Ice Cream, Belichick and Carroll

Regardless of the flavor, all ice cream has a commonality. It starts with fresh whole milk, heavy cream, sugar, and egg yolks. Then it can go in any direction. When two people walk into an ice cream parlor, they rarely order the same flavor. Our taste buds are unique, so we accept the individuality of choice.

Making ice cream is a little like coaching a team to the top. All championship teams have the same foundation, the same core beliefs, but how they win might differ. Take last night's game between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks. Both teams are well-coached, prepared, and embrace the competition. Whenever these two teams play, the last play of the game is always memorable, and last night ending fit the previous patterns of games. Seattle held on to a 35-30 thriller, stopping the Patriots on the one-yard on the last play of the game, thus preserving the win.

Both Pete Carroll of the Seahawks and Bill Belichick of the Patriots have won Super Bowls, but no one would ever think they have similarities. Their styles and mannerisms are as far apart as Seattle is to Boston. But when you dig deeper, peel back the layers, you find they actually have the same recipe as their foundation.

Sugar is a core component of ice cream, and the sugar element for both men lies in holding people accountable. How they do it is different, but it’s the foundation of their programs. No one is immune to being accountable to the team, toward the ultimate goal.

Heavy cream is a core component of ice cream, and the heavy cream element is protecting the football. Turnovers are the enemy for both. The ball is everything to Belichick and Carroll, and every day, they teach protecting the ball and taking it away from opponents.

Whole milk is another core component of ice cream and having players play fast, without being hindered by thinking too much is the whole milk for Carroll and Belichick. Both men operate different schemes, but they both stress playing fast, playing without thinking, and that doing less is always more.

Egg yolks are the final core component of ice cream, and conditioning and winning the fourth quarter are the egg yolks for Belichick and Carroll. Both teams are always in good shape, both play discipline football and both understand how to win late in the game.

The key takeaway is not that ice cream and football are similar. It’s that anything good, anything that can stand the taste of time, always has universal core ingredients.

What are yours?

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