What is good? Welcome back to It's More Than
a Game podcast. I'm your host Jalen Harris, powered
by Elite Fit Connect. Episode 4. Episode 4. Let's
get into it. I really want to get right into
it, okay? So if you keep up with the WNBA, right,
and everything that goes on with it, there's
been a lot going on this year, this season, okay?
But what we just saw was Nafisa Collier, a WNBA
star, an Olympian. arguably the best player in
the league, leader of the Minnesota Lynx. They
just got kicked out of the semifinals of the
playoffs, but she didn't make headlines on the
court, right? She used her voice to speak about
the problems, about the politics of basketball,
right? She stood up at a press conference and
called out the WNBA commissioner in the league
office saying, flat out, this is the worst leadership
in the world. That's crazy. That's crazy to me,
right? But it's important for someone like her
to use their voice for the betterment of the
game, for the betterment of the players. Right.
You have you have the people at the top, like
the commissioner and other WNBA leaders. Right.
They're treated. I mean, rightfully so. Right.
They treat this as a business. So everything
is transactional. Everything. Everything becomes
transactional, especially in business. OK. And
then. In most cases. Some of these leaders just
lose sight of everything else that goes on, you
know, beneath them, right? And I hate to say
it that way, but that's just the fact of the
matter, okay? If you haven't seen it and you
watch the YouTube version of my podcast, I'll
put some clips up there so you can see. And I
want to be clear, this conversation is not about
winning or losing. It's about something much
bigger. The real threat to our league isn't money,
it isn't ratings, or even missed calls, or even
physical play. It's the lack of accountability
from the league office. Since I've been in the
league, you've heard the constant concerns about
officiating, and it has now reached levels of
inconsistency that plague our sport and undermine
the integrity in which it operates. Whether the
league cares about the health of the players
is one thing, but to also not care about the
product we put on the floor is truly self -sabotage.
Year after year, the only thing that remains
consistent is the lack of accountability from
our leaders. The league has a buzzword that they've
rolled out as talking points for the CBA as to
why they can't pay the players what we're worth.
That word is sustainability. But what's truly
unsustainable is keeping a good product on the
floor while allowing officials to lose control
of games. Fans see it every night. Coaches both
winning and losing. pointed out every night in
pregame and postgame media. Yet leadership just
issues fines and looks the other way. They ignore
the issues that everyone inside the game is begging
to be fixed. That is negligence. At Unrivaled
this past February, I sat across from Kathy and
asked how she planned to address the officiating
issues in our league. Her response was, well,
only the losers complain about the refs. I also
asked how she planned to fix the fact that players
like Kaitlyn, Angel, and Paige, who are clearly
driving massive revenue for the league, are making
so little for their first four years. Her response
was, Kaitlyn should be grateful. This is big,
right? Especially coming from a player like Fifi,
okay? And whether you disagree or agree with
her delivery, the truth of the matter is, it
takes courage, right? And it takes years of years
of personal growth and development to... You
know, step out in front of the world and express
yourself for the betterment of you and your coworkers,
your peers, the players, right? It takes true
leadership to speak up when the system is just
completely broken. And it's a reminder that leadership
doesn't just happen in the huddles or the locker
rooms. Leadership is influence, like we talked
about last episode, right? Leadership is influence,
it's responsibility, and it's accountability.
And that's what today's episode is all about.
Talk about process, talk about purpose and leadership.
These are reoccurring themes in my podcast, if
you haven't noticed. But we're going to talk
about how process builds resilience, even when
it might be invisible, okay? We'll talk about
how your purpose defines your why. And of course,
we're going to talk about how leadership, whether
you're a player, a coach trainer or a parent
has the power to shape futures in the game of
basketball on and off the court because basketball
has always been more than a game you know what
it is you know what it is okay i think i think
i mentioned this before i play basketball since
starting at a very young age okay and in seventh
grade i played at pflugerville middle school
and we we had some dogs and we we went under
-feeded We were throwing oops, you know, stuff
like that. It was crazy for a seventh grade team.
Mind you, my mom, who was a middle school coach
at the time, she also was at Pflugerville Middle
School, decided to move to a new middle school,
Kelly Lane Middle School. And obviously being
her son, I had the option to kind of choose school
within the area, right, within the district.
