All In This Together!

Posted on March 30, 2020 by Jim Tunney Ed.D

sports suspended - COVID-19On the TunneySide of Sports March 30, 2020 #789 Up next… All In This Together! 

After further review… Imagine a coach standing in front of his team saying: “Alright guys, this will be perhaps our most difficult challenge. We need each of you to give your very best individual effort. We also need each of you to be patient, courageous and unafraid. You may be facing situations the like of which you may have never before faced. There may be times when you are afraid for your own safety, but I assure you not only will I be here to help you, but your teammates will support you as well. So, to that extent, we ask that you be ready to help your teammates.” (Editor’s note: In T*E*A*M sports the term “guys” is often used gender-free).

How does this novel coronavirus (COVID—19) fit in a sports column? Well, if you tried to watch a sports event in the last couple of weeks, you won’t find any currently on your television channels. All sporting events were canceled due to this pandemic. The NBA and college basketball tournaments, e.g., March Madness, have been eliminated following the national order to avoid crowds gathering at these events. Reruns are substituting for scheduled games.  (Editor’s note: This is the first time ever I watched “Monster Jam”!)

The iconic Masters golf tournament, as well as other golf tournaments, were aborted. The NBA is hoping to play a truncated schedule starting in July 2020 or thereabouts. Major League Baseball has set a delayed start when the virus has been eliminated–- or at least curtailed. Stay tuned! The 2020 Olympics scheduled to be held in Japan in July 2020 were postponed to 2021 – still to be called 2020. Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held out until the last minute to agree to that postponement. Counties had informed PM Abe that they would not be sending their athletes.

It’s not so much that the Olympics could not have been held, but with the shelter-in-place edict, athletes and coaches need those last few months to be together for fine-tuning performances. The current six-feet separation rule in effect makes teamwork an impossibility.

We all need to follow the direction of our medical personnel to get through this – and we will!

Will you do your part to help eliminate this unwanted COVID-19 pandemic?

Thank You!

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Jim Tunney BobbleheadTo contact Jim, go to JimTunney.com or email Jim@JimTunney.com. Jim’s books are full of inspiration and interesting stories. Please visit his online store to learn more.

Jim’s bobblehead ($30) and latest book ($20) “101 Best of TunneySide of Sports” are available at Jim Tunney Youth Foundation (501c3) P.O. Box 1440 Pebble Beach, Ca, 93953. Includes autograph and free S&H. Thank You!

Jim is available for speaking engagements on leadership and T*E*A*M Building. His books are available for $20 which includes shipping and tax. The Tunney Bobblehead is available for $30. Please visit JimTunney.com. Thank you!

Posted in Current Affairs, Tunney Side of Sports Columns | 1 Comment

A Second Chance?

Posted on March 23, 2020 by Jim Tunney Ed.D

Mike VickOn the TunneySide of Sports March 23, 2020 #788 Up next… A Second Chance?

After further review…NFL Network recently broadcast a quarterback marathon with all of your favorite NFL quarterbacks’ lives portrayed. Most were Pro Football Hall of Famers; some were not but admired by their T*E*A*Ms’ fans – and rightly so. One that was featured was Michael Vick who played 15 seasons as #7 in the NFL. While I was curious to watch this show, I was not a Vick admirer. His 15 seasons were interrupted by the 21 months he spent in prison.

I had known of Vick during those 15 NFL seasons and while impressed with his talent after he was the first-round draft choice by the Atlanta Falcons in the 2001 draft, I was disgusted with his arrest and conviction for his involvement in dogfighting. My background just couldn’t imagine those who are entertained by such cruelty. I had taught and coached in a high school that embodied housing projects, but none like Ridley Circle Homes where Vick grew up.

The “Bad Newz” projects from which the “Bad Newz Kennels” grew involved Vick through his financing and direct involvement in dogfighting. It is illegal in the state of Virginia as well as all U.S. 50 states. The projects in which Vick was raised is a suburb of Newport News, Virginia. Despite that unsavory environment, Vick has a stellar football career at Ferguson High School as well as an outstanding football career at Virginia Tech, where after two seasons he left for NFL.

