This was a speech I gave in my Toastmasters Public Speaking class yesterday but
I thought it had some good life lessons for business and teamwork for my blog
as well so I attached the speech below.
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That is all!
IF YOU BLINKED YOU MAY HAVE MISSED IT. THAT’S HOW QUICKLY EVENTS OCCUR IN LIFE…THE ONE THAT I AM REFERRING TO IS WHEN THE OHIO STATE BUCKEYES MEN’S BASKETBALL TEAM LOST TO KENTUCKY IN THE SWEET 16 A FEW WEEKS AGO ENDING A REMARKABLE SEASON. THESE TWO GREAT TEAMS WENT BACK AND FORTH ALL NIGHT AND OHIO STATE HAD JUST TIED IT…KENTUCKY CAME DOWN WITH FIVE SECONDS LEFT…YOU BLINKED PERHAPS…AND HIT A SHOT AND THE GAME WAS OVER. OHIO STATE GOES HOME AND KENTUCKY GOES ON…THAT IS MARCH MADNESS. TODAY I WILL TELL YOU WHY YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE BLINKED AND YOU SHOULD HAVE WATCHED THAT TEAM ALL YEAR LONG BECAUSE YOU MAY NEVER HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO ROOT FOR A BETTER “TEAM”, AND I EMPHASIZE THE WORD TEAM AGAIN, IN YOUR LIFE UNLESS YOU ARE VERY LUCKY.
THE OHIO STATE BUCKEYES MEN’S BASKETBALL TEAM CAME INTO LAST YEAR WITH PRETTY HIGH EXPECTATIONS. THEY HAD RETURNING LEADERSHIP IN GUYS LIKE DAVID LIGHTY AND JON DIEBLER PLUS HIGHLY RECRUITED FRESHMAN SUCH AS JARED SULLINGER AND DESHAUN THOMAS. THEY WERE RANKED IN THE TOP FIVE TO START THE SEASON. THEIR FIRST TEST WAS AT HIGHLY RANKED FLORIDA ON THE ROAD AND THIS WAS THE FIRST EXAMPLE AND TIME THAT I SAW THIS WAS A “TEAM.” WHEN YOU BRING IN HIGHLY TOUTED FRESHMAN RECRUITS OFTEN TIMES THEY ARE IN IT FOR THEMSELVES AND TO MOVE QUICKLY TO THE NBA. WATCHING THE FLORIDA GAME I SAW A PASSION AND INTENSITY FROM JARED SULLINGER THAT MADE ME REALIZE IN NANOSECONDS WE WERE NOT DEALING WITH ONE OF THOSE “PRIMA DONNAS.” JARED WAS HERE TO PLAY BALL AND BE A TEAM PLAYER AND HE HAD A WIN AT ALL COSTS ATTITUDE ABOUT HIM THAT RESONATED THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE TEAM. OHIO STATE STOMPED FLORIDA THAT NIGHT ON THE ROAD, THAT FLORIDA TEAM WENT TO WIN THEIR CONFERENCE AND ADVANCE TO THE ELITE EIGHT IN THE TOURNAMENT.
THE NEXT TIME I SAW THE “TEAM” COME OUT WAS WHEN COACH THAD MATTA STARTED GETTING INTO SYNC WITH HIS ROTATION AND MINUTES OF HIS GUYS. ONE THING ABOUT THAD IS HE RUNS A THIN BENCH AND DOESN’T PLAY A TON OF GUYS. DALLAS LAUDERDALE HAD BEEN OUR STARTING CENTER THE PAST THREE YEARS, WHILE NOT INCREDIBLE DALLAS DID A DECENT JOB OF WHAT HIS ROLE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE. DALLAS’S MINUTES THIS YEAR SHRANK INCREDIBLY FROM THE WORD GO…THERE WAS SO MUCH OTHER TALENT AROUND HIM THAT HIS MINUTES WERE CUT DRASTICALLY. HE TOOK IT IN STRIDE THE ENTIRE SEASON…HE NEVER COMPLAINED…AND HE WAS A LEADER ON THE BENCH DURING TIMEOUTS, IN THE LOCKER ROOM BEFORE AND AFTER THE GAME, AND I HEARD HE WAS ALWAYS GETTING EVERYONE READY FOR PRACTICE. THAT IS A TEAM GUY, TRUST ME AS A COACH OF JUNIOR HIGH BASKETBALL FOR FIVE YEARS I WOULD DO ANYTHING TO HAVE MY ENTIRE TEAM FULL OF GUYS LIKE THAT.
