Blog Posting 73, August 23, 2009

Balance: One of the Most Important Words in the Language

The success and longevity of the American governmental system (found in The Constitution of the United States of America), is credited to balance. John Adams, in his defense of the Constitution (http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/documents/v1ch11s10.html), stated he believed this government was superior to that of the Romans, Spartans, and English for several reasons, one of which was its improved checks and balances. He states,
 
“But perhaps it might be more exactly true and natural to say, that the king, the aristocracy, and the people, as soon as ever they felt themselves secure in the possession of their power, would begin to abuse it.”

and,
 
“They demonstrate the corruptibility of every species of simple government, by which I mean a power without a check, whether in one, a few, or many.”

The United States governmental system still works today because of its balance in: State vs. Federal governments; Voting vs. representation; and Judicial, Executive, and Legislative branches to name a few. But government is not the only area we see where balance makes things work as they should. Just look around you and balance is everywhere. A tire that is out of balance will wear out quickly. A basketball player without left hand/right hand balance will be stopped. Failure to eat balanced meals will result in body breakdown.

Here are a few sport-specific areas where balance will make things work as they should:

1. Basketball practice vs. The rest of the day: Players practice harder and concentrate more when you tell them, “After practice, I don’t want you thinking about basketball. You do home work and personal things. But when practice starts, I want all of your concentration.”

2. Coaching vs. Family: Practice what you preach. You will be able to put your full attention on practice if, after practice, you put your full attention on your other priorities.

3. Driving vs. Thinking: You’ll get into a lot less trouble if, when you are driving, there is the proper balance between music and concentrating on the job at hand.

4. Discipline vs. Encouragement: Players learn better when you balance correction and praise. Know when too much correction is causing discouragement and too much praise is causing complacency.

5. Desire to go pro vs. Education: The chances of becoming a professional player increase when you develop your mind; you will have a mental edge over many. Education is also the common thread that will allow you to be successful after professional sports.

6. General knowledge vs. Subject-specific knowledge: You will be a more effective teacher when you balance the subject you know deeply with other subjects such as: history, mathematics, English, the interests of young people, and current events. The newspaper is a great source for this balance. 

7. Stubbornness vs. Consideration: Things get a lot easier when you consider the remote possibility, you might be wrong and someone else might be right. 

That John Adams guy was a pretty smart cookie, huh? History is really cool and, the reason we have history is, so we, here in the present, can learn from it. Let’s take Adams’ advice and put balance into every area of our coaching and our lives. You will be pleasantly surprised to find, things will work as they should.