Derrion Hardie

Mike Tomlin explains why leadership is lonely, and says conviction is the key to making better decisions “When I wasn’t sure, I certainly did. But I preface that by saying, when I wasn’t sure. I’ve always had the courage of my convictions, man. And so if there was something that I was solid on, I didn’t ask.” “Sometimes people ask questions when really their mind’s made up, and I just always tried not to do that. If I was solid on something, I went with it. If I wasn’t solid on something, I certainly leaned on those guys, respected their opinions, and allowed myself to be influenced by things they felt strongly about.” “I just think more than anything, and this was told to me early on, and it’s a real thing: assistants make suggestions and head coaches make decisions. And you have to be comfortable with that.” “Certainly, you’ve got to take in information, and when you have experienced assistants like I did, man, that information is oftentimes very good. But you’ve got to be really comfortable with the fact that the responsibility is yours. The decisions are yours.” “There’s a certain loneliness to leadership, and that’s okay. I discovered that, and really I discovered that I was okay with that. There is a certain loneliness with leadership, but it comes with the territory.”

It’s Sunday night. Before you call it a day, I want you to try something. Grab your calendar, look at the week ahead, and work through these five steps with me. Let’s make this week a masterpiece. Establish the priority. What deserves your best this week? Give it a place on your calendar before everything else fills the space. Set the routine. When are you at your best? Protect those hours for what matters most. Decide when you’ll go to bed and how you’ll start your morning. Remember, the battle for excellence is fought in your schedule. Remove what works against you. Get rid of the bad food. Silence unnecessary notifications. Identify what keeps pulling you off track and do something about it. Make excellent choices easier. Lay out your workout clothes. Get your Bible and devotional out. Prepare tonight for the choices you want to make tomorrow. Implement accountability. Tell someone what you’re committing to. Ask them to follow up. Give them permission to challenge your excuses. I’m in your corner, pulling for you and praying for you. Make this week a masterpiece!

Trojan Blue wins Game 3 of DSU Blue—Trojan Blue World Series. 🔦 TROJAN BLUE: @RyanHarness35 2-3, 2B, HR, 4 RBI @Griffen_Schlap 2-4, 2B, SB, 4 RBI @RylandCarroll25 3-3, RBI #SeanVigil 2-5, RBI @Jaxyakiwchuk24 (W) 2.1 IP, 5 K @GradyRamos22 2.1 IP, 3 K 🧵 1/2

SWEEP THE SHEDS. One of my favorite lessons from the New Zealand All Blacks. No one is too important to do the little things. No job is beneath you. Great teams are built on humility, ownership, and service. Culture WINS 2 on Amazon👇 amazon.com/dp/B0C1J9CTVQ

I don’t have all the answers but I love baseball because of the ups and downs and constant grind. So here’s some thoughts for the “X hitting” war that is going on right now.

Straight from the mouth of a mid-major D1 coach a few minutes ago. I told him I needed to write this stuff down and share with everyone. We were talking about a few players that I work with and he was telling me about how ridiculous recruiting is getting. "Everyone's running out of roster spots... so we are all like, 'this guy sucks' [when watching a player] because he's not an absolute dude. And we're all passing on good players because you'll probably be able to find an older or more experienced guy down the road". "We basically have 3 different recruiting classes each year. High school, JC, and portal. And you don't even know how many roster spots you're actually gonna have". "We have so few roster spots that we are grading kids on such high scales. Like a high school guy has to be a starter as a freshman or we can't recruit him. And then if he shows up and actually starts as a freshman for us he'll probably leave and get more money from a bigger school. So you can't win. And then we just end up sitting in a holding pattern." "The value of a single roster spot for us has gone up a ton because the total amount of spots we have has gone down, but the dollar amount per spot has gone up with scholarships increasing. So we are investing more in these guys, and expecting more." This is the sentiment amongst most D1 coaches at this point and honestly a large population of D2 and D3 programs that are incentivized to be patient and wait for an older guy rather than recruiting young. High tier academic schools operate on a different timeline, and there are certainly some other exceptions. But this is the new reality for most programs. Players and families... do not assume that you are the exception and that this doesn't apply to you!