After completing his career of more than fifteen years in the NFL, primarily with the San Francisco 49er’s where he received numerous awards including Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl XXIX, Sports Illustrated and Sporting News’ Player of the Year from 1992-1994, and the NFL’s Most Valuable Player for 1992 and 1994, Steve Young has made a successful transition to the next professional phase of his career. In 2005 Young was the first left-handed quarterback to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Young is also the highest-rated quarterback in NFL history and has the distinction of being the only signal caller to win four consecutive NFL passing titles.
Currently Young is a Managing Director and Co-founder of Huntsman Gay Global Capital. He also founded and chairs the Forever Young Foundation, which is actively involved in children’s charities worldwide and is currently the broadcast host as well as the former International Spokesperson for the Children’s Miracle Network which has raised over one billion dollars world-wide to benefit children’s hospitals. He remains involved with football for ESPN’s Monday Night Football pre-and post-game shows.
SZ: Steve as a professional athlete playing at the highest levels of football you demonstrated great mental toughness. In your opinion what are the qualities of mental toughness in professional football?
SY: I think like a lot of things people have a predisposition almost towards mental toughness. They just are that way. You can certainly become tougher. It can be taught. But if you really want to accomplish something, and I’m not talking about 4th quarter, down by four, but by daily looking at what you are trying to accomplish there’s a grit that I think you can really develop and accomplish by just demanding grit from yourself. You can be mentally tough in college sports or high school, but playing in the professional game does really separate a lot of people. That highest level, it’s like anything, it’s like any super talent that you develop. Mental toughness is a talent that can be developed. Mental toughness is as much a talent as eye hand coordination.
There are supremely athletically talented people that I’ve known that lack the mental toughness and did not succeed. They stopped a level below. They could have been a great professional player but were finished after college, not due to their lack of athletic ability.
SZ: The mental toughness is it the day to day discipline?
SY: It’s a challenge everyday. You’ve got to challenge yourself everyday if you are going to get there. At the professional level you develop it and you don’t know how to get rid of it. It seems innate. All those guys with mental toughness, they don’t back down.
SZ: Nothings going to get in their way?
SY: I’m not talking about being a bull in a china shop. I’m not talking about hyper-competitiveness where you race someone to the car. Mental toughness is not being overly competitive. It’s a quiet thing in the moment a grit that 99 out of a 100 people would stop or go around the challenge or would avoid it, and the one person who goes through it doesn’t duck.
SZ: A clarity or vision of the goal?
SY: No, it’s an inner will. I know a lot of really nice guys who are exemplars of this iron will. Peyton Manning comes to mind. There’s no backing down, but it’s within a context. I’ve seen people who are hyper-competitive who want to compete in places where it’s not useful.
SZ: It sounds as though you are describing mental toughness as a type of intelligence.
SY: It is. We have to actively engage will. You are right it’s not something that’s mindless. It’s almost like I see what I’m facing and human nature kind of tells me to duck it but I’m not going to and I’ve trained myself to face challenges in this way. It’s an intelligence definitely and that’s an important piece of the puzzle. The strongest willed people are the one’s that I think have learned, have trained themselves and those are the most scary because you go into it and you say, “Wow man this is going to be tough.” That’s a unique person and every once in awhile you find a person where iron will and talent meet and you get Jerry Rice.
You don’t necessarily develop an iron will at age ten but I think it develops very young. It’s how you deal with adversity that’s around you. You can blossom in this way later but I think it’s innate.
SZ: How have these qualities which we’ve just discussed helped you successfully transition into business after a playing career?
SY: I think the thing you hit on was awareness. Because a lot of guys fall off the cliff of retirement and don’t get back up because it’s too much of a transition. I think it’s because you are aware. There is humility to it, “I was really great at something, now I’m not great at anything.” So the misstep is to hold onto what you are great at. You want to talk about it you want to have people around you who talk about it. That activity that you were great at, it’s over, and that’s the challenging part. The process is, “I better become skilled at something new.” The greatest transition I made was saying that exact thing. I began the long haul process of becoming at least good at something else.
