WMU FOOTBALL

Allitisgoingtotakeforustoachieveourgoalsisto
perform
wellenoughtogetit
done.
Performanceisthekey
.Thecoachingtalentishereandtheplayerstalentishere,so
allwehavetodoispulltogetherandperformuptoourabilityfor9plusFridays.
Winningisnotcomplicated,peoplecomplicateit.Whenyoucompletelybuyintothis
belief,wewilltogethereliminateanyneedforexcusesforlosing,becausewewontlose
many.Firstofall,justbeinggoodenoughisnotgoodenoughforus.Apassionatedesireto
bethebestiswhathastodriveustoperformlikeachampion.Itiswithintheabilityofthis
team.Winningbyaccidentdoesntappealtomebecauseitneverhappensoftenenoughin
oneseasontogetyouintotheplayoffs.Havingthetalenttowinonlyprovidesuswitha
chancetowin,andthatsall.Itistakingadvantageofthattalentandutilizingittoperformwell
enoughthroughouttheseasonthatisgoingtobewhatwillultimatelymakeusallsuccessful.
Again,performanceisthekey.
ImveryconfidentwhenIsaythateveryoneonthisteamthinksheistalentedenough
tomakeawinningcontributiontoourseason.Soinactuality,allwehavetodoiscontrol
everythingwecanthatproduceswinningperformances.Ifweareastalentedaswethinkwe
are,thanallwehavetodoisdevelopandmaintainawinninglevelofmotivation.Now,whyis
motivationsoimportant?
Becausemotivationcontrolsperformance!
Teamsthatare
talentedenoughandmotivatedenough,
perform
wellenoughtowin.Thosethataretalented
enoughbutarenothighlymotivateddontperformwellenoughtobesuccessful.Thereisno
suchthingasapoorplayer.Theyareallgoodsomearejustbetterthanothers.Therefore,
wheneverythingelseisclosetobeingequal,themostmotivatedteamswin.This
psychologicaledgedriveseverythingthatittakestoperformatawinninglevel.

Winning is not complicated, People complicate it!

TheonethingIlearnedalongtimeagoiswinningmotivationcomesfromwithin.That
deepdesiretoexcelwasimplantedalongtimeago.Moreoftenthannot,itcamefromthe
home.ItdidntcomefromarewarditcamefromeitherMomorDad,astrongfamily
influence,orinsomecases,anegativeenvironment.Thatnegativeenvironmentwasntused
asatooltoblameforfailure,butasaninnerforcetopushtowardthedevelopmentofa
superiorattitudethatwouldultimatelydevelopawinninglevelofmotivation.
NowImgettingtowhatIreallybelieve.
Therearethreethingsthatdrivewinning
motivation
.1.Attitude2.Attitude3.AttitudeDoyougetthemessage?Attitudesarecritical
becausetheydirectlycontrollevelsofmotivation.WhydoIsaythis?BecauseIvenever
coachedanathletewithapoorattitudewhowasconsistentlyhighlymotivatedbutincontrast,
Ivecoachedmanywho,duetotheirattitudeswereextremelymotivated.consequently,once
theycoulddefineandmakeacommitment,alltheotherdecisionswereeasy.Theylivedtheir
commitments.
Attitudesarenothingmorethanhabitualwaysofthinking
.Theyareconditioned
waysofrespondingtoastimulus.Whatyouthinkofhowyoureactisallcontrolledbyyour
attitudes.Peopledonthavegoodattitudesbecausetheysucceed.Theysucceedbecause

oftheirgoodattitudes.Theysucceedbecauseoftheywaytheythink,andbecauseofthe
waytheyprioritizedtheirgoals.
Iwilltalkalotaboutcharacter.Good,winningcharacterrepresentsanaccumulation
ofmanypositiveattitudes.Poorcharacterpeoplehavepoorattitudes.
Goodcharacter
peoplehavegoodattitudesandtheyarentalwaysthemostgifted
.Theyjustplaybetter
anyway!
Thefinallinktothiswholethoughtisrecognizingwhatcontrolattitudes.Ithasalways
beenmybeliefthatattitudesarecontrolledbychoice.
Thegreatestpowerweallhaveis
thepowerofchoice.
Thepowertodeterminewhatweallowtoenterourmindsisthe
formationofourattitudes.

