# 91: Reading Games & Players
Story behind the Passage
Today I watched a documentary about Bastian Schweinsteiger, the German soccer player. It really moved me. It was done by the German film maker Til Schweiger. To me, the movie was another masterpiece of his. But I have to admit that I only know a handful of movie makers. And Schweiger is one of my favorites. Back to Schweinsteiger: The movie did not just touch me so much because Schweiger produced it. I just loved learning about the person and about his journey — “From Beginning to Legend,” as the movie is called.
That got me thinking about the importance of sports in my life but also in business. The quote by Holtz above is from a fabulous book about coaching. I know nothing about Holtz except for the quote and the fact that he is a football coach. But these things are not even that important. In order to learn something from the quote, you simply have to read it and reflect on it, that is all. If you are a sports person, I am sure you immediately know what he is talking about. And if you are not, you are still invited to think about it.
My Learnings
“My challenge is simply not to demotivate them.” You know, it is quite funny but I realized quite late that in certain work or social spheres, there are not many athletes around. For sure, in my old surroundings, academia, there were not many athletes. Now, when I say “athletes,” I mean people who do real sports. Yes, people will hate me for saying this now but what I mean by ‘real’ sports are disciplines such as soccer, tennis, basketball, or even track and field or boxing. That means, I am not only talking about team sports that involve balls. What I just wanted to clarify is that spinning in the gym or doing Zumba is not what I mean by being an “athlete.” Of course, all these other activities are sports but they do not necessarily bring about the mindset and the skills that I am going to talk about.
Alrighty, now that I have pissed off many people by saying this, let me move on. The reason why stories of real athletes touch me so much is… I cannot even explain it in rational terms. It is simply that, if you are an athlete, you can identify so much with people like him. Of course, most of “us” do not ever make it to the professional level but even if you are playing on the varsity team in high school or in a local soccer club, you do not end up there simply because you decided to become a member from one day to the next, as people do nowadays when they join a gym. No, usually, sports has been part of your life from early childhood onwards. And that shapes your character, there is no way that anybody can convince me of the opposite.
Of course, there are as many characters in sports as there are in all other fields. But the one and only thing that people who are into real sports have in common is: they want to win. It is that simple. You do not play soccer if you do not want to win. There is simply no way. For sure, winning is not the only thing that keeps you in the game. It is the fun of playing but there is always an element involved that makes you want to improve. Some people call it ambition, some people call it fighter spirit. I think, all of this and much more is involved. But what differentiates people in other “sports” from real athletes is exactly this winning attitude. It makes you go beyond personal boundaries — mentally and physically.
This is also why the short quote by Holtz makes so much sense. People who play on a team do not have to get motivated. You would never end up on a team if you were not motivated. Plus, if you love the game, nobody would ever have to motivate you. Sure, there are days that suck, when you just do not feel like going to practice. But one or two days later, you start missing the feeling of playing. It is when you completely feel at ease with yourself on the field. You can give everything you have without even thinking about it. It is like writing in some ways. If you love writing, nobody ever needs to force you. You just have to do it, no matter what, even if it might be harder on some days than on others.
The problem with shitty coaches — and that also applies to teachers and bosses in non-sports contexts — is that they completely screw up. They think they have to motivate people and the way that they communicate this is: “You suck.” I definitely had some coaches like this when I was younger and I usually left the team soon. Sure, that might have been the wrong decision. Maybe I should have stayed and maybe I would have grown by simply listening to them and doing whatever they were saying. But if someone simply makes you hate a sport that you previously loved, there is something wrong with the coach, I think.
I was so happy to listen to some of the coaches that Schweinsteiger had, above all, Jupp Heynckes. I never thought I would ever blog about soccer and particular coaches here, but why not? Heynckes to me is one of the best sports coaches in history. The way that he reads players and the way that he communicates with them is not just professional or skilled, it is art, it is in his DNA. I have no other words for this. A sensitive coach like him knows how to motivate every single player differently because he is able to read the players and their needs. And reading was also a term that came up when Schweinsteiger talked about his instincts as a midfielder:
“I love reading a game so much more than reading books.” (Schweinsteiger)
I guess, people who just read books cannot understand what he is saying; the fascination with reading a game, reading the players, reading all interactions on the field. To me, this was such a joy listening to him and looking at his shiny eyes. Indeed, there is so much in sports that non-athletes probably never notice. They just see people chasing a ball or swinging a racket. But sports really is a school for life and the most important thing for me is that you can really find out who you are while playing — while competing. It is not only that competing shapes you, it is also that competing gives your personality room to simply be.
I know, competition seems to be such a bad thing for some people. But as it turned out, these people are not my people. And being among people who somehow tick like you is essential. There is no judgement involved. I simply cannot deny that loving to compete has been part of my identity since early childhood. Whenever I played soccer or tennis, I played to win. And I have to underline that, yes, of course, you want to beat the other team but really, you always play against yourself. Learning how to control your nerves and also learning how to deal with losing is such a powerful process of growth. Again, I never actually made it close to any high-level team but this identity trait of competing and practicing to become better is the fundamental thing.
The thing is, I am not quite sure how I could lose this ability, this important aspect of my identity for a while. Or maybe, I do know and I partly wanted it this way. If you play a lot and you practice a lot, you can easily overdo it. And overdoing not only means that you hurt your muscles but you also stop differentiating between sports and everything else in life. If you come to see everything as a match, you are always in a winning mode. Bu that simply is not possible; at least not with the same intensity. You have to focus on certain areas and relax in others.
The ability to exactly know what a player needs from you as a coach in sports is exactly the same ability that you need as a coach in business. Again, “coach” not only means “professional coach” here. I would also include any leadership figure in this group. You need to sense what your people need individually to unfold their real potential. But that only works if you never forget that their motivation brought them to the place they are in right now. That also means, however, that coaches need to be very picky about their environment and the people they are coaching. If you are a really “ambitious” coach with a lot of potential, you are not the right type for coaching mediocre people. Yes, this sounds harsh but it will not work out at some point. Neither of you will be happy.
I just wish I would have thought more about my roots in sports in relation to my professional choices earlier. But maybe this is part of learning how to read yourself. At least, I can really encourage anybody who is into sports to not let others interfere with your mindset and your instincts. There are always people who “just play for the sake of playing.” That is fine. Let them enjoy it. If you are someone who wants to win, accept it and improve your talents. Just make sure that there are indeed other things in life that are not about competition. With this and many other personal resources you can grow into a coach yourself; someone like Schweinsteiger, someone who embodies the joy of playing, the uncompromising will to win and the compassion and humbleness to share this joy with others — on the field and at the sidelines.
Reflection Questions
1) What are sports that you enjoyed in your childhood? Do you still practice them?
2) How do you think about the quote by Holtz?
3) Make a list of three top sports coaches that you admire. Which individual characteristics set them apart?