SZ: There’s humbleness in that process.
SY: There’s no question. The core piece to that puzzle is humility. You have to have the image within yourself of starting over. The knowledge of, “I did it once in one field, I’m capable of doing it again.”
SZ: Is it an exciting process?
SY: No, it’s a grind. But like anything else that you do head on in time is the most rewarding thing you’ll ever do. You take the best things in living life, after the grind, after the struggle and there’s richness to it. That’s in relationship, sports, that’s in transitions, there’s a depth of what’s accomplished. It comes through the struggle and so that’s why I think accomplishing something worthwhile the first time, you have that resource within yourself to do it again. Though you’ve got to accept it’s going to be a trial.
SZ: What are some of the challenges?
SY: At some level it’s like going back to school at 38 or 40 years old whether it’s metaphorical or real school. It’s not something you necessarily wish to do. That’s where the humility comes in. You have to say, “I’m not that knowledgeable yet in this profession.”
SZ: You already had your law degree prior to completing your professional playing career.
SY: Right so I had a leg up. I didn’t really have to go back to school. I was grateful for that. The fact that I had gone to law school gave me competency, so people could actually hire me. Once you are in the door it’s a game of making it happen. It’s like anything else at some point you get that job, you get that opportunity now you’ve got to make it happen.
SZ: Do you have a favorite quote, story or tip that has guided you on your professional path?
SY: One of the things that really helped me as a young professional football player was my hero Roger Staubach. Roger had served in the Navy for four years then came out and went on to become one of the greatest players for the Dallas Cowboys. I found myself early mid-career saying to myself, “Roger played late, I can do it.” Roger was a role model and inspiration for me.
Steve thank you so very much for taking time out of your extremely busy schedule to take part in this discuss of mental toughness and athletic transition.
*Featured guests are not former nor current clients of Susan Zaro
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Eric Reveno - Univeristy of Portland's Head Basketball Coach
Eric Reveno, took over as University of Portland’s men’s basketball head coach in April, 2006, becoming the 20th coach in Pilot history. He previously served nine successful seasons as an assistant coach at Stanford. Reveno has had remarkable results building up the Pilots basketball team since he took on the head coach job. Reveno led the Pilots to a 21-11 record and second consecutive postseason appearance. The 21 wins matched a school record and the Pilots earned a top 25 ranking in the Associated Press Poll for the first time in 50 years.
An imposing 6-foot, 8 inch figure, Reveno commands respect not with mere presence, but with his passion for, and teaching of, a disciplined style of play. Himself a post player for the Cardinals in the late 80’s under both Tom Davis, and Mike Montgomery, Reveno was described as a fierce competitor on the court. After graduating from Stanford in 1989, he spent four years playing professional basketball in Japan. He returned to Stanford and obtained his M.B.A.
SZ: Coach Reveno you played a major role on the Stanford men’s basketball team as a starting center in the 80’s. Years later you became an associate head coach at Stanford. What awareness/ideas from your previous playing/coaching days made an impression on you regarding the importance and structure of a team’s culture?
Coach Reveno: The most important thing I learned from my playing days at Stanford was the value of productive conflict. The team I played on had the ability to confront each other with honest communication and move forward and grow. As a coach, I am cautious when I see a team that always “gets along”. Like any family, team working so hard together is going to have conflict. We try to make sure that team members are always respectful of each other and that the goals of the team are always the top priority.From this culture of honest communication, growth as a team can take place.
SZ: Since becoming the Head Coach of the Portland Pilots you’ve been recognized as a leader in the use of sport performance analysis technology. What types of technology do you utilize with the players in teaching player development? In what ways is this technology useful to you as a coach and for the player’s?
