Kristine Deem

believer. wife. mother. daughter. coach. USI vb alum. “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” -Mahatma Gandhi

[Kristine Deem @kwheels12]

Keep looking forward.....remember your windshield is much larger than your rear view mirror

[Kristine Deem @kwheels12]

Forever a #proudcoach & grateful to be part of @circlecityvbc

Love this game & love these girls 💜🏐

#circlecityelite #vbforlife

[Kristine Deem @kwheels12]

Getting after it with an energized pregame warmup 💜🏐💜

@circlecityvbc #gameday #PurpleisthenewGold

[Circle City VBC @circlecityvbc]

18 Purple left Indiana on Thursday without an Open bid and came back Qualified in the 18 Open Division for Nationals in April 🤩💜🔥 They went to Boston and finished 3rd at the Boston Volleyball Festival! We are so proud of you, 18 Purple! Salt Lake City here we come! #Bidness #CircleCityElite 🔥🔥

[Circle City VBC @circlecityvbc]

We are so deeply saddened to hear of the passing of former Circle City Alumni Jacqueline Lux. “Q was just an awesome person. I absolutely loved her and am devastated” - Club Director Lance Keating said. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Lux family during this time💜

[Circle City VBC @circlecityvbc]

A special congratulations to both @JosieImes & @avahunter25 for being named to the 16 National and 17 Open All-Tournament Teams respectively 💜 We are so proud of you both, Josie & Ava 🤩 #CircleCityElite #CircleCityTakeover

[Circle City VBC @circlecityvbc]

Another massive congratulations to 16 Purple for their 5th place finish at the USAV Girls Junior National Championships 💜 What an incredible performance for this team this week, they battled & fought for every match and it could not have been more fun to watch! 🤩 We are so proud of you, 16 Purple! 💜 CIRCLE CITY FOREVER #CircleCityElite #CircleCityTakeover

[Circle City VBC @circlecityvbc]

We don’t like to use the term “Circle City Family” lightly and this picture is a great example of why 😁 Included in this picture are: Both of our Club Directors, one of our 14 White coaches, both of our 16 Purple coaches, both of our 17 Purple coaches, one of our 14 Purple coaches, one of our 15 Purple coaches, one of our 16 Volt coaches and of course the 16 Purple Parents! They were all getting ready to cheer on 16 Purple as they played in their challenge match to keep their hopes alive for a national championship (which they won🔥)! Our support system runs deep and is unmatched with its energy 🗣️ Circle City is a special place, these are just some of the people & reasons that help make it special 💜 #CircleFam #CircleCityElite #CircleCityTakeover

[Circle City VBC @circlecityvbc]

What’s better than 1 team advancing into Day 3 of the USAV Girls Junior National Championships? 2 teams advancing into Day 3 🔥 Shoutout to 16 Purple on going 3-2 in pool play and staying alive for a chance at a national championship 🤩🎇 Let’s keep it rolling tomorrow 🔥 #CircleCityElite #CircleCityTakeover

[Kristine Deem @kwheels12]

One of the coolest team dinners I’ve ever been a part of!!! #CircleFam @circlecityvbc @MarrakechLV

[Kristine Deem @kwheels12]

16 Purple is ready!!!! Parents showed up game ready too! @circlecityvbc @CCVBCrecruit

[Kristine Deem @kwheels12]

So proud of this group of young ladies for bouncing back this weekend and working hard together to string along two days of success! Way to finish unified & strong! #proudcoach #venom @circlecityvbc

[Kristine Deem @kwheels12]

@MicdUpAnnouncer @CarmelHoundsVB Thanks so much @MicdUpAnnouncer !!!

Always love the awesome energy you bring for @CarmelHoundsVB to the gym!!!

[Circle City VBC @circlecityvbc]

Circle City Family, we need your help! Come show your support for Ava O’Brien on Thursday February 22nd at Franklin Central High School at the girls basketball game! We are all apart of #AvasArmy so let’s pack the house and show our support #CircleFamily 💜

[Jamy Bechler @CoachBechler]

DISCIPLINE IS A WAY OF LIFE

This entire clip from Nick Saban is pure gold. Discipline is everything. Every player should watch this clip understanding how they do drills in practice, how they warm up, or do anything is a mentality. It can't be turned on or off.

[Circle City VBC @circlecityvbc]

We 👀 a familiar face @kwheels12 #CircleProud

[Billy Oppenheimer @bpoppenheimer]

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!

[Kristine Deem @kwheels12]

That’s how you protect your face! Yaasss @_brookehumphrey !! 😝

[Michigan Volleyball @umichvball]

That's Our Libero!!!

#GoBlue

[Jim Inskeep @carmelathletics]

Congratulations to the Class of 2024!

[Carmel Girls VB @CarmelHoundsVB]

thank you seniors 💙

#noexcuses

[Jim Inskeep @carmelathletics]

Excited to watch our seniors compete at home one last time
@CarmelhoundsHQ
@CarmelHoundsVB
@highschoolad
#SeniorNight