Want to be a great athlete?

Don’t settle for effort that is “good enough” or you will let yourself down.

Want to be a great teammate?

Don’t settle for effort that is “good enough” or you will let your teammates down.

Want to be a great student?

Don’t settle for effort that is “good enough” or you will fall short of who you could become.

Want to be a great coach?

Don’t settle for effort that is “good enough” or you will fail to help your athletes reach their greatest potential.

There’s a difference between setting high standards for effort and demanding perfection. You don’t need to be a perfectionist to be great at any of those roles above. But if you want to be great in any of those roles, you can’t settle for giving less than your best effort.

With great effort, mistakes will still happen. But that is part of the process of improving by giving great effort while doing challenging things. With poor effort, mistakes are not only likely, but they are also likely to happen repeatedly.

As we say in our Champions Code: Give your best effort, every time. Be the best teammate for everyone in the group. Be respectful. Respect yourself. Respect your teammates. Respect your coaches. Respect the training facility and equipment.

“Champions don’t decide their future. Champions decide their habits. And their habits decide their future.” – Kevin Eastman

The medicine balls aren’t the point. They are a symptom and a metaphor. And that’s why we emphasize something like this as a teachable moment with our athletes. Not to call people out, but to lift and level everyone up.