11 Championship Killers - In Sports And In Life

By Alan Stein:

The wait is over! Basketball season is officially here.  The NBA season kicks off tonight, college programs started practice earlier this month and most high schools will hold try-outs in November.

Man, this is my favorite time of year!

When the season first starts, every team is in the championship hunt.  Every team sets their eyes on the final prize – winning a championship and being crowned #1.

Legendary Hall of Fame football coach Bill Parcells once said, ‘In order to win, you have to figure out what makes you lose.’

That is a powerful concept.

So before you can win a championship, you need to figure out what will prevent that from happening.

Here are 11 Championship Killers:

1. Entitlement: Players don’t feel they need to earn a championship. They think it will happen automatically based on tradition or last year’s success.
2. Arrogance: Similar to entitlement, players don’t think losing is even possible. They lack respect for their opponent and for the game itself.
3. Selfishness: Players think ‘me’ and not ‘we.’  They are more concerned with individual stats than with winning.
4. Complacency: Players think ‘good enough’ is good enough. It isn’t.
5. Lack of Confidence: Too much confidence (see #2) is a major problem. But so is a lack of confidence.  You have to believe you can win it all.
6. Lack of Effort: This one better be obvious.
7. Lack of Trust: Players need to trust coaches. Coaches need to trust players. Lack of trust on either side will create dysfunction and dissention and cause the entire ball of yarn to unwind.
8. Lack of Conditioning: It is a long season.  If players run out of gas mid-way through, they can’t finish the race!
9. Lack of Commitment: Winning a championship requires commitment on and off the court. Staying up late on your computer the night before a game or getting in academic trouble shows a severe lack of commitment.
10. Lack of Leadership: Coaches can’t be the only leaders on the team. Period.
11. Lack of Role Acceptance: Basketball is a team game.  Every player on the team, from the leading scorer to the last player on the bench, has a specific role.  To win a championship, every player on the team must know, accept and take pride in their role.