Being Tom Brady
Brady Today
Tom Brady makes it look so easy. Moments before lightning fast defensive tackles and 300 pound linemen close in to take his head off, Brady steps back to avoid one collision, to the side to avoid another, patiently waiting for his receivers to complete their patterns. Now. He throws. Completes. Touchdown, New England.
It happens so often that he's widely regarded as one of the best quarterbacks ever. At age 30, he's led his team to three Super Bowls, received two Super Bowl Most Valuable Player awards, been invited to four Pro Bowls, and holds the NFL record for the most regular season touchdown passes. No wonder he's been named "Sportsman of the Year" by both Sports Illustrated and The Sporting News.
It may look easy and natural for him today, but those skills didn't come naturally. It took supreme commitment to growing and learning, often under difficult circumstances.
The High School Brady
Tommy entered high school built like a beanpole - a slow-footed beanpole. Not very impressive in a game that emphasizes size and speed. But he was super-competitive and wanted to excel.
So he did more than attend regular practices. He went the extra mile by attending quarterback camps in Arizona and the University of Southern California. He even spent personal time with a throwing guru who ran a school for quarterbacks. This guy had broken down the art of passing into the most minute detail to discover what works and what doesn't . Tommy took tons of notes, to which he still refers today.
And the "extra mile" stuff continued. After school during the off season, many kids throw their backpacks onto the bedroom floor to watch TV, play games and goof off until bedtime. But Tommy completed his homework and met up with his friends at the Pacific Athletic Club to work out for three or four hours.
When his coach, Tom McKenzie, lamented to Tommy's dad that he had "a Division 1 arm, but a Division 5 lower body," Tommy took it as a challenge. Every morning before school, he'd practice a tedious footwork drill called "The Five Dots," which most players loathed. According to Brady, "I've never been real fleet of foot. I enjoyed the struggle of it. I gained a lot out of it, in terms of mental toughness."
According to his coach, "Tom Brady is the only student athlete I ever saw who took advantage of every opportunity that was provided to him."
His high school team wasn't that great, but he made the best of it, winning about as many games as he lost.
The College Brady
By high school graduation, he was still a beanpole. But they put together a video-tape of Tom's games and sent it to fifty-five universities. Their diligence paid off and the University of Michigan, a football powerhouse, recruited him to play for their Wolverines. But then things got strange. Before he even made it to the campus, the two coaches who recruited him and believed in him left the school.
His first year, he kept the bench warm with the third string. The second year, he played a bit in only two games. His very first pass was intercepted and run back for a touchdown. Not exactly a stellar debut. He'd throw five total passes that year.
But he kept practicing, kept learning, and developed a great network of relationships with his people skills. Surely next year would be his year.
But before his third year, appendicitis robbed him of 30 pounds that he didn't need to lose. Now he was an even skinnier bean pole. Thoughts of quitting and giving up were getting the best of him. Instead of turning inward, he began to talk to the athletic department counselor, Greg Harden. From meetings with Harden, he developed a game plan for problem solving and becoming a better person. It helped.
At Spring camp, he found himself third in line behind the starting quarterback and another quarterback, Brian Griese, who's father had been a legendary quarterback. The latter won the starting position and Brady would get to play in only four games, throwing only twelve passes. Griese would graduate, leaving the slot for Brady to fill, but did Brady want it anymore? He'd been practicing his heart out for three long years to throw a total of 17 passes. In his mind, he wasn't given equal treatment. He considered changing schools. But outside of football, he loved his friends, his classes, and his volunteer work at a children's hospital. He decided to stick with it.
His fourth year, he would clearly be the starting quarterback, but then things got strange again. Michigan recruited a phenomenal high school quarterback from a nearby town who had already been featured in Sports Illustrated. Being a local hero, there was pressure to move him quickly up to starting quarterback. So what did Brady think when his head coach referred to Henson, the new be, as "without question the most talented quarterback I've ever been around"?
Brady started as quarterback the rest of the season, winning 10 games and losing three. But there would be a fifth year, allowable since he didn't play as a Freshman. Surely he'd established himself by now. But that would be too easy. Influential alumni were pressuring the coaches to play Henson, the new quarterback.
So here's how it played out. The coach announced that Brady would play the first quarter, Henson the second quarter, and whoever played the best would play the second half. It was a slam on Brady, the deserving fifth year senior. It would have been easy for Brady to take the low road, rallying his friends around his cause and dividing the team. Instead, he kept working and pursuing team unity. After the seventh game Brady established himself as the starter for the rest of the year.
After his final game as a Wolverine, Brady's quarterback coach told him that the circumstances he'd played under would have broken most athletes. But Brady endured.
After college, he could have smugly assumed that he knew everything he needed to know about football. Instead, he attended a performance clinic to try to pick up foot speed. I mean, come on, after four years of coaching in high school and five years of coaching in college, don't you think he knew enough about how to run? Not Brady. There were still weaknesses to shore up and there was always more to learn, always an extra mile that he could go.
The Pro Brady
His next stop was the NFL Scouting Combine, a place where coaches and scouts have the opportunity to watch their potential drafts in action. The gathering includes interviews, psychological testing, strength and agility tests, and the 40-yard dash.
Although the assessors noted some great traits in Brady, most saw him as a gamble. The most prominent of the evaluators concluded that he "didn't have the total package of skills." One offensive coordinator assessed Brady as rather average, with his inability to establish himself at Michigan counting against him. To some, he was still a "skinny quarterback who didn't run well."
Still, he hoped to be picked early in the draft. Sitting at home listening to the draft with his family, they saw one round after another passing him by. After the fifth round, the Brady bunch was depressed. According to his sister Nancy, "What with what happened at Michigan, and now having this infuriating and disappointing couple of days, he just wanted to take a walk...." While he was out walking, head coach Bill Belichick called from the Patriots, picking him on the sixth round, the 199th draft pick.