And, you know, I decided to follow my mom. So
I went to Kelly Lane, brand new school. First
eighth grade class there. And obviously I play
sports. I play football and basketball. OK, football.
I didn't care about football. I just played football
just to stay fit, you know, just to compete.
Right. Because I enjoy sports. I enjoy competition.
That's just who I was growing up, who I am. Right.
Didn't win a single game. In fact, we tied one
game, lost every every other game. Right. From
that point, I'm like, all right, I ain't playing
football no more. This is this ain't it for me.
So at that point, I decided to fully focus on
basketball, you know, after after middle school.
But that eighth grade season, the eighth grade
year at Kelly Lane, I was excited because this
was a new school. Some new players, no, pretty
much new players that I played with, got to play
with my best friend, some people that I came
up with. Right. And. It was the worst season
of basketball ever in my life. Right. And mind
you, I'd say about 50 percent of those players
on the eighth grade team I also played with in
high school. So it wasn't that we didn't have
the talent. It was just a new team, a new system.
Right. The coaches there, you know, whether they
knew what they were doing or not, that's besides
the point. It was just all new. So it was hard
to it was really hard to win. And I was very
unmotivated after that season. very unmotivated.
I mean, can you just imagine playing a game that
you love and for a whole season having no type
of success? That was tough times. I'm not going
to lie. Mentally, like I almost wanted to quit.
But that year taught me more about resiliency
than winning a winning season could ever do.
And at that same time, that kind of resilience
is what Fifi, Nafisa Collier is demanding from
the league, right? Resilience to admit mistakes,
to fix the system, and to value players the way
that they deserve, right? You have to understand
adversity, you got to expect it. You got to expect
it. We talked about the law of thirds. That's
something that you have to expect. It's going
to come. In what world is there a time where
you're not going to experience anything? Because
if you don't, you're just not going to grow.
There's no chance for you to grow without adversity.
OK. And with that in mind, you got to understand
adversity is not punishment. It's not. Adversity
is a beautiful thing. It allows you the opportunity
to grow and prepare for the next thing. That's
what it is right there. And so now. Right. You
know, I talked about going from seventh to a
seventh grade, from a extremely dominant team
to eighth grade to just a new environment. with
no success. And then we get to high school, right?
Didn't make varsity as a freshman, which, you
know, I was expecting myself to. Got pulled up
to varsity later in the year. And sophomore,
junior, senior year, relatively had a positive
high school experience, right? There's a lot
of factors that I think could have changed. Maybe
some decisions I could have made for myself,
but I don't regret. the experience I had through
high school basketball. I had a great team. Some
of my best friends were on that team. We had
a solid team and we were competing. We were pretty
successful given the circumstances. But then
going into college, that was a wake -up call,
right? So I battled injuries. I battled some
off -the -court issues, right? Being at West
Point United States Military Academy, the structure,
the discipline. The just rigor, having to really
focus on committing time to other things outside
of basketball and really putting focus on, you
know, academics. Right. Because in high school,
I graduated with a four or five and it just came
super easy to me. You know, fortunately, I didn't
have to study. I did homework pretty much the
day of in most cases. But going into an academy,
an institute like. a military academy west point
it's it's a world of a difference right the discipline
um and the other expectations right you're preparing
to be a an officer in the united states army
right it's just different but at west point i
learned something extremely powerful you cannot
fake your way through process the army taught
me discipline right i mean i was raised in a
military household my dad was a was an army officer
right so i kind of grew up in that but being
in it myself that that taught me even more discipline
right the injuries taught me humility the things
i went through you know the adversity taught
me humility and all that taught me that either
you adapt or you get left behind and i got left
behind for a bit i did right i'm just just being
frank okay but that's the same kind of adaption
that Everybody has to make, and that's something
that Nafisa called out in the WNBA, right? Leadership
isn't about titles. It's about accountability,
okay? And when leaders fail to adapt, everybody
loses. Everybody. And that's why I harp on just
the whole concept of leadership, because without
good leadership in the game, what are we really
doing? We're setting these kids up for failure.
That's simple as that, right? We're setting kids
up for failure, right? And that starts at the
youth level, okay? And then we could talk about
the issues, you know, from ground up in basketball,
right? At the youth level, we have middle schoolers
getting ranked. Seventh and eighth graders are
getting ranked nationally. And that is insane
to me. That is absolutely insane to me. I understand
it. We are competitive. We want to be the best
that we can be. We want to we have these big
goals and dreams and aspirations. Right. But
being nationally ranked in seventh and eighth
grade is bizarre. It does not make sense to me.
