Character

1. Character Responsibility Courage Perseverance Empathy

2. Character Self-Knowledge is the basis for your character. Once you understand yourself, then you can write your own character. – Coach Hamm Take the first step in developing character. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step. - Martin Luther King “Football is like life — it requires perseverance, self-denial, hard work, sacrifice, dedication and respect for authority.”Vince Lombardi, American Football Coach “Believe deep down in your heart that you’re destined to do great things.” Joe Paterno – Coach; Penn State Football Football coaches spend a lot of time talking about the word “character”. A great word, no doubt, but what does it really mean? Then throw in the words “character player” and what do you have? Your character is who you are, what you believe in, and how others perceive you. Your character is not situational and whatever your challenges faced, good or bad, your character should always be the same. When things are going your way it is easy to do the right thing. However when faced with adversity, do you react the same way? That is the true test of character. “Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.” – John Wooden

3. Coaches and Character Your character is like a house being built one brick and one board at a time. The stronger the material you use, the stronger the models you use, the stronger the foundation, the stronger the house. Just as true, if you start taking away the bricks, the boards, then all of a sudden you have no house. So start building your character house right now. Coaches use the term “character builder” in many different situations. They ask you to run 40 sprints or perform 4 quarters of up-downs to “build your character”. Great to do that hard work and you will get in shape, but you will not build character from doing conditioning. Character is built up over time. The role of coaches in helping you to build character is to place you in situations where you make your own decision into doing the right thing. When you falter (and you will) it is our job to guide you back. Character takes years to develop and requires the help of many people including your parents, teachers, and coaches. However the most important person in developing character is you. “In the game of life it's a good idea to have a few early losses, which relieves you of the pressure of trying to maintain an undefeated season.” - Coach Hamm Look at the house above, falling down, no boards, no foundation. Below is the house built on the rock of character.

4. Character and Education “Education comes from living life, following passions, accessing information, observing, reflecting, and being inspired by wise and knowledgeable teachers and coaches.” – Anonymous “Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something.” – Plato The Greatest Teacher in Football: Vince Lombardi Football as a game provides you with the perfect opportunity for you to develop the character qualities you need to succeed in the game of life. The first step is to understand your priorities. Family, school and football in that order must be your rules. Nothing in your life is more important than family and it must always be your first priority. Never underestimate the value of education. No matter the career you choose, you need to get the knowledge that only school can bring. A good education also allows you to think clearly and develop your own wisdom. Both knowledge and wisdom are cornerstones of character where you can start building your house. “Without knowledge, I could not play the piano, without wisdom I could not play the music” - Mozart

5. Character and Responsibility “It's hard to beat a person who never gives up.”-- Babe Ruth “There are only two options regarding commitment. You're either IN or you are OUT. There is no such thing as life in-between.” – Coach Hamm "When you make it important, it will be.” - Coach Hamm Once you have decided to make football a priority, then you must make a commitment to being the best football player you can be. Just making that one commitment is a major part of developing character. To play football well, it is very important that you act responsibly. Responsible players in football, work hard every minute, treat teammates, coaches and officials with respect. You have a responsibility to listen and learn and try as hard as you can. Finally you have to not be afraid to fail. After all you can’t learn to get back up if you don’t fall down a few times. How you carry out your responsibilities is what develops your character. If you put the team ahead of yourself, if you are humble in victory and courageous in defeat, if you give your best in every situation, then you are responsible. Remember that nothing worth doing is easy.

6. Character, Courage, and Strength “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” -Martin Luther King Jr. The road to greatness passes through the town of adversity – Coach Hamm Part of your character is courage. Courage has many forms. Physical courage is trying as hard as you can in all situations and pushing yourself to new heights. This is the only way you will learn a new skill or develop your conditioning level. Intellectual courage is the will to overcome fear. It does not mean never being afraid, being afraid is normal, especially when placed in a situation when the threat of physical violence is real on every play. Intellectual courage is the one you need most in football. Develop your intellectual courage by realizing you are protected, you are supported by your coaches and teammates. Once you realize that you can play this game, then you will have developed intellectual courage. If you can develop the courage to overcome your fears, then you can add one more pillar in your character.

