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Okay, so I admit it; I’m in a football state of mind. Can’t help it, it’s play-off time, the college bowls have graced our sports stations for the past week and it’s darn cold in Florida. Makes me think football and when it comes to a winning coach I’m reminded of the one of the greatest coaches of all time; Vince Lombardi.

As luck would have it I happened to come across a book written by his own son; Vince Lombardi Jr. called “The Lombardi Rules.” Ironically enough I did not discover this little treasure in the sporting section of Barnes & Noble. I found it in the business section sitting snugly with all the great Fortune 500 leaders and authoritarians. I read through the book in a half hour and realized I used of lot of his strategy in my own personal life as well as coaching. Because he is such a great motivator and leader, I’m going to share some of my own favorites that have lead me through what I considered great victories as well as dealing with the less than perfect efforts.

1. “Build your team a feeling of oneness, of dependence on one another, and of strength to be derived from unity.” The only way to build a winning team whether in sports or in the business world is cohesiveness. All the members of the team have to support the organization and aide one another. No one did this well in all my years of coaching than the 2006 JV Volleyball team for the Charter Middle School. Trust me when I say I probably wasn’t too popular; especially when they first got introduced to my way of coaching.

What they did learn was it wasn’t about being a star it was giving 100 percent to the team. The more highly skilled girls were stunned when they had to get paired off with a lesser skilled player. Lots of times I got asked “why?” The answer “Your job is to bring them up to your playing level so there is no weak link on the court.” Sure the higher skilled girls ran a little faster, dug a little deeper, and had to deliver with a higher expectation. The trick was the team didn’t know who received a tougher delivery on the drill, they just knew they had to succeed together to achieve whatever standard I set for them in that particular drill.

The result was an undefeated season. The best part wasn’t what I accomplished along with my assistant coaches; it was the feeling of what they accomplished together as a team. Here’s what was truly amazing, they weren’t the strongest team in the league; they were simply one.

2. “If you cheat on the practice field, you’ll cheat in the game. If you cheat in the game, you’ll cheat the rest of your life.” My oldest used to complain about her fellow teammates when it came to cheating. I would often her say, “So and so cheated, they didn’t finish the swim set or so and so cheated they only push themselves on the last drill to beat me and now I look bad.” My reply used to be “Yeah, so what … ” I was met with “What do you mean so what, that’s cheating!” The answer would come down to, “Who are they cheating, themselves or you.” First of all understand that cheaters will usually get discovered, although they might be clever for a period of time you can only hide the truth to a certain extent. Understand coaches or for that matter bosses aren’t as stupid as you may perceive us to be. You will be called out on the carpet to perform. That’s when the cheat catches up with you because the bottom line is you can’t or never were. As Vince Lombardi states people will be watching what you do, not what you say. The proof will come out in the performance.

3. “The most important element in the character make up of a man who is successful is that of mental toughness.” If you have played under me at one time or another you have heard me say over and over, “Sports are 10 percent physical and 90 percent mental.” Not only is the mind a terrible thing to waste it’s your most powerful weapon. It’s amazing what can be accomplished if you believe in yourself and your abilities.

So many times from my employees or athletes I hear; I can’t run that fast, I don’t have the strength, and I’m not that clever. My response, “You are right.” Naturally it is met with shock, because they are expecting me to placate them with; no, of course you are fast, you are just as strong as the other player and your very imaginative, you surpass clever. The bottom line is the mind is so powerful if you say you are not, you will never be. I don’t have to time to argue with your brain. On the other hand, if you do believe in yourself, that mental toughness will prevail and your accomplishments will be many. Okay, I know only one person will take the gold or win the academy award; however is that what is involved in being a winner. What is your definition of winning? Break it down simplistically. It’s goal setting, achieving the goal, and taking it to the next level. It’s not always about the trophy or medal to classify you as a champion. Is it the willingness and power to succeed that goal, meet it and win.

Well folks that is my top three. The book if you are interested list 23 more. Feed your brain, one can never gather enough information. I will end with “If you settle for nothing less than best, you will be amazed at what you can accomplish in your life.”

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Gina Sisbarro-Blassneck resides on Marco Island and is the Senior Program Director at the Marco Island YMCA. Her passion is anything to do with kids; especially the teens. She enjoys directing theater and writing. She looks forward to publishing her first adult novel hopefully in print by the holidays. She has two teenagers Wesley and Brianna “Booey” which gives her the greatest joy in life!