I searched the crowd for my father, knowing his thoughts were with my mother too. I wanted him to know this gold medal belonged to all of us. As we look ahead to the next Olympics, I'm reminded that behind every athlete is a family whose love & sacrifices make the dream possible.
The great Patrick Mahomes played many sports growing up. He was a multi-sports fan.
There’s one sentence that really sticks out in this video - hits like a linebacker’s tackle. It’s this:
“Getting those multiple sports (experiences), and perhaps not being the best at a sport, you have to figure out ways to have success”
You have to figure out ways…you have to figure out ways!
Young ambitious participants in sport don’t necessarily see their engagement in sport like this. Nor do many older players.
To be a student of the game. To be a student of their game. To be a student of learning their sport. To stand back and consider what it is they have to do to get better. There are names for these from the world of psychology and pedagogy. Meta-cognition and self-regulated learning.
You have to figure out ways…you have to figure out ways!
Coaches can play their part here. They can, of course, explicitly instruct - helping players to develop their knowledge-about the game, their knowledge-for the game, and their knowledge-in the game. They can also suggest and guide, provide choice and options - bettering a player’s ability to build their anticipation and decision-making - their knowledge-in the game.
But perhaps most important is a player’s ability to guide their own learning. To reflect-in action (during practice and training) and to reflect-on action (after practice and training). To think about what they’re trying to learn and how they’re trying to learn. To think about their strategies and to critically assess those strategies.
Perhaps, if we look at all the greats across all sports, this strand of development is what sets them apart and what they all have in common - they engage in multiple ways to ‘figure it out’.
This is true in the workplace, no? Those that want to rise to the top (wherever that ‘top’ is) and those that eventually do so, enable themselves through a detailed and studious process of reflection and development. They have mentors. They have coaches. But through self-regulated learning and through meta-cognitive strategies, they find their own way.
They figure out their way…
We want to take a moment to celebrate our very own Chelsi Davis. Two months ago, she was notified that she was a bone marrow match for a patient in the United States fighting Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Chelsi has been on the NMDP (formerly Be The Match) registry since 2017, when she signed up in memory of her grandmother, who passed away from leukemia in her 40s. Her grandmother wasn’t able to find a matching donor, so when Chelsi learned she could help someone else, she didn’t hesitate for a second.
Last week, she flew to Houston, where she donated stem cells from her blood over the course of two straight days. Those stem cells were immediately shipped to the patient’s hospital, where they’re now providing life-giving support in that patient’s fight against cancer.
Chelsi didn’t do any of this for praise or attention. In fact, the only reason she’s allowing us to share her story is the hope that it might encourage someone else to join the registry.
If you’re between the ages of 18–35 and want to sign up, you could be like Chelsi and help save someone’s life. Just follow the link below:
https://t.co/bq3NKSDsd5
Chelsi, you are truly a hero.