NFLQ Debriefing Notes 2006

This is pasted from the original used at practice on Tuesday. Some of you missed it.

BJ will be at the Harvard tournament this weekend. Wish him luck!

First:

No one can say everyone didn’t work hard on this tournament. No one in Dirigo history put in more collective academic effort than those who went to this tournament. That’s something all of you can be proud of. That cannot be taken away. As coach, all I can do is provide some reminders, a bit of guidance and a fraction of the time needed. You have to do all the work. This time you proved you could move mountains.

Second:

There are many things we can learn from this experience for future use. Life is harsh and hard work doesn’t always mean trophies. However, focus on what you can gain from the tournament. There are lessons to be learned everywhere. Next time you can get the trophies if you are a good student of those life lessons.

Third:

I coach this stuff for one core reason: personal growth. Trophies and tournaments are nice but did you grow in attitude, organization, speech, outlook, or any other mental area? For those who stick with it, the answer is most definitely yes!

Fourth:

Characteristics of some trophy winners at this year’s NFLQ, for winners still reading:

Articulation – they spoke with polished grammar and clear enunciation

Organization – they spoke with organized thoughts that were easy to follow

Preparation – these folks anticipated what their opponents would say, in depth

Focus – these people went right to the key issues and ignored the clutter issues

Depth – cases contained a balance of facts, philosophy and reasoning to tie it together

Poise – this showed when the opponent found holes in their case; no panic attacks

CX dilemmas – carefully crafted scenarios to trap opponents used to effect in rebuttals

Efficiency - nothing like supporting your own value as you are attacking or defending

Delivery – ideas expressed clearly, without doubt and well understood

Confidence – they spoke as if what they said came from the highest authority

Cool, Calm and Collected (CCC) – civil, unflappable and not showing excess nervousness

Initiative – caused their opponents to react to them more than the reverse

Relevance – made sure they always stayed relevant even if opponent claimed otherwise

Presence – these people dominated the room with all of the above in abundance.

Those of us who watched the winners saw these things in abundance (I happened to judge PF and LD winners). Pick out a few of these to improve on. Start at the top of the list and work your way down. That first one is our weakest.

Fifth:

Start thinking about how you want to finish next year and begin today. We will begin a middle school program soon and in the process you will grow toward that goal while you benefit future competitors.

For those of you returning next year, remember that these are just the icing on the cake. The cake itself has to be good too. If you aren’t returning, remember these characteristics are things that happen to fit successful people in almost any field. The personal growth thing...