Posted by CatTales
on 6/8/2009, 8:45 pm, in reply to "The 12 Characteristics of Competitors (1-6)"
76.181.218.61
7. Take Pride in Performance
Competitors take immense pride in their effort and performance. They take pride in what they do and how well they do it because they feel it represents who they are as a person. In essence, they often believe they are what they do. Because so much of their self-esteem is tied up in how they compete and perform, they want to make sure it is consistently at a high level.
"People think Wayne Gretzky is all skill, but he's a killer. It's a personal thing. He's driven by pride. How else could a guy five feet, 10 inches and 175 pounds survive in this sport, at this speed?" said Gretzky's former coach Glan Sather.
"It isn't about the money. It's the hunger, the desire, and it's hard to turn it off. It's all about pride, and it's about ego," said tennis star Chris Evert.
8. Aggressive
Competitors often play aggressively. They look to attack their opponents, their race plan, and their training. They seek to dictate the tempo of the competition whenever possible. They like to force their opponents to react to what they are doing instead of passively trying to respond.
9. Relentless
Competitors are relentless. They keep coming back for more, even when they are down and there is little chance of success. They are hard to guard and finish every play until the whistle blows or the final horn sounds. In training, they will meticulously work on their skills and strategies until they get it right. Again, what they do represents them and they do not want to be seen as a quitter or loser - so competitors persist until the end.
10. Highly Demanding of Self and Others
Competitors not only hold themselves to high standards but hold their teammates, coaches, and others to high standards as well. They know that to achieve their high goals, there is no room for complacency or distractions. In effect, they try to instill their will on others in an effort to achieve their goals. They demand their teammates' best effort in practices, the weight room, and certainly in competition. While this can be hard on their lackadaisical and less committed teammates, competitors demand a continual standard of excellence from them.
11. Confident and optimistic.
Competitors are confident in their competitiveness. They know that it gives them a distinct advantage each time they compete, no matter who the opponent. They know that if they compete on every play, they've got a good chance of eventually breaking down their opponent's will. They optimistically believe that their competitiveness will help them prevail despite virtually any situation or circumstance in which they find themselves.
12. Ruthless
While outwardly many competitors can and should be gracious in defeat, inwardly they possess an undeniable ruthlessness when it comes to competition. Competitors are like cold-blooded assassins taking out their targets. They gain a twisted sense of joy in totally dominating an opponent or cutting a more talented competitor down to size. They can and often have a warm and friendly side and can keep their sport in perspective, but they also have their intensely competitive sides.
Sprinter Michael Johnson once said, "Every guy I compete against, when I line up and get in the blocks, I hate them all."
Similarly, North Carolina men's basketball coach Roy Williams, a class act and a Hall of Famer, also has an intense competitiveness that, combined with his people skills, is a big part of his success. The competitor in him derives great pleasure from winning the best recruits from his coaching colleagues and going head to head with them on sport's highest stage. Coach Williams loves nothing more than going into an opponent's home court, beating them like a drum, and watching their fans leave early because the game is well at hand. He refers to it as "stealing another team's brownies" out from their own house.
Anson Dorrance also revels in the Dynasty he has built with the North Carolina women's soccer program. One championship is simply not enough to satisfy Dorrance's insatiable and competitive appetite. Even though he has 20 national championships now, he desires at least 20 more. He wants his team to completely dominate their opponent each and every time they walk out on the field.
It's these characteristics that clearly distinguish competitors and make them desirable to coaches. Our next challenge is to examine if and how these characteristics might be developed.
What we allow, we encourage.
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