There are two ways to create the tallest building in town. One can spend all their time and energy tearing down the buildings around them, or one can focus on making their building the tallest. The value of the two final products will be vastly different.
by Dr. Pat Ivey In 2021, we lost a legendary college head football coach. I never personally met Coach Bobby Bowden but I did have a chance to hear him speak at a national conference. The room was packed and everyone was eager to hear him present. If you ever…
We can’t say “I told you so” but we have been skeptics from the start. Back in 2019, we were critical of the Raiders team Jon Gruden was assembling. Since then, Gruden and his band of high-talent/low-character athletes have proven the concept that over the long haul, talent is an…
By Kate Kalnes, Ed.D., C.S.C.S. & Jim Davis, Ed.M., RSCC*D Strength and conditioning is one of the fastest growing fields in high school sports. Many have recognized that stronger, faster, and safer athletes have a better athletic experience; additionally, students who participate in a coordinated strength training effort have more…
Powerlifting can be a hyper-individualized sport. The push for individual improvement is an essential component of the experience. When it goes wrong (too much focus on oneself), it can lead to self-obsession, obsessive compulsions, and narcissism. When it goes well, however, it can be one of the most powerful learning…
Getting through the pandemic has taken resilience. In her mentorship of teacher-leaders, Dr. Lauren Casella notes that resilience has become a common thread. What sits below that resilience, she suggests, is faith. Optimism and faith. The idea is profound. And it makes sense. The ability to push forward is at…
On a beautiful September afternoon, I stopped in to watch a few of our Good Athlete Project coaches lead their teams in a tough youth football battle. It was everything one could ask for: energy, autumn atmosphere, support. The two coaches I watched did an amazing job toeing the line…
When he played running back at Dartmouth, Bob Higgins’ specialties were picking up tough first downs and doing whatever was needed to prepare his team for their upcoming opponent. A knee injury halfway through his college career forced him to imagine life after sport and allowed him an opportunity to…
Aaron Willits, the newly appointed Head Football Coach at Knox College (Galesburg, IL), says that the Hulk image is not only a talking point with players, but serves as important metaphor for the Knox athlete. “It represents the ideal Knox football player,” says Willits. “You have to have some of…
with Nicole Brinker, by Chris Dertz Nine months after first emerging in the United States, it is clear that the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic are both unprecedented and wide-ranging. The raw data is grim. Currently, 22,000,000 Americans have been infected with the virus and the Centers for Disease Control…