Pyramid Tribute: Poise, Tom Izzo (Head Coach - Michigan State)
When it comes to coaching in the Big Ten, Izzo is the elder
statesman. He has led the Spartans since the 1995-1996 season
and carries the distinction as the longest tenured head
coach in the conference. In November of 2009, he became
the all-time winningest coach in Michigan State history.
In addition to his success in the Big Ten (six regular-season Big
Ten Championships and two Big Ten Tournament Championships), Izzo
has excelled in the NCAA Tournament. The Spartans
have qualified for the field 13 straight times
and advanced to the Final Four six times in the past
12 seasons. In the history of college basketball over any
12-year period, Michigan State is one of only four teams to make
half a dozen Final Four appearances.
But Izzo's impact extends far beyond individual
success. Five of his former assistants are now Division
I head coaches, including Tom Crean of Indiana and Brian Gregory of
Dayton. Off the court, Izzo is the current NABC
President and serves on the John R. Wooden Award Board of
Governors.
__________________
As a young assistant coach, I used to sit in the corner of the
locker room after each game, win or lose, watching how the players
would react to what just happened on the court. I quickly learned
that the most successful players were the ones that didn’t
allow success or failure to alter their approach during a long
season. It’s said that all golfers hit bad shots, the great
ones just know how to put the bad ones behind them and focus on the
next shot. Coach Wooden understood that the same focus, or
“poise” as he called it, was elementary to success in
any walk of life.
Human nature is such that competitors will sometimes get down on themselves when times are tough. The worst thing that can happen then is for the athlete to doubt his training and begin to pull back from the hard work that set him up for success in the first place. I’ve never seen a struggling player improve by feeling sorry for himself, but I have seen numerous times a player bounce out of a slump because he trusted the process and continued to work hard on his game, not allowing himself to be “thrown off by events.”
What I appreciate about Coach Wooden, however, is that his definition of “poise” also warns of being thrown off by good events. For any athlete, handling success can be just as, if not more, difficult than overcoming a little adversity. Success breeds complacency as people begin to tell the competitor how great he is. The danger is that the athlete forgets that it was hard work and dedication that allowed him to be successful in the first place. And because he doesn’t feel as desperate as the athlete who experienced failure, he’s not driven to work hard. The only way to remain successful is to stay true to his training.
Competition doesn’t exist in a vacuum. There are outside factors, good and bad, that can affect the process. And those that exhibit great poise, limiting outside distractions, are best positioned for success.
- Tom Izzo
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Photos courtesy of Michigan
State University Athletics
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