Character, "what are you willing to put in?"

Over the summer I tried out for Southland's basketball team and one thing the coach really emphasized was character. I thought maybe just because it's a christian school they want people to really be in touch with who they are and what they want but then I remembered what Jennifer would tell the girls during softball practices which was "I'm not doing this for me, I already went to CIF and won." That statement alone always gets the girls mad and determine to show Jen that they wanted it too. Mr. Johnson who is the girls basketball coach always asks the girls what THEY want to accomplish once he goes over the game plan for practice and the girls really think about it because we all know we can't be great at every drill but as long as we put the same amount of energy and commitment towards them we'll find the things we're good at even if we thought we weren't. Whenever we would get frustrated with a drill, he'd make us step out of the court and if we want to get back in we needed to give two reasons why and it couldn't be something like "because I want to be on this team." "So do others girls," will be your response from Mr. Johnson. He really wants the girls to think about why they are there in practice and if it's not for themselves then why are they there at all? Who are they doing it for and why? Character is based on an individual doing it for themselves not for anyone else.

Character is still a main part of Jen's practices but isn't really thrown out there, it's more for you to decide if character is what she's looking for. She teaches the drills to these girls the best that she can and since these girls are varsity they should expect to do what anybody would do if they don't understand something, ASK. At first it seemed weird to me because she's a coach and she should make sure everyone is on the same page but at the same time these girls went through tryouts and they're on the team because they understand the game and/or are good at certain positions. No girl out there is well rounded when it comes to softball or any sport. You'll always standout in something you are good in so when Jen has the girls do a drill and they don't speak up to say that they don't understand, she takes into consideration the girl's motive and if she's really committed to the team.

Both are different examples of character I was exposed to with my mentor and basketball coach. Coaches all think alike no matter the sport and within my first month, Character seems to be number one on the list.

"Character is a victory, not a gift."