Coach Reveno: Digital video is the most valuable teaching tool that we use on a daily basis. It starts with digitally capturing all of practice and games including individual player footage. From there we log the video either from a team strategy or individual skill development perspective. The objective here is to have the video log based on how you will use it to teach. Sometimes it may be something like the ability to watch all of a player’s turnovers of missed shots. We try to tailor how we use the video based on what the player needs. Not what the technology allows us to do. Therefore, we are always trying to be more creative in what we watch and how we watch. We email clips, put video on in the locker room, post it on a server they can access and have individual meetings. Each player has different areas to focus on and different ways in which they learn so we try to adapt to them.
SZ: Prior to beginning your career as a basketball coach you completed your M.B.A. In what ways was attending business school useful in preparing you for your future as a head coach?
Coach Reveno: The most fundamental way business school helped prepare me to be a head coach is it teaches how to run a business. A Division 1 basketball program has all the challenges of a small business ranging from human resources to marketing to managing budgets. All the nuts and bolts of a small business exist for a college basketball coach. However, I think the most valuable lessons from business school had to do with defining and solving organizational problems. The training in strategic planning and market positioning are just examples of areas that take advantage of classic MBA training.
SZ:You’ve mentioned your passion for the game and look for this quality in your coaching staff. What are the signature qualities you look for in a staff member who fits your definition of “has a passion for the game?” How do these qualities add to the continued success of your program?
Coach Reveno: I think you have to be what Jim Collins calls “functionally neurotic” in the sense that you are truly driven to be the best you can be. No little element is too small to correct if it will help you be the best coach you can be. That approach is contagious and serves as an example for the players. You also have to be hard-wired to believe that truly great things can really only be achieved with teamwork.
SZ:Some of the preparation for the team season involves, players embracing the team culture, physical training, technological analysis, does the team practice mental performance tools or do the above mentioned items create the foundation of mental conditioning?
Coach Reveno: Unfortunately, we do not consistently do mental training exercises. We consciously work to establish pre-practice and pre-game routines and are very aware of the power of the language we use when teaching but I believe we could take it another step. Part of the constraint has been time and the inability to adequately individualize it based on players needs given both time and expertise constraints.
SZ:You became head coach of the Pilots in 2006 and your leadership gave the program an immediate burst of success that has continued. It’s just as important for the coaches to be in shape mentally as it is for the players. What are some things you do to keep yourself fresh mentally season after season?
Coach Reveno: The thing I do the most consistently is study other coaches, either by going to clinics, reading books or watching games and practices. Things do not get stale because I feel I can always be improving as a coach. In addition, I strongly believe you need to adjust to each team each season and also be constantly adjusting to what each team needs throughout the season. Therefore, no two practices are ever the same. What a team needs on any given day to help achieve its goals is truly unique and you are always in search of that “perfect” practice plan
SZ: Do you have a favorite inspirational quote, story that has guided you on your professional path?
Coach Reveno: I love quotes. Well thought out ideas that help guide us daily. My favorite is the poem by Rudyard Kipling “If” It seems to cover it all.
IF you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
' Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!
Coach Reveno, thank you for taking time out of your very, busy schedule
for this interview. Congratulations on another great basketball season.
*featured guests are not former nor present clients of Susan Zaro
An imposing 6-foot, 8 inch figure, Reveno commands respect not with mere presence, but with his passion for, and teaching of, a disciplined style of play. Himself a post player for the Cardinals in the late 80’s under both Tom Davis, and Mike Montgomery, Reveno was described as a fierce competitor on the court. After graduating from Stanford in 1989, he spent four years playing professional basketball in Japan. He returned to Stanford and obtained his M.B.A.
SZ: Coach Reveno you played a major role on the Stanford men’s basketball team as a starting center in the 80’s. Years later you became an associate head coach at Stanford. What awareness/ideas from your previous playing/coaching days made an impression on you regarding the importance and structure of a team’s culture?
