Are you willing to pay the price?

 

Are you?  Are you willing to get up at 5 AM in order to get to the gym and get a workout in before anyone you know is even up?

When your friends are all going out, but you need to catch up on some things so that you can concentrate on taking care of the things that will help you succeed, will you go out or will you finish the needed tasks?

Are you willing to put in the effort?  When the going gets tough, are you going to push harder? Are you going to work harder than you ever have? Are you willing to follow a nutritional path that is better for you? Will you pass on that cheeseburger and fries, even though all those around you are not?

Are you willing to be coachable?  Will you listen?  Will you trust? Are you willing to go to bed early enough to get a good night’s sleep? Are you willing to tolerate the pain and suffering?  When it hurts, will you say “one more?”

Are you willing to let the team come first?  Will you ignore all those around you that are telling you that you are the best ever, and simply go out and prove that you’re the best you?

I had the distinct pleasure recently of attending the retirement reception for Dawn Marsh.  Dr. Ken Bell and I decided to surprise her at the reception at Duluth High School in Duluth, Georgia.

If you have been around here for long, you should remember Dawn.  If not, you surely recognize the Marsh name, part of the winning legacy at Alcoa High School.

Dawn was one of the best ever.  In high school, she led her basketball team to the state tournament.  As a Lady Vol, she led the 1987 team to Pat Summit’s first national championship.

She still holds several Lady Vol records, including most assists in a game (18), most assists in a season (243), and most assists in a career (755). In other words, she made everyone around her better. 

She just concluded a storied career at Duluth High School, where she was a teacher and a coach.  Along the way, she coached basketball, golf, and softball, winning a state championship in softball in 1999, finishing with a perfect 23-0 record.  She continues being a highly respected NCAA basketball official.

Dawn was the epitome of doing what it takes to win.  When she was in high school, her Uncle David Marsh (another legendary Marsh and high school state champion at Alcoa) was the boys’ basketball coach so she could get into the gym anytime she wanted to.

She spent her summers playing pickup games all across Maryville and Alcoa, becoming a playground legend along the way.  There is no doubt that she could have excelled in any sport available to her, but basketball seemed to be her destiny.

She could dribble, she could shoot, she could pass (obviously). Much to the dismay of Pat Flynn, her high school coach, and Pat Summitt, her behind-the-back, no-look passes were still a sight to behold.  Watching her play was downright fun. Despite that, she was every coach’s dream. She worked hard, never took a night off, never let anything get in the way of excelling on the basketball court.

So…if you want to be good, if you really do want to do what it takes to be successful, be like Dawn.