High school teammates carry on

I found this long ago, and it is about two wrestlers of all things....but it is a powerful story about overcoming adversity and the meaning of friendship. Take the time to watch this, you won't regret it.

High school teammates carry on.

Being Tough

This past week has given me so many things to write about, I just wish I had the time to share all my thoughts. I have been collecting a few things though for future posts.

Regardless of the sport, coaches, teammates, even fans appreciate TOUGHNESS. However, it seems most people have their own definition of being TOUGH. There have been a couple things that have come to my attention that help define toughness for a basketball player.

One great example came directly from Tubby Smith, the University of Minnesota's coach. In an interview about the development of his team for next year, he had this to say:

"That's one of the things that we were hoping, that we would grow and get better," Smith said. "Being tougher. Being men. I said that from last year to this year, you've got to keep getting better. Ralph [Sampson III] is getting there. Colton is there. Colton is as tough as there is. Travis Busch is there. Knowing how to be tough."

"Setting a good, solid screen, to me, is being tough. Being in the right spot. Making the right decisions. Fighting through fatigue. Busch? He's a guy that gives you that hustle. He can raise the level of intensity on the court, because he plays with such reckless abandon."

(Travis Busch is a 2005 Mustang. He is the school's all-time leading scorer and Minnesota's 2005 Mr. Basketball.)

A more in-depth definition came from Jay Bilas, on his blog at ESPN.COM. He defined 33 things that define a tough basketball player. Every basketball player should read this. Be honest with yourself. ARE YOU TOUGH?

The Journey

As March Madness hits full swing once again, it always serves as a refreshing reminder of why basketball is such a great team sport. Besides the bracket mania that hits practically every workplace across the country, the various post-season tournaments (NOT JUST THE NCAA DI TOURNEY!!!) offers something even more valuable....countless stories of odds defying success by teams achieving great things through a combination of incredible individual dedication and even greater commitment to their teammates. After all, (this might be a future blog in itself), but there are fewer things that are more satisfying in life than EXCEEDING expectations against all odds.

This year, NDSU caught the nation's attention when they qualified for the tourney by winning the Horizon League Conference Championship. What's truly remarkable about this story is that the seniors of their team matriculated to NDSU knowing that they would not be able to have any hopes of March Madness for the first four years of their college experience as the school was in the process of moving from DII to the DI level. Knowing this, they embarked on a journey, a journey to prepare for one opportunity to play on college baskeball's biggest stage, the NCAA tournament.


While Kansas, and Minnesota native Cole Adrich proved to be too much for the Bison, it was Ben Woodside's comments that caught my eye. In the career ending loss in which he scored 37 points, he had this to say:

"It has been a great run for us," Woodside said. "It's been a great journey for us seniors. We won't be able to play as teammates anymore and we have been together for a long time so it definitely hurts. But the positives throughout our journey outweigh the negatives by a long shot."

This made me think of the message we constantly try to impress on our kids at Mounds View.

ENJOY THE JOURNEY.

High school basketball is a unique opportunity in life. For years kids spend hours upon hours playing hundreds of games, honing their skills and building relationships that hopefully culminate in something great..like a state tournament run during their senior year. However, no matter what, we want kids to savor the journey-the ups and downs, the joys and frustrations that inevitably mark every high school season along with the bus rides, the locker room moments, the open gyms, the carbo loads.....the list is endless.

While the goal is always success, regardless of the W's or L's, the journey is what remains in our memories, and ultimately makes us all better players, teammates, and people.