Stars on Sports Intro: It's time for Stars on Sports! A podcast-radio show dedicated to sharing stories about our athletic program at Lansing Community College. LCC athletics has a strong tradition. 25 national championship wins! Over 190 All-Americans! 19 MCCAA All Sports trophies! Stars on Sports will introduce you to individuals that have contributed to our program success and give you the backstory on what it takes to develop it. We'll also dive into and break down the topics and issues facing athletic departments across the nation and right here at LCC. This is Stars on Sports!

Hello and welcome to another episode of Stars on Sports. I'm joined today by our assistant athletic director, Steven Cutter and our producer, Daedalian Lowry. And gentlemen, today we're going to be talking about pride in performance. The word pride. I observe a lot at all the events and watching teams practice and even in my own life with my family and kids dynamic and really at that team environment in which looking up the definition of pride today, it's deep pleasure or satisfaction from one's achievements of those they are associated with. The team atmosphere, I think brings in a lot of pride. And I want to talk about both sides, as we always kind of do, of the issues is, you know, how it can be a very positive thing. But even in my experience over the last week, when I think about it, it's been a negative how pride has hurt teams or hurt individuals. What's your first instinct when you think of the word pride?

It's an interesting one for sure. I think it's pride is built through habits, resilience and results, you know, and I think it's something that as we get into maybe a couple sides of, there's two sides of pride. And I think there's, you know, somewhat through your habits and your sacrifices, you have it somewhat earned. And on the other side, there's somewhat of a false narrative, you know, where it's the pride is not built through any of that stuff. It's just this blind pride. And so I think it definitely we can get into some stuff with pride. And you see it at the high school level, you see it at the travel sports, you see it at the collegiate level. It's everywhere. And there's definitely portions of it that you're questioning where that's coming from and whether it's earned or a false pride.

What about you, Daedalian?

Yeah, I'd agree with what you said there as far as there being a positive and a negative to it. I mean, first of all, I think it's good to be able to look at something You've done something, you've accomplished and be proud of that. But I also am the very first person that will say pride gets in the way of happiness. And I'm talking about from a personal perspective, because very often you hold onto that pride. And what I see the most and what I've seen in my own life is when I'm prideful about something, it's hard for me to make that change, the transition that I need to make. And that gets in the way of happiness.

Very good. Thank you. And I want to start with the positive part of it, because I think it is prevalent in team sports, in sports in general, in school settings, like when I talk about LCC sports, I want our student athlete to represent LCC well. I want them to take pride in their school and celebrate together. And when I looked up the word pride, proud was the other part of that word that I never really put two and two together. Because honestly, when I think of. I usually think of the negative side of pride when I think of the word in general. But again, in team sports, it's a lot of things that we build on and that we utilize to generate success. And some of that is motivation, confidence, and a lot of levels, legacies. And, you know, you see it in the Olympics, you see it in World Cup Soccer. The All Blacks were another big one. When you look up that we talk about and how, you know, like when the Olympics come around, and I love the Olympics or World Cup Soccer, you know, which helped me become a bigger soccer fan, is. Is rooting for your country, rooting for your team to do well in a world setting. And. And the Olympics have a lot of examples of pride for your country. And I think those two really show. But you see it even again, back to my everyday example of working with teams of, you know, when they smile because they're proud of their accomplice, you know, that again, because accomplishments of being a part of team are significant parts of our. Of our program. Pro athletes in the past talking about the pride they had, you know, to meet their standards. I mean, Michael Jordan and Muhammad Ali are two ones that, you know, their pride in their craft, competing against themselves, and it builds confidence. And that's what those two had. And that's what we want for our team to get confidence because that helps with success. So on a daily basis, I mean, you don't. This isn't one you address with a team, but it's probably one you observe and maybe have to manage with the.

Team quite a bit. Actually. It's brought up, not necessarily in the word, but when we talk about details matter, it's definitely brought up a lot. Pride shows up in the details, and it's things like clean dugouts, body language, what kids are doing when nobody's watching. Pride is extremely prevalent in all of those types of things.

And that's a great example because habits you mentioned earlier. But one of the other things we emphasize with our student athletes at LCC is leave things better than you found it. Take pride in your facility and clean up after yourself and make it look better. And that is pride. That is feeling accomplished. I mean, it's not the fun thing to do, but feeling it some sort of accomplishment when you get that task done.

Also important, I think, is feeling pride even when you failed and just having pride in the fact that you first of all made the effort, but secondly, put forth the work to get to where you needed to be, at least to be able to compete well.

