Chapter 7
Aphorisms for Athletes
Pedagogy of Personal Leadership &
Character Development
EXAMPLE #3
I noticed these axioms while substituting for one of the football coaches, who was also a weightlifting instructor. As I walked around the weight training space, I saw the following dictums displayed on the walls of the room.
"A man's finest hour ... is when he lies exhausted on the field of battle victorious."
—Vince Lombardi
"Think Big... Believe Big... Act Big... And the results will be big."
—Anonymous
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit."
—Aristotle
"Success isn't a destination, it's a journey."
—Anonymous
As I read and reflected on these quotes spread throughout different parts of the Campbell High School weight room, I grew curious about the impact these quotes were having (or not having) on the students and student-athletes who saw and read them during their weightlifting workouts and routines. With the permission of one of the football coaches, I surveyed and/or interviewed 39 of Campbell's football players.
This survey, and its results (in bold), can be found below.
Question 1: Look around at the motivational quotes on the walls in this weight room. Do you ever read and/or think about these quotes? (Circle one answer)
YES (39) NO (0)
Question 2: If YES, then how often? (Circle one answer)
Every day (21). Once a week (14). Once, then I ignore them after that (4)
Question 3: On a scale of 1-10, how much do inspiring quotes motivate you to be a better student, athlete, and/or person? 1-3: Motivates me a little. 4-7: Motivates me somewhat. 8-10: Motivates me a lot. (Circle a number)
1: 0 votes 2: 0 votes 3: 1 vote 4: 1 vote 5: 2 votes
6: 6 votes 7: 11 votes 8: 6 votes 9: 7 votes 10: 5 votes
Question 4: Which quote motivates you the most?
Lombardi Quote...................4 votes
Anonymous Quote #1..........4 votes
Aristotle Quote.....................6 votes
Anonymous Quote #2..........11 votes
"Hard work pays off"...........3 votes (1)
Question 5: When your coach gives you a motivational speech (or pep talk) before or after a practice or game, how motivated are you by what he says? Circle a number (on a scale from 1-10).
1-3 = not very motivated 4-7 = somewhat motivated 8-10 = very motivated
1 (0 votes) 2 (0 votes) 3 (1 vote) 4 (2 votes) 5 (3 votes)
6 (2 votes) 7 (4 votes) 8 (11 votes) 9 (9 votes) 10 (7 votes)
Question 6: When your principal, Mr. Arnson, says his famous lines, "Make good choices, do the right thing, and have a great day at Campbell," every morning during the announcements, do you mostly think it is: (Circle two (2) items). Number of student votes in parentheses.
Cool (3 votes) Repetitive (13 votes) Sets positive tone for the day (19 votes) Goofy (0 votes)
Inspirational (4 votes) Annoying (9 votes) Shows that he cares (13 votes) Funny (1 votes)
Four positive interpretations (39 total votes) Four (4) negative interpretations (23 total votes)
Question 7: On a scale of 1-10, with one being not at all and 10 being a great deal, how much does Mr. Arnson's daily message influence you to make wise decisions in your schoolwork and life? (Circle one) Number of student votes are in parentheses.
1 (3 votes). 2 (4 votes). 3 (2 votes). 4 (4 votes). 5 (2 votes)
6 (9 votes). 7 (6 votes). 8 (3 votes). 9 (3 votes). 10 (3 votes)
Note: In an effort to maintain the authenticity of the answers, student responses below are produced verbatim as they were written down, including errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
"I was about to get in a fight, but I thought of my team and brothers. so I reconcidered and made a good choice because of what Mr. Arnson said."
"I was about to skip school and go hang out w/ friends then Mr. Arnson's words went through my mind so I decided to stay."
"I was with friends. They wanted to break something. But I stopped them."
"My coach told me 'you don't always like what you half to do,' so I returned to class."
"It just remines me to keep my head on straight and make good choices."
"Hard work pays off because it makes me work harder."
"Coach told me to keep trying and stay strong. this helped me to meet my goals!"
"Make good choices do the right thing have a great day at Campbell."
"When [Coach] tells us that we are a family get our grades and stuff it motivates me to do bettr."
"When we lost a game a sign said dont let todays failures be tomorrows downfalls."
"When ever people try to pull me in bad or negative situation"
"When I had to pull my grades up to play"
"When I hear the words hard work, pay off, it motivates me to do better in my life and to work hard in everything I do and to be successful in what I do."
"In a race, a 5k I had Basically gave up then my old XC coach told me I Better Beat her so I run more and won."
It is clear from the research data presented above that the influence wielded upon Campbell High School football players by Principal Arnson, their coaches, and the motivational quotes in the weight room was overwhelmingly positive. While it did not surprise me that players were indeed positively impacted by these leadership figures and mantras, I was surprised by how significantly the results tilted in the positive direction.
BOTTOM LINE: SAL-oriented leadership and other, related communications of all kinds really do make a difference in the lives of those who are impacted and influenced thereby, and that difference is overwhelmingly positive.
- What aphorisms, mantras, parables, quotes, or stories have positively influenced your life?
- How might you more productively make use of aphorisms, mantras, parables, quotes, or stories to do better and be better?
- How might you more productively make use of aphorisms, mantras, parables, quotes, or stories to influence others to do better and be better?
—Dr. JJ
Author's Note: This is the 499th Blog Post Published by Freedom Focused LLC since November 2013 and the 286th consecutive weekly blog published since August 31, 2020.
Click HERE for a compete listing of the other 498 FF Blog Articles
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Click HERE to access the FULL TEXT of Dr. JJ's Psalms of Life: A Poetry Collection
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