The Value of Passion

Our ability can be developed, our performance can be improved, but our passion is what truly defines us!

    The great challenge for me when working with a new team is seeing the players that truly have a passion to play. What separates the best players in the world from the rest is their passion for the game. It is this passion that has helped them develop the ability needed to make it to the top. We can argue all we want about the opportunities they have, but ability is only developed when we are truly passionate and committed to our endeavors. This is not to say that players at the lower levels do not have passion, its just they never quite had enough to get to the top. If we had of wanted it badly enough we could have all got there, but somewhere along the way the sacrifices were too big, and our passion was just too small.
  
   Above all, we get to where we want to be in life through the passion that we have. If our passion is strong enough it will lead us to our goals. If our passion wavers then we will not attain the goals we set.
   
    Many people try and determine their passion by aggression or frustration, outwardly showing they are dissatisfied with the results of whatever they or other people are doing. But this is not all that passion entails. Passion is a relentless pursuit of your goals. It is not about getting angry or frustrated, but about having a firm belief in what you are doing, and a true love of what you are pursuing. True passion is not about what we are working when other people are working, it is how hard we are willing to work when nobody is watching. The famed University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Women's Soccer Coach Anson Dorrance sums it up well for me:

"The vision of a champion is someone who is bent over, drenched in sweat at the point of exhaustion, when no one else is watching."

Anson Dorrance- Passion is Key

       In order to be a champion you have to have an unrelenting passion and desire for what you are doing. This cannot be ignited by anybody else, but must be ingrained within you.

    Take a look around your team and the passionate players are clear to see. They are the ones first to practice and the last to leave, that always put in 100%, and the ones that though you might not know it are working hard behind the scenes to make themselves better. We do not improve by practicing or working hard for one and a half to two hours a day. The players that have made it to the very top have put in 10,000 hours or more to get them to where they are (Malcolm Gladwell-Outliers). This means time out on the training field when nobody else is there, pushing yourself to do what nobody else is willing to do, and spending time studying exactly what it is you are trying to achieve. If you do not have passion the fact is you just will not follow through with these things.  

Malcolm Gladwell- Outliers

 
   The same can be said for coaches. To be a coach you must not only be passionate, but you must also recruit highly motivated and passionate individuals. Your team must be a reflection of the passion that you have for the game. Again, as with players, it is easy to see those coaches that have passion and those who are merely going through the motions. There is a lot that goes into making a successful coach, but without a passion for the job the other factors become obsolete. Coaches must spend time studying methods, refining philosophies, and putting together the necessary parts to be a successful coach. It is very easy to get by in the coaching world, but it is very difficult to be successful, and without passion it is impossible.

   Do not be scared to show your passion. There is nothing wrong with showing people how much you care for something. Win lose or draw, Succeed or fail,  I guarantee passion will be the deciding factor.

    Passion does not define who you are, but it will define where you end up being!