University of New Mexico PEP 493 Intro to Sport Management Fall 2017

The peak performer I decided to choose is Mark Divine. He is a retired Navy Seal Commander who spreads his knowledge on how to be mentally tough, visualize goals, and how to be a leader. Mark started the program SealFit Academy where he teaches his students the principles of leadership he learned while in the Navy Seals. I chose Mark because I have watched a few of his podcasts and I am currently reading one of his books. I feel I have been able to implement some of his principles in my daily routine, and they have made me a better man because of it. The clip is relevant because of the lecture we just had on leadership, and my first thought of someone who is a leader was Mark Divine. In this particular podcast, I like how he uses metaphors to paint a picture that makes his ideas easier to understand. All in all, I feel Mark is a great representation on the qualities and ideals that all leaders possess.

-Brandon Leitch
https://youtu.be/-qIoMs1Uo5c

The person I chose is Brian Urlacher. I chose Brian because he is my hometown hero. Coming from the same small town, he has shown not only me, but every other graduate from Lovington, that there is a way a small town kid can make it big. Brian is not only an inspiration, he is also good hearted. He shows generosity by providing the Lovington High School football team with brand new cleats every year. He also got us a new field, a new indoor facility, and a new weight room. He continues to stay connected with those that helped him be where he is now and never lost sight of who he is or where he came from. He left a mark on that little town that will never fade and his name will forever be remembered there.

-Tayler Valencia

The person that I chose is Ray Lewis. He is the epitome of a leader in my eyes. He had the ability to get everyone around him to fight for one another. He had the charisma needed to pick his guys up, no matter the situation in a game. Ray Lewis made sure everyone knew he was going to give his all in every situation, so he expected the same from them. Through his actions he was highly respected player even by people that didn’t like him. He is one of the greatest players to play the game in my opinion, because of his leadership and athletic ability.
https://youtu.be/KgZ8S76gcG0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsSC2vx7zFQ
I picked this clip because Eric Thomas been motivating me since I was in high school he went through a lot, from being homeless to sharing his story to the world. When I was down and needed someone to talk me out of quitting I would watch this and get up and not making excuses. Eric Thomas speaks from the heart he doesn’t do this to make money he does it because he doesn’t want people to quit. This is relevant to because I went through diversity I came from a some school in New York and didn’t get much recruits but this video told me don’t worry and keep working and i ended up going to Juco which is Junior College and now I’m a Division 1 football player.

When given this assignment, there were so many leaders that I thought of about who I wanted to talk about, but one stood out to me the most and that was James McCann. He is an MLB starting catcher for the Detroit Tigers. James is from Santa Barbara, CA which is the same place that I am from. McCann has always been an inspiration and leader to not only me but those around him, and this video perfectly depicts the type of man and player that he is. He is a well-rounded individual that wants to make a difference in the lives that he comes across and even those that he doesn’t. He was able to fight the odds since his birth, and made it to big leagues even when those around him said he wouldn’t make it. This is an inspiration to me because even through all he’s gone through he is using his platform to make a difference, and I hope someday that I am able to use my platform as well, whatever it may be to make a difference in people’s lives one by one. James McCann may not be as known as Derek Jeter or Jacky Robinson, but he still manages to be a motivation and inspiration in peoples lives.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjVHpDzKFyc&t=183s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgmVOuLgFB0
When we were given this assignment I automatically thought about sports motivation. But when I listen to this motivational speech. It wasn’t just talking about sports it was talking about life. Its hard for me to realize that there is life outside of sports. I say it is hard because all my life i’ve been around sports, I was never a normal child, normal meaning just go to school and working at a regular job. When I watched this I got the message of life after sports, and if you attack life like you attack you preparations on game day or leading up to game day then you’ll be fine. But the same thing in sports, if you don’t prepare or you don’t take in information and be stubborn about everything then you will get knocked down and if do not fix it your life will be hard. Just like in sports you will get knocked down, you will lose, you will be defeated. But it’s how you handle it, its how you use it as motivation to get better, to learn from your mistakes. To get knocked down and get back up, because if you stay down you might as well stay down forever because there is no point in coming back up. But if you get up and attack those goals of yours or you continue to keep getting better and better at what you do then your life will be good you will be satisfied you will be successful.

I chose David Goggins, because he is the epitome of no excuses. When I think of a leader, I think of someone who had to work for everything they have ever gotten in life and someone who didn’t have the “God-given” ability to outperform everyone. Which is David Goggins, in short. At a young age he was bullied and constantly got called out of his name, through racial slurs. He barely managed to graduate high school with a 1.6 GPA, to make matters worse, he was overweight. But one day he decided to turn his life around and he stopped feeling sorry for himself. He ended up dropping a ton of weight to get into BUD/S training (Navy Seals), in which he became a member of SEAL team 5. This sudden change in his life lead to an abundant amount of accolades which include a world record for most pull-ups in 24-hours (4,025), he ran a 100 mile ultra marathon with shin splints in under 24 hours, and he ran the MiWok 100k Race in under 10 hours. He did all of this while having a congenital heart defect.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqAvuE44_8A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyIO9ID1lf4