And I think that goes to standards over success on the scoreboard is, you're right, you can take pride in your effort and losing to a better team. But I think that also lends to the negative side of things because that's when your pride gets hurt, maybe is when you're concentrating on the scoreboard or focusing on the negative part of your ability, per se. So, yeah, when I talk about it need to be taught. And we maybe don't address it as much, but it does need to be taught and addressed. And again, in any facet, it's where on the pendulum that is, is whether it'll be positive or negative. And again, that sense of accomplishment, I think can go a long way in doing those things. But on the negative side, you know, it can lead to arrogance, selfishness, complacency. Complacency is another one. And then like, so I think, you know, when I'm thinking about pride in sports and I'm thinking about specific examples of the negative side of it. What about upsets, you know, like, or the biggest upsets in sports because of too much pride or getting, you know, and I don't want to, you know, make them same as complacency and pride, but we talked about spectator behavior a little bit over here. And is some of the violence in sports attributed to your pride?

There's a sense of delusionalism that comes in when you have a lot of pride and a lot of times that leads to covering up maybe the truth. You miss some stuff because you are so proud of, you know, whatever it might be, and you end up being a Little bit delusional and not able to grow or maybe even just learn from, you know, whatever's happened to you because you're just too proud to be able to see it.

Yeah, I think it leads to overestimating your abilities. That. And that again, leads to those.

Which is also a great thing, the belief system. And having a powerful belief system in yourself, whether it's in sports or life, is so super important versus the other side of the coin of that.

And that's why this word intrigues me so much, because this is one of those more finer lines of too much can be a negative thing and not enough, you know, can also be a negative thing. Is finding that perfect, like area of.

And who defines what is perfect. And that's why I think it's a gray area, because there isn't specific definitions, whether it's in sports or life, what is too much. And that's. That's the hard part. And so we're all going around on individual basis making these decisions on that. That's great pride. That's too much pride. And all these opinions, they. They just don't line up.

That's what I was trying to get to is that's why I think it's so important and prevalent in sports, is because you have the individual pride trying to mesh at the team pride. And I think those most successful teams get it aligned and keep it in check. But it's hard all know, on a daily basis. There are different pride levels of kids. And whether they're being positive or negative that day is how to handle. And again, I think that's the intriguing thing about pride, is your own pride and how it fits in. Because the definition says being associated with a group or team, that how does your pride fit in with your team? And leadership and student accountability all helps with that. But the other thing with sports is there's adversity every day that you see people's pride hurt or built on. And you know that just that momentum, that excitement, that dealing with it and how you deal with it can definitely, will definitely impact your consistency that lead to your success. So I think, yeah, individual versus team pride is a big thing because in the end it's pride with your team. Back to these national team examples. And, you know, when I think of violence in sport, to hit on that a little bit, is it their association with that team, whether they're cocky and, you know, picking on those want that loss, or whether they feel a sense of hurt and they're mad and want to pick up fight with Something which another neat example I thought of is. And I thought of. And you might disagree with me, but we were in a baseball game at LCC a week ago, and there was a little adversity and I thought our pitcher just got better as the game went on, and you just like. Like build confidence. It just like it was a sense of pride, like he was just, you know, taking it upon himself. And I thought, man, he. He had pride in his ability, had pride, and that he wanted to beat this other team and do well for us. And I thought he started a little shaky that first or two innings, but it just. I mean, he just started to mow things down by the fourth or fifth inning and. And just had a great game. And you could just feel pride there. It can lead to that confidence. And then again. But it led to some other adversity and some of the other things because it led to the other. You know, the momentum changed in the game and, you know, there were, you know, some challenging ways of handling success or lack of success. That pride, I think, was one of the key factors that got in the way there because you went from winning to losing, and that one team went from losing to winning. That, you know, pride, again, even as we talk about every day in team practice during a game, it can change significantly. Some of the reasons we see after a game, some of those sportsmanship issues, because sportsmanship is one of the key factors in Prime. So anything else on that?

I think it's. With research and stuff, it shows it's extremely important. In the team environment, I'm not sure about the individual. I think it is important there, but in the team environment, it's extremely important. And the best teams doesn't matter what sport it is, they have it and they have an edge to them. And that edge is different than, we'll say, like just a 500 team or an average team. There's an edge there. And the best teams have that pride. And. And it's not always in the jersey that they have on. A lot of times it's just in the teammates and the people around them that they have a lot of pride in their community, of the group, of the athletes.

