Post 10

In the ESPN E:60 video Walk On, a man with cerebral palsy decides to overcome his disability and achieve his dream of walking every hole of every course in every tournament on the 2008 PGA Tour (roughly 900 miles). He had to show courage and belief in himself in order to accomplish this since nobody thought that this was even possible. Not even the golfers themselves do that. Those who helped him had to sacrifice themselves by:

A-helping a disabled man who you may or may not know
B-face the possible fear and discomfort of being around a disabled person
C-be willing to accept criticism of straying from their game to reach out and help him if they are one of the participants.

Everyone he knew and helped him achieve this had to give up something, whether it be time or even bandaids (he put up to 8 bandaids on his toes that overlapped to minimize blistering). The courage this man had to face his disability and accomplish his dream was greater than what most people will ever put forth.

Post 9

"The heart of good leadership is sacrifice."

All good leaders must sacrifice. For example, this year one on our starting football unit quit because he wasn't playing the position he desired to play. Though our team went without him, because of his selfishness our team lost an asset that could have made a difference in some of the outcomes of the season. On the flip side, a leader that chooses to play for the team rather than himself will be sacrificing what he may desire. In doing so, he will then have earned the respect of his teammates and add to the influence he has on others.

In what ways do you display courage to those whom you influence?

In all honesty, I cannot answer this question. With the definition of courage being to face your fears I do not know a situtation that I have publically done this. I know that I make sacrifices for the team and though I do fear things, I have yet to encounter a situtation that has struck fear into my heart on the playing field or when those whom I influence are around. If something has happened where I have displayed courage when others were watching, I cannot recall it.

What does courage have to do with leadership?

"Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities... because it is the quality which guarantees all others." Winston Churchill

Courage places your fears aside and allows you to progress. For example, if Coach Arledge were to annouce that we were going to scrimmage Cherry Creek before we go and start the season, most people would freak out once they found out the reputation that this school has. It would take the leaders on the team to stand up and offer encouragement and inspire all the players to go ahead and play, even though they themselves will be feeling the exact same emotions.

Post 8

On Thursday March 3, 2010 we had our schools atheletic director come in and give a lecture on sacrifice. He made reference to past coaching experences that he has had and how each team that had success portrayed that each individual made sacrifices for the bettering of the team. He posed a question to the class asking that if we had a magic wand and could instill one characteristic in our team what would that one thing be? He made the comment that sacrifice was the one thing he wished his teams would automatically have. In response to that question, I put down unity. From both experence and observation a team that acts as one will attain all the tools they need to accomplish their goal. This would force people, not just a person, to make sacrifice.

Sacrifice=Selflessness
"Selflessness is the role to greatness" Phil Jackson