As a student-athlete, I have seen great players in all kinds of sports make unbelievable plays and push their teammates to be their best selves. But I have always wondered what made these players who they are, what gave them the fight to climb in their sport? Was it just genetics that gave them favorable traits, or was there something more about their personality? I went in search to find if it was not Nature vs Nurture, but Talent vs Tenacity that made elite athletes who they are today.
I talked to coaches of a variety of sports to see what they thought made great players. The interviewees included Christian Mazzone, the varsity lacrosse coach at Eastside Catholic; Jeffrey Kaye, the varsity water polo coach at Newport High School; and Brian Morse, the varsity golf coach at Eastside Catholic. With all the different sports, one may assume that there would be many different philosophies in how they see players and values, but the results were quite the opposite.
Skill is a large part of being good at a sport; any player could tell you this, but how do the coaches view skill when weighed against all the components of an athlete and, maybe more importantly, a teammate?
All 3 of the coaches told me that expertise is not what they looked for with new players, but being able to take criticism and take instructions with humility is huge when new to a team or a sport in general.
EC golf coach Brian Morse said, “No matter their skill level, the players who are really trying to get better at the sport will listen to instruction and keep practicing even when they are not playing super well.” Being able to be resilient and coachable are highly valued skills.
Gifted natural ability can only take you so far, Christian Mazzone said, “It helps them fall in love with the sport as they pick it up faster, but natural talent only brings you so far. You need to have passion for the sport or you won’t put in the work into the sport later.” He also said “You will develop passion when you really want to be good at something. If you don’t care about something you give minimal effort. If you have that drive you come into the sport with love for it and push yourself. Talent is the starting drive, while passion is the push that keeps you coming back.”
Passion can drive you but it can feel like a burden once you have plateaued. So what professional players showed such traits and went even farther? Jeffrey Kaye used NBA legend Magic Johnson as an example. He said that, “Magic Johnson, he was the grittiest player because even when he wasn’t on his best he pushed everyone else around him farther.” Being able to push yourself to your best is important, but being able to push your team even when you’re down and keep the determination up is what got so many pro players to where they are.
All 3 coaches work with different sports and have different values throughout their lives, but how does this translate to their teaching style? Brain Morse said, “I challenge those players because even though they have the skills to be good.” Jeffrey Kaye responded, “You try pulling and pushing and they don’t keep going, but you just got to find how they take to advise well.” Christian Mazzone replied, “You have to change the collective mentality of the team.” So many coaching styles work because no person, no sport, no team is the same, and all of them are necessary to create great players.
Hard work and talent are certainly important components of what makes a player successful, but passion and discipline are what separate the “great” players from the “good” ones.
People who truly enjoy the game will take whatever skill they are given and put it all into the sport wherever they can. But the only one who is going to push anyone to their fullest potential is themselves. So when you see a “great” athlete, understand that passion and discipline are what can help you transcend from being a “good” athlete to becoming a “great” one.
