU who are allowed to play out of control, make dumb mistakes and have a low IQ w/ no consequences. When they actually have to play basketball, it doesn’t look the same #GrindHouseBasketball
We are praying for this nation. We're people of the Book, and the Book tells us to pray for our leaders, even if we don't agree with them. And Trump is one of our leaders. He was a president. And Joe Biden is one of our leaders. He is the current sitting president.
There aren’t many things that President Biden does that I agree with, but it is my job to pray for him anyway. And certainly to not bring him harm. I can disagree with him and still honor the office and still honor the person. And certainly not engage in any kind of stupidity like some of the rhetoric that has gone on in the last 48 hours—and really has gone on for the last several years.
Some of you are really too serious about what happens in the White House. If you'd concentrate half as much on what happens in your house, you’d be in a whole lot better shape. That's really the common denominator of success. It hasn't got anything to do with those guys up there.
Yes, they do some things that affect our lives, but I've had several of them try to ruin my life, and they hadn't pulled it off. And I've had several of them try to make my life better, and they haven’t pulled that off. I'm old, and I've seen presidents that were going to be the end of democracy, and they weren't. And I've seen presidents that were going to be the second coming of Jesus, and they were not even close.
I think the problem is that the level of anger has to do with the expectations of what the office can provide. Treat these people like people—they have families, they have children, they have friends. I've got friends who are congressmen, friends who are senators, and the stuff that they have to put up with…
Some of you are just out of control, and you should not spend your money on Financial Peace University—You should spend it on counseling.
Concentrate on fighting for or against ideas. When you have to vilify or destroy a person because you disagree with their idea, you've already lost the argument, because you've lost the high ground. You don't have to destroy people for your idea to win.