Week 3 - How can athletes use adversity to their advantage?

Not too long ago, one of our current alumni jumpers faced some of the toughest adversity. During the 2018 North Carolina Rope Skipping Workshop Spectacular, this jumper tweaked her knee in a freak incident. At first, everyone thought she had injured her ankle and would be out for a few weeks, but unfortunately it was much worse; she had torn her ACL. This injury is specifically tough to be diagnosed with because it requires a 9 month recovery time. This jumper was in one of the top female groups in the U.S. at her time, but that was the least of our worries when we found out about the severity of her injury. Our top priority immediately became her mental well-being and road to recovery. The reason I chose this story is because this jumper was an amazing team member, leader, and athlete who was, and is today, respected by everyone around her. 

Circling back to the time of her injury, I wanted to see how she would respond, especially because of the length of her recovery. In my self-conscious mind, I knew she wouldn't let the team down. She continued coming to practice, she didn't whine about her circumstances, and she kept supporting her teammates and group. At the time, she was bringing more value to the program through her adversity than most people realized. To this day, I am grateful to this person because she taught the program how to face our challenges head-on by displaying grace and never giving up and becoming selfish. 

Let this be a wake-up call for those of you who are going through difficult times. You will be introduced to yourself through your fights against adversity and you will get knocked down. What matters is how you respond to the pressures the world lays on. Will you thank the pressures for making you stronger, or will you allow them to dictate your life for you? 

Week 2 - How do you channel change, small or large, into something positive? 

When the pandemic hit in 2020, the world turned upside down. As a program, we had to embrace many changes. One of the largest shifts we made was with our practice schedule. We had been used to practicing with the whole team altogether, but based on information given by the leadership team at the time, we knew we had to gather in smaller numbers. Now, our jumpers are able to practice with their grade divisions at every practice and still receive the instruction of their older kids. Changing our routine schedule after 32 years was not easy, but it was necessary, and I am thankful to the leadership team who helped come up with this new plan. As we move further from Covid-19, we have decided to keep this schedule because it has allowed our jumpers to spend more time with their age group and consequently build better relationships with those their age. 

A major schedule shift is just one way our program adjusted and grew from an abrupt change, but we also adopted a virtual program during the pandemic that turned out to be a huge success. As many people know, I don’t get along with social media, but I can’t deny the benefits of our virtual program. When the pandemic first hit, I had a parent call me and tell me that I had to take advantage of the virtual platform, Zoom. My response was that I wanted to “Zoom away from all things virtual” and that there was no way under the sun I would get into any part of the technology world. Now, I have great respect for Zoom because it allowed students who were unable to come in person to have the opportunity to jump and participate in the program. It also gave those leading the virtual program the chance to develop a unique skill set that will benefit them later in life as our world becomes more technologically advanced. 

Finally, the third unique adjustment the program made during the Covid-19 Pandemic was the “Learning From the Bulldogs” announcements. During a time of isolation, I wanted to find a way to continue communication amongst everyone who was a part of the program. With the help of many alumni, “Learning From the Bulldogs” became our way of reaching out to families and keeping our mission alive even when we couldn’t be in the gym. This system consisted of regular posts sent out to our members that had blogs about what our core values and mission meant to our alumni when they were on the team and throughout their life after graduating. Parents and jumpers learned a lot about the program through the alumni and they were able to hear personal experiences and other inside stories about the program that they likely didn’t know before. Overall, these posts allowed us to reinforce the mission statement, share the powerful and meaningful stories of our alumni, and bring the Bulldog closer during a difficult time. 
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So, how do you channel change into something positive? Well, you just “Embrace Change” and “Rise Above” the difficult times because they will make you and your program stronger in the end! 

What does a new year or new season entail for an athletic program?

The number one thing you should look for going into a new season is leadership. Over the past 35 years, the Bouncing Bulldogs program has had excellent leaders, and it all starts in the summer. During what many call the off-season–June through September for the Bulldogs–you should focus on the athletes who show up on a high level. You do this to discover who the high school leaders will be during the new season. Then, for the next 30 days, I search for captains; captains should be two strong, senior leaders who consistently reflect the program’s mission statement and 10 core values. Once your leadership and captains are in place, you should focus on team chemistry for around 90 days. Ultimately, your team’s chemistry is dependent on the strength of your leadership. During this process, I also like to plan at least one show per week. Doing this gives us time to get away from the gym and truly see the growth of individual athletes. Traveling any distance gives you time to see how your team members interact with each other during bus rides, sharing meals, and performing. All of these situations allow you to observe people’s personalities as well as the growth of your team’s chemistry. 
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Many coaches are challenged at the start of a new season because their athletes change drastically over the off-season. After watching teenagers change over numerous summers, I have learned to keep the mission statement and core values of the program close during the beginning of the season. I continually remind the jumpers that the program is designed to improve their physical, emotional, social, and academic well-being…not just their jump rope skills. Then again, I have to reinforce the core values early on to get the whole team on the same page. For me, everything starts with discipline. I learned the importance of discipline from many of my mentors, but I love how the great Dean Smith said, “Your freedom in life comes from discipline.” Once you’ve weaved in your core principles and made sure those in leadership roles hold the same standards as you, then you will have a solid foundation to make a great year. Finally, as integral as those first months of your season are, it’s important to use the winter break to evaluate your team’s progress in all of the above aspects as you head into January.