“Sudden Change”- Being Your Best Despite of the Circumstances

What a great time of year for sports fans.  Tonight, the BCS National Championship will be decided, the NFL playoffs are heating up, and both the NBA and college basketball seasons are in full swing.

I challenge you to watch for something very specific tonight (during the Alabama and Georgia game): “sudden change” defense.  Sudden change situations take place when a turnover occurs and the defense is asked, unexpectedly, to retake the field.  The situation usually looks something like this: the defense does their job and gets a big stop.  They come to the bench physically and mentally exhausted.  They are looking for a few minutes to recharge and recover.  Then, their team’s offense or special teams makes a turnover.  Resting and recovering is now out of the window; they have to go back out and respond.  Here’s how Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers describes it:

“It’s a mentality.  It’s not like the selection of plays or coverage or fronts that you choose from change, but it’s just the defense responding to the adversity that the game of football presents.  Often times on defense, you have no control over what conditions or circumstances with which you take the field.  You have all the control over how you get off the field.  So, more than anything, it’s those guys checking in with one another and agreeing to rise up and meet the adversity head-on and putting the fire out.”

You can almost guarantee mistakes will be made tonight and in virtually any contest.  Sometimes we think the great teams never “mess-up.”  They do.  I have noticed that elite teams do a better job responding to the adversity.

We often tell our athletes that anyone can be good when the conditions are perfect.  When the weather is just right, the crowd is on your side and you have your “A” game.  The mark of a competitor is how they perform when you have your “C” or “D” game.  That’s when you have to reach deep down inside and deliver.

Sudden change situations are not just isolated to sports.  Life can, and will, rock your world from time to time.  We’ve all dealt with unexpected situations.  Everything is going smoothly- then BOOM- we are knocked off our game.  We need to remind ourselves, that while often it feels like we have more challenges than anyone on the planet, we are not the only ones dealing with adversity.  It’s just our time to, “rise up and meet the adversity head-on and put the fire out.”

This week, I am going to focus on being better in “sudden change” situations.  I don’t want to only be good when things are perfect.  I want to be a person that can be counted on when challenges arise; when things are not going my way.

Make it a great week,

Mike