Michael Jordan – Competitiveness

Current basketball superstars were asked to describe Michael Jordan with one word. Dwayne Wade said “Champion”, Chris Paul said “Greatness”, and LeBron James said “G.O.A.T”, which stands for Greatest of all Time.  You would be hard-pressed to find many educated sports enthusiasts who would disagree with these assessments. The man won an NCAA championship at the University of North Carolina. …

Secretariat – Competitiveness

“You could say, ‘Hey, it’s nothing but a horse race.’  I’m sorry, this horse was an athlete… His heart was well over twice as large as any horse’s heart that we’ve ever seen, which is a fitting metaphor for him.”   When we decided on the most competitive male athlete of all time, Michael Jordan was the obvious choice. When …

Jim Brandt – Character

“I was never coached by one of the greats like Phil Jackson, Bill Belichick or Nick Saban, but what I had was even better — a role model named Jim Brandt.” The odds of you knowing the name Jim Brandt are slim and none. As a high school coach, he never won a state championship. The truth is, some years …

Sue Enquist – Leadership

“How you act over time, that is your pattern of behavior. That becomes your character, and your character becomes your legacy.” Before Coach Sue Enquist arrived on the campus as a freshman in 1975, UCLA’s softball program had seen limited success. But, by the time she retired as its head coach in 2006, UCLA had won 11 national championships. As …

Mutaz Essa Barshim and Gianmarco Tamberi – Sportsmanship

“This is beyond sport. This is true sportsmanship. This is the message we deliver to the young generation. I love that we did something that touched everybody’s heart.” It was the Olympic games in Tokyo, Japan, July 30th, 2021. Thirty-three long-jump competitors had gathered from around the world to represent their country and possibly win a medal. The conditions were …