What he can do. A lesson learned from the NFL Draft.
In the days following the NFL draft, sports media and fans love to provide analysis and share their opinions on how each team faired by providing draft grades or opinions. Unfortunately, much of the commentary involves a player’s limitations and/or what he can’t do. Usual complaints among evaluators include: “this guy was a reach,” he “doesn’t fit the scheme,” he had a slow 40 time, he’s injury prone, etc.
Instead of choosing to scrutinize these young men, what if we focused on his positive qualities and what he CAN DO? He was drafted into the National Football League, something that only 1.5% of all college football players accomplish; obviously he is talented and possesses many skills/abilities that NFL teams covet.
While it’s fun to follow our teams, our thoughts and beliefs as fans don’t really matter. ESPN has yet to invite me to debate Mel Kiper Jr. on television, and Brian Gutekunst (General Manager of my favorite team, The Green Bay Packers) has yet to call me and ask for my thoughts. We all, however, can provide very important evaluation every day that does matter: Self Analysis.
How do you evaluate yourself? Do you focus on your limitations, the things you didn’t accomplish, failures, or the negative opinions of others? Or are you choosing to focus on your strengths and what you can/did achieve?
As a high school football coach, I am blessed with the opportunity to coach the athletes who walk through the door. I am not able to recruit players to my liking, however am still expected to win on Friday night. Therefore, my job is to maximize what a player can do well and put them in the best position to succeed.
As the old saying goes, “You may not be able to do everything, but you can do something.” Hunt the good stuff, define success as doing the best you are capable of, and focus on your strengths. These are proven ways to improve your chance of achieving your goals.
Coach Nelson serves as a high school football coach who is pursuing his doctorate in Sport and Performance Psychology. He has worked for division 1 athletic departments, professional sport franchises, a Fortune 100 Company and has won numerous awards for his LEADership abilities. Most recently coach Nelson was hired as a trainer for the Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) and as a mental performance coach for Mindurance.
His mission is to positively influence the world through Love, Effort, Attitude and Discipline (#LEAD). To learn more about the LEAD philosophy follow him on Twitter Levi Nelson or reach out via email at rln10@zips.uakron.edu He’d love to learn about or help you in your journey!
PCA: https://www.positivecoach.org/team/nelson-levi/
Mindurance: https://mindurance.com/viewAdvisor.asp?ic=51819&catID=
