The Penalty Box: Winning Is A Commitment
November 3, 2020 at 11:17 p.m.
By Roger Grossman-
During the segment when Coach Bart Curtis and I were reviewing the game, we got to a moment early in the third quarter when the Warsaw offense seemed to flinch in a game where there didn’t seem to be much margin for error.
I mentioned in the broadcast, and I referred to my comments in that moment with Coach Curtis on Saturday morning, that we would find out a lot about the team and players in what was about to happen in the next few plays.
Coach Curtis said he was disappointed that I would even think anything but that they would overcome it.
I know from your reaching out to me this week that you saw that as a terse reaction on coach’s part—like he was offended by me doubting his team’s resolve.
Well, he was offended!
But not from the standpoint that he was angry with me, because he wasn’t.
For starters, when Coach Curtis speaks, he speaks with a force and power that is quite tangible. His voice carries, and it’s filled with a confidence that leaves no doubt who is in charge of the room.
So he wasn’t upset with me, but his point was clear—doubt isn’t part of who Warsaw Football is anymore.
As I sat in my studio chair and listened to his words, I smiled.
Why?
Because this program really has turned that corner.
This expectation of excellence has been embraced by the players and community alike. The discipline instilled has made these young people better people. The attention to detail has opened eyes to what more can be accomplished when one person is so prepared for something that it becomes a split-second reaction instead of a thought process.
Then assemble a group of people with that same dedication level—that same willingness to invest—and you have a team that has reinforced itself against negative outside forces. The power of the pack truly becomes greater than that of the individual member.
And that power is palpable.
I hope you understand that this concept is not just a “sports thing.”
Every aspect of life could look at this model of operation and duplicate it.
Every business.
Every church.
Every non-profit.
Every family.
But it starts with a very simple, but truthful, concept—everyone has to be completely on board.
The key word there is “completely”. It can’t be half way. There is no such thing as “partially committed.” You are either all in or you are not.
I remember that first meeting Curtis had with players and their parents. It was in the career center gym, and (without using a microphone) he laid out what he was willing to do to make Warsaw Tiger Football good. Then he told everyone in the room what he needed from them in return.
There would not be any negotiations.
We are afraid of commitment. We don’t want to lay ourselves bare to getting burned by giving ourselves to others. We can’t relinquish control of what we might get out of it.
It’s why businesses, organizations, the education process, sports teams and relationships fail—because all of these things are hard, and when things get hard we are stretched and our weaknesses are exposed…and we break.
Warsaw Football may lose a game, but they want us all to know that it’s not because they broke.
Message sent…and received.
During the segment when Coach Bart Curtis and I were reviewing the game, we got to a moment early in the third quarter when the Warsaw offense seemed to flinch in a game where there didn’t seem to be much margin for error.
I mentioned in the broadcast, and I referred to my comments in that moment with Coach Curtis on Saturday morning, that we would find out a lot about the team and players in what was about to happen in the next few plays.
Coach Curtis said he was disappointed that I would even think anything but that they would overcome it.
I know from your reaching out to me this week that you saw that as a terse reaction on coach’s part—like he was offended by me doubting his team’s resolve.
Well, he was offended!
But not from the standpoint that he was angry with me, because he wasn’t.
For starters, when Coach Curtis speaks, he speaks with a force and power that is quite tangible. His voice carries, and it’s filled with a confidence that leaves no doubt who is in charge of the room.
So he wasn’t upset with me, but his point was clear—doubt isn’t part of who Warsaw Football is anymore.
As I sat in my studio chair and listened to his words, I smiled.
Why?
Because this program really has turned that corner.
This expectation of excellence has been embraced by the players and community alike. The discipline instilled has made these young people better people. The attention to detail has opened eyes to what more can be accomplished when one person is so prepared for something that it becomes a split-second reaction instead of a thought process.
Then assemble a group of people with that same dedication level—that same willingness to invest—and you have a team that has reinforced itself against negative outside forces. The power of the pack truly becomes greater than that of the individual member.
And that power is palpable.
I hope you understand that this concept is not just a “sports thing.”
Every aspect of life could look at this model of operation and duplicate it.
Every business.
Every church.
Every non-profit.
Every family.
But it starts with a very simple, but truthful, concept—everyone has to be completely on board.
The key word there is “completely”. It can’t be half way. There is no such thing as “partially committed.” You are either all in or you are not.
I remember that first meeting Curtis had with players and their parents. It was in the career center gym, and (without using a microphone) he laid out what he was willing to do to make Warsaw Tiger Football good. Then he told everyone in the room what he needed from them in return.
There would not be any negotiations.
We are afraid of commitment. We don’t want to lay ourselves bare to getting burned by giving ourselves to others. We can’t relinquish control of what we might get out of it.
It’s why businesses, organizations, the education process, sports teams and relationships fail—because all of these things are hard, and when things get hard we are stretched and our weaknesses are exposed…and we break.
Warsaw Football may lose a game, but they want us all to know that it’s not because they broke.
Message sent…and received.
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