The Buckeye WayThe Buckeye WayBY STEPHANIE ZONARS
any folks love to hate the Ohio State Buckeyes, as evidenced by an ESPN.com story this past summer that rankedOhio State as the college football program fans love to hate. Regardless of which side of the fence you fall on when it comes to Ohio State, you can’t argue that coach Jim Tressel is doing something right. After four NCAA Division I-AAnational championships at Youngstown State, he led the Buckeyes to the 2002 national title and appearances in the
last two BCS championship games.Central to his philosophy is a commitment to develop his players both on and off the field. Most coaches share that same commit-
ment, yet the systematic, intentional approach Tressel outlines in the book The Winners Manual: For the Game of Life is worth noting.He created a visual—the “Block O of Life”—to remind him and his team of six key components of life. The Block O, Tressel states onpage 18, “doesn’t necessarily make my purpose and goals easier to accomplish, but it does make life more observable.” Life in our sensory-overloaded society demands that we consistently remind ourselves of our “most important things” in order to stay on track.Definitely step one in winning at life.
making the most of everyopportunity…” (5:15-16)
The Winners Manual: For the Game ofLife by Jim Tressel and Chris Fabry,copyright©2008 by Jim Tressel. Allrights reserved. Used by permission.
PURPOSE VS. GOALSPurpose, he says on page 19,establishes “the importance ofbecoming whole people, not justgood football players.” The threeareas under the Purpose headingreflect who we are and determineour success in life, while theareas that fall under Goalsdescribe what we do.
In a youth sports culturewhere even first graders getyelled at for poor fundamentals,it’s no wonder that we tend toget purpose and goals confused.Constantly evaluated by our per-formance from early childhood,we’ve grown to believe that per-formance equals worth. Tresselexposes that lie, reminding usthat winning doesn’t make usgreat people, nor does losingmake us losers. The barometerfor success lies in the area ofpurpose, not goals.
A Certified Life Coach trained by the Institute of Life CoachTraining, Stephanie Zonars resources coaches through 1:1 lifecoaching, team-building sessions, coaches’ retreats, and writ-ten materials like her 30-day devotional, Timeout: Momentswith God for Winning in Life. For more information, visitwww.lifebeyondsport.com. Zonars lives in Xenia, Ohio.
athletes become winners in life?Use your own system or cus-tomize Tressel’s framework toyour needs, but just as Paulencouraged the Ephesians: “Bevery careful, then, how youlive—not as unwise but as wise,
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THE GOAL SHEETEvery year, Ohio State’s coachesmeet with each player to set orrevise goals using the goal sheet(see www.thewinnersmanual.com). Players set goals that flowfrom their purpose—from whothey are. In each of the six lifeareas, they create SMART goals(Specific, Measurable, Attainable,Realistic and Time-oriented) toincrease the probability of suc-cess, turning “I want to becomequicker” into “I’ll do extra agilityworkouts for 30-minutes, threetimes a week.”
BIG TEN FUNDAMENTALSMost coaches talk regularly totheir teams about the characterqualities necessary to becomesuccessful athletes and people.The Buckeyes call these the BigTen Fundamentals—Attitude,Discipline, Excellence, Faith andBelief, Work, Handling Adversityand Success, Love, Responsibility,Team and Hope. Tressel illustrateseach fundamental with storiesfrom his coaching experiencesalong with his favorite quotes. A gold mine of thoughts andinspiration for any coach!
YOUR TURNTressel knows that his influenceon his players extends far out-side the lines of competition andhis philosophy reflects thatunderstanding. How about you?What are you doing to help your
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hLiving and leading. Ohio State football head coach Jim Tresselattempts to tap into what makes people successful on the athletic field and in the game of life.
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