Yeah. And I agree, but I think you see it in sports. I agree. A team atmosphere just makes that pride stronger and the celebration bigger and the bond more important. But I also, in the individual sport, I see it more in their standard or ability, like taking pride in their own sense of accomplishment, like beating that time. When you label individual and team sports, you forget that even in individual Sports, you're still a part of the team. And when you look, you know, when you talk about cross country or swimming, you know, you can have your own sense of pride in your own standard or your own personal performance. But I think we've learned, and even human nature shows us it's better when you share it with somebody. When you're part of a team in cross country, you run by yourself, or even in wrestling, you're out there wrestling one on one, but it's fun when you can go back and celebrate with your team when you win or get support if you lose. So, yeah, I think the team dynamic strengthens it and enlightens it and makes it more visible. But in sport, I think there's a lot of different ways to handle it. And again, not looking just at the scoreboard, but at your own individual performance or even your performance as part of a team. Because I'm a big believer, you know, your role on the team is important, and we don't need you to, you know, maybe strike. You don't need to hit home run every time at bat. But getting a base hit or a walk, I mean, you're big on, you know, just get on base, get hit by the pitch, and to get on base that knowing your role. And I think pride can get in the way of that a little bit because of your own ego or your stats. Look, you know, when we see kids or teams focus on stats sometime, and it's amazing how prevalent that is, that that can impact their pride and then therefore impact team performance.

It can, but you still need it for performance. So it's. It's one of those things that's very, very much on the line, and you have to understand how to coach it and sometimes not coach it at all. But at the end of the day, you're still talking about things that are within your influence, and how you react to a said situation is within your influence. Losing a game is within your influence. You know, cleaning a dugout is with within that. How you work, how you. How you're working when nobody's around. All that stuff is things that you can say. This team has a lot of pride. You can see it. And you can also not see it on other teams when they don't have that pride. So the most successful ones, you absolutely want a lot of it. You just have to learn how to manage it.

Yeah, I agree. I think when you compliment a team, they have a lot of pride in what they do. They're doing it right. They're taking care of business. They're doing the little things. I mean, we can't go without saying ero in our podcast, but yeah, it's how you respond. And again, that's the word why it triggers me so much, because it can sway one way or the other. Your pride, joy pod, the renegade, because I definitely agree with you, it is needed in sports. It does help with motivating and giving a sense of belong. I mean, those are two big things. Motivating to be better and then also being a part of a team and knowing your role within that team.

But on the individual basis, it's still part of the process. And it's super important for everybody's journey in life, too. If you can take some pride in your journey so far, that helps you take some more steps or stack some more bricks, too. So it's, I believe it's crucial not only in great teams, but it's also crucial in for. For all of us and the guy.

They're just leading so many more things. But, you know, want to. One of the other things I want to hit on is I also think pride, back to the sportsmanship part of it is it hinders people because they hold grudges or it'll make them choose battles they shouldn't choose to fight. And again, as I've told you before, my favorite things is knowing when or when not to choose your battles, what hill to die on. And I think pride is a strong factor in getting in the way and distorting judgment on those two things. That. That's where one of the most negative things that pride is, is maybe holding on too long or. Or fighting when you shouldn't because your pride gets in the way and just, hey, let it go. Take the high road. And you know, again, one of the famous quotes in my little rivalry was the Michigan, Michigan State quote a couple of years ago by Michigan State football quote, that pride before the fall, you know, where does it fit in? And again back to that line. And then you know you'll fall from grace if your pride becomes too much. But I think it is a tough thing to manage because you need it and you want it and it is an integral part of your team to be successful. But on the other end, if it's too far, then it's one of the common denominators in sportsmanship and the issues we have to deal with in our team.

When I teach it, we talk about things with being proud or having, you know, what the word you're using with pride, it's. It's not being Proud that you're thinking that you're better than others. It's. It's being proud that you're a little bit better than you were yesterday. And that's. And when I come to the journey and we talk about those things, that's. That's where that pride and you. And you see that that's a great pride. And when you can not only manifest that, but help it grow, that's where like the best teams, you just look at them and there's an edge to them. There's something there and a good edge.

And it's crazy. I think we use the word pride more than I even thought of. You know, look at the. When you even describe a team that does. Well, I think pride is one of those words that comes out when to define them. And. And you're right. It still goes back to your own standards. Again, we all want to be successful on the scoreboard, but accomplishing your standards can really visibly demonstrate the pride you have or have developed for your association, team or accomplishment. And so at the very end, again, one of the things I saw online was pride can fuel greatness, but unlocked it, can also undo it. And again, that's where you find that fine line. And just like one of my favorite things, like anything in life, if that balance a strength to the extreme becomes a weakness. So you get that codon here again, but that's pride. It's a strength, but if you go too far with it, it becomes a weakness. Anything else to add? Any quick thing to Dalian?

I do not, no. All right, you guys covered about all of it. I was thinking of a friend of mine that I was talking about happiness and on a personal level, not sports related, was one of those things where she no longer talks to her brother and sister because of something that happened. And a lot of it had to do with pride. And it was one of those things where I was like, it's making you miserable. I don't know why you continue, but she eventually, hopefully will get to that point.