Dick Rehbein (the quarterback coach) and Belicheck saw something in Brady that others apparently didn't. During those college years, Brady was put in a bad position, but made the most out of it. They were impressed with "what he did with the opportunities he had."
But at New England, he'd have to start out once again at the bottom. Now for anyone who's played second string, you know the demoralizing feeling of working hard all week to sit on the bench during the games, hoping that, just maybe, your team will get so far ahead that they call in the second string. But he wasn't on second string. He wasn't even on third string. Brady started fourth-string for the Patriots.
Although he'd filled out a little by this time, the Patriot's owner still referred to Brady as, you guessed it, a "beanpole," after their first meeting. But what he lacked in physical intimidation, he made up for with his work ethic, team spirit, and a rare ability to care for and energize those around him. Package all that together and it's called leadership. As one biographer put it, "Brady had that unique ability to make the person he is talking to feel as though the rest of the world has fallen away and there is only this one conversation happening anywhere."
He'd spend extra time watching film of their opponents, although he didn't have a snowball's chance in hell of playing in the game. The defensive coordinator noticed that Brady would work out harder than anyone else in the weight room. He threw himself into off-season workouts, whether or not he was required to attend. That helped add about 20 pounds of needed muscle. After a normal practice day, he'd lead a group of others at the bottom of the totem pole to run through the plays until they had them down. And they got better, and better. The coaches took notice and liked what they saw.
So Brady found himself the backup quarterback during his second year. And when the starting quarterback got injured, Brady took over. Because of his intense preparation during good times and bad, he was there to answer the door when opportunity knocked. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Brady once noted that the most difficult wins are the most memorable. I think you could say that about his life. As Brady said, "Who wants everything to come easy?"
Action Points
So do you consider yourself the "beanpole" of your team or organization - the one who doesn't look the part or make heads turn? Do you go to all the regular practices, but still find yourself benched? Do you do the assigned homework but don't get the grades you want? Do you do your ministry, but fail to see results?
If that sounds like you (and it often sounds like me!) remember how Brady defeated discouragement and went the extra mile by preparing a little harder, getting outside counsel and continuing to learn
Source: http://www.character-education.info/resources/TomBrady.htm
When Super Bowl LI went to halftime, most people thought it was a done deal. After all, the Atlanta Falcons completely dominated the Patriots in the first half of the game, and it looked like nothing was going to stop them. Not only that, but prior to last night’s game, no team in history has ever come back from more than a 10 point deficit to win a Super Bowl.
Walking into the half and down 21-3, it seemed that the Falcons pretty much had this thing wrapped up. They just needed to play solid and consistent and really focus on defense in the second half. But that’s why it’s the Super Bowl, and when you have the greatest two teams in the league going head-to-head, anything can happen, and it did last night.
People are still trying to figure it out: How did Tom Brady and the New England Patriots comeback after being down 21-3 in the first half, and go on to win 34-28? Perhaps Brady said it best himself. In his post-game interview, he said it was all about mental toughness.
Over the past 30 years, I’ve worked with pro athletes, Navy seals, C-level executives and other super achievers. To Brady’s point, the secret to the success of most of these people is indeed mental toughness. More specifically and as it relates to the Super Bowl victory, here’s what makes Tom Brady so mentally tough:
Compartmentalization
Let’s face reality: at halftime and being down that many points, most people would have shut down mentally. But Brady is able to compartmentalize his emotions in pressure-packed situations and remain in control. That’s a key trait of champions that help them win over and over again, even when it seems impossible. Compartmentalization is the ability to lay out a complex situation (making a major comeback to win the Super Bowl Championship) and break it down into smaller, more manageable steps (play-by-play process), while blocking out your emotions and the world around you.
Three key characteristics of champions
A bet against a champion is a bad bet. What makes champions like Tom Brady and his teammates so strong are three main points. On the physical plane, they have perseverance. On the mental plane, they have toughness. On the spiritual plane, they have artistry. Each one of these key points was in full effect last night in the second half. When you look at any great athlete like Tom Brady, think Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan or Muhammad Ali, they all excel in these three areas.
Mental conditioning like nothing you can imagine
We all know about the physical conditioning of Tom Brady and athletes like him, but the mental aspects of performance are what really make them so impressive and separate them from everyone else. Brady is hard-wired through years of world-class programming to focus on a vision and persevere at any cost. He has made adversity his mental training ground. Before the Super Bowl, he was mentally rehearsing this victory and every possible scenario around it in his mind. He was living it 24/7. The vision becomes so engrained in the mind of the performer that you can’t talk them out of it, and that’s why not even being down 21-3 at halftime means the game is over.
Expectations
If you think the expectations the fans, the media and the coaches place on these guys is tough, it’s nothing like the expectations that Brady places on himself. Everything else besides victory is failure. Most people are satisfied with being ‘very good’ at something. Being very good is never enough for champions. The only acceptable outcome for Tom Brady is a win. The only acceptable outcome was walking off that field holding the Lombardi Trophy.
The takeaway
As Tom Brady and the New England Patriots enjoy the sweet taste of victory yet again, no doubt it’s a tough day for the Falcons and the people of Atlanta. There’s an important takeaway from last night’s Super Bowl for the Falcons and people in general. Defeat and setbacks are all a normal part of life. Even when you’re so close to the win and it slips right out of your hands, it’s going to make you even stronger. Once the Falcons get over the pain and loss of the Super Bowl, they’re going to comeback better than before. If you think they were fierce competitors this season, just wait until next year. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Falcons go on to win it all next year, because setbacks, failure and defeat are all part of major comebacks and victories.
Source: The Huffington Post
