What off-season…

The truly great are always working towards the next game… The goal is what’s ahead, and there’s always something ahead.

Tennessee’s Pat Summitt is no stranger to hard work. In fact, it’s the only kind of work the legendary head coach has known over her 34-year career. Growing up on a farm with three older brothers and a father who didn’t take no for an answer, Summitt didn’t really have much of a choice. After all, as she was told, “Cows never take a day off.”

But it was her mother, who Summitt says worked harder than any of the men in the family, that taught her hard work isn’t always good enough. To be the best, she would have to out-work the rest.

Rubbing Elbows…

The truly great understand the value of association.

A community college basketball coach was getting his car fixed by a local mechanic. As he walked into the garage he noticed the guy under his car had his head sticking out one side of the car and his feet hanging out the other. That moment led to a life-changing discussion and a powerful lesson in Greatness.

As I sat with legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden, he told me the story of Swen Nater – an orphan from Holland who moved to the United States when he was three years old. He grew up in an American home and, as a high school junior, stood 6-feet, 11 inches tall.