Have we changed?

3/30/2017

Chad Griffin

You know how social media is, what is REAL news and what is fake news? With the emergence of the University of South Carolina’s basketball run to the Final 4, their Head Coach Frank Martin has received a lot of press. In one facebook video, whether it is from his Kansas State or South Carolina days, he was asked, “have kids changed?” His reaction was pretty precise. He said “No, kids have not changed, but we have.” He followed that by outlining that we have changed as a society. We have lessened the expectations of accountability. Coach was plainly stating, that it is us as adults, leaders, coaches and parents that have downgraded the expectations, that we are either afraid of losing them, or it is easier to be a friend rather than an accountable person.

I just finished our annual Georgia Athletic Directors Conference, and I am always reminded that there are a tremendous number of quality people pouring into the lives of our young people around the state. From the AD/Head Football Coach Maurice Freeman at Brooks County in rural Quitman, GA on the FL/GA line to ADs that oversee a county system that has 16 schools and over 650 coaches in Metro Atlanta. We all deal with the same questions. And this one happened to come up in my Leadership Strategies Class on Sunday. The consensus was evident: that you can not let the individual be greater than the whole team. Then we attacked the “process” of accountability. This is why the likes of Bill Belichick, Nick Saban, Geno Auriemma, Urban Meyer and now Dabo Swinney have had so much success. The common thread throughout all of their “process” is accountability. It is a legend that players will tell you, that no one, not even the Golden Boy (and maybe the best QB ever) Tom Brady is given a pass by Bill’s evaluation of his play. This is where Greatness happens--when someone believes in you enough to hold you accountable, and that person is able get through it. The key is to balance the accountability with love, correction, and accepting truth. I will always believe in my heart that Athletics play a tremendous part in the development of young people. An education based athletic system that is truly focused on the process of developing that young person into a great human being, that is worth more than any trophy or award can ever show. That is Calvary Day School! #GOCAVS #THEPROCESS

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