So, I mean, what does that mean? What does that
mean to me? Right. It means that these kids see
these rankings and they glorify them, right?
They think that being ranked number one or number
two in the country is going to be the difference
maker to their success in the future. These kids
haven't even came close to growing up. They're
still, they're tiny kids, right? They haven't
matured. Their voices haven't even dropped. They're
not strong. They're not even fully developed.
ranking these kids when we can, you know, get
ahead on building a community, a structure filled
with ethics and integrity, teaching fundamentals,
teaching the game, teaching how to navigate through
the game. That's what we should focus on, not
trying to get these kids to be nationally ranked,
right? Because we just lose sight of what's truly
important, okay? Again, right? If leaders don't
focus on what really matters and they don't adapt,
everybody loses. And if we're too focused on,
you know, if I'm a coach trying to get this kid
to be ranked number one nationally as a seventh
grader. In my opinion, I think we're failing
that kid. And so without that proper guidance
and, you know, proper leadership, and I'm not
saying I didn't have any of that, but. you start
to go through those things. You start to go through
adversity. I mean, you still will with it, right?
But without that proper leadership, it becomes
much harder to battle that adversity, to go through
it, right? And when you go through it, that kind
of dictates the way you move and the decisions
that you make, okay? When I made the decision
to leave basketball, of course, right? I felt
lost. It was a game that I loved, the game, my
first love, right? The game that I dedicated
everything to. So who was I without basketball?
I had to find a new identity. You know, it's
just that's what it is. Those are things that
you go through, anybody, right? No matter if
you stop playing at an early stage or you play
for a very long time, there's going to be a point
in time where you have to hang it up. And so
without the proper preparation and the community
that you come from, if you're not prepared for
that, it's going to be hard to bounce back from
that, right? And so back to Nafisa Collier, she
didn't just complain that the system was broken,
right? She built something new. She built something
new that benefits the players, that puts them
first, right? Setting aside the accolades and
her personal success, she built something that
is going to push the game further. That's in
the form of Unrivaled. She's a co -founder of
Unrivaled. They just went through another round
of investments. Let's take a look at what they're
valued at. Earlier this month, Unrivaled announces
$340 million valuation after the first inaugural
season. And that's just seven months after last
season, right? This was the close of a Series
B investment round led by Bestmore Venture Partners,
which is obviously a venture capitalist firm,
including investments from people like Serena
Williams, Warner Bros, Discovery, Tribe Ventures.
Okay, this valuation and additional funding is
set to expedite Unrival's growth. OK, they outperformed
last year. The revenue expectations in the first
season was pretty much doubled. And this allows
them to move quicker. This allows them to make
a much bigger impact. And so what are they doing
with that investment? That's I think that's a
big thing to really know. Right. Some of the
funds are going to be used to increase the venue
space that they have in Miami. Right. So they're
adding a 15000 square foot facility for players,
including second practice court, additional seats.
to the game arena. The average salary of players
will remain at six figures, which is more than
a lot of a player's salary. The last season,
players earned an estimated average of $222 ,222
and received equity in the league. So those players
who started with some equity last season, now
with this $40 million valuation, they're about
to make some money. right their stock just went
up okay so moving forward select athletes who
join the league will also receive equity but
this will be decided on a case -by -case scenario
as contracts are negotiated okay now that's just
business talk right there right obviously with
the amount of shareholders they have now they're
going to reap the benefits of these growing valuations
right better resources again better facilities
you know just a better environment right and
and this is something that the feast of collier
is championing okay and i think that's big right
fixing something you know at some point in time
you have to make a decision to not worry about
what you can't control sure you can call it out
absolutely you can call it out use your voice
especially if you have a platform like fifi right
but why not create something new create create
a better community Create a better environment
for players who are going through the same thing
that you are. Or maybe have gone through the
same thing that you did. Unrivaled is great.
It's competitive. It's entertaining, right? It
looks like these players have much more fun playing
the game. It's great for consumers, for viewership.