Vick took some of his NFL and endorsement money (from Nike) to buy his mother a car and a house in Suffolk, Virginia. Brenda Vick Brodie and family were living in a 3-bedroom house in that project. Vick was kept off the streets at an early age by playing sports and being involved with the Boys and Girls Club saying, “It kept me off the streets and away from ‘bad guys’”.

Later through friends, Vick engaged in dogfighting and was incarcerated in 2007 for 21 months. His NFL career over! However, his remorsefulness emerged after his release and the NFL saw it fit to allow him a trial entrance back into the league. Yet, who would chance it?

Following some close mentoring by Tony Dungy, formerly head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, the  Philadelphia Eagles, whose head coach was Andy Reid (yes, that Andy Reid, now the head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs and Super Bowl LII champions) took that chance.

Vick is now out of football and operates the Michael Vick Foundation and has lobbied for HR 2492 the Animal Fighting Spectator Prohibition Act among other charitable endeavors.

Will you give a second chance to others who may at first seem unworthy?

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Jim Tunney BobbleheadTo contact Jim, go to JimTunney.com or email Jim@JimTunney.com. Jim’s books are full of inspiration and interesting stories. Please visit his online store to learn more.

Jim’s bobblehead ($30) and latest book ($20) “101 Best of TunneySide of Sports” are available at Jim Tunney Youth Foundation (501c3) P.O. Box 1440 Pebble Beach, Ca, 93953. Includes autograph and free S&H. Thank You!

Jim is available for speaking engagements on leadership and T*E*A*M Building. His books are available for $20 which includes shipping and tax. The Tunney Bobblehead is available for $30. Please visit JimTunney.com. Thank you!

Posted in NFL, Sports, Tunney Side of Sports Columns | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Developing a Mindset!

Posted on March 16, 2020 by Jim Tunney Ed.D

On the TunneySide of Sports March 16, 2020 #787 Up Next… Developing a Mindset!

After further review… In the world of sports, the word mindset is often used. What do coaches mean when they encourage their athletes to create a mindset for winning? The first step in creating a positive mindset is preparation. It has been often said: “Failure to prepare is preparing to fail.” As kids in school, we often hated doing homework! Yet, as we grew older into our jobs, we found that preparation is so important.

As an NFL referee, it was vital that I studied the rule book and looked at film/videotape during the week in preparing for my next Sunday’s assignment. After 31 years in NFL refereeing, one would think it all becomes routine. Wrong! It became more important each and every year. The game changes. Players are different. Plays and procedures change. One must be prepared! Remember: Noah built the ark before it started to rain.

Preparation became important in my professional career as well. As a professional speaker, one might have an interesting topic and well-crafted, but if it doesn’t fit the needs and interests of the audience it probably will fall flat! Every speech, every audience is different. One must spend considerably much more time in preparation than in the length of the presentation.

Rod Dedeaux, former but now deceased baseball coach for 29 years and 11 NCAA championship appearances while coaching at the University of Southern California, would instill in his players this type of mindset before every game: “This is our field, our ball, our bat, and our game. We play to win it.” That’s creating a mindset!

Recently I was a guest on the podcast MindsetGo with host, founder, and trainer, Mark Altman where we discussed leadership development, change management, sales and networking among other topics related to mindset. Mindset is more than just in one’s mind. It also has to do with your body language. You need to show by your physical posture that you are confident in what you are doing.

Communicating with NFL coaches can be challenging. They may not only challenge your judgment, but also your personage. Officials must respect the position of an NFL coach, but also must be self-confident in their own right and not be intimidated. It’s all in one’s mindset!

Will you develop a positive mindset in all you do?

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Jim Tunney BobbleheadTo contact Jim, go to JimTunney.com or email Jim@JimTunney.com. Jim’s books are full of inspiration and interesting stories. Please visit his online store to learn more.

Jim’s bobblehead ($30) and latest book ($20) “101 Best of TunneySide of Sports” are available at Jim Tunney Youth Foundation (501c3) P.O. Box 1440 Pebble Beach, Ca, 93953. Includes autograph and free S&H. Thank You!

Jim is available for speaking engagements on leadership and T*E*A*M Building. His books are available for $20 which includes shipping and tax. The Tunney Bobblehead is available for $30. Please visit JimTunney.com. Thank you!

Posted in Sports, Tunney Side of Sports Columns | Tagged | Leave a comment