Inspired, Informed, Empowered

A few weeks ago, our neighbors invited us to a coach's clinic, where guest speakers would be talking about strength training. Although I wasn't overly excited about the opportunity, my son and husband were looking forward to it, so the night of the clinic I decided to go, smile, and make the most of it. Little did I know that I would end up enjoying the evening as much as, if not more than, my husband and son. There were a handful of speakers that evening, but two of them had advice of value for coaches and teachers.

The first speaker of the evening, Rob Stock, a former Navy Seal, is with Human Performance Initiative, training athletes. He spoke about how an individual's attitude and outlook directly changes everything around him. Using his experience as a Navy Seal and the story of his recovery from a horrendous injury received while at war, he inspired coaches to instill in their athletes how important attitude is to success. His message was well received by the coaches present, but also by me as a teacher. My attitude and outlook affect the attitude and outlook of my colleagues, parents, and students. I have the power to help move them forward or delay their success by the impressions I leave.

Chris Carlisle, strength coach for the Seattle Seahawks, was the final speaker of the evening, and was he ever passionate about his profession! He began by telling coaches he was not there to tell them what to do because he said, "If you do what I do, you will fail miserably!" He went on to talk about how every team is different and that to really be effective, coaches need to know the game and know their players. His advice, which is great advice for teachers as well, was this:

• Deconstruct the game...Tear it apart to its deepest element.

• Get out of the box and do something different. If what you are doing isn't working, ask yourself why, and change something.

• Ask why! Why do you do what you do? Read and become educated about your profession so that when you make decisions, they are based on what you decided and not what someone else told you to do.

• Establish a knowledge bank?Find the people who know, who are the best at what they do, and learn from them.

• Be dynamic. Make small changes. Wake up and do one thing different...Work with that one thing, and when it soaks in, change one more thing. That is how you become great.

I left that evening inspired to make a difference, informed with ways to make change happen, and empowered by my ability to do so.