7. Character, Courage, and Strength "Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength“ -Arnold Schwarzenegger “It takes more courage to reveal insecurities than to hide them, more strength to relate to people than to dominate them, more ‘manhood’ to abide by thought-out principles rather than blind reflex. Toughness is in the soul and spirit, not in muscles and an immature mind.” -Alex Karras Courage and strength go hand in hand. Not the physical strength that makes you run faster, lift more, but the true strength of a person who has the ability to overcome fear and has a strength of spirit. Remember that courage and strength is not force, rather they are part of the bedrock of your character. If you are able to follow the right path using your courage and strength; then and only then are you strong. “Success is never final, failure is never fatal. It's courage that counts.” – Coach Hamm “The only true strength is a strength that people do not fear” – Tao Te Ching “Strength is resistance to fear, mastery of fear not absence of fear. “-Mark Twain

8. Character and Perseverance “The difference between a successful person and others is not more strength, not more knowledge, but rather it is more will.” – Vince Lombardi “Great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance.” – John Wooden Perseverance is the ability to keep on working and striving every day no matter what the outside pressures from outside. It means never losing sight of your goals, win, lose or draw. Perseverance is developing your will. There are times in football when the odds of outward success are simply too great to overcome. It is at these moments that you discover the power of your will. Can you stand up to inevitable defeat but continue to struggle? Can you force yourself towards excellence even when you know others will be better? Can you find inner satisfaction even in defeat? Perseverance also means that not only do you keep working through your own goals, but you must also build up a sense of excellence by helping those around you be their best. If you can do all that and not fall into the “all about me” trap, you will be rewarded with a sense of team like no other.

9. Character and Empathy “You just try to be nice to everybody and treat them all the same. Treat them how you would want to be treated.” - Tim Tebow – QB University of Florida, Heisman Trophy winner Responsibility, Courage, Perseverance are 3 very important foundations of character, and you need all three. But if you don’t have the fourth, then the entire house will fall down. The final piece to the puzzle is empathy. Empathy in football? Feelings in football? Say it isn’t so, Coach! I believe it is the most important part of your character. Without empathy, you are simply a cut-out with no feelings, other than for yourself. Empathy is the ability to understand the feelings of others and to celebrate the joy of others or help a teammate when things are going wrong. Developing a strong sense of empathy allows you to become a total team player, putting the needs of the team (others) ahead of yourself. Ask not what your teammates can do for you. Ask what you can do for your teammates. -Magic Johnson

10. Character and Empathy Barack Obama has stated that there is an “empathy deficit”. The society we live in seems to be based on “me” rather than “we”. At our level, football can provide us with a place to practice empathy at every practice and every game. Remember to always ask: “What can I do for you?” rather than “What is in it for me?”. “We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.” -- Winston Churchill “You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you.” – Mitch Albom Empathy is hard to develop because it requires that you give of yourself with no expectation of return. Our society is based on transactions. If I do this then I will get that. So even when we do good things, there is an expectation of return. We become surrounded by the walls of our own interests. The only way to break out of this imaginary jail is to give without thought of receiving anything in return. True unselfishness. Unselfishness is the cornerstone of successful teams and by extension a successful life. If you accept that unselfishness is the only way to be part of a successful team, then it is important to put the team needs ahead of your own. It can be as simple as understanding your role on the team and playing to the best of your ability. Your level of empathy shows when celebrating as well. Do you celebrate the accomplishments of your teammates with them or do you secretly feel bad that it is not your own personal triumph? Do you pick-up your teammates even when hurting yourself?

11. Character and Team "Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence“ -Vince Lombardi “A team with a star player is a good team, but a team without one is a great team.” – Anonymous "The ratio of We's to I's is the best indicator of the development of a team." – Anonymous Build your character and build your team. There you have it. Remember that character is developed over time and sometimes you will falter, when you do, take a moment to remember the four pillars of your character: Responsibility Courage/Strength Perseverance Empathy These all must be built on the bedrock of family, knowledge, and wisdom. "We may have all come on different ships, but we're in the same boat now.” - Martin Luther King, Jr. “You must learn how to hold a team together. You must lift some men up, calm others down, until finally they’ve got one heartbeat. Then you’ve got yourself a team.” Bear Bryant – College Football Coach and Winner of 6 National Titles