There
comes a time in everyone’s life when we meet someone who inspires us to do more
than we’ve ever done before; to be better than we are; to see what we can
usually only be seen through the eyes of wishful thinking, and give you the
tools to make it all a reality.
For the
past 15 years this man has unknowingly been the fuel of my fire. Vince Silva is a 2 time All American out of
Oklahoma State. His remarkable wrestling
career has been met with great accomplishment as well as by great
adversity. In all, he has grown into
being the person that has most represented for me what it is to be a wrestler,
a coach, and what it takes to be the best.
I decided
to interview him because he has taught
me so much about being a Wrestler and I wanted to share his wisdom with other
wrestlers and people who have a desire to lead; because, what Coach Silva does isn’t
simply coach us, but leads us.
Questions:
1. What is leadership
and what makes a good leader (or coach)?
“The
ability to influence people’s actions, and beliefs...and in some cases, their
values.” This is Silva’s definition of
leadership. I can safely assume that he
means this in a positive way, even though we can see this in leaders who
haven’t been positive for society. He
once told me, “Lomeli, I can’t teach values…parents do that. I can only reveal them.” His hope is that when he reveals values to
his wrestlers they will be swayed.
To the
second part of this question, he simply states that leading by example is the
best form of leadership. This is based
on his experience. He goes on further to say, that if you demonstrate the
knowledge and skill and confidence when demonstrating technique, or performing
a task that you would have others do this in part breeds that same confidence
in the people you lead. They view you as
being competent and capable of leading them.
“When you demonstrate success...people will cling to you, listen to you...and
most importantly begin to respect you.”
To add,
he stresses that you always keep up with knowledge or skills in whatever you do
to maintain your leadership status; or get people around you who can, and use
them to maintain your leadership position.
As a wrestling coach it is important to stay in shape and continue to
wrestle and workout in practice. It is
important to constantly learn the sport and how it changes as far as technique
and style.
2. In your opinion,
what is the best way to inspire a team or player?
“Share
the glory...the journey...the pitfalls.”
Through stories, Silva feels inspiration is best accomplished. Stories of accomplishment that will
demonstrate the example of what it is you are motivating them to do. It is equally as important to demonstrate the
adversity (pitfalls) that happen. To be
able to see how people they admire handle adversity. You have to be able to be articulate and be
able to move your audience.
What I
personally have gained from Coach Silva is, always
reward the good the people you lead do.
“Criticize their behavior, not them”
(Silva), is something I’ve demanded other coaches to do. This I think is what coaches really
lack. Criticizing behavior is to let the
person know what it takes to be the best and show them that what they are doing
will not get them what they want. Don’t
call him a lazy good for nothing bum; instead tell him that those who want to
win, “get up at 6 am and run.”
3. Can you learn to
be a great coach or is it something you’re born with?
Simply, “Yes.” But he adds, “It is necessary to associate
yourself with great coaches.” Keep an open
mind and not be stubborn, be able to adjust to the needs of your team and know
what other coaches do that work. Bottom
line, “YOU HAVE TO HAVE PASSION.”
Without it, he says, “Nothing matters.”
You have to have the fire and desire to be the best.
4. What should be the
main goal or purpose of a leader (in sport or life)?
“From a
coaching stand point...it is to assist others in doing what they wouldn’t
normally do on their own that is a positive act.” Now is that a quote? To paraphrase the remainder of his answer: It is important to want to be able to
contribute to the success of others by passing on the torch of your knowledge
and experience.
5. What is your
personal philosophy of leadership or coaching?
“Anyone, anywhere, any time. In order to be the best, you have to beat the
best.” ‘Nuff said.
6. What is your
design for success?
I am happy to have influenced his
answer here. I had previously written about
the wrestling life based on what Coach Silva had shown me. I pointed out the principle of
obsession. After reading my write up, he
began delivering messages that included this principle. Again, to paraphrase, he says, be passionate,
full of obsession, and follow a proven path.
Attach yourself to someone who has what you want and do what great
people do. Well, if you are Silva trained
then you know his coaching path.
As a
bonus, he gave me this potato chip
piece of advice ;) “But the main thing, Isaac...man...you just got to be
tough. Mentally strong…to win…to succeed
you got to be tough…Monster tough.” This
is everything in a nutshell. In regards
to coaching, I’m sure he was saying, you can’t be weak; you can’t give in to coaching
to your talent, but coach to your team.
Coaching to your talent means, you let your talented wrestlers do as
they please. You let them dictate your
coaching. You bow to them. Coaching to you team, means being strong
enough to hold on to integrity.
To summarize,
leadership is based on your ability to motivate, not dictate. Be able to demonstrate with skill and
confidence the things you would have others do.
And to do it for the sake of the sparkle in their eye from what you have
helped them accomplish. If you can get
them to respect you and believe in you, you can get them to follow you. Very Jesus like, isn’t it. “Do as I have done, love others as I have
loved you. They will know you by your
love. ”
Of
everything I know about the man, his desire to want what is best for his
wrestlers is what shines. If I can add
something to all this, let me say this.
Let your light shine. In your
light you will reveal the light in others, and they in return will shine. We don’t believe in Silva because of his
wrestling, we believe in him because he opens his heart us. Though he probably doesn’t see this, it is
why we follow him, believe in him, and are inspired by him. It is his love.
Now Coach
once told me, “Isaac, I shy away from weakness.
I don’t like seeing it; and sometimes it may come off as though I don’t
care. But the truth is, I care, but me
showing weakness won’t help my wrestlers.”
To a point he is right. We all
see him as being our mighty hero who shows us strength in our time of need…not
weakness. However, what brings us to
love him is in his weakness. His stories
make this strong man appear weak, and this is why we listen; because we are
weak, we can relate. And in his weakness
he shows us how, in our weakness, we can rise…WE CAN RISE! Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment