One step back, Two steps forward

This morning my reading selection came from one of my favorite books- Hard Work a life on and off the court. This book is about Coach Roy Williams and his experiences as a coach at Kansas, and North Carolina. Coach Williams is one of my favorite basketball coaches because he coaches a fast paced style of basketball and does things the right way! In the first chapter of his book he talks about the amount of stress he was dealing with prior to the 2009 season. His team that year was led by Tyler Hansbrough who is currently a member of the Indiana Pacers. The Tar Heels also had three players that had considered leaving for the NBA- Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington, and Danny Green. North Carolina was picked as the preseason #1 team, and there was a lot of talk about their team going undefeated. That created high expectations and a high amount of pressure on their team. At the beginning of the season NC lost their first two conference games to Boston College, and Wake Forrest. These losses shook the confidence of the players, and forced them to refocus on the what was important for them to be successful. These set backs helped their team to grow- the Tar Heels went on to win the National Championship that year! The message this morning is that sometimes we have to take a step back in order to move forward to reach our goal. That is part of the process! Don't be discouraged by failure. Use the WIN principle. What's Important Now. Keep the end in mind, but focus on the daily tasks at hand that will get you to where you want to be!