Olivia
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Kingsmen Soccer
@CLUmSoccer
Cal Lutheran Kingsmen Soccer
Thousand Oaks, CA
Joined September 2015
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After his second year at Michigan, Tom Brady wanted to transfer.
He wasn't playing in games, and he was so low on the depth chart that he only got 2 reps in practice.
Brady met with his coach to express his frustration, “The other quarterbacks get all the reps.”
Coach replied,
“Brady, I want you to stop worrying about what all the other players on our team are doing. All you do is worry about what the starter is doing, what the second guy is doing, what everyone else is doing. You don't worry about what you're doing.”
Coach reminded him, “You came here to be the best. If you're going to be the best, you have to beat out the best.”
And then he recommended that Brady start meeting with Greg Harden, a sports psychologist who worked in Michigan's athletic department.
Brady went to Harden's office and whined, “I'm never going to get my chance. They're only giving me 2 reps.”
Harden simply replied, “Just go out there and focus on doing the best you can with those 2 reps. Make them as perfect as you possibly can.”
“So that's what I did,” Brady said. “They'd put me in for those 2 reps, man, I'd sprint out there like it was Super Bowl 39. 'Let's go boys! Here we go! What play we got?'”
“And I started to do really well with those 2 reps. Because I brought enthusiasm, I brought energy.”
Soon, it went from getting 2 reps to getting 4 reps. Then from 4 to 10, “and before you knew it,” Brady said, with this new mindset that Greg instilled in me—to focus on what you can control, to focus on what you're getting, not what anyone else is getting, to treat every rep like it's the Super Bowl—eventually, I became the starter.”
Takeaway 1:
Greg Harden telling Brady to just focus on being great during his 2 reps reminded me of a piece of advice from the entrepreneur Mark Cuban.
“People come to me all the time and tell me they're stuck,” Cuban explained. “They're stuck in a job they don't like. They're stuck working for a boss they don't like. They're stuck on a team they don't like.”
“I just tell them, 'Be great.'”
“The reality of life is that you can't just always quit your job. You can't just always go to your boss and say, 'Give me the promotion, or I'm out of here.'” You can't just always go to your coach and say, 'Give me more reps, or I'm transferring.'
“So when you're stuck, you've gotta find it within yourself to say, 'Ok, this is where I am. And if I'm going to be here, I'm going to be great.'
Because if you're great at your job, typically other people and companies find out, so it creates opportunities.”
Takeaway 2:
I've written before about “lead measures”—the actions and behaviors that predictably drive success.
The core characteristic of a lead measure, the authors of The 4 Disciplines of Execution (4DX) write, is that “a lead measure is influenceable; it can be directly influenced by you.”
To achieve your goals, they recommend (echoing what the Michigan Coach told Brady), apply a disproportionate energy to the things that are in your control.
Starting at Michigan and for the rest of his career, that’s what Brady did, that’s what drove his success.
In his first media call after he was selected by the New England Patriots with the 199th pick in the 2000 draft, Brady was asked: “Are you aware that [along with starting quarterback, Drew Bledsoe] there’s another quarterback here that they drafted last year?”
Brady said he was aware of that. “And I know he’s a heck of a player,” Brady said. “But I’ve always really concerned myself just with the things I can control. I don’t put a lot of thinking into the other guys because I know I’m not at my best when I’m not just thinking about playing as well as I possibly can.”
- - -
“I never once in my life ever said I wanted to be the best of all time. Ever. I wanted to be the best I could be, period. I learned that in college. It didn’t matter what the other guys were doing. It mattered what I was doing.” — Tom Brady
Follow @bpoppenheimer for more content like this!
![bpoppenheimer's tweet photo. After his second year at Michigan, Tom Brady wanted to transfer.
He wasn't playing in games, and he was so low on the depth chart that he only got 2 reps in practice.
Brady met with his coach to express his frustration, “The other quarterbacks get all the reps.”
Coach replied,
“Brady, I want you to stop worrying about what all the other players on our team are doing. All you do is worry about what the starter is doing, what the second guy is doing, what everyone else is doing. You don't worry about what you're doing.”
Coach reminded him, “You came here to be the best. If you're going to be the best, you have to beat out the best.”
And then he recommended that Brady start meeting with Greg Harden, a sports psychologist who worked in Michigan's athletic department.
Brady went to Harden's office and whined, “I'm never going to get my chance. They're only giving me 2 reps.”
Harden simply replied, “Just go out there and focus on doing the best you can with those 2 reps. Make them as perfect as you possibly can.”
“So that's what I did,” Brady said. “They'd put me in for those 2 reps, man, I'd sprint out there like it was Super Bowl 39. 'Let's go boys! Here we go! What play we got?'”
“And I started to do really well with those 2 reps. Because I brought enthusiasm, I brought energy.”
