Failure by John Saintignon
Failure:
1. lack of success.
“an economic policy that is doomed to failure”
synonyms:
lack of success, nonfulfillment, defeat, collapse,
2.
the omission of expected or required action.
“their failure to comply with the basic rules”
There are many situations where we as coaches are in a position to help our players and those under our supervision to learn to handle winning and losing. Coach John Wooden, used to tell me, to treat those two imposters the same. I didn’t understand too well initially, but what he was saying is that you’re not as great as people think you are when you win and you are also not as bad as people say you are when you lose.
How can I teach those players the hardest part, the dealing with failure. I can share stories of course, that is one great way. Stories of my own failure. Stories like not having a job, stories like applying all over the place just to help your family survive and keep a smile. How do you do that? How do you do things like this when you have others look at you and make judgments? They haven’t walked a mile in your shoes, how can they judge you?
Well, I teach my players as well as my own sons, that this is the key to success is how you handle failure. There are stories like this that really help, like former United States President Harry Truman’s father who struggled his whole life to make a living as a farmer. A drought hit and the farm had to be foreclosed on. Many years later, a reporter asked Harry Truman why his father was a failure? Harry Truman replied, “How can my father have been a failure when his son is President of the United States?”
We can fail in a lot of areas. Work. Investing. Sports. You name it. But we can’t fail our players and our own children.
How do we avoid that? By spending as much time as possible with them and making them a priority. By loving them and using encouraging words. By hugging them whether they feel comfortable with it or not. Harry loved his father because he was a good dad. I love my coaches, like Coach Fimbres, Coach Keeley, Coach Scott, Coach Flannery, Coach Richardson, Coach Spencer, Coach Marshall, Coach Aumann, Coach John, Coach Whitsitt, Coach Sanchez, because these men believed in me, allowed me the opportunity to be a young Mexican American player from the South Side of Tucson, to have a dream and play. From St. John’s to Salpointe Catholic HS, to UCSC to UCSD to Oregon State University to Spain and Mexico as a professional. I was able to take the championship and lead the team at St. John’s for the CYO championship. I was able to be All State HS player and attend the prestigious 5 Star Basketball Camp as a HS player and play in the footsteps of those legends prior to me. I was able to lead the NCAA in Scoring because of my coaches belief in what I could do and of their constant work and attention. I was able to play professional basketball, because of all that confidence that was instilled into me from everyone. So much to thank them for, the lessons learned, but I will keep this to things to teach your players, like I was taught.
Here are the 10 things to teach your team about overcoming failure:
1. Not Everybody Gets A Trophy
Instant gratification is how we operate today. The motto became along the way somehow that we all win. We know it’s not true. It’s also a terrible example to set. Losing is every bit as important to human growth as winning. Rewarding your players for doing nothing will teach them just that. Nothing.
2. Everyone Has Different Talents
Maybe your players want to be like Michael Jordan and dunk the ball with a flare. Or be like Seth Curry and shoot the ball from anywhere on the floor. There are just some things we aren’t cut out for. It’s best to learn that at an early age. The good news is that they are a champion at something. Guide them towards where their gifts lie. Secret to coaching.
3. Have Class
What is one of the most flattering descriptions a person can hear? “He sure has a lot of class.” “She sure was a great sport about it.” Are you teaching your children how to fail with dignity? How a person accepts failure is an easy indicator of the character within. It also almost guarantees future success. Respect is gained outwardly and inwardly. Coach Tony Dungy is prime example of class. I want our players to shake hands with those that beat them, the same way they would had they won the game.
4. Learning From Mistakes
“I think and think for months. For years. Ninety-nine times the conclusion is false. The hundredth time I am right.” Who said that? Albert Einstein. Mistakes humble a person and have them rethink situations and become better. They can hurt. Yet without them, we are stagnant. Every mistake we make is an educational experience. Every success is built upon a foundation of errors and corrections. Warren Buffet one of the greatest investors in history, has said that he does not invest in any company until the CEO of that company has failed at least twice. Something to think about.
5. Teaching Others
When we fail, we gain experience. It’s important to share that knowledge. Use it to mentor others experiencing similar difficulties. Instill in your players the responsibility to share their mistakes in hopes to save another from making the same. Share your own stories about failure with your athletes, not just all the great success stories. It will have a great impact on them.
6. Leave It All On The Field
Boxing legend Joe Frazier once said, “If I lose, I’ll walk away and never feel bad because I did all I could. There was nothing more to do.” The most common phrase in sports has to be “leave it all on the field!” Explain to your kids to never cheat themselves on effort and they will always gain from it. No matter the outcome. Lombardi once said, ” I firmly believe that any man’s finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle – victorious.”
7. Perseverance
Determination wins many victories. We should not allow our players to give up on themselves. Maybe one of them brought home two straight failing test grades in math. He thinks there is no way he will ever get it. Help him pick himself back up and try again. Perseverance will eventually lead to positive results and a lifelong lesson never to be forgotten. Show them to have a stonecutters mentality. Everyday keep applying force and it will break.