JON DIEBLER AND DAVID LIGHTY ROUNDED OUT THE WORD “TEAM.” DAVID LIGHTY WAS A FIFTH YEAR SENIOR WHO WAS ASKED TO SCORE ONE NIGHT, DEFEND THE OTHER TEAM’S BEST PLAYER THE NEXT NIGHT, AND PLAY THE ENTIRE GAME IN THE NEXT CONTEST. JON DIEBLER PUT IN FOUR YEARS OF SHOOTING 1000 JUMP SHOTS EACH NIGHT BEFORE OR AFTER PRACTICE AND DID IT TO MAKE HIS TEAM BETTER. DIEBLER KNEW IF HIS SHOT WAS “HOT” THAT NIGHT OR NOT…IF IT WAS HE SHOT THE LIGHTS OUT OF THE GYM AND ACTUALLY BECAME THE BIG TEN’S ALL TIME LEADING THREE POINT SHOOTER. IF HE WAS “OFF” HE KNEW IT AND HE FOCUSED ON GETTING OTHER GUYS LIKE WILLIAM BUFORD AND DESHAUN THOMAS OPEN BECAUSE HE KNEW IF HE COULDN’T GET IT GOING THE ONLY WAY WE WOULD WIN WAS IF SOMEONE ELSE COULD GET IT GOING.
SO THAT WAS THE TEAM AND WHY THEY RESEMBLED SUCH A WELL OILED MACHINE ALL YEAR. SURE THERE WERE OTHER PARTS LIKE OUR GREAT PASS FIRST FRESHMAN POINT GUARD AARON CRAFT AND ONE HELL OF A MOTIVATOR AS A COACH IN THAD MATTA. BUT THE POINT OF THIS IS THESE GUYS PLAYED TOGETHER ALL SEASON LONG, EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM LEARNED SKILLS OUT OF THEIR COMFORT ZONES TO MAKE THE TEAM BETTER. EACH ONE PROBABLY SAW A DIP IN SCORING THIS YEAR DUE TO SO MANY OTHER OUTSTANDING PLAYERS ON THE TEAM. THEY DID IT BECAUSE THEIR GOAL WAS TO PLAY AS A TEAM AND WIN A NATIONAL TITLE.
SO WHY DO YOU ASK, IF YOU DID BLINK AND MISS THEIR SEASON, WILL WE NEVER SEE THIS AGAIN? BECAUSE IN COLLEGE BASKETBALL THESE DAYS YOU NEVER SEE GUYS LIKE LIGHTY BUFORD AND DIEBLER STICK AROUND FOR THREE FOUR OR FIVE YEARS AND MESH SO WELL WITH INCOMING TALENTED YOUNG GUYS. YOU ALSO NEVER SEE A GROUP OF 7 OR 8 KIDS ALL SO FOCUSED ON ONE MISSION TOGETHER THAT THEY WILL MAKE ANY SACRIFICES NECESSARY TO ACHIEVE THAT. THERE WAS NOT ONE LOCKER ROOM FIGHT, NOT ONE DIRTY LOOK WHEN A GUY DIDN’T MAKE A PASS TO SOMEONE ELSE, THERE WAS NO…I REPEAT ZERO! OFF THE COURT DISTRACTIONS. NOT ONE OF THESE KIDS HAS GOTTEN IN TROUBLE WITH THE LAW OR IN SCHOOL WITH THEIR GRADES. TEAMS LIKE THIS JUST DON’T HAPPEN VERY OFTEN.
IN FACT THESE GUYS WERE SO MUCH A TEAM THAT YOU NEVER HEARD JUST ONE OF THEM SPEAK BECAUSE THEY DID IT TOGETHER. A LOT OF PEOPLE MISSED OUT ON WATCHING THESE KIDS THIS YEAR…IT IS A SHAME IF YOU DID AND HAVE ANY APPRECIATION FOR TEAMWORK AND MISSION STATEMENTS AND GOAL SETTING BECAUSE IT WAS THE BEST EXAMPLE YOU CAN FIND IN COLLEGIATE OR PROFESSIONAL SPORTS IN THE PAST FEW YEARS AND ONE THAT I WAS PROUD TO WITNESS AND REPRESENT AS A PRODUCT IN MY SALES JOB.
IT IS A SHAME THESE KIDS FELL SHORT OF THEIR ULTIMATE GOAL, THEY FELL THREE GAMES SHORT. THEY STILL WON 35 AND ONLY LOST 3, AND WON THEIR CONFERENCE REGULAR SEASON AND TOURNAMENT AND FINISHED 5TH IN AMERICA. SO IT WASN’T TOO SHABBY.
WELL I SAID YOU WOULD BE LUCKY TO EVER SEE A TEAM LIKE THIS AGAIN BUT I HAVE GOOD NEWS, IF YOU OPEN YOUR EYES QUICKLY YOU MAY HAVE THE CHANCE BECAUSE ALL OF THEM THAT STILL HAVE ELIGIBILITY HAVE ALREADY VOWED TO COME BACK NEXT YEAR AND TRY TO FINISH WHAT THE SENIORS AND THEMSELVES BEGAN THIS YEAR.
SO PLEASE DON’T BLINK AND MISS IT AGAIN COME NOVEMBER!
