The Revolution In American Education “Top Twenty Teachers” Chapter 16 Provide Many Answers to the question: How’d Ya Do? By: Ramiro Daniel, Leticia Chavez and Jacqueline Padilla

Co-curricular activities play an enormous role in student’s lives.  Countless hours after school  Summers are filled with individual practice, team practice and camps  Parents attend games, drive students to events  Parents pay up to thousands of dollars for needs

The amount of time, energy and money that goes into creating these opportunities for students on the part of the parents, coaches, the school district, taxpayers and youth themselves is ENORMOUS…

If all they get is a letter jacket, trophies and a record of wins and losses…. Then it’s hardly worth the effort That so many make…

Top 20 coaches realize that both winning and losing offer (both) Wonderful and Potentially Dangerous results for young people. This book does state that co-curricular opportunities for students are Valued because of the wide range of Benefits that are offered by participating in such activities. Nine benefits are delineated in detail in this chapter. They are as follows:

HOW’D YA Do: Did you win or lose? Students who experience winning benefit by learning that they have what it takes to be successful. (This creates confidence.) Losing provides a healthy perspective. It keeps us humble and highlights area where improvement can be made. (winning and losing strengthens the bond between kids) The emphasis on winning can result in young people believing that their inner worth only comes from achievement. (This creates ways of cheating…steroids) A loser’s mentality can influence a student to withdraw from life and not engage in healthy risk taking activities. (reluctant to attempt things in search of success)

HOW’D YA Do: Did you have fun? Having fun by playing is truly recreation… Having fun allows an outlet from stress… If we watched children at play, what would be the most notable thing we would observe??? They are Having Fun… For many adults, however, recreation is more like “Wreck-reation.” Our play, often ends up NOT about having fun, but instead getting stressed out. (A grown person swearing and throwing a golf club when the little white ball doesn’t go straight.)

HOW’D YA Do: Did you learn anything? Students can learn more about the particular game or activity. They can learn about themselves and others. They learn how to strengthen and care for own their bodies and how to mentally prepare themselves for competition. Top 20 Coaches know that sports and other co-curriculars are part of the overall educational experience. Afterschool activities teach lessons that will help students work more effectively with others for the rest of their lives.

HOW’D YA Do: Did you improve since last time? The road to doing our best is made up of frequent moments of continual improvement. Examples: Learning a particular skill, understanding the game, working together as a team, etc. We encourage continual improvement in our students by helping them develop realistic goals. Top 20 coaches help students improve from week to week. They teach that we cannot improve by only doing what we can already do.

HOW’D YA Do: Did you help someone succeed? A most important thing to learn is to help other people succeed. A girl who won All-State honors in track & field in H.S. also played basketball for 4 years. Not gifted in basketball she rarely ever played in the game… Yet, her teammates considered her the most valuable player because she was a constant support to the younger players by encouraging them when they made mistakes, do it the right way.

HOW’D YA Do: Did you conduct yourself well? In the heat of an athletic contest players and coaches lose sight of their values and tarnish their reputation by displaying embarrassing behavior. As a rule they regret it. Because of that, coaches and players always do their best to maintain dignity, composure and perspective. Remember, we always have to ask ourselves: Did we conduct ourselves well?

HOW’D YA Do: Did you do your best? A legendary basketball coach used the question “Did you do your best?” to define success. “Success is a peace of mind, which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming.” The fact that his team won 88 consecutive basketball games and 12 National Championships resulted from their achieving that more fundamental success of being “the best you are capable of becoming.” Top 20 coaches remind their players of the deeper and more meaningful experience that is available to them by striving to do their best

HOW’D YA Do: Did you appreciate anything about your opponents? Opponent does not mean Enemy… An Alien from outer space observing many of our athletic events, however, would certainly not notice a difference between the two words…too often opponents are treated as an enemy… Top 20 coaches know that their opponents offer challenges and opportunities to develop physically and mentally. They offer friendships that are built on mutual respect and can last for a lifetime.

HOW’D YA Do: Did you develop any star qualities? Star qualities that students can attain in sports and co-curricular activities are valuable for a lifetime. One of the most important Star Qualities young people need to develop in order to succeed is “Asking for help.” Few successes in life are attained solely on the qualities and talents of a single individual. “Success requires help from others”

HOW’D YA Do: Did you develop any star qualities? Top 20 coaches help students develop some of the following internal strengths, social skills and problem solving skills that make a difference in their lives…. Self-confidence: to believe in yourself and your abilities Risk-taking: taking the difficult road to expand the comfort zone Responsibility: being dependable; someone others can count on Self-discipline: taking control of oneself Flexibility: adapting to change and the stress created by it Toughness: dealing with adversity when things aren’t going my way

Did you develop any star qualities? (cont.) Courage: responding in spite of fear or lack of confidence Commitment: putting forth one’s full effort Fun: realizing that learning and working with others can be joyful Acceptance: valuing diversity and people who are different that oneself Teamwork: helping others succeed; working well with others Focus: keeping ones attention on the task or goal Persistence: sticking with the job until it is finished Patience: realizing that success often doesn’t come easily Resourcefulness: finding a way to get the job done

Star qualities are not skills or habits that develop overnight. They don’t happen in one practice, concert or competitive event. Rather, they are developed over time. Top 20 coaches don’t just hope that students might pick up a few Star Qualities along the way. They are as intentional in developing these skills and habits in students as they are in developing the backstroke in swimming, the wrist shot in hockey or writing headlines for the school newspaper. Numerous Star Qualities can obviously be developed in any sport or activity.

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