Lovethis ⬇️Share your belief in others!
Borrow My Belief in YOU! Until You Believe in Yourself!
I did not become successful because I believed in myself & I learned from great people @Proactivecoach @van_chuck @3DCoaches @NIAAA9100 @IOWAHSADA @WSSAAA2 @MN_IAAA & Many More

I posted this on my Twitter account a few weeks back and it has resonated with me since the post. So I wanted to write this blog to expound upon the importance of borrowing belief. In the athletic Director community we continually borrow ideas concepts philosophies best practices from our colleagues. In my role as an Athletic Director, the relationships I have built throughout my career have been instrumental in my professional development. I have learned so much through my relationships in the NIAAA and various state associations throughout the country and most recently the world with the addition of the NIAAA‘s international affiliation. As an athletic administrator it is sometimes difficult to show vulnerability, as we feel we are on an island and as in the movie CAST AWAY we feel that our only sounding board is our Wilson (Volleyball with a FACE).

Many times throughout our careers as athletic administrators we doubt our abilities and talents. it is difficult to be vulnerable as an Atheltic Director. This is why I share my journey with you today. At times as an athletic administrator it is terrifying to admit we do not know how to deal with some of the challenging situations we are faced with on a daily basis. Whether that’s with a parent, coach, student athlete, or fellow administrator. I only share this because I’m sure throughout your professional career there have been times that you may not have had the confidence to deal with some of the issues you’re faced with. Over these past few months I have really had the opportunity to travel and speak with athletic directors across the country. There is one constant, that is the evident in all my conversations & that is the desire of athletic administrators to continually improve, share, learn, and grow to improve the lives of their student athletes, Coaches and Community.

That constant ideal with all the AD’s led me to writing this blog about borrowing Belief from others Until You Believe in Yourself! So many times throughout my career I did not believe in myself. As a Reflect, I am reminded of my thoughts as a young AD and we attend conferences and hear ADs. As we listen and I always felt like Wow that A.D. really has it all together. In reality they struggle with all the same issues we deal with and those are the times as we share, we realize that we have such a huge network of like-minded leaders that share our vision for education-based athletics. This is where I believe the benefit of surrounding yourself with the right people is imperative. Reaching out to other A.Ds and mentors for support and guidance has been pivotal to my thriving vs. surviving as an athletic administrator. For me these opportunities to reach out and find mentors I’ve been instrumental in my growth as an athletic administrator. Finding Others who care about me has been a blessing and I hope I can continue to share my journey in my belief in others to find success and happiness in this great profession of athletic administration.

I have been blessed to have mentors that have challenged me and encouraged me to continue to improve and develop my skills in athletic administration. Through this I have found a great calling to speak greatness into others. My mentors showed so much confidence in me that it pushed me to grow and develop. They helped me just as a coach would hep their student-athlete reach goals. They pushed me to attain & reach goals that I never thought possible. Many times the growth was tough and it stretch me beyond my comfort zone but they continued to encourage me and believe in my abilities. My mentors continue to point out the impact I’ve had on my schools and continue to believe and support me until I have the ability to believe in myself. It is so important for us to find mentors and equally important for us to seek out mentee’s to impact. When someone you admire believes in you it is truly impactful.

I found throughout my career it is important to surround yourself with people who have a growth mindset and have characteristics you aspire to. I’ve been blessed to have so many impactful people in my life. Bruce Brown from proactive coaching always talks about the impactful relationship between coaches and student athletes and he encourages us to think back and think about why, why were these people so impactful and important in our lives. It is evident the strong bond that is created between coach and student-athlete is simply a coach, building & borrowing their belief in their student-athlete abilities for success, based on the foundation of love.

I’m not quite sure at what point I started to believe in myself and the impact that I could have on the student athletes and coaches I have the opportunity to serve, but what I do know is that throughout my career I’ve had to borrow belief from those who have believed in me. Now that is not to say that I still do not have self-doubt and that I do not struggle. But I continue to go back to those I know care about me and continue to borrow their belief in me until I can again find that belief in myself.

So I encourage you to reach out and borrow that belief and share your belief in others so that they might find success.