It brings a lot of eyes onto women's basketball,
right? Women's sports in general. So let's break
this down a little further, right? Because I
want everyone who is listening to this to truly
understand how groundbreaking this actually is,
okay? Okay, so we talked about the business side
of Unrivaled. So what is Unrivaled for those
of you who don't really understand, okay? Unrivaled
is a pro three -on -three women's basketball
league co -founded by Nafisa Collier and Breonna
Stewart. And it's different. It's just different
because of the following reasons, okay? It's
built. in the WNBA offseason so players don't
have to go overseas just to make a living. We
saw the issues of players going overseas. We
saw Brittany Griner getting hemmed up coming
back because she had something on her. But because
of the way the WNBA worked, she felt the need
to go overseas, to go hoop. So that's a pain
point that Unrivaled is addressing. The next
thing is unrivaled gives players ownership stakes,
which is something I already mentioned. Right.
Meaning that they aren't just employees. They
are equity partners. They have decision making
rights. Right. They have a say in a league, in
a system, in an environment. And they can improve
it for the betterment of the players. Right.
Again, addressing another pain point that the
WNBA has. Lastly, it's designed to grow visibility
for women's basketball, to highlight skill and
culture in a fast -paced, accessible format.
Again, addressing another huge pain point that
the WNBA has. Because historically, people just
don't watch the WNBA. There's been an increase
in viewership because of players like Kaitlyn
Clark, obviously, Angel Reese. But... We also
got to understand that Unrivaled made a big impact
on that as well, highlighting some of the top
players in the league outside of the WNBA. Now,
that's true leadership, in my opinion, right?
That's true leadership, trying to find a solution
to the problems, to the pain points that you
see currently in the WNBA. That's process and
that's purpose, really all just working together
cohesively. And Fifi didn't just highlight the
problem, right? She created that solution of
Unrivaled. for the future. And it's great. I
truly think it's great, right? And that's where
I see myself too. And, you know, granted, my
story is vastly different and I may not be building
a league, but I am building a platform and I
am building a community, okay? And, you know,
like Fifi, right? I think every leader who's
gone through it needs to have that mindset, right?
What are the pain points that we see in our community
in the game today and how can we address those?
to the best of our ability. As always, we cannot
harbor on what we can't control, but we can make
decisions and changes into our daily lives and
our mindset and the way we move and how we interact
with kids who play. And I'm really talking to
coaches and trainers, right? But people who are
on the business side too, right? Maybe you own
your own company or organization. Maybe you run
your own league or maybe you run a sports tech
platform. Is it more than just your product or
are you just selling the product to make money?
I haven't made a single dime off of Elite Fed
Connect. Obviously, it would be nice to make
some money off of it, but my biggest purpose
is just to build a community, to build that trusted
foundation for players growing up in the game,
to give back to the players. To build a system,
a system of structure and capabilities that help
coaches and trainer be more effective. OK, we've
got to restore this integrity in youth sports.
Right. Again, like these kids should not be getting
ranked at a young age, middle school. That's
insane. OK. I'm trying to free up coaches from
the admin headaches, right? Giving athletes true
development opportunities, right? There was a
thing that I, a video, I don't know if it was
on TikTok or whatever, but it was like an argument
about trainers, right? The need for trainers,
right? Obviously, you know, people have their
own opinions, right? One side of the spectrum,
it's, you know, trainers are a waste of time
and a waste of money. The other side of the spectrum
is like, you cannot make it without a trainer,
right? I think there's validity in both sides,
but there's a balance to it, okay? And there's
factors that you have to consider, right? One
is, if you're at an early stage, we're talking
like fundamentals, learning how to shoot, learning
how to dribble, learning how to space yourself
on the floor, the basic things. I don't think
you really need a trainer, personally. I think
you can use that money elsewhere, you know, just
to better whatever it is, right? I really don't
think you need a trainer at that age. But when
you start competing and when you want to really
further your game, especially with the way basketball
has evolved, like it's such a technical sport
now, right? You watch the NBA and they're doing
these crazy moves. But these are things that
they work on over and over and over and over
and over again. And they have, you know, other
perspectives. to validate that, to say like,
hey, this is what you're doing now. It's not
necessarily working, but maybe if you implement
this and try this out based off of what I'm seeing
and watching your game and watching how defenders
play you, right? I think this move is something
that you need to put in your bag, right? I think
that's when training becomes super valuable,
right? But with that, We have to make sure that
these coaches and trainers are are legit. Right,
because, again, back to the issue that we're
talking about in the WNBA, right leaders, the
problem is it starts with the leaders in the
WNBA. OK, so when we look at, you know, training
and player development, it's going to start with
the trainers. It's going to start with the coaches.
