ENCOURAGEMENT

"GREAT JOB!" "YOU CAN DO IT!" "WELL DONE!" It always feels good to hear affirmative phrases like these from people we respect when taking on a difficult challenge. The encouragement that we give and receive from each other plays a role in our confidence and our motivation. When we hear encouragment, two things happen - 1) we recognize that somebody else values the work we are doing and 2) they believe we are capable of doing that work well. When considering those two ends, the means that naturally come to mind are positive, uplifting phrases that make us feel good inside. Does that always have to be the case?

Last week, Bobby Knight resigned from coaching at Texas Tech University. Whenever Bobby Knight makes news it calls into question all of the antics that have made this Hall of Fame coach famous (or infamous) in the American sports arena. On ESPN, I was watching a video montage of Knight's coaching experience and comments from some of the men that played for him. There was the 1985 incident where Knight threw a chair across a court... There were the obscenity laiden post-game tyrades ... and there was the time Knight choked one of his players during a 1997 practice. I don't think anyone would mistake these incidents for acts of encouragement. However, No one who has seen Knight coach can deny how passionately committed he is to playing basketball the right way or that he firmly believes his players will succeed by proper ball movement, unselfish play, and tenacious defense.

I am not going to suggest that Knight's use of insulting, sarcastic, and abusive tactics for teaching are more effective than affirmative, positive, confidence-building strategies. I am suggesting, however, that encouragment doesn't need to leave you feeling all fuzzy inside all the time. Holding a teammate to a high standard is encouraging. Telling them that the effort that they are giving is less than what they are capable is encouraging. Pushing them compeitively to bring their best everyday is encouraging. In all of these cases, someone we respect shows us that what are doing is important and that they believe in our ability to do that work well.

Encouragement is a value of our Core Covenant because we believe it is important to support each other and to celebrate each other's successes. Getting excited when a teammate gets a block or calling out an incredible effort in pursuit of a ball is easy. We also believe that encouragement means holding each other to a high standard. That is often more difficult, but it is a true sign of how committed we all are to the standards we have for each other. We respect each other, we believe that our standards are important, and we believe that we can achieve them through encouragement.