Thepowertodecidewhoisimportanttousisachoice!
Thepowertodecidewhatisimportanttousisachoice!
Thepowertoalignprioritiesisachoice!
Thepowertopulltogetherisachoice!
Thepowertocareaboutateammateisachoice!
Thepowertobeunselfishisachoice!
Thepowertowanttobeheldaccountableisachoice!
Thepowertoplaysmarterfootballisachoice!
Thepowertoplaytougherfootballisachoice!
Thepowertoplaybetterconditionedfootballisachoice!
Thepowertomakeacommitment,thenactuponitisachoice!
Thepowertoonlyallowpositivethingstoenteryourmindisachoicethegreatestchoicewe
allhave!
Thesearejustafewofthemanychoiceweallhavetheopportunitytomakethatdont
costadime!Allitcostsistheamountoftimeittakestoprioritizewhatitisyouwantoutof
life,thenthewisdomandselfdisciplinetomaketherightchoices!

WOLVESformulaforsuccess:
1stMaketherightchoices
2ndFormtherightattitudes
3rdDeveloptherightlevelofmotivation
4thPerformwellenoughtowin
5thAchampionshipteam

Smarter/Tougher/Better Conditioned
Inworkingtowardsettinggoalsandobjectivesaswellasorganizingaphilosophical
approachforafootballteamformanyyearsnow,IbelieveinwhatImabouttoputdownon
papermoretodaythaneverbefore.Why?ThemoreIexperienceeverythingthattakesplace
intodaysgame,theeasieritistodefinewhysometeamssucceedwhileothersfail.

Thenumberonethingwehavetodoisplaysmartfootball
.Wecannotbeatour
opponentsandourselvesonthesameday.Wevegottoboilthegamedowntowherethey
havetobeatusphysically.
Itisntamatterofbeingbetterthanyouropponenteveryweekanymoreitisamatter
ofplayingsmarter.Therearestatisticsonturnoverratioswillvalidatetheimportanceofthis.
Teamswithaturnoveradvantageofplusone=67%win
Teamswithaturnoveradvantageofplustwo=82%win
Teamswithaturnoveradvantageofplusthree=90%win
Teamswithaturnoveradvantageofplusfour=93%win
Teamswithaturnoveradvantageofplusfive=95%win
Teamswithaturnoveradvantageofplus6=100%win
NOTE:teamswithaturnoveradvantageofanykindwon79%ofthegamesplayed.

Anotherwaytoreallyimprovethissmartfootballphaseofthegameis
becomea
greattakeawayteam.
Wevegottobecomemoreaggressiveincreatingtheturnover.
Anotherrealedgecouldbegainedifwecouldaddthemustscorementalitytothetake
away.Whenateamreturnedapassinterceptionorfumbleforatouchdown,thatteamwon
72%ofthegamesplayed.
Wemustbeaggressivewhenwetaketheballaway.
Thepenaltyfactorisalsoaphaseofsmartfootball,thoughitisntasglaringlycritical
asthegiveaway/takeawayratioindeterminingtheoutcomeofagameoraseason.
Wemustnotcomplicateoureffortstowin.Therearenoexcusesforfalsestarts,
neutralzoneinfractions,delayofgamepenaltiesanddefensiveoffsides.Youneverknow
whichpenaltyisgoingtostopadriveorkeeponegoingfortheopponent.Allpenaltiescan
hurtyou,butpresnappenaltiesaretheworstbecausetheyarenotconsistentwithteamsthat
play
smart
football.
Nowthatweareallonthesamepageinbelievinghowimportantplayingsmartfootball
isandhowmuchofacontributionitwillmaketoourseason,weshouldgainabetter
understandingofhowimportantitistobecomeatougherteamaswell.Ateamsmentaland
physicaltoughnesshasalottodowithhowsmarttheycanplay.

