11/07/2013

The Grit & Great #1: Olivet Eagles

 " Ask not what your teammates can do for you. Ask what you can do for your teammates." -Magic Johnson

 There was a sense of pressure I put on myself in finding a story that truly represented the "Grit & Great." However, as I began this journey on Sunday to find the article of the week one fit perfectly with the meaning behind "Grit & Great."

Before I share this story with you and the reasons for choosing this as our weekly "Grit & Great" I want to break down the meaning of having GRIT and how that turns into GREATness.

Having GRIT is a part of one's personality and often defined as; perseverance and passion.  When one has/demonstrates GRIT they often have worked persistently through challenges maintaining hard work and determination to reach their goals despite adversity and challenges in the process (Duckworth, Peterson, Matthews & Kelly, 2007). One can understand that if you have the GRIT quality you will eventually reach GREATNESS. I would argue that this quality can be shown within an individual as well as a group or team. Our weekly "GRIT & GREAT" highlights how a team demonstrated this and ever changed their culture.

The Olivet Eagles football team from Olivet Middle School, MI showed not just GRIT & GREAT but the true meaning of a team. What stood out the most about this compelling story was hearing how this incident not only affected the intended teammate but the entire team, and community. A change has been made in this community and hopefully can be demonstrated in many other areas. One young teammate was honest and said it best. He was candid in stating he would not have thought of this idea on his own, and pretty much would not have cared to. It wasn't on his radar to be caring and mindful of making someone else a priority.

In reality I don't blame him, not only do most middle schoolers think this way, but most of us in general act this way. The change in his mindset, demeanor, and character is truly heartwarming. He knows the play was not just doing something nice for his teammate to demonstrate how they are a true member of a team, but really to do something meaningful to make someone's day and show they support him and have his back. This young teammate Justice has a new mantra in life and will be taking something more from his football experience than just being a "popular, cool, talented wide receiver."



This week's "Grit & Great" can be an important lesson to us all. Not just working through adversity but working together to be great and demonstrating you have someone's back and will be there when things get hard.





Reference: Duckworth, A., Peterson, C., Matthews, M., & Kelly, D. (2007). Grit: perseverance and passion for long-term goals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92(6), 1087-1101.

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