At volleyball practice the other evening I asked the team this question, “Who is a champion?” Do champions become champions when they win a title at an event? We decided, no, you have to act like a champion before you win the title. So during practice I asked them:

• What time would a champion show up to practice?
• How would a champion warm-up?
• How would a champion participate in drills?
• What would a champion eat?
• How many hours would a champion sleep before a competition?
• What would champions say to themselves in their head when they make a mistake?
• What would a champion do when she got tired?
• What would a champion do when there was a break in practice?

In order to be a champion you first must be that great athlete in your mind. Your behaviour every single day must reflect that of a champion. At our next game we walked on the court as CHAMPIONS.