Tougher
Firstoff,afootballteamstoughnessgoeswaybeyondtheirwillingnesstomake
contact.Whenateamisatrulytoughteam,theyplayuptotheirtalentlevelandbeyond,
consistentlythroughouttheseason.Theydontneedtheinspirationalplaytotakeplaceearly
inthegametoallthesuddenignitethemtoamoreintenseconfidentlevelofplay.Theystart
outatthatleveleachweekandonlygetbetterbecauseofthesmartplaystheyareableto
make.
Playerswhothinktheyaretoughplayersbecausetheycanreallyhitaremissing
thepoint.Youhavetobetoughenoughtomakethebigplayinthecriticaltimeofthe
game
suchasthebiginterception,thebigstripthatcreatesthefumble,thebig,toughcatch
inacrowd,thetoughrunonthirdandthree,thedifficult,touchthrowsfortouchdowns,justas
yougethit.Playersandteamsthatcaneliminatepenaltiesintheverycriticaltimesinagame
aredemonstratingaformoftoughnessthatgoeswaybeyondjusthittingsomeone.Almostall

playerswillhityou,somebetterthanothers,buttheywillallhit.Toreallydistinguishyourself
astough,youmustgowaybeyondthecontactdefinitionoftoughness.
Askyourselfthis:
Howtoughareyouwhenoneplayyouknockthehelloutofaguy
andontheverynextplayyougiveupatouchdownpassbecauseyoublowacoverage?You
arentverytoughatall!
Wheredoyoudevelopthistoughness?
Intheoffseasonprogram,therunning
program,andduringtrainingcamp.Inotherwords,youworkyourbuttoffineveryphaseof
thegamewithoutconcernforhowmuchtimeittakes,howmucheffortyouhavetoputin,or
whatsacrificesyouhavetomake.Youdontbitchaboutit,youtakeprideinthefactthatthe
priceyouarepayingisgreaterthanthosewhoaretryingtobeatyoueachweek,orwhowant
totakeyourspotontherostereachday.Soonerorlateryou,theindividualplayer,andyou,
theteam,aregoingtobeheldresponsibleifyouarenttoughenough,youarenttough
enough.
Itwillultimatelyshowindividuallyandcollectively.
Thisattitudeoftoughnesswillnothappenbyaccident.Itwillhappenwhenyou
makeithappen
.Itwillhappenwhentheleadershipstepsupandshutsuponthebitcher,
thebellyacherthatisalwayslookingtomovetheaccountabilitytosomeoneelse.Itwill
happenwhenyouworkthroughfatigue,bumpsandbruises,longpracticeroutines,meetings,
hotandhumiddays,repetitiousdrills,andemotionalsetbacks.Itwillhappenwhenyouare
trulyenoughtocareaboutsomeoneelseasmuchasyoucareaboutyourself.Itwillhappen
whenyoutrustyourleadership.Thistoughattitudemustcomefromwithinthisteamright
now.
ItcanandwillbecomeaWOLVESpersonalitytrait
.Nowisthetimeforeachand
everyoneofyoutostepupandassumetheirshareoftheresponsibilityforthisteam.
TheWolveswontcarewhoweplay,theWolveswontcarewhereweplay,the
Wolveswontcarewhenweplay,
theWolveswillonlycareabouthowweplay!
Wewill
developintoateamthatnotonlyplayshard,butalsoplaysasmartandtrulytoughbrandof
football.Itwillincludeafinisheveryplayattitude,wellbeyondthatofanyopponent.
WEwill
takethedefinitionoftoughnesswaybeyondourselfimposedlimits.
LetmesummarizetheWolvestoughnessphilosophybysayingatrueWOLVES
footballteamisonethatplaysasiftheyhavealreadygainedtheadvantageofabig
momentumswingallthetime.Thishastobethedesiredpersonalitytraitofourteam.
Momentumistrust,momentumisconfidence,momentumisbeliefmomentumisasmart,
toughattitudethatisreflectedinhowweplay.
Momentum

isnotcoincidence.
Momentumisthedirectresultofeveryone
exercisingtheirmindsandemotionstogetherasoneteam,meetingaftermeeting,walk
throughafterwalkthrough,practiceafterpractice,playafterplay,gameaftergame,and
seasonafterseason.ManyofyouhavealreadyinvestedseveralyearsintodevelopingwhatI
amtalkingabout.Whynotgoaheadandcompletethecrusadebytrulydoingeverythingyou
cantobecomeasmarter,tougher,playerandteam.Thisprocesswillelevateeachandevery
oneofyoutothehighestlevelyouveeverperformed.
Wecannotsitbackandwaitforouropponentstosuddenlyinspireustoplay
smarter,tougher,andharderfootballduringagamewhenthatlevelofperformance
existswithinusallpriortokickoff.

Better conditioned
Incontrasttothepast,itisverydifficulttooutworkandoutconditionanopponent
duringtheoffseason.Todayeveryoneisinvestingalotmoretimeandeffortintheir
offseasonroutines.Therewasatimewhenplayersusedtrainingcamptogetpreparedfor
theseasonbypracticingthemselvesintoshape.Now,therearesomuchmoretogainby
playingbetterandlonger,theoddguyoutistheplayernottalentedenoughornotdedicated
enoughtoproperlyprepareintheoffseason.Anotherdimensionhasalsobeenaddedtothe
offseasonprograms.Playersmustcontinuallystrivetodotheirjobsbetterorsomeoneelse
willbedoingitforthem!
Youmustrecognizethatitis
criticaltostrivetogainanedgeatthistime
.Why?A
numberoftimesIhavehadplayerscomeoffthefieldandstatetheiropponentwasreally
suckingforair.Thisoccurredasearlyasthemiddleofthethirdquarter.Thisinitself
indicatestomethatitis
stillpossibletobebetterthanthebest
ifwecontinuetostriveto
beamongtheupperecheloninoffseasonandpreseasonpreparation.
Ourphilosophyisbasedupondevelopingstaminathatwillallowustoworkatatempo
thatissuperiortoouropponents,andatathesametime,recovertoplayaquickexplosive
leveloffootballonFriday.
Ifyoudontdevelopthisdeeperlevelofstamina,yournumber
oneconcernisbeingfreshenoughtoplaynotplayingbetter.
Asthelongseasongoeson,youweardown,youdontgetbetteryougetby!You
dontwanttobetheplayerwhohastosubstitutehimselfoutatacriticaltimeduringagame
becauseyouneedarest.Youwantyouropponenttobethatguybecause
youare
physicallywhippinghisbutt!
Wemustwinthefourthquarter!
Irealizethereasonthegreatteamsarestrongersecondhalfteamscouldbedueto
thefacttheyarethebetterteamsperiod!Justrememberthis:greatteamsplayedothergreat
teamsontheirwaytopostseasoncompetition.Therefore,eachteamdemonstratedexcellent
staminaagainstthebestaswell.Anotherfactortoconsideristheseteamscouldhavebeen
backingoffinthefourthquarterbecausetheyalreadyhadadominatinglead.
Thefactstill
remains,theywerestrongsecondhalfteamsthatplayedbeyondanormal9game
scheduletogetwheretheyendedup.
Wemustcontinuetostrivetobethe
bestconditionedteamintheleague,and
thereisnoeasyway
.
Settingprioritiesinlifeiscriticalineverythingyoudo.Youarecompetingwithgood
playersandmostofthemwanttobejustassuccessfulasyou.Weallwantthesame
rewards,buttoensureyouhaveashotatsuccess,youmustbewillingtopaythepricein
advance.
Remember,ifyouarentpayingthepricerightnowtobethebestconditionedathlete
youhavetheabilitytobe,youwontbebythetimewelineupandplayouropener.Thereare
alwaysafewwhowontpaytheprice,butwanttoreapalltherewards.Theyjustwant
someoneelsescontributiontomakethedifference.
WEALLHAVETOBELIEVETHETIMEISNOW!!!
Talenthasalwayssupersededconditioning,butwhenitcomesdowntobeingvery
close,theplayerswhobestexemplifyourPhilosophySmarterTougherBetterConditioned
willbetheplayerswhosucceed.