Coach Reveno: The most important thing I learned from my playing days at Stanford was the value of productive conflict. The team I played on had the ability to confront each other with honest communication and move forward and grow. As a coach, I am cautious when I see a team that always “gets along”. Like any family, team working so hard together is going to have conflict. We try to make sure that team members are always respectful of each other and that the goals of the team are always the top priority.From this culture of honest communication, growth as a team can take place.
SZ: Since becoming the Head Coach of the Portland Pilots you’ve been recognized as a leader in the use of sport performance analysis technology. What types of technology do you utilize with the players in teaching player development? In what ways is this technology useful to you as a coach and for the player’s?
Coach Reveno: Digital video is the most valuable teaching tool that we use on a daily basis. It starts with digitally capturing all of practice and games including individual player footage. From there we log the video either from a team strategy or individual skill development perspective. The objective here is to have the video log based on how you will use it to teach. Sometimes it may be something like the ability to watch all of a player’s turnovers of missed shots. We try to tailor how we use the video based on what the player needs. Not what the technology allows us to do. Therefore, we are always trying to be more creative in what we watch and how we watch. We email clips, put video on in the locker room, post it on a server they can access and have individual meetings. Each player has different areas to focus on and different ways in which they learn so we try to adapt to them.
SZ: Prior to beginning your career as a basketball coach you completed your M.B.A. In what ways was attending business school useful in preparing you for your future as a head coach?
Coach Reveno: The most fundamental way business school helped prepare me to be a head coach is it teaches how to run a business. A Division 1 basketball program has all the challenges of a small business ranging from human resources to marketing to managing budgets. All the nuts and bolts of a small business exist for a college basketball coach. However, I think the most valuable lessons from business school had to do with defining and solving organizational problems. The training in strategic planning and market positioning are just examples of areas that take advantage of classic MBA training.
SZ:You’ve mentioned your passion for the game and look for this quality in your coaching staff. What are the signature qualities you look for in a staff member who fits your definition of “has a passion for the game?” How do these qualities add to the continued success of your program?
Coach Reveno: I think you have to be what Jim Collins calls “functionally neurotic” in the sense that you are truly driven to be the best you can be. No little element is too small to correct if it will help you be the best coach you can be. That approach is contagious and serves as an example for the players. You also have to be hard-wired to believe that truly great things can really only be achieved with teamwork.
SZ:Some of the preparation for the team season involves, players embracing the team culture, physical training, technological analysis, does the team practice mental performance tools or do the above mentioned items create the foundation of mental conditioning?
Coach Reveno: Unfortunately, we do not consistently do mental training exercises. We consciously work to establish pre-practice and pre-game routines and are very aware of the power of the language we use when teaching but I believe we could take it another step. Part of the constraint has been time and the inability to adequately individualize it based on players needs given both time and expertise constraints.
SZ:You became head coach of the Pilots in 2006 and your leadership gave the program an immediate burst of success that has continued. It’s just as important for the coaches to be in shape mentally as it is for the players. What are some things you do to keep yourself fresh mentally season after season?
Coach Reveno: The thing I do the most consistently is study other coaches, either by going to clinics, reading books or watching games and practices. Things do not get stale because I feel I can always be improving as a coach. In addition, I strongly believe you need to adjust to each team each season and also be constantly adjusting to what each team needs throughout the season. Therefore, no two practices are ever the same. What a team needs on any given day to help achieve its goals is truly unique and you are always in search of that “perfect” practice plan
SZ: Do you have a favorite inspirational quote, story that has guided you on your professional path?
Coach Reveno: I love quotes. Well thought out ideas that help guide us daily. My favorite is the poem by Rudyard Kipling “If” It seems to cover it all.
IF you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
' Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!
Coach Reveno, thank you for taking time out of your very, busy schedule
for this interview. Congratulations on another great basketball season.
*featured guests are not former nor present clients of Susan Zaro
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