Character is what you really are

John Wooden (October 14, 1910 – June 4, 2010) was an American basketball player and coach. He became nicknamed, “The Wizard of Westwood” after taking his teams at the University of California (UCLA) to ten championships in a 12-year period, seven of them in a row, as head coach. In case you are unsure, such accomplishments are considered outstanding. His portfolio is further decorated by 88 consecutively game wins, being honored as “national coach of the year” six times, and to many he is considered one of the greatest coaches of all time. Obviously talented and determined from young, he was the first to be named an All-American three times during his collegiate athletic career. I was listening to his talk on “TED talks” about what he considered to be “true success.” He said, “Peace of mind, attained only through self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best of which you are capable… trying to improve the situation that exists for you, I think that is success, and I don’t think that others can judge that.” 

 

 

Being such a significant public figure, it was not surprising that he followed this up with distinguishing between the definitions of “character reputation” and “character.” Character reputation is “what you are perceived to be, your character is what you really  are… your character is much more important than what you are perceived to be.” Wooden was a coach and a teacher and these were the messages that he always tried to convey to his young athletes, very many of whom went on to be doctors, lawyers and teachers, themselves. Wooden drew significant satisfaction from this fact, knowing that as their coach he would have played a tremendous role in their lives. Our education system is tainted by conflict amongst the teachers, our politicians may do their best but the system makes change a very difficult thing to achieve and in the world of sport where change happens rapidly, this is a drawback. Our kids are subject to abuse of all sorts, our society has become very image conscious and the most significant thing in our culture by a land-slide, is Carnival – no other entertaining entity receives anywhere near the same level of attention and investment. This world has become conflicting and distracted and our children are ultimately the ones who suffer, and we are all equally guilty of contributing to it. Every once in a while, if our hearts are in the right place, we receive a reminder of what our purpose on this earth is and that is to leave this world better than how we found it, in some way.

 

 

A brand-new concept in youth development in Trinidad and Tobago, The Community Sports Clinic aims to physically and mentally develop its participants through the medium of play and sport. The featured professionals are Angolan national, UK-based Carlos Salvador Joao and Trinbagonian, US-trained Kamu Laird. Both possess extensive experience in elite level football as well as their trade, they both pursued careers outside of football but through their careers, remained in touch with the sporting industry.  Carlos and Kamu are both coaches now but Carlos is an advertising consultant, choreographying and performing in the medium of football for iconic commercials. Kamu is a clinical psychologist working with athletes (as well as non-athletes) to develop their mental strengths. The general application of movement mechanics and drills using different types of equipment will be complimented by brain-training techniques targeting the neuromuscular system that can be applied regardless of the sport. In any athletic program such tools really help to compliment the technical training aspect further building athleticism and avoiding monotony, so that the Community Sports Clinic is open to anyone of any sport!

 

 

Whether you are a parent, a coach or a youngster interested in becoming a coach, the Community Sports Clinic is inviting anyone interested in learning the drills and the various techniques, to attend the coaching clinic that will be hosted the weekend prior to the start of the clinic itself (July 16-20). You can find further information on our Facebook page http://www. facebook.com/SportsClinicTT or on the Altus Health Services webpage  www.altushealthtt.com . Interested person can also apply to volunteer as one of the coach-mentors for the clinic. The CSC is still open for sponsorship/contributions. This is a not-for-profit venture so any extra revenue will be pumped right back into the program for sustainability and growth. Supporting this venture is not about paying back but about “paying forward” because you are investing in the future of our youth and therefore in our country. If you or your company would like to pay it forward, please email communitysctt@gmail.com.

 

 

Asha De Freitas-Moseley is a certified athletic trainer with the National Athletic Trainers’ Association of the USA. Athletic training is practiced by athletic trainers, health care professionals who collaborate with physicians to optimise activity and participation of patients and clients. Athletic training encompasses the prevention, diagnosis, and intervention of emergency, acute, and chronic medical conditions involving impairment, functional limitations, and disabilities (www.nata.org).