I'm glad you brought that up the.

Down because it happens in families all the time.

It is a big fact too. They're a team. And seriously, that's one of the reasons in the last week I have been dealing with it too, is I feel pride in families has divided families. It can be one of your best things. But I bring up LCC sports, I bring up my favorite team sports. How I've seen it in that over the last week or month. But even in when I observe my own family or other family. I think it's a big indicator of tension or.

And it just gets in the way of happiness. It just gets in the way of happiness. And that's what I was definitely.

I'm glad you did. Because when I talk about hurting your pride or not knowing when to stop fighting or holding grudges, I think again, I thought of some instances in my own family or friends, family that I they vent to you about that it's their pride getting in the way of them being happy and being together in big moments. So nice job. So, okay, we'll close there and we'll go to our last question as we record this podcast. We finished one of my favorite sporting events to watch and the Masters in golf. And when I was at the high school setting, it always seemed like our spring break aligned with the Masters golf tournament. So it was one that I was allowed to like, just watch. Unfortunately, I didn't get to watch much of this one because it wasn't any one spring break. But it still creates a lot of excitement, drama. It's one of the best sporting events, if you ask me. But for us, the thing is, every year the previous winner gets to choose the dinner for the champion dinner before the start of the tournament. So I'll start, but what's your master's dinner? And mine would actually, this year, Scotty Scheffler had cheeseburger, sliders, firecracker, shrimp ravioli, Texas style chili, rib eye or fish, and then a skillet cookie. So that's a pretty good master dinner for me. Tiger, back in 1990, he had me.

At sliders, but go on, had me.

Better because he had cheeseburger and chicken sandwiches, fries and milkshakes. And there's some really nasty, not nasty ones, ones that don't, you know, they get pretty, like, you know, diverse in their skillet. So for me, it would be a Caesar's because this also led to, well, what's our best advice? Appetizer. But that'll be a future one when we go there. But for me, it would be a Caesar salad, Texas roadhouse bread and cinnamon butter loaded tots, filet mignon with french fries. Because I already got the loaded thoughts. It'll be wild for steak fries. And then I kind of like the ice cream skillet. What's your master dinner?

I love it. You come, you, you come up with these questions and then you detail it.

All out, what it's going to do.

And the napkins are going to look like this. And so you're saying the previous winner Gets to determine it. But. But they don't. Do they win back to back.

If they do, they get that like. Like, tigers won four or five times, and he. Bubba Watson was the only one that saw that one twice. He did the exact same menu both times, but most picked something a little different even when they went.

Most of the time, you're choosing a dinner for somebody else.

You're. Well, it's your favorite meal, but it's all the previous champions there. And, like, Gotti Scheffler won it this year or one last year and two years ago, and he. He picked some different things. But you can definitely see some of the food that they do like. But some like to just be, like, a little crazy and extravagant and such.

So I think I would go definitely with some steak and, you know, some seafood, like crab legs. Crab legs and some lobster bisque soup.

Okay. That's a popular one.

Probably the appetizer would be nacho cheese. Doritos.

Doritos. I almost went a nacho.

That's good.

Crab legs, lobster bisque. I learned a little bit about you there. So what about you, Daedalian?

Well, you didn't tell me I couldn't do pizza, so I'm gonna do pizza because.

No, I won the year before.

I won the year before. Cut.

Did.

And so now, you know, wouldn't be pizza.

Dallian. I know you better. You got a little. You got a.

You know.

Definitely. Well, I mean, pizza would be one of my picks. Subs. Any type of sub, really. Variations. Some boneless wings. I'm not really into that one.

Which one? Bone in or bone?

I prefer bone.

Boneless. Boneless.

And then if you want to get beyond that, I mean, you know, lasagna. Okay. I obviously have a thing for cheese. Really?

It's pretty much my question before cheese or chocolate, but we'll go to that one in the future. But no, that's good. I mean, again, I like cheeseburgers, too, or sub. But I just. If. If I had to pick a little more, like, special, it would be this. It would be steak for me. I like seafood, but I don't get too picky there. Lasagna. Cuban sandwiches.

Cuban sandwiches? Yeah.

That can be your, like, slider thing, your meal, but that'd be pretty little.

Yeah. Little Cuban sliders. I'm done with that.

There you go. So. Okay. There we go. So Augusta National. Please pay attention to 1. If one of these two wins the Nassers in the future. Until next time, go Stars.

Stars on Sports Outro: Stars on Sports is recorded live at the WLNZ studios. Engineering and production assistance are provided by Daedalian Lowry. You can listen to this episode and other episodes of Stars on Sports on demand at LCCconnect.org to find more information about our athletic program, visit LCCstars.com thanks for listening. Go Stars!