Today I will do what others won’t, so tomorrow I can accomplish what others can’t.
~Jerry Rice
The fourth foundational value in our Devon Prep basketball program is toughness. There are many different ideas with regard to what toughness is. Some people think that yelling loudly is a form of toughness; others think that being able to lift a lot of weight is toughness. We believe that there are two kinds of toughness - a mental and a physical toughness. These obviously go hand in hand and have a lot of overlap. Both versions are extremely important to not only our basketball program but to our young men as they enter the world when they leave Devon Prep.
Physical toughness in the Devon Prep basketball program is very simple - we define it as being willing to do things that other people either do not or cannot do. It is not possible to make our players taller, but through hard work and practice we can develop a toughness that will balance out the fact that we may not be as tall as an opponent. Developing this toughness requires an insatiable work ethic that very few people have. That physical toughness is built through constantly challenging ourselves and doing things that no one else wants to do until we become so physically tough that the lack of height does not matter. It is important to note that being physically tough is not the same thing as being physically strong. Being able to lift more weight than someone else does not make one tough. Being able to sacrifice your body for your team by taking a charge against an opponent, however, is an example of physical toughness. A few years ago, we had a player who exemplified this type of physical toughness - he took a charge 110 times in his HS career. This young man could walk by you in the hallway and you would have no idea he was a basketball player. He stands about 6’2 and weighs maybe 175 pounds but he went onto the court and sacrificed his body every single game even though he would put himself at the risk of injury. That is physical toughness in our program and that is why Eammon Walsh is hanging on a banner in our gym! He was willing to do something that very few people are willing to do. He was the definition of physically tough and he set an example for the current players to follow.
Physical toughness also has a very close connection with mental toughness. Mental toughness determines your ability to perform under stress and pressure. This form of toughness is just as important as physical toughness though it sometimes goes unnoticed. We refer to this toughness as ‘grit’. Grit is a necessary component on the basketball court but is also a valuable life skill that will be a true indicator of success in the classroom, boardroom, emergency room… anywhere! Do you have grit? Well, how do you respond in pressure situations? How do you act when you hear something that you disagree with? Or when someone critiques you? Are you able to look in the mirror and face it (accountability) or do you run away from it/ignore it? Most people can perform when things are going well - when the sun is shining and birds are chirping so-to-speak. But the mentally tough respond positively and effectively even when they are in the middle of the storm and things are not going the way that they want. In our Devon Prep basketball program, we try to put our athletes in situations that help develop their mental toughness that will be key to them becoming successful while the ball is bouncing as well as after it stops. It is not always easy - but “the tough is what makes it great.” Below is a copy of the speech one of our graduated seniors gave at our banquet last year. Over his four years at Devon he developed into one of the most mentally tough players we have had at Devon. It was challenging and required a lot of work on his part, but he grew and developed a mental toughness that will help him for the rest of his life. Enjoy.
“Hello all; family, friends, teammates, coaches, and others. I hope you’re enjoying the banquet,
as it is a great experience to honor and celebrate the season, and the memories we made
throughout the past year. I have been asked to talk about my experience here at Devon
Basketball this year, and I wasn’t sure if I should focus on the positives or the negatives. So, I
decided to focus on both, because trust me, there was a fair share of the two. As most of you
know, Coach Fisher has been my coach for the past 5 years, but it feels like it has been 50. He
has taught me so much about basketball and I am extremely grateful for everything he has done
for me throughout my basketball career. However, it was not necessarily all sunshine and
rainbows during my high school experience. As most of you know, last year, we won the state
championship, and it brought our team and all of our community an immense amount of joy and
celebration. Speaking personally however, I did not necessarily play a whole lot. Would I get in
here and there and try to do what I can? Sure. However, I was by no stretch of the imagination a
star player or someone that was depended on to go in and score 15 points a game.
Nonetheless, I had to teach myself a very important lesson that hopefully will carry with me
throughout my entire life: the lesson of being genuinely happy for the success of others around
you. speaking literally, when you are not in the game, there are 5 other players on your team on
the court instead of you. in my eyes, you have two options in that scenario: you can pout and
make every excuse, valid or invalid, on why you are not on the court instead of them. Or, you
can put your ego aside and be genuinely happy for your teammates that are on the court
instead of you, and be the best cheerleader you can be, while also doing anything you can to
help the team’s success. While I do think the popular opinion may be that we won last year
because of our talent, I would argue that our most important attribute was the bonding and
chemistry that we had not only as a team, but as a family. This year, I came in the year- it being
my senior year- with different expectations. I had worked all offseason tirelessly on what Coach
had told me to work on in order to get the playing time I wanted, and in order to finally be in the
starting lineup for my final year of high school. I felt like I had finally waited my turn and it was
my opportunity to step into a big role and lead us back to a state championship. All throughout
the offseason, I had been starting and it seemed obvious that I would remain in it for the season.
Well, as most of you do know, after about 5 or 6 games in, Coach Fisher made a change to the
starting lineup. What you guys DON'T know is the endless conversations me and the coaches
had in order to put me in the best place mentally moving forward. It was an extremely tough pill
to swallow and it was extremely evident in my energy and effort during practice. My goal for my
SENIOR year and all the hard work behind that goal seemed like it had gone to waste, and it
just put me in this cloud of sadness that was just weighing me down. Finally, after the game
against Father Judge where I played a season low 3 minutes, I had one final meeting with
Coach Fisher, and I angrily expressed my emotions towards him. He told me that while he may
need to trust me more on the court, I need to be the one that puts my trust in him because, if I
am not in, he is making the decision that he feels puts the TEAM in the best place to win the
game. And while I did care about my personal success, as I am sure everyone does, I cared
about the success of the team more. From that day forward, I completely flipped my attitude and
decided that no matter how many minutes I played, no matter how many points I scored, no
matter how many plays I was making on the court, I was going to be the leader of the team and
bring a positive attitude every single day. So, I did. My playing time didn’t immediately change a
lot at all, but I quickly noticed a change in my mood, as I was so much more genuinely happy for
my teammates around me and I truly wanted them to succeed. Obviously, the end of the season
didn’t necessarily end how I, or any of my teammates wanted it to. However, I can truly say that
the mindset of being joyful for those around you will lead you to be more happy yourself, and
that happiness can be contagious to others, whether you can see it on the surface level or not.
Lastly, I just wanted to thank all of my teammates for just being there. Let alone all the inside
jokes, all the team bonding moments, all the mall takeovers, and especially all the times I got to
go to war with you guys on the court. I could not possibly handpick a better group of guys to
spend the last year with, and especially to the seniors, whom I have enjoyed so much over the
last four years and I really hope we can keep in contact for the distant future. And of course
thank you to all the coaches who have taught me virtually everything I know about basketball
and for always being there for me when I was having a bad day and when I was going through
non-basketball related stuff. Last but certainly not least, thank you to the parents. The length of
our season and the extreme flexibility that is needed often goes unnoticed, and the countless
rides to practices and back home from games is certainly appreciated by all of us. And it goes
without saying that your support, while it may have been lacking from our schoolmates, was
extremely evident at every game, and we cannot thank you enough for that. Thank you all, and
enjoy the rest of the banquet.”