Standards & Thermostats

You'd be amazed how many emotionally immature coaches there are in sports.
(Or maybe you wouldn't.)

Half the work of working with young pros is helping them realize: It's not personal.

The psychological games? The mixed messages?
That's not about the athlete's skill or future.
It's about the coach's own insecurity.

That's when we talk about standards–and thermostats.

When everything around you feels unstable or reactive, you need something stable and chosen.

A standard is a promise you make to yourself.
A line you don't cross and one you insist on rising to.
It's not what you hope to do once conditions are perfect.
It's what you refuse to compromise, even when they never are.

I tell them: Be a thermostat, not a thermometer.
Don't reflect the temperature. Set it.

Standards aren't about being better than anyone else.
They're about becoming someone you can count on.

Especially when the environment (your boss) is unstable.
Your standard can be the one thing that isn't.