March Madness and Love Tough
As the NCAA basketball tournament gets on its way there is no better topic to discuss then the relationship between the coaches and the players. We often think most coaches lead with tough love, but in reality many of todays coaches love tough. Coaches today look to build relationships and invest in their players as people. They earn the right to coach hard and bring the best out in them. As educators we need to adopt a similar mentality. Invest in our students. Create those relationships and earn the right to teach them.
I'm Brian Martin, a second grade teacher who find so much joy and fulfillment in what I do. Being in the classroom for almost 20 years, I know all about the time, effort and energy that you are continuously pouring into those you serve. That's why each week, I'm going to bring you an inspiring message to give you a little joy, and help fill your cup back up. Thank you for being here. And welcome to the teaching champions podcast. What's going on everybody? I hope this finds you striving and thriving in doing absolutely amazing. And today, I want to talk about March Madness in love tough. And I said that crack, not tough love. I want to talk about love. Tough. Now, if you're a basketball fan like myself, March Madness, by far is the absolute best time of the year. There's basketball all weekend long, non stop obsessed galore. It doesn't get any better, especially this year, because the university in my hometown St. Bonaventure University, they have a spot in the tournament we play on Saturday. And hopefully, we get past the first round, and we'll we plan on Monday. Now, I've been going to Bonnie's games since I was a little kid, my dad and I, we've been sitting in the same seats for over 30 years. And I grew up about a mile away from campus. And when I was in middle school, sometimes in early November, I would race home, as soon as school got out, I would jump on my bike, I'd ride down to campus, and I would go and I would watch the men's team practice. And this young kid, I would sit there, and I would watch these coaches get after the players. And at times, I would be amazed at the intensity of the coaches and how they would get after these athletes. And then I would go to the games. And I would watch that same intensity that they came at the athletes with. They were showing them tough love, they were being firm with them, they were being tough on these players, they're holding them to a higher standard to get the best out of them. Now, I think today's coaches have adapted, how they approach coaching. But you're still gonna see if you watch the tournament, you're still gonna see instances where the coaches are getting after their players. But I was listening to a conversation the other day between john Gordon, who's a thought leader in the positive leadership field, and coach BUZZ WILLIAMS, who's the head men's basketball coach at Texas a&m. And Coach Williams, he brought up an interesting point. He said, I don't show my players tough love. I love them tough. And he elaborate. And he said, I love them so much. And I invest in them so much to the point where I've earned the right to push them and help them be great. Now think about that. It's not that old school tough love, where we're gonna push them, push them push, where we're gonna hold the players accountable and ride them until they get the desired results. Loving tough, they're still going to set the bar high. They're still going to hold the players accountable. They're still going to push those players outside of their comfort zone. But it's about leading with love. And it's about investing in those players not just as basketball players. But more importantly, as people letting these young athletes know how much they care about them, helping these players see things in themselves that they don't even see yet. Some of these players have been elite basketball their whole life. And they've woven their whole identity in basketball. And these coaches are there to let them know. Yeah, basketball is a big piece of who you are. But it's not all of you. And when you've invested in others day in and day out over a period of time, you earn their trust and loyalty. And then you've earned that right to get after them and push them If you're watching a game this weekend, and you see a tense moment between a coach and a player, understand that the level of investment that many of these high level coaches have poured into their athletes has given them the ability to coach them like that. Because they invested with love, they earned the right to get after those players, and they earned it with those players. Now, what's this have to do with school? Love Your champions tough. They need to be held accountable, they need structure. And it's some point or another, many of them are gonna need someone to light a fire underneath them. It's human nature to become comfortable, and not push ourselves. So we need people in our lives who are going to nudge us past that comfort zone. But do all this by leading with love. There's no doubt in my mind that you guys do this anyways. But invest in them. Invest in all of them from the ones that you have a strong connection with, to the quiet ones, to the ones who sometimes make your blood pressure rise. And that invest in them, learn about them take an interest in them, there's so much more to these scholars than just their GPA. So pour love into them care into them. And if you do that, you earn that right to push them to hold them accountable to correct them and guide them. You know that famous quote that we've all heard, but there's so much truth to it. No one cares how much you know, until they know how much you care. So be that person who sees what they can be in love them tough. Thank you so much for listening, I truly appreciate your time. And if you could like review, or share this podcast with someone who you think would benefit from it, I truly appreciate it. We're all here to serve each other. And always remember, it doesn't matter. If you're from rural America, to urban America, to Canada, to Spain to Bahrain. We're all on that same team. We're all on that same mission. And we're always better together. And my challenge for you this week is to step back. Do a little reflection. What relationships in your life right now? Do you need to invest more into? Because relationships, they're a funny thing. Sometimes we can get comfortable in them. And we forget that to keep a strong relationship going. It takes continuous investment continuously pouring into each other. Life happens and we forget that sometimes. So assess, take a step back. What are the relationships right now this week that you need to invest a little bit more. Keep being amazing, my friends. And as we go out into this week, may you step into your strength, may you step into your shine, and let's build these champions up. Have a great week, everybody.
