Brett Ledbetter: Person Over Player

Below are my notes from a speech by Brett Ledbetter at ‘What Drives Winning’ on the importance of placing emphasis on the PERSON more than the PLAYER.  You can see the video in its entirety below.

How You Are REMEMBERED As A PERSON Is So Much More 

Important, And LASTING, Than Your Stats

Key Takeaways:

1 - You can't remember who led the team in scoring 3 years ago, but you remember your favorite teacher from 10 years ago.

2 - How you are remembered as a PERSON is more important that how you are remembered as a PLAYER
3 - When helping with a problem, identifying the issue first and then finding common ground will help you find a solution.

In the speech below, Brett Ledbetter talked about how he helped a star collegiate soccer player overcome her biggest fears in sports, dealing with the expectations of other.  It helped me become a better coach, person, and father of a young athlete (or 3) by focusing on the person and the things you can control rather than results, which are often controlled, in large part, to outside forces.

You can control how hard you play, how much you prepare, and your effort level.  But sometimes, you just don’t make enough of the shots that you usually make, or sometimes the other teams just makes a few more tough plays on you.  Don’t let the outside forces that you can’t control bother you unnecessarily; just do what you can do and have faith that it will be good enough or that everything will work out fine.

What Do You Need My Help With?
First identify you biggest struggles and write them down.  Kelcy gave her biggest struggles below:

 

Brett then asked Kelsey the following questions:

Q:  Do you feel like your identity is tied to the result?
- Yes 

Q:  Do you see how results are outside of your control because you can’t control everything.
- Yes

Q:  Do you see how you’re allowing something that is outside of your control to affect the way you feel about yourself as a person?
- Yes

That was the common ground that they were able to reach.  That focusing solely on results allows outside forces dictate how you feel about yourself as a person.

How You Will Be Remembered As A PERSON
Most can’t name the leading scorer in the NCAA three years ago, but you can name your favorite teacher from 20 years ago.  You can also explain why you would pick that person.  The top 5 reasons for them being picked as their favorite teacher:
   
     - Challenged me
     - Made learning fun
     - Helpful
     - Supportive
     - Got to know me

For high performing athletes, their favorite teachers are usually from when they were young to a teacher because that teacher knew who they were before they became who they became.

People forget stats but remember you were as a person. 

Its important to know how you want to be remembered.

If your meaning and purpose and identity in yourself is in the results, and you miss, you will feel dejection.  But, if your identity is in yourself as a person, that with each failure is in the opportunity to show all to use adversity as a way to bounce back.

Kelsey then wrote how she wanted to be remembered.  It is written below, but the big emphasis was on how she wanted to be remembered as a PERSON more than a PLAYER.

 

When your goal is to be rembered for the PERSON that you are rather than the player, failure is okay.  Its how you respond.  Then, its about living a life where you bless others and living a life with a growth mindset.