I chose Portia Woodman, also known as the “Wonder Wing” from the New Zealand Black Ferns Rugby team as my peak performer. Her knowledge of the game of rugby is unparalleled against other players and her field awareness is impeccable. She has such a dedication to the sport and this is clear when you see how she moves and the decisions she makes when she’s on the pitch. The Black Ferns also just won the Women’s Rugby World Cup a few weeks ago and Portia had an incredible 13 tries in four games, with 8 of those coming in just one game. I have such respect for Portia and her work ethic and how she is proud of her culture and her heritage and how she is trying to become a successful figure for younger generations to succeed in their desired fields.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGcvxgkPOso

In my opinion, Coach K is among the greatest leaders in the world. Not only is his success as a coach evidence of this, but the qualities that he instills in his players off the court goes to show how he’s a phenomenal leader in many aspects of his life. To start off, one of my favorite things about him is how he preaches to his players to stay in college for all four years. Not only is this a good way to ensure his program is successful, but I think it proves he is invested in his players as people, which leads to greater trust and respect on and off the court. Also, Coach K has quite the origin story, starting off at Duke with a losing program that eventually became one of the most competitive in the nation. I think this demonstrates the quality we talked about in class about leaders learning from their mistakes and adjusting their plans to be successful. Now, as for why I chose this clip to demonstrate Coach K’s quality leadership: As one of the most respected Division I basketball coaches, Coach K is constantly surrounded by extraordinary people and leaders. Whether it’s the top high school recruits from across the world, or the men’s national team made up of the best professional players, what makes Coach K special in my eyes is the fact that he distinguishes himself from those who surround him despite all of them being leaders in their own lives. His attitude about constant growth, whether it’s the players learning from him, from one another, or him learning from the players makes Coach K a quality leader in my eyes, which is why I chose him for this assignment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBIujyxjvwE
The video posted above is about an Olympic silver medalist by the name of Leo Manzano. I consider Manzano as one of the athletes that I look up to for multiple reasons. To start, he is one of the few Latino medalists from the United States which is important for me. I also feel that for how great of an athlete Manzano is, he is very humble about it and does other great things with his life in his off time. Personally, I enjoy to run long distances and love to watch the long distance races on the Olympics or other competitive races. Leo Manzano is a great person to look up to both athletically as well as from an ethics point of view.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76nhIfp9gr0

After taking some time on YouTube to find a great leader in sports, I realized that I really know nothing about sports and the men and women that inspire people. Then I took another minute to think about the wonderful movies that portray real people and real experiences. So I finally chose Sandra Bullock who played the part of Leigh Anne Tuohy in the amazing story of Micheal Oher. I picked her as my leader because from the beginning of the movie viewers could see that she ran the family. Even though the father coached the football team and Micheal was the orphaned child turned star football player, she was there the whole time. I picked this scene in the movie where Leigh Anne took Micheal aside and used her family as an analogy for the play and Micheal understood he had to protect the family and the team. In this scene the coach couldn’t even get through to Micheal but Leigh Anne could. Later in the movie when there is a legal battle for Micheal in college, Leigh Anne was the one to stop and think if this was what Micheal really wanted to do. I believe a true leaders listens to those they are leading and does what is best for them. Most of us, whether we are in sports or not, have our parents or guardians to thank for all the love, support and leadership that got us to where we are.
“He had a much greater impact on our lives than we did on his life,” says Leigh Anne.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_85Yci7u1M

For this assignment I chose Jill Ellis. She is the head coach for US Women’s Soccer team. I avidly watched the World Cup of 2015 as she coached the US Women’s team. She inspired me because I saw that she lead her team by playing to each team members strengths. She was committed and brought out the best in her players. She used to have a job as a writer getting paid a decent amount of money and left to be an assistant coach for a youth league. She worked with a youth league and then with US women’s team for many years. She was a grunt worker and finally got named the permanent head coach of US Women’s team. She qualified for FIFA World Cup 2015 and lead her team to 5-2 victory over Japan. She was named the Coach of the Year for Women’s Soccer in 2015. The thing that I admired most about her leadership skills were that she was committed to the team. Especially later when US Women’s team didnt make it to the final rounds of the 2016 Olympics, She stood by her team and really encouraged them.

https://youtu.be/O4SCoG-BXfY
For this assignment I decided to chose the greatest of all time, Tom Brady. Growing up I was always a patriot fan. Most of my family lives in Boston Massachusetts and Tom Brady is such an inspirational individual who was doubted by every single coach in the league. After being told he would not be drafted many time sand being considered the back up any where he went, know knew he would soon become the best quarterback in the league. They measured his speed, agility, strength, power, but one thing they did not measure was the heart he had for the game. To me Tom Brady is one of the strongest leaders in sports. He truly is a great leader on and off the field.

https://youtu.be/gWcv2sJUEVw
I chose Michael Jordan for my pick for a great leader. In this video it shows that he first led his team by example. As the video progresses Michael becomes more vocal giving his team encouraging words to help them perform better. This video also interviewed some of his teammates and how they looked at him. Overall I believe Michael Jordan was a great leader for his team.