So if the coaches aren't aren't straight, if
the trainers aren't straight and doing the right
things, then. they're going to fail these kids.
So it's a balance, right? You just don't want
to go train with somebody just to say you have
a trainer, okay? There are people in this world
who don't know anything about the game, but they're
going to call themselves a basketball trainer
and say, I can get you to that next level when
they have nothing to show for it. They might
have never played the game. They might have never
coached. So you have to do your due diligence,
right? That's what it is. Don't just blindly,
you know. trust put your put all your trust in
someone in training right do your due diligence
and find that trainer but this is where elite
fit connect is trying to step in right we're
trying to build a tool for those coaches and
trainers just to better their their system but
we're also trying to just you know build that
community of coaches and trainers so that you
know younger players don't have a problem finding
a trusted trainer and that they can just worry
about the game itself right That's what we're
trying to do. And again, right, I have a totally
different experience. I'm in an entirely different
space in the game, but I have a very similar
purpose. And that's making sure the game we love
actually serves the people in it. That part,
that part right there. And now, right, through
adversity, we talked about adversity, right?
We talked about the need for leadership, true
leadership in the game to further it. To keep
the people first, right? But all that comes with
a process, right? Understanding the process and
that realizing that sometimes the things that
come from sticking with your process, it's going
to be invisible for a very long time. And like
I mentioned, I haven't made a single dime from
EliteFit Connect, okay? It's a process, right?
I've been doing this for under a year now, officially,
right? I guess from ideation, it's been about
a year and a half. But officially, right, we
kicked off earlier this year in January, okay?
Haven't made a single dime, right? Haven't had
a single investment other than pouring into it
myself, along with, you know, some of the other
co -founders, right? It's a process. Everything,
you know, the outcome has been entirely invisible
at this point. I'm not going to lie, right? And
there's some days I'm just like, what am I doing?
Am I wasting my time? Am I wasting my resources?
Should I just focus on everything else? But I
truly believe that process compounds over time.
If you're consistent every day, if you wake up
with a plan, with motivation, with a purpose,
You stick with the process. That's going to be
just occasional intensity. I can't just wake
up every other day ready to do it. Right. I got
to do this every day or else this is just going
to it's going to evaporate. Nothing's going to
come from it. Right. So I got to be I got to
be dedicated every day to this. If I really want
to see this through. Right. Same thing to on
the court. Right. If a player wants to get better,
you know, I mean, you know the saying no days
off. Right. Right. There's there's levels to
it and there's other factors. Right. But like,
really, there's no days off. What are you doing
every day to get better or to put yourself in
a situation that will further your growth and
get you get you to where you want to get to in
the game? As a trainer, right, if you really
want to be that trainer that everybody knows
and respects, even though that's not what you're
doing it for, but you want to make a difference
in all these kids life, what are you doing every
day? Are you just creating cookie cutter plans
for these kids just to say, I'm a trainer and
I gave them a workout. Now it's on them. Are
you really investing your time into the craft,
into the love for the game and into these players?
Josh Washington. OK. He's a perfect example of
this. And every time I talk to them, talk to
him, I am super, super, super motivated and inspired
to keep doing what I'm doing. OK, and he runs
his academy and his whole training program and
organization out of Lubbock. So who is Josh?
Right. OK, so as I mentioned, he's from Lubbock.
He has a organization called J .W .E. Josh Washington
Elite, and he's created a place where every single
player has the opportunity to fall in love with
the game of basketball. Right. And that's that's
key right there. He's providing that opportunity.
He's created in an environment. To get these
kids. To where they want to get to, whether they
do or not. Right. But he's giving them that opportunity.
OK, whether you are a beginner or getting ready
to play junior or high school basketball and
getting ready for your first college season or
aspire to be a professional basketball player.
JWE is the place for you. Hard work, determination
and dedication are attributes that each JWE player
exudes. Right. And we want you to be that next
player. So this is straight from his website.
OK. So let's take a look. I talk about, you know,
making sure that, you know, these coaches and
trainers are credible. They're validated and
they know what they're doing. Let's talk about
who he is. OK, so as I mentioned, he's from Lubbock.