Soon, it went from getting 2 reps to getting 4 reps. Then from 4 to 10, “and before you knew it,” Brady said, with this new mindset that Greg instilled in me—to focus on what you can control, to focus on what you're getting, not what anyone else is getting, to treat every rep like it's the Super Bowl—eventually, I became the starter.”
Takeaway 1:
Greg Harden telling Brady to just focus on being great during his 2 reps reminded me of a piece of advice from the entrepreneur Mark Cuban.
“People come to me all the time and tell me they're stuck,” Cuban explained. “They're stuck in a job they don't like. They're stuck working for a boss they don't like. They're stuck on a team they don't like.”
“I just tell them, 'Be great.'”
“The reality of life is that you can't just always quit your job. You can't just always go to your boss and say, 'Give me the promotion, or I'm out of here.'” You can't just always go to your coach and say, 'Give me more reps, or I'm transferring.'
“So when you're stuck, you've gotta find it within yourself to say, 'Ok, this is where I am. And if I'm going to be here, I'm going to be great.'
Because if you're great at your job, typically other people and companies find out, so it creates opportunities.”
Takeaway 2:
I've written before about “lead measures”—the actions and behaviors that predictably drive success.
The core characteristic of a lead measure, the authors of The 4 Disciplines of Execution (4DX) write, is that “a lead measure is influenceable; it can be directly influenced by you.”
To achieve your goals, they recommend (echoing what the Michigan Coach told Brady), apply a disproportionate energy to the things that are in your control.
Starting at Michigan and for the rest of his career, that’s what Brady did, that’s what drove his success.
In his first media call after he was selected by the New England Patriots with the 199th pick in the 2000 draft, Brady was asked: “Are you aware that [along with starting quarterback, Drew Bledsoe] there’s another quarterback here that they drafted last year?”
Brady said he was aware of that. “And I know he’s a heck of a player,” Brady said. “But I’ve always really concerned myself just with the things I can control. I don’t put a lot of thinking into the other guys because I know I’m not at my best when I’m not just thinking about playing as well as I possibly can.”
- - -
“I never once in my life ever said I wanted to be the best of all time. Ever. I wanted to be the best I could be, period. I learned that in college. It didn’t matter what the other guys were doing. It mattered what I was doing.” — Tom Brady
Follow @bpoppenheimer for more content like this!](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F85l1KpWUAAeAcO.jpg)
Jets HC Robert Saleh’s Survivor, Contender, Competitor, Commander Speech:
“A competitor is someone who is internally motivated to be his best regardless of the situation. His place on the depth chart does not matter… He is always trying to absolutely be his best.”
Kingsmen soccer kicked off 2023 in exciting fashion! Cameron Pisan scored in the 85th minute! #OwnTheThrone
It's the 50th anniversary of Division III!
Celebrating the past. Honoring the present. Looking forward to the future!
Cal Lutheran us proud to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Division III. #DIII50
KOBE BRYANT - "FAILURE DOESNT EXIST" https://t.co/ffRdmRfwH5 via @YouTube
STUDENT-Athletes! Join us on our journey to Cares Day and catch up on the student-athletes you missed!
Link: https://t.co/CxacWr0xT6 #OwnTheThrone
Please save the date for our upcoming Cares Day. We are hoping to have a great turn out to help our program continue to head in the right direction, anything helps. #gokingsmen https://t.co/mHf5xmqWVK
From our coaching staff and players to yours, we wish you all a wonderful holiday season and a happy new year 🎆 #gokingsmen https://t.co/rIWdZuGS71
JP Melgoza and Chris Pelaez joined Sherard on First Team and Erick Mejia was named Second Team! Congrats to our Kingsmen! #GoKingsmen #OwnTheThrone
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Kingsmen SCIAC Tournament Bound in Back-to-Back Years, First Time in Program History; Tie Oxy 0-0 https://t.co/Ba4xG39FoF
Just posted a photo @ California Lutheran University https://t.co/MtPU6Mk8gT
Just posted a photo @ California Lutheran University https://t.co/mIgzB0Gk4s
It was a great trip to UC Santa Cruz. We learned a lot as team and we will continue to grow! Always as one! #gokingsmen https://t.co/vPJv4TmWoG
It was a great trip to UC Santa Cruz. We learned a lot as team and we will continue to grow! Always as one! #gokingsmen @ UCSC East Field https://t.co/dZJE9UFTQf
Kingsmen Win on Labor Day, Take Down Macalester 1-0 https://t.co/lOjsgl7ciH
It was a great day for our first game. We learn from every match and continue on this journey! #gokingsmen @ Santa Cruz, California https://t.co/Z9D0msovbx
In Santa Cruz ready to kick off our season tomorrow! Let’s go kingsmen! https://t.co/zqLSaTNzzM
Nothing like good old pool tempos after a day of training. Three days into our preseason and loving every minute. #gokingsmen @ California Lutheran University https://t.co/4PstBOwPnk
Kingsmen Soccer Earn 2021-22 College Team Academic Award https://t.co/ufGHXi80JP
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