The Seattle Seahawks are going back to the Super Bowl after overcoming a 12 point deficit in the fourth quarter, to win in overtime. There were many great things that happened to help Seattle win–the recovered onside kick, Russell Wilson’s amazing play in the crucial moments, the defense only giving up one touchdown off of five turnovers, and so on. However, I was most impressed with how the players and coaches acted on the sidelines during the game. I believe that is why the Seahawks were able to pull out the win.
The first and most important factor that we must look at is the head coach, Pete Carroll. He did not get mad and begin yelling at players. He kept his cool and maintained control of himself and his team. After four interceptions by Russell Wilson, there was no thought of pulling him from the game or benching Jermaine Kearse, who was the target of all those interceptions. He stayed positive and focused on how they would win the game.
This is extremely rare from any coach at any level. Research shows that it is the coach that keeps their composure during the difficult times–while focusing on improvement–that usually comes out on top, in the long run. John Wooden never lost his cool at any point during a game, when his team went on their run. If the leader remains calm and positive, it gives the players confidence that they can turn it around. When the leader yells and screams and get out of control, it just adds stress to an already stressful situation, and the outcomes are usually negative. You cannot put negative energy into your team and expect a positive outcome.
Because of this positive, upbeat attitude by Pete and his coaches, the players remained positive as well. Even after his fourth interception, Russell Wilson said he had no doubt they were going to win. Russell Wilson and the rest of the leaders kept encouraging each other, and kept the whole team positive. Most people would have doubted a positive outcome way before that, but not this team. All the players believed they were going to win even when many so-called fans poured out of the stadium and made their way home. Many fans took to social media and spoke negatively about the team and Russell Wilson. No matter how the situation looked, the team still believed.
This is critical for any team or organization. If all the people on your team or in your organization believe in a positive outcome, no matter how bad the current circumstances look, you will give yourself the best chance to be successful. If doubt creeps in, people will not do their best and set the team or company up for failure. The team believed and they played hard, even when a win did not seem likely.
The belief stems from the team trusting in each other, their coaches, front office and the whole Seahawks organization. Again, it starts with Pete Carroll. His ability to first trust his coaches, then his players, builds up confidence up and down the whole team. You do not stay with a quarterback that throws four interceptions, or go back to the receiver that was targeted on all the interceptions, unless you have trust. The coaches trust the players, the players trust the coaches, and the players trust each other.
The belief and trust is at such a high level, that guys on the team are willing to sacrifice themselves for each other. Richard Sherman and Earl Thomas played through their injuries. The impact of these guys playing through their injuries is immeasurable on the team. Other players begin to play harder because they see what kind of sacrifice their teammates are making. Imagine having a company where everyone is willing to come in and work as hard as they possibly can, regardless of how bad they feel or whatever personal hardships they are experiencing. People only do this because of love. Love for their team, the game, coaches and each other. You cannot fake feelings of appreciation for people. People will be able to detect your false attempt to show you care and it will back fire by people giving sub par effort.
I argue that because of these things and several other concepts Pete Carroll discusses in his book Win Forever, it gave the Seahawks the best chance to win when everything was indicating otherwise. Yes there were some amazing plays and great things that happened that helped tremendously–but without staying positive, playing hard to the end, believing, sacrificing, and trusting in each other and in a positive outcome when no one else did, there would be no way for the Seahawks to pull out that win.
We all face adversity and unexpected situations and sometimes will find ourselves in the same situation that the Seahawks were in. We have gone through every bad thing an athlete can experience from injuries, losing games and not achieving our full potential. Let us help you navigate through these difficulties and give yourself the best chance to be successful. Contact us now and let us help you take your game to the next level!
Sincerely,
Donny Mateaki
Leave a Reply