He's played for Texas Tech University. He played
for Texas A &M, Corpus Christi. And I believe
he played overseas for a little bit in Canada.
Right. And, you know, he's been in the game for
a while. OK. And he started. J .W. Lee in 2022,
again, for players of all skill levels. But the
one thing that I really commend Josh for is just
the simple philosophy that he has. And that's
just the power of showing up. So what does that
mean? Right. The power of showing up. That's
waking up out of bed and getting to the gym,
even on the days that you don't want to as a
player. You're showing up. Right. And forcing
yourself through that mental game. Right. You're
teaching yourself that. It's OK to to struggle
sometimes. It's OK to kind of be unmotivated
because it's hard to be motivated every day.
But if you're disciplined. If you if you have
a structure. Or a process and you set those standards.
You're going to follow through. OK. Right. So
just show up. Right. Even as a coach and a trainer,
if you show up for your kids, that's going to
mean the world to them. Right. And you're setting
the example. All right. Josh emphasizes the importance
of consistency and achieving excellence, whether
on the court or in life. Again, I hope you can
see like the similarities into like what I'm
trying to do with Elite Fit Connect and some
of these people that I have conversations with.
Like the vision is the same, right? The vision
is the same. Yes, we want to create a better
environment in the game of basketball for these
young kids. We want to create those opportunities
for them to be successful and to get to where
they want to be, right? But at the same time,
you have to understand that basketball is not
forever, right? It will not be forever, no matter
how good you are. So as leaders in the game,
we have to be sure that we understand that. And
we accept that. And we teach our kids certain
skills and characteristics and values and ethics
and to have integrity for the game of life, not
just basketball, but for everything else in life.
And that's the beautiful thing about basketball,
right? The power of showing up. I think that's
that's powerful. OK. And big reason why I have
a huge respect for Josh, just the way he moves,
the way he talks. the way he loves the game.
He's a man with a family, a big family that he
prioritizes. He's a man of faith. He's a man
of God. And those are the types of people that
I love to work with. But for him, again, it took
time. It took time. He didn't just wake up one
day and say, I want to train kids. And he just
started out successful. It takes time to build
that system. That trusted system that, you know,
kids can can come to you and trust and enjoy
themselves in the game. It takes time. Right.
Same thing with the WNBA. Nafisa Collier. Right.
She didn't just wake up to and say, you know
what, I'm going to create a league called Unrivaled
and it's going to be successful. Right. There
is a process to it, especially from a business
standpoint. Right. There's things that you have
to take care of. You have to get some money,
you know, you have to have all your ducks in
a row. You have to make sure you have the resources,
right? Especially if you're airing this stuff
on TV. You got to worry about players. You know,
there's just a lot to it. It takes time. It's
a process. And Lord knows where it's going to
end, right? Who knows where Elite Fit Connect
is going to end up? Fortunately, we can reach
our, you know, our goals and accomplish what
we want to accomplish. Who knows? But through
that process, right, we have to trust it. We
have to trust everything that we do. We have
to trust, you know, the system that we put in
place that it's going to work. It takes credibility,
years of credibility, consistency, and trust.
And that's the same for everything that you do
in the game and everything that you do in life,
right? And this is exactly why process and purpose
cannot be separated. It goes hand in hand, right?
Process is going to build your habits. But purpose
makes those habits meaningful, okay? You can't
have one without the other. Together, that's
going to be what shapes your legacy. So it's
time, right? I'm going to give you some actionable
steps, whether you're a player, you're a coach,
you're a trainer, or you're a leader in the game,
right? I want you to conceptualize it and put
it into practice, right? Everything that I talked
about, okay? So what I want you to do is write
down three things about yourself that aren't
tied to stats. Okay, we're going to separate
ourselves a bit from the game. And we're going
to look at ourselves wholly, right? What are
three things about yourself that aren't tied
to stats? Players, and this is more specific
for players, but I think coaches and trainers,
they can do this exercise too. What are three
things about yourself that aren't tied to what
you do on the court with kids? Okay. Now for
leaders, right? If you're a leader in the game,
I want you to focus on leading with integrity.
Do that for this week. Make that your focus.
You should lead with integrity 24 -7, but in
your head, the first thing in your mind is leading
with integrity. So what does that mean, right?