Commitmentputsorderinlife.
Commitmentestablishesvalues.
Commitmentsetsyourpriorities.
Commitmenttestsallyourskills.
Commitmentmakeseverythingyouredoingworthwhile.

Therewillbeadecisivemomentapointofnoreturnwhenyoudecidewhetherornot
youregoingtomakethisdeepcommitment.Thedecisionmaybeaveryhardoneforsome
ofyoutomake,butifyoudomakethiscommitmentasateam,alotofotherthingsiwllfall
intoplaceandmakesense:
1. Youwillbecomemorefocused.Nothingelsewillbeasimportanttoyou.Youwillnot
driftyouwillmaintainselfdiscipline!
2. Yourtimewillbecomemorepurposeful.Youwillbecomelesstolerantofthosewho
wanttodistractyou.Youwillleadratherthanfollow.
3. Youwillrallypeopletoyourcause.Yourownpersonalenergyanddrivewillbecome
morevisibletoyourteammatesandopponents.
Youwilldrawpeopletoyourcause,toourcause.Youwillbecomealeader!

Toalargeextent,
youare
ateamis
whatyoubelieve
.Ateamcandowhatthey
sincerelybelievetheycando.Itistimetostartbelieving.Inordertobeabletofollowthrough
andendureversusthesetbacksthatdooccurandwilloccur,youmusthaveadeepbeliefin
yourselfandyourteammates.Thisistheonlychancewehave.
Somewherealongtheway,youhavetostartthinkingofyourselfandyourteammates
asmorethanjustanothercompetitor.Youhaveto
seeyourselfandyourteammatesas
winners!
Yourselfimagehastobestrong,positive,confident,andoptimisticbeforeyoucan
beatthebestonaconsistentbasis.
Thecartdoesntcomebeforethehorse!Youdontbeatthebestthendevelopthe
selfimageandconfidencethatmakesithappen.Youdeveloptheselfimageandconfidence
bytrustingyourself,yourteammatesandcoachingstaff,thenthewinswillcome.Thewins
dontcreateselfimages,theyonlyreinforcethem!
Winningisahabitthatisonlyattainedthroughphysicalandmentaleffort.Nothingwill
replacethiskindofdeepcommitment.
Playersandteamswithwelldevelopedselfimagesarestandoutsbecausetheybegin
tolivetheirselfportraits.Theycarrywiththemaclear,fullyrealized,vividimageofwhothey
arenow,blendedwithwhattheywanttobeinthefuture.Thereisnothingwrongwithwanting
tobeagreatteamaslongasweallknowwhathastobedone.Thisiswhereallwinning
imagesdevelop!
Wecanexpecttobeatanyoneweplay!Why,becauseyourcoachingstaffandmost
ofyouhavemadethecommitmentsnecessarytogetitdone!Ifthereisamentalblock,we
getoveritbydoingit!
Acceptthefactitisgoingtobetough,thendoitanyway!
The
oddsmaybeagainstuswhenyouevaluatepaststatistics,butpastnumbersonlyevaluate
pastactions.Theydontcontrolfutureperformances.Everythingwillbebaseduponwhatwe
doinpreparationnowandthenhowwetakeadvantageofthatpreparation.

Performanceisnotbasedupontheodds.Performancechangestheodds,andthatis
whywecanneverbelievetheoddsareagainstus!
ITISTIME!WHYNOTTHEWOLVES?

Therearenosecretstosuccess:dontwastetimelookingforthem.Successisthe
resultofperfection,hardwork,learningfromfailure,loyaltytothoseforwhomyouworkand
persistence.
GeneralColinPowell