8. Know How To Win
It might sound obvious, but knowing how to win is the easiest way not to lose. For instance, your team is selling candy for your fundraiser. They knock on two hundred random doors and sells twenty packages in four hours. A lot of effort for little gain. The next day they get the chance to set up a stand in front a busy grocery store. Shirts tucked, shoes tied. Charm in having fund and talking to all. They sell two hundred packages in a single hour. Which was the most successful tactic? Game planning is an essential part of a successful life.
9. Definition Of Success
Looking into the future, what do you wish for your players? That they are happy to have been taught by you? That they are respected and honest. That they have a loving wife and a family of their own. I highly doubt you would look into the future and hope he has an awesome car. Or that he’s shallow and in it for the money. Yet, that is exactly what is marketed at him. Eternal failure. Society teaches shallowness to be equal to success. As a coach, it is up to you to define success. Coach Wooden told me that I wouldn’t know how much of a success I was in coaching, until 10 years later, when those that were under my supervision were college graduates, husbands, fathers, professionals in other areas.
10. Sense Of Humor
There are times in life we are going to do really stupid things. The ability to laugh about it sure makes those moments a lot easier to deal with. When you make mistakes in front of your players, set that example. Don’t curse and scream at the sky. Just shake your head and laugh. It happens.
Let me know your thoughts? I welcome them. Please visit our new webpage, www.ocmagic.org and like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/orangecountymagic
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John Saintignon has an extensive background of an experienced and successful basketball coach at the International Professional, NCAA Division 1, NCAA Division 2 and High School levels — and a three-time NCAA All-American as a player and a professional player. Coach Saintignon has been helping players and their families navigate through the NCAA process of helping them get a college scholarship, having wrote a book on the subject while at Oregon State University, “ What does it take to get a college scholarship?”, as well as preparing them for the court. Coach Saintignon trains the athletes and provides performance nutritional advice working alongside Advocare to help his athletes reach their fullest potential. FB: JSSportsNet and at www.advocare.com/130423949
Saintignon was the Head Coach of Fuerza Guinda of the FIBA Americas; Coach Saintignon led his team to a Playoff finish. During the 2011-2012 season of the NBA lockout, Saintignon was instrumental in getting NBA players into jobs overseas having placed Jarron Collins and Mardy Collins into the CBA in China, Salim Stoudamire into Italy, Sam Clancy into Argentina, James Porter into Japan, Calvin Hampton into Bahrain. Over a 100 players have come through Los Angeles to get player development training including the future Hall of Famer NFL Defensive end and Superbowl winner Simeon Rice who came out to LA to train for 3 days in strenuous basketball training with Coach Saintignon.
Saintignon has been a coach in high school, college and professional basketball in Arizona, California, Oregon, Mexico and Bahrain. Most recently, Saintignon was the successful Head Coach in the Premier League in the country of Bahrain in the Middle East since March 2010, leading his team to a Final Four finish. Prior to that he was the Assistant Coach at Cal State Stanislaus University in the CCAA Conference and an NCAA Division 2 institution. Saintignon was also the Associate Head Coach and Director of Player Development for the Culiacan Caballeros of the top league in the Mexican Professional Basketball League (LNBP). As a first-year franchise, the Caballeros went to the LNBP playoffs in a top 6 finish.
Prior to coaching professionally, Saintignon was the Director of Basketball Operations and Assistant Coach at Oregon State University in the Pac-10 Conference from 2006 to 2007. Before landing in Corvallis, Saintignon was a teacher and Head Coach at Desert Edge High School in Goodyear, Ariz. His previous high school coaching experience included being the Head Coach at Canyon del Oro High School in Tucson, Ariz. (2001-04); Bonita Vista High School in Chula Vista, Calif. (1995-01); and Mar Vista High School in Imperial Beach, Calif. (1992-95).
Saintignon led his team at Canyon del Oro to the state tournament twice and was named the Coach of the Year in 2001-02. At Bonita Vista, he was also named the league’s coach of the year after leading his team to the CIF championship in 1999, the first CIF Championship earned in the schools history. At Mar Vista, Saintignon earned Coach of the Year honors by taking his team to the league championship in 1994-95, and the schools first since 1964.
As a guest speaker in Italy, Croatia, China, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Bahrain, Mexico Israel and Argentina, Saintignon has earned a reputation as an authority on player development and has produced several DVD’s on getting athletes better through individual training; “Advanced Guard Workout” is the title, as well as attacking on offense with his Secondary Break philosophy, called “On the Attack: Mastering the Secondary Break.”
Saintignon graduated from the University of California at San Diego in 1990 with a bachelor’s degree in Economics, and a Master’s degree from Liberty University in Sports Administration. He played one season at UC San Diego and three seasons at the University of California at Santa Cruz. In 1985-86, he was the Leading Scorer in the United States (USA) as he led the entire NCAA Divisions with 31.2 points per game scoring average. He earned All-Conference MVP and All-American candidate honors all three of his years at UC Santa Cruz as he scored more than 2,450 points in his career where he is the All-Time scoring leader in University history as his number was retired this year. He went on to play professionally in Spain and Mexico for four seasons earning various honors including several All-Star selections.
A native of Tucson, Ariz., Saintignon graduated from Salpointe Catholic High School where he was inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame in 1998. Saintignon has been married for 16 years to Angelica and they are proud parents of their two sons, Vicente (14) and Sebastian (11).
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