Eleven Lessons for Graduates

by Jon Gordon,  at  www.JonGordon.com

1.    You are here for a reason and the most important thing you can do in life is to find, live and share your purpose. It’s the one thing in life that truly matters and if you don’t pursue it, everything else is meaningless.

2.    Follow your passion. It so often leads you to your purpose. Do what energizes you.

3.    You may not know what your passion is right now. That’s OK. The important thing is to make it your life mission to find it, live it and share it. To help find your passion, seek out jobs and experiences that allow you to use your strengths and gifts.

Competing

"Competing is like wrestling a gorilla. You don't quit when you're tired, you quit when the gorilla is tired."
Alan Stein

Jimmy Butler- "I Want to Be Guy Who Is Coachable"

The following from Jimmy Butler (Bull's draft pick) in the Chicago Tribune--

Butler said he felt his workout for the Bulls went pretty well but that he could've done better. He did say he looked forward to playing for coach Tom Thibodeau.

"I'm going to take what he has to say and put it in effect, no questions asked," Butler said. "Whatever he wants me to do, whatever any of my teammates want me to do, that's what I'll do. I want to be that guy who is coachable and will listen.

"I think I will be able to play (shooting guard) because you don't know how much time I'm going to spend in the gym to stay at this level for a long time. In order to do that, I have to get better at every aspect of my game, not just shooting. I'll be in the gym working on everything because no part of my game is perfect."

Tennessee Camp- 2010

Ken & Sue Massey

Today- living in Middleton.

This is a story in the Madison paper about my cousin Ken Massey and his family. Ken & Sue were in the center of the farm foreclosures in the 1980's. The picture of them with their baby being taken out of their farmhouse by the county sheriff was in all of the national papers. This is a story of them 25 years later. To say they are inspiring is an understatement.

My Motivation- Andie Allison

We start basketball camp this week. I started the "My Motivation" articles back this spring. My hope was that they would be writings that our players could read, think about, and reflect on their own sources of motivation. I have tried to have about one per week.

Andie Allison- "Coach Allison"- should be a source of motivation for all of our players. She has worked with our Streaks teams every summer since getting out of high school. The combination of her determination, commitment, loyalty, and enthusiasm made her so valuable. After seeing the positive impact the volunteer coaches had in our boys program, I knew Andie would be so valuable for us as an assistant year round on the varsity. Our seniors especially realized Coach Allison's value.

One day last fall I was talking to Coach Reynolds about adding another coach. His comment,"You are coaching girls basketball. Let's see, you are old and male. Andie and Jaque are young and female. Might be a good move." Sometimes Coach Reynolds doesn't sugar coat things (he never does).

Guide to Galesburg HS

I am finishing my 37th year at Galesburg High School. So I think I have a pretty good idea about how GHS operates. But as my son was looking at classes for his freshmen year, I realized that I had a lot to learn about GHS. So the last several weeks I have talked to lots of the seniors in my classes. And then I decided I wanted more education. So I decided who better to ask questions about GHS than the seven graduating seniors in the basketball program.

All seven were good students and most of them were very active as leaders. So I thought it would be good to get their perspective on GHS. So here are the responses of Mickey Rodriguez, Tai Peachey, Megan Young, Jessica Howard, Lauren Riggs, Sarah Main, and Jamie Johnson. Thanks for the education!

I would highly recommend this for parents of GHS students- especially entering freshmen. And I would recommend it for GHS students.

Kareem Abdul Jabbar's Letter to Scottie Pippen

As you may be aware, Scottie Pippen claimed that LeBron James "may be the greatest player to ever play.". This letter is Kareem's response to Pippen's evaluation.

Dear Scottie,

I have nothing but respect for you my friend as an athlete and knowledgeable basketball mind. But you are way off in your assessment of who is the greatest player of all time and the greatest scorer of all time. 

Coaching the System by Doug Porter & Gary Smith

A new book on "The System" has just been released. It is written by Coach Doug Porter and Gary Smith. It can be argued that Coach Porter and Coach Smith have been the two most successful coaches in implementing Coach Arseneault's System. They have invested 3 years putting this book together. 

The following is a description from Coach Porter---

Happy Birthday Mom!

Marjorie Evans Massey- Reflector Editor 1929.

My mother (Marjorie Evans Massey) would be 100 years old on Monday, May 11, 2011. She grew up in Galesburg. Her father was a street car driver, and her mother a stay at home mom. They never owned a house or a car. But they made sure they gave her two very important things- love and an education. Before there was such a thing as "Gale Scholars," my mother was a "Gale Scholar." She graduated from Galesburg HS in 1929 and Knox College in 1934.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to All!!

The boy that always makes his mother smile!

The night Allen was born.

Jessica Howard- My Motivation

This is #4 in the series of "My Motivation." 

 I am hoping these will be things that our younger players read and will find some useful ideas in. The intent with these is not to say to players- why don't you shoot like Jessica Howard or why don't you become Molly Watson. The intent is to show that many of our great players became great not because of physical abilities but because of an attitude and because of work ethic. And everyone can work hard.

Pat Summitt on Commitment

"I expect our teams to work just like I do. They know I’m here early and I stay late. I watch film with them. Whatever it takes. If they want to shoot extra, I’m here."

Commitment

From my experience, every team is unique. They have their own identity. And they have their own level of commitment. In the off-season, as a coach, you can quickly identify athletes who are "committed" and "loyal" to each other and to the program. And athletes who are not committed and do not feel an obligation to thier teammates, they don't quite ever get the "team" thing.

Art Fish- My Experiences with Art

Art Fish Tennis Court will be dedicated on Saturday morning at 8:30am. Art was quite a man. He brought incredible energy and humor to his job as a PE teacher and as a coach. During his tenure I don't think there was a sport that he did not coach.

When I was a young cross country coach, Art told me his experiences coaching cross country and football at the same time. He told that he used to load the runners up and take them out by Lake Bracken, dump them off, and have them run back while he went back and had football practice. He began to find the runners were getting back earlier and earlier each time So typical Art, one day he dumped them off, headed back back but pulled over to the side of the road in a blind spot. He waited, and sure enough here came the runners. They were all in the back of a farmer's pick up truck, riding into town. They had found a farmer who came to town each day at the same time.