You will notice this March issue of my Transformational Tips is one day late.  My apologies, but I’ll just go ahead and fess up…I got caught up in March Madness. 

For those of you who, let’s just say are a bit uninformed, the term “March Madness” has come to refer to the annual spectacle that is the NCAA College Basketball Tournament. The top 65 Division I college basketball teams in America have been competing over the past three weekends to earn a cherished spot in the “Final Four.”   

Well, the Final Four is now set.  The University of Kansas, UCLA, Memphis and North Carolina will square off this coming weekend in San Antonio.  By this time next week, the 2008 NCAA College Basketball Champion will have been crowned.  

But my interest in this year’s March Madness was considerably more personal.  I knew one of the young men who was participating.  And my guess is that a number of you now know him, too, at least you know of his recent accomplishment. 

I first introduced my Transformational Tips readers to this exceptional young man in an article I wrote entitled, The Value of Practice, in December, 2004.  I have taken the liberty of reprinting the article below for those who missed it the first time.  I strongly suggest you take a couple of minutes to read this article in order to fully appreciate the addendum that follows it.  Read on.

The Value of Practice

I opened the envelope and found a note from my mother saying that she knew the accompanying article from my hometown paper would be of interest to me.  The headline read:  Local Youth Wins Elk’s National Hoop Shoot Free Throw Competition.

The article detailed how 9-year old Ty Rogers, sponsored by the Princeton, Kentucky Elk’s Club, had won the 1995 national basketball free throw shooting competition.  Young Ty had prevailed against all competitors at the local, district, state and regional levels.  By the time he arrived in Indianapolis, Indiana for the national finals, he had already bested the efforts of more than 2.4 million competitors from around the United States. 

For basketball-crazed western Kentuckians, Ty’s accomplishment was the Bluegrass equivalent of the golden child discovering the Holy Grail.  For me, it was even more exciting, more personal.  You see, Ty’s father, Jeff, and I had been friends for more than 20 years, and somehow I had missed all this!  I immediately picked up the phone.

Jeff’s excitement was contagious as he recounted the entire experience.  The championship round of the free throw contest pitted Ty against a worthy competitor from Nebraska.  Each boy was required to shoot 25 free throws.  Fifty free throws later, both were still perfect. 

A tiebreaker required each child to shoot 5 additional free throws until a champion was determined.  After the first tiebreaker, Ty was the winner having hit a perfect 30 of 30 free throws to his challengers 29 of 30.

I was taken by the magnitude of the accomplishment.  Yet, I hadn’t considered carefully enough the sacrifice behind the success.  Innocently, but foolishly, I asked, “Jeff, that’s phenomenal.  How did he do it?”

“Well, Phil, he practiced, a lot,” he stated matter-of-factly.  “Phil, I never forced him to practice.  But once he decided he wanted to be the best, Ty voluntarily shot at least 250 free throws every night for over six months.  The best I can figure, he shot more than fifty thousand practice free throws.  By the time the actual competition arrived he was ready.”

As leaders, what lessons can we learn from a 9-year old’s basketball accomplishments? How can we ensure success when called to the line?

First, decide what is really important before sacrificing considerable time and effort in the pursuit of that thing.  Continual practice will be taxing, and often lonely.  Know for sure that the outcome you are practicing for is worth the effort.

Second, practice does not always make perfect, but it always better prepares us.  Though Ty was perfect in Indianapolis, he was destined to miss in the future.  However, practice ensured that he would never have to worry about his preparation or overall ability.

Third, and possibly best of all, the goal you are practicing for often pales in comparison to other accomplishments that follow.

Nine-year old Ty Rogers didn’t quit playing basketball after his 1995 free throw contest victory.  On the contrary, his early success seemed to fuel the numerous successes that would follow, both on and off the court. 

Off the court, Ty graduated from tiny Lyon County High School, Eddyville, Kentucky, in the spring of 2004 with a perfect 4.0 grade point average. 

On the court, he finished his high school basketball career as a 1st team Kentucky All-Stater; 2nd in voting as 2004 Kentucky’s “Mr. Basketball;” the 7th leading career scorer in Kentucky high school basketball history (3,300 points) and finally, Kentucky’s all time 3-point leader, the 1st player in Kentucky high school history to make more than 400 3-point baskets (407).

But Ty’s far from being finished.  Ty’s basketball accomplishments have earned him a full scholarship ($40,000+ value) to Western Kentucky University to play for the Hilltoppers.  Last Saturday night, in only his fifth collegiate game, Ty came off the bench to score 17 points in a victory against Murray State University (my alma mater).  He finished 5 for 6 from beyond the 3-point arch for a total of 15 points.  And guess what? He was 2 for 2 from the free throw line, back where it all started for him almost 10 years ago.

