THE SEVEN RULES OF WINNING

1) A winner always does their best.

    Things don't always go your way, but a winner knows

    that if they continue to do their best, everything will

    work out in their favor eventually. Only one team can

    win a particular game, when both are doing their best.

    Regardless of the outcome of this particular game, if

    you did your best, you won!

 

2) You're a winner if your team wins.

    Basketball is a team sport. If your team won, you won.

    Don't make things more complicated than that. Winners

    help those around them win, and they recognize that

    they couldn't have done it alone.

 

3) Nobody wins all the time.

    Winning is the object of basketball, but nobody wins

    every game. In fact, losing occasionally makes winning

    all the more sweet. Winning wouldn't mean anything if

    you never lost. So, just because you may lose on

    occasions doesn't mean you're not a winner.

 

4) A winner always supports their teammates.

    Everyone occasionally will make an honest mistake (even

    you!). A winner doesn't let it affect them in a

    negative way.  In fact, it's those very challenges that

    often separate winners from losers.  Winners always

    rise to the challenge, while losers let the challenges

    dictate their fate.

 

5) Winners practice like they play.

    If you practice like you play, your best will become

    better. The purpose of practice is to turn good

    muscular performance into an unconscious natural

    reflex, to make doing it right a muscular memory. If

    you practice at half-speed, you'll play at half-speed.

    Practice perfectly, then play perfectly.

 

6) Winners don't let their own mistakes get in their way.

    A wise man once said you're allowed one primal scream

    after making a mistake. Then you try to understand how

    to avoid making the same mistake again and you put it

    behind you. Learn from your mistakes (even those that

    you sometimes repeat) and move on quickly. Even better,

    learn from the mistakes of others. That way you'll

    avoid the frustration of making the mistake yourself.

 

7) The scoreboard does NOT decide if you're a winner.

    Your value to humankind is not determined by the

    numbers on the scoreboard, win or lose. All the

    scoreboard does is indicate who was better for a

    particular game on a particular day. Win with dignity,

    lose with dignity.