Control the Uncontrollables

Drive along just about any rural road in the state of Indiana, and attached to each farmhouse, you’ll see a small wooden basket turned into a hoop. It’s as if every home is required by law to have one so that young kids can work on their game. High School basketball is a major part of the state’s fabric, and in 1986, screenwriter Angelo Pizzo wrote a story about Hickory High School that focused on the team’s quest to become state champion.

Before his team played in the state championship game in a college-type arena (Hinkle Fieldhouse), Coach Norman Dale brought his team to see the big court up close. Dale hoped his players would not get overwhelmed playing in a stadium instead of a small gym, so he had his assistant coach measure the basket's height — 10 feet, same as in Hickory. He also had the coach measure the distance from the free-throw line to the hoop — 15 feet, same as in Hickory. Then from one end of the court to the other — 91.86 feet, same as in Hickory. 

Coach Dale’s point was that sure the game was bigger, the stakes higher, more people watching. But the winner would not be determined by any of those variables. The game’s winner would be determined by who played the best on the court, which had all the same characteristics as the one in Hickory. It was a crucial lesson in keeping your focus away from the uncontrollable. 

Whenever there is a big game or moment, we don’t need to remind our organization and our team of the importance of it. They already know. We must do what Coach Dale did — make the game simpler, bring it back to the basics. We need to list all of the attributes that we can’t directly control. For example, the officiating, the crowd, the future, how we are feeling that day, other people's expectations, etc. Then post that list in a highly visible place in our room. Keep in mind that these are mental traps. They lie in wait for us and every other person in the competition. The only way to avoid them is to know that they are there in the first place. 

On Sunday, the world will be watching Super Bowl LV, the biggest game and grandest stage of all. But the winner will be the team that controls the uncontrollables the best. 

Good luck to the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Bucs. 

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