What do you need to be practicing for?  So get started.

March Magic

Remember now, the article above was published in December, 2004, during Ty’s freshman year at Western Kentucky University.  More than three years have since passed. On Friday, March 21st, 2008, the Western Kentucky University Hilltoppers, unranked nationally, along with senior, Ty Rogers, had earned their first trip to the NCAA tournament since 1995.  Their opponent?  The Drake Bulldogs, ranked # 14 in the national polls.

The game was all any true basketball fan could ask for.  The underdog Hilltoppers, exceeding all expectations, raced out to a 16-point lead.  But with eight minutes to go in the second half, the bigger, stronger Drake team fought back to tie the game and send it into overtime.  During the 5-minute overtime period, Drake’s momentum continued, allowing the Bulldogs to build a 4-point lead with 1:09 left to play.  But, the Hilltoppers were not finished yet.  During the next minute, WKU fought their way back to within one point and had possession of the basketball under their opponents basket.  With 5.7 seconds remaining in the game, WKU took a timeout to set a play that would either end their season or propel them into the next round of the tournament.   

I was standing in my kitchen listening to the action on the radio.  I would later learn that during the timeout, Hilltopper Coach Darrin Horn, set a play in which Ty Rogers was instructed to inbound the ball to the game’s leading scorer, with 33 points, Tyrone Brazelton.  The coach wanted Brazelton to take the ball the length of the court in hopes of getting one last shot off before time expired.  I would also later learn that Ty Rogers had another plan in mind.  As the team broke the huddle, Ty Rogers went to his teammate, Brazelton and simply said, “Don’t be afraid to kick it out to me.”

The rest, as they say, is history.  Rogers inbounded the ball to Brazelton who raced up the floor.  But as the defenders converged on Brazelton, he must have remembered Rogers’ words, because he looked to his right and there was Rogers, set and waiting for the biggest shot of his life.  Brazelton made a perfect pass.  Rogers caught the ball and immediately launched a 26-foot jumper with less than a second remaining.  The shot was perfect. 

Final score, Western Kentucky 101, Drake 99.

It has now been 11 days since the shot I just described was made.  Western Kentucky went on to defeat San Diego State in the next round of the tournament before falling to UCLA in the Sweet Sixteen.  But the memory of that shot lives on in the minds of the thousands of those that saw it first hand and the millions of the rest of us who have watched it again and again on ESPN, highlight reels and the internet.  Why? As sports analysts have concluded, Ty’s shot was one of the “game changing performances” of the tournament.  If you have not yet seen it, I suggest you pause right now and go to http://www.ncaasports.com/basketball/mens/pontiac/index?cmp=NCAA08_Vanity_to_CBS. While you are there you can cast your vote for it (if you choose—I already have) as the play of the tournament and for a chance to win a $100,000 scholarship. 

What Does It All Mean?

If you have read this far, you may be thinking, “Okay, Phil, I admit this is an interesting, ‘feel good’ story.  And I understand why you are so personally engaged in a story about your friend’s son.  But what does it really have to do with leadership?  More specifically, what does it have to do with me?”

Those are fair questions.  Regarding what this story has to do with leadership, frankly, I think a lot.  By all accounts, from his coach to his teammates, Ty Rogers is acknowledged as an unquestioned leader both on and off the court.  (For more specific information I suggest you Google “Ty Rogers” and read some of the dozens of articles that will appear.) As I mentioned earlier, commentators have chosen Ty’s performance as one of the best eight “game changing performances” of the tournament.

But, regarding the question of what it has to do with each of us as leaders wishing to enhance our leadership abilities, I would call your attention once again to the article I wrote back in 2004.  As a reminder, the three primary points I made at the end of that article were these:

1. We must first decide what is really important to us before sacrificing considerable time and effort in the pursuit of that thing.  Continual practicing will be taxing, and often lonely.  Know for sure that the outcome you are practicing for is worth the effort.

2. Realize that practice does not always make perfect, but it always better prepares us. 

3. Finally, the goal you are practicing for now often pales in comparison to the opportunities and potential accomplishments that follow.

Some people will foolishly contend that all Ty did was hit “a lucky shot.”  Nothing could be further from the truth.  The reality is that Ty has been preparing himself for that shot his entire life.  While no one was watching (or cheering) he worked.  Then when the opportunity presented itself, he let those around him know that he would not shrink from the challenge—in fact, he wanted the responsibility squarely on his shoulders.  Finally, when he got the chance to perform in the midst of a crucial situation, literally millions of people around the world watched and cheered.

So, I ask once again, what do you need to be practicing for?  More importantly, will the value of your practice shine through when the time comes for the responsibility to rest squarely on your shoulders?