I want you to choose development over politics.
I want you to choose commitment over money, okay?
Things like that, right? Lead with integrity.
Keep that in the forefront of your mind. For
parents, I got one for you too. Have one conversation
this week about identity beyond the game, okay?
So my son is only five years old, right? He plays
sports. He's playing soccer right now. And he's
actually, he's probably the better one on the
team, right? Two, this is second year playing
soccer. You know, he's an athlete. Look at his
dad. Look at his mama, right? He's an athlete.
OK. But the one thing that for me as a parent,
right, especially having played at a high level,
the last thing I want to do is one, just stress
out my son in the game or just in sports. Right.
Because this this is not a time for him to, like,
focus on winning or like being the best. And
yeah, these are some things that we talk about.
Right. But more importantly. I want him just
to enjoy himself and learn, right? Learn, learn,
learn as much as you can. And I'll get on him
when he's not paying attention to the coach.
Mind you, I coached the first season of soccer.
I decided not to coach this season, but I'll
get on him about, you know, paying attention
and that. horse playing or, you know, fighting
with other kids. Right. And I'll get him onto
him in that regard. But I just want him to have
fun and learn, just learn about the game, because
the more you learn, the more you can apply that
to other things in life. Right. Now, this winter,
I'm going to be his first season of basketball.
OK, we're just playing in a rec league. But same
thing. Right. I want to teach him the game the
right way. But I also want him to enjoy it. Right.
Because I don't want him to have any negative
connotations through the game. Right. Because
the more you grow, the higher level you play
at. The more you're exposed to all the other
stuff. Right. So we're focused on just learning
and having fun. OK. But with that, like I want
to make sure that he understands that. his character
and how he is, how he acts, you know, you know,
we teach him about respect. We teach him about,
you know, challenging yourself, you know, whether
it's in school or in sports or being nice to
his sister, using kind words, right? That's applicable
on and off the court. So for parents, again,
right, have that one conversation this week about
identity beyond the game, okay? And that's kind
of what I'm talking about. If all of us players,
coaches, Parents, leaders, take these steps.
We're going to build such a healthy culture in
the game of basketball. And that's what this
show is all about. That's what this podcast is
all about. That's what Elite Fit Connect is all
about. That's what JWE, Josh Washington Elite,
is all about. That's what BTY Basketball in Austin,
Texas is all about. That's what Locked In is
all about with Malcolm. We talked about him last
week. Right. This is what Atholite is all about.
Stormwoods out of Austin. That's why we do what
we do. OK, to create a healthy culture in sports.
OK. And, you know, I had all these points that,
you know, some other points that I want to talk
about that I wanted to talk about. But, you know,
with everything that went on in the WNBA recently,
Fizzy Collier, you know, showing us this week
that leadership is about more than just wins.
Right. I really wanted to focus on that. On that
point, right, it's about accountability. It's
about courage and creating something better for
the next generation. OK, if you say, call your
bill unrivaled, I'm building elite fit connect.
And we have these other trainers and coaches
who are just amazing, you know, building their
own organizations. Right. And I hope, you know,
we can all kind of, you know, band together and
join forces, whatever that may look like. To
just continue to further the game and build such
a good, healthy community. And we all come from
the same place. A place of deep rooted love for
the game and a commitment to leave it better
than where we found it or how we left it as a
player, as the athlete. Right. So whether you're
a player grinding for just a scholarship, trying
to get to that next level or trying to make the
team, make the starting squad, or whether you're
a coach building a program. or a trainer, you
know, developing an academy or a league, working
on athletes, right? Or maybe you're a parent
supporting your kid's dream. Remember, remember
this one thing. The game will not last forever.
But the impact that you make will. Promise you.
Promise you that, okay? Thank you again for tuning
in to It's More Than a Game, powered by EliteFit
Connect. Please, if you enjoyed this show, Share
it with the player. Share it with the teammate.
Share it with the coach. Share it with the parent
who really needs to hear this, right? Let's keep
building this community together, okay? It's
going to take a village, right? You know the
saying, right? It takes a village to raise these
kids, right? And that's what we need to do within
the game, right? This is a village. We got to
band together just to make it a healthy experience,
okay? Always remember, it's more than a game.
It's a process. It's a purpose. And it's legacy.
All right. See you next week. Peace.