progression toward building a great team

Okay so I found a blog about the plagues of a problematic program. It lists certain things that make a athletic program build up and qualities that make the program fall apart. For example, a caustic culture meaning all the negative attitudes, values, and standards of the program. The blog compared these things to a corrosive acid eating away all the good/positive qualities. This is caused by selfishness and distrust in others leading to short term success. Another cause is the coaching aspect of the whole program. Unsuccessful programs can come from the clueless coaches not realizing what is happening right in front of  them. Also the lack of people skills the coach has. This can be caused by coaches who demands, insults, and criticism (bullying) to make them feel empowered. They forget that relationships with your athletes are what build great teams. The biggest problem I read was the problem of inconsistency meaning that the athletes and staff do not know what to expect from each other from one day to the next. You are welcome to read the full article at http://www.janssensportsleadership.com/resources/janssen-blog/the-10-plagues-of-a-problematic-program/

Progression.....

         This progress report is basically a background check for my information. I have found an article about how to relate your attitude to teammates with apathetic attitudes, not really caring, and who are really negative. I learned that not everyone will get along with your outlook of everything. This is part of my problem with this project. However, the article described different ways to change the negative into a positive.

        The change in attitudes is very difficult though. It is much easier to turn something negative than it is to turn it positive. My plan for this change is to have help not only from my friends, but from my coaches and other teammates. Also, I have figured out that shouting at someone in a big group is definitely not the best way to approach someone. I mean I wouldn't want to be shouted at so why do it to others? Exactly my point. I found that having a one-on-one conversation with someone not only is a better way, but makes the situation more meaningful. This idea is still in progress, but the only way progress goes is up.

Progress Report...

Over the past couple of weeks I have made little to no progress over my project. In all honesty, my motivation for this project has left my mindset. I know that's not the best thing to say, but it is the truth. I don't really know where to go from this point in my project and I don't know how to approach it either. So, I'm going to create a new plan for this project. I plan on researching like I said I was going to in my goal post, but break it down a little bit more. The breakdown will consist of just a survey of people on social media for athletes versus non athletes. This will help focus on my main audience for the project. The survey will continue until the beginning of May, so it will give me enough time and hopefully a lot of people. The survey will be asking people what sport they play or if they play a sport at all. After this, the survey will will alter with the questions being asked. I plan on making a report for this research and maybe a PowerPoint. This could also become a poster since I like to make things by hand. I don't know, but I  intend on having fun with it.

GOALS for this shindig

     Okay, I know it's been awhile since the last time I've posted but fear no more. I've been doing some research about how the attitudes of high school athletes or athletes in general differentiate depending on their competition. For example, Hamilton Southeastern versus Carmel in every sport basically. I've found some articles on why athletes should care about sports and the mentality of it all, but I'm still curious as to what makes athletes shrivel up or bloom in the time of competition. Some other aspects to this problem are finding what makes Carmel feel empowered to be number one. During shark week, one of the sharks mentioned to look at the coaching aspect of it all. I analyzed what he meant by that and believe it's genius. So, now I share some of my goals for this whole situation of stuff.

    S.M.A.R.T Goals 

S- My main goal for this genius project is to figure out what makes athletes so apathetic in sports and to figure out why the top teams who consistently win are the best at what they do, like Carmel, the Patriots, the teams that are usually in the Final Four ( March Madness).

M- Okay, so there are eight weeks left in the semester, so now I'm trying to figure out a way to present this information to the public. I've been thinking about making a survey or  PowerPoint or pamphlet or a way to inform athletes and future athletes of apathy in sports.

A- I plan on showing this to my coaches and my athletic directors at my school and hope that they understand my point of view for this problem. Also, I am hoping they use the information to help their athletes with mentality of winning and progress.

R- My responsibilities for this are finding enough information about athletes and the psychological/mental part of this project. Also, finding the science part for the brain/thinking processes.

T- Hopefully by the end of spring break, I plan to have a general basis for my project path by researching the psychological aspect, then moving toward the coaching aspect of the different teams.

Background

  Today is a day where you aren't inspired to really do anything, also known as a "lazy" day. However, not all lazy days could be considered to be pointless. So, I decided to describe what my blogs are all about. In English class, my lovely teacher decided she should revolutionize the thinking process of teens in school, or in her words "war against mediocrity".       Well, my take on it was to have an idea and make it worthwhile. The only bad part about it was, what was my topic going to be about? So I get to brainstorming and I think, "why are people afraid to fail or do poorly in something?" This question is still remaining, but it has led me to a problem with my team mates. Some of the girls on my team practice and work hard everyday, but when it comes down to a competition, they freak out and overthink everything. I've tried talking to them about relaxing and working on their breathing, but it didn't really seem to work. As a team, we've had meetings about confidence with our sports psychologist, Dr. Rob Bell, but I don't think they have sunk in to the minds of our underclassmen. So, it has come down to the beginning problem of a thought process. In my earlier posts i have mentioned confidence, inspiration, and a good mentality. These are all good things to use, but hasn't really proved anything of over coming the fear. Now, I'm going to the very beginning of researching what the definition of fear is. Also, here is a picture of how my optimism is the key to my success in this ongoing project. 

The Mentality Aspect

   A lot of people, if not everyone, has trouble with consistently staying positive in some point of there life. And if you say you don't stop lying to yourself, not everyone is perfect. The cause to bad thinking, is the feeling of doubt; the questions that start with "What if..." Well the "what if's" that you question yourself don't exactly happen unless you completely convince yourself that they will.

    So, the question that you should be asking yourself is, "Are you excited or are you nervous?" You might think the answer is simple, but are you nervous about a stressful situation or are you excited about being able to contribute to the situation? The difference is the way you view the situation, topic, competition, etc.

    Now, I realize that the picture is somewhat silly, but my point I'm trying to make is what is written behind Dr. Rob Bell, "You owe it to yourself." You owe it to yourself to relax and distract yourself from being stressed. You owe it to yourself to be the best you can be at any moment in time. You owe it to yourself to realize that you are meant to be in that "stressful" situation because of courage it takes to be you. The overthinking of feeling your best or your worst can easily be distracted with friends, music, or anything that calms you down, even just breathing. However when it comes down to game time, focus on mastering that moment and conquer the battle.

Inspiration

  Inspiration can come from anywhere at any moment. Especially when you're in English class with your favorite teacher talking about your homework for the weekend. The inspiring part definitely came from her PowerPoint. She threw in some Einstein quotes and the brainstorming process begins.

      I know not everyone instantly develops a brand new idea on the spot, but it does leave time to do other things like figure out ways to finish your homework for the next class or maybe get a head start on your homework for the weekend. However, if you're like me, you sit and talk to your teacher and try to figure out what your blog post should be about. I originally started a post with a picture, but found out the whole picture doesn't fit. So I left it alone for a couple of days to let it settle. 

     Now, I'm here on the couch of my living room embracing the inspiration that came over me in about two seconds of thinking about this blog post. I browsed the internet searching for some inspirational quotes from some famous people you all have probably heard of in your lifetime.