The Ultimate Success Formula

Coyle's "Talent Code" first identifies 'Deep Practice' as the first, essential ingredient to going where you want to go, doing what you want to do & having what you want to have. It's all there - It's all available. You just have to be willing to pay the price. Deep Practice is a major part of the price. Deep Practice, to me, is the result of applying 'The Ultimate Success Formula' to what you establish the goal as being. Points follow - First one being: How long should you try? Jim Rohn provided the answer, "Till." Till you get what you want.

How long is that? Studies by Erikson make this a true statement: It take 10,000 hours & ten years. Therefore the requirement is: If you want your children to perform their best & to compete at the highest levels as an 18 year old Senior in high school, training has to begin at age 8 & that is not just training on the club soccer team. It is developing all the skills necessary to compete at the highest levels. Soccer players have to run, so proper running technique is a requirement of training. Soccer players have to jump, so strength exercises & teaching kids how to jump are necessary. If you soccer players can jump higher in front of the goal on a corner kick, is that an advantage?

Soccer players must kick the ball, so leg strength is vital. A corner kick is no good if it does not get in front of the goal. Just like shooting foul shots in basketball. If the player does not have enough strength to get the ball to the hoop on a foul shot it is not worth shooting. Or if you cannot field the ball at 3rd & throw the guy out at first before he gets there, you team is in trouble. Every sport has certain fundamentals particular it. You must master them. You are an Athlete first. In order to be athletic, you have to be as big, as fast, as strong as the best athletes for your age group. Then you have to work on your skills.

Charles Darwin said:" I have always maintained that excepting fools, men did not differ much in intellect, only in zeal & hard work." The zeal you exhibit & how hard you work are personal conscious decisions that you make. Genetics are not the determining or limiting factor.

If you don't love it [whatever your IT is] you'll never work hard enough to be great. Struggle is not optional - it's neurologically required: in order to get your skill circuit to first optimally, you must by definition fire the circuit sub optimally; you must make mistakes & pay attention to those mistakes; you must slowly teach your circuit. You must also keep firing that circuit [use it or lose it], i.e., practicing in order to keep 'building your circuit.'

We each have more potential than we might ever presume to guess. We are all born with the opportunity to become Lords of our own Internet. The trick is to figure out how to do that. AND that is our jobs as coaches; to bring it out of them; to get them to reach down & discover the ability they thought they never had & to practice & perfect those skills.

It is our job as teachers & coaches to develop programs that allow kids to express themselves. Everyone whats to be somebody special; & everyone wants to be somebody's special somebody: academically; musically; in theater; speech & debate. Most of you who are reading this are fortunate to be coaches and develop programs where kids express themselves athletically. Sadly, our present society the adults of whom are the children of the 'ME' generation who learned their lesson very well, have & continue to be shortchanging their kids' development. We no longer offer the programs for kids to express themselves that we once did - not JHS athletics - No Marching Band - fewer electives - larger classes. It is my belief that in the not too distant future that if you want a breathing educator to head your child's class, you will have to go to private school & pay extra because public school is head to a virtual classroom where lessons are delivered by computers making athletics & activities even more essential.