MY MOST IMPORTANT COACHING "MISSION"

I recently received the honor of being selected as a coach for this year’s U.S. Army’s BOSS Strong Competition to serve our country’s most important athletes, the U.S. military. To say I was proud to lead my team of soldiers, rub elbows with some of the world’s best fitness professionals and represent the Alpha Warrior coaching team is a huge understatement. Admittedly, I was a bit nervous not knowing what to fully expect from a physical, mental and emotional perspective. However, as a long-time mountain climber and rescuer, I relished the opportunity to support and lead the team that chose me in any/all conditions we were to be dealt.

The first unexpected surprise? I was selected as the first coach by the team representing the U.S. Army in Europe, specifically from Vicenza, Italy. Two of the team members were on last year’s winning squad and I can’t really explain the feeling that I had after six wild, fierce and aggressive Airborne soldiers chose me to lead them to the championship. From that moment, I never took the gift they gave me for granted and spent every waking hour for the next 15 days learning from them and about them, coaching, and doing my very best to inspire my team of committed soldiers.

Like most experiences, there were many reminders and lessons learned along the way. Here are a few…

“They don’t care what you know, unless they know you care.”

I’m usually called into coaching and consulting jobs to repair breakdowns. However, this team was actually full of confidence and tenacity. I had to tweak my approach and instead of immediately sharing my knowledge and experience, I decided to live among them, get a glimpse of the world from their eyes… listen to their music (lots of hip hop!), listen to their conversations and let them strategize, fail and succeed together sometimes on their own. Days later in a team interview, it seemed to all pay off as they validated me as their leader. Their words in that segment hit me in the heart and now I knew we could then begin digging deeper physically, mentally and emotionally with one another. Once I gained their trust and confidence, it was time to combine all of our strengths collectively and go full throttle… And we did.

The best leaders play in the trenches.

In addition to our competitors, I met some of the most impressive leaders during our time at Fort Bragg and it was refreshing to watch and listen to some of the military officers participate in our workouts side by side with their soldiers. They actually took the time to talk to them, ask them sincere questions and even joke around with them. The military can be a very monotonous and challenging living environment, but these leaders seemed to do everything possible to maintain positive and high energy morale.

Other Takeaways:

• Hold your team accountable to the mission, but don’t micromanage. Let them fail and figure out things for themselves if the situation allows for it.
• Be tenacious with genuine support and encouragement, but don’t over praise. Keep them “hungry”.
• Don’t complain. When challenges and frustrations arise, the Army taught me to use the phrase “Too Easy.” Got a problem? Too Easy.
• Always be on the lookout to inspire your team members. Find out what makes them tick individually.
• Strive to continuously raise your leadership bar. Tweak your approach when it calls for it. Be cool during stressful moments. Be enthusiastic to stoke the fire.
• Lift up those around you in a way that helps provide them with avenues to realize their strengths. Then allow them to utilize their strengths to improve the team.
• Don’t give up on someone without first seeking to understand them. You might just be the one that helps them navigate their scars of dealing with a troubled past (or other situations). Your time and effort can be game changing to that person. Say yes to the challenge instead of taking the easy road. Leave a legacy of serving others vs. serving yourself.
• A team relies on EVERYone and who you might think is your weakest link actually has a lot to offer. That’s for damn sure. Be a strong leader and help them find their productive spot on the team.

In the end, I’m happy to say that Team Europe won this year’s BOSS Strong Championship. It’s a moment in my professional life that I will never, ever forget. It was exhausting and at times, emotional… And I guess that’s why it was so special. I put every ounce of energy I had and utilized every past experience to do what I could to support, lead and inspire this team of special young men. Being back home, I miss those boys so we promised to keep in touch and I will continue to coach them, listen to them, be there for them no matter what. I promised them from the beginning that they had a friend in me for life and we would conquer many mountains together. Now, it’s time to live up to that promise.

Lastly, my fellow coaches me inspired me as well. We did everything possible at every interaction to spark one another up and lead with passion and positive intensity.

In fact, it was my newfound brother and roommate during the competition, Coach Yancy Culp, that continually reminded me, “Whatever you do, live each day fully, lead with everything you got, scrape every opportunity and be grateful for every second, so when it’s all said and done, you die knowing you gave them and it everything you had… die on empty.”

DIE ON EMPTY... That continues to be our mission and when you get the honor to serve those who serve us and defend our freedom, there’s no excuse not to lead and live fully.