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. 24 national championship wins! Over 170 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 Starz on Sports. I'm joined today by our assistant athletic director, Steven Cutter, and our producer, Jereny Robinson. And gentlemen, as we record this podcast, we're heading into our summer, which doesn't really change much for us, but it also provides a time of reflection. And mainly what I want to talk about today is comparison. You know, whether it's to yesterday or last year or season, but you know, we're wrapping up another strong year for LCC Stars Athletics. And you know, there were highs and I don't even want to say lows, but things that we just, you know, thought would, would go differently. And but you know, I had been at a tennis meet, high school tennis meet the last couple days, you know, over the last week and third postseason at the high school level. And just the thing that stuck to me is just comparing yourself to, to what you did the day before. And, and it's hard in a post season when more on the line where you lose and you can go home. But, and you always have that tendency to compare yourself to the person in this case across the net. But I really tried to emphasize, and it's just a message that we talk about all the time is just be better yourself. Control what you can control. And that's my advice. You can control your attitude and your effort. You can't control your opponent and just being better. But we both know, and we've talked about a little bit before about the comparison theory on this podcast, but it's difficult in sports because we keep score and we can see visible differences between teams or individuals, whether it's a team sport or individual sport. And we get caught up in looking at ourselves comparable to our opponent when in the end the advice was just did you do better than you did yesterday? Did you do better than you did the previous match? Because in my particular case, my daughter played two of the same opponents last week and this week and our goal was she beat one and lost the one was to win more Games against that the other girl is better than you. You can't, you're not going to change much now. I mean, she tried different strategies each match that I like that her coach offered her to do, and they worked. But in the end it was still back to consistency. And the girl with better that, but she won more games offered the second time and I think that can be successful in that, you know, overall reflection of that season. Am I off here or no, I agree. I mean, have you experienced it or.

Yes, I experience getting beat by some really good people and then I tell myself I'm going to keep on going until I'm able to beat you. Or you look at different ways you can improve because you can literally say, oh, you're better than me. Or you can say, what do I have to improve to get to that level? So it's a different mindset.

And do you think we do that enough Coach Cutter in our business? Or, you know, because he's right on. When I looked up the comparison theory, you know, it talks about jealousy and scorn and our way that, you know, where things start to go south for you. But if you use it like motivation or gratitude, that can be a positive way to get better.

I think that progress is the most important thing and I believe that ease is a greater threat to progress than hardships are. And so when you're using comparison theory, you can use it in a lot of good ways too. And if maybe today or yesterday was not as good as the day before or the match or the, you know, whatever it might be, that's where you can really gain a lot more progress than you can when you're having the success. And so I think it's kind of a double edged sword, you know, and it's, it's okay to, to not necessarily make, to make that progress, to take some steps back to, to look and see that you were in one spot six weeks ago or six months ago or one year ago and you're not quite in the same spot now. But that's, that can also be a driver to push you forward. And a lot of times if you're just sailing right along and everything's nice and easy and sunny in 75, progress really seems to stall out with people. They get complacent. And complacency is a large thing in our society. And with the complacency, then the growth starts stalling out. And so the things that don't necessarily go your way that they, you know, those things where you're frustrated because you Know, maybe you've gotten beat by somebody or that person's better than you or things like that. Those can be really good drivers to progress down the road. And that's where, like, consistency and discipline really come into helping with those things and helping you get better on the journey of life and the journey in sports.

And in sports, is it difficult? Like in the example I used, I mean, we're talking last Thursday and then Tuesday, where it's hard to find, you know, maybe ways to improve or significant improvement. We've always talked about, like, the off season being that avenue to pursue and maybe more at lower level than at the highest levels. We've even talked about, you know, in our office about practices, how many. At certain levels, there's not much practice, you know, and that you. Where do you find time to improve or get better or. And how important the off season is, which we're heading into at LCC. And. And I also wonder, you know, at LCC, we have a high standard, and we want to be successful at a high level. Is it harder to see some of the improvement when you're at that level? And. And are there more disappointments? Because, you know, if your goal is a national championship or a regional championship, you know, that's challenging to accomplish, that only one team accomplish, you know, what's a failure? And we, you know, some of our favorite conversations in the past have been the, you know, definition of failure. Kobe Bryant and Janis and from the Bucks talk about failure or learning lessons. You know, a book that I read with it not whether you know something by John Maxwell about sometimes you win, sometimes you learn. And I think that's prevalent in our business because we focus on losing. We talk about losing, but you also

don't need to lose to learn. You know, you can learn a lot from winning. So, I mean, you can lose all the time. You. You don't need to lose to learn.

You're right. And losing can be difficult to overcome. When you lose all the time, that becomes a belief system or, or an attitude or effort back to complacency. And I'm. I'm a big believer in learning. I believe learning is leadership is learning, life is learning. If you're learning every day, it's like improving and it's like your talent acquisition. You get better every day that you should learn even when you win. I think the best teams do learn from their wins, and it's back to that drive and that motivation to be better or do better than even if you won the regional championship, to do better and compete at the next level.

Sort of a double edged sword at times when you do have high standards because it's the same idea as if you are starting to learn how to play the guitar. And on day one, you're probably not going to really know how to play really much of anything. But if you put 100 days into it, by the time those hundred days are up, you're going to be okay at playing maybe a song.

Right.

And you put 100 days into anything, you're going to be, you're going to be naturally more proficient at whatever that might be. The double edged sword to it is when you put that much time into something and you're still not where you want to be or you fail my golf game, it hurts or is frustrating a lot more than if you've only put one day in it. It's not nearly as frustrating because you're like, I haven't put the time in. I mean, subconsciously you just know like, I didn't put the time in.

And we see that a lot in sports and education where I didn't try hard. So that's why I didn't get an A in the class or that's why I didn't do well in baseball this year. Because they're afraid of success to a certain extent that like you said, the more you put in, the more, the more invested you become, the more joy

you get out of it. But on the other side of it, the more it hurts.

Yeah.

And to your guitar point, I can't remember the exact time, but in the book Outliers, it talks about what an outlier becomes in a certain subject. I thought it was like 10,000 hours. If you put 10,000 hours in something, that's when you become an outlier and most likely experience success, whether it's music or sports. And we've talked about the similar. That's why I was correct on that number. I haven't read that book in a while, but a very good, good one too. And we try and bring a book into this. But reflecting on this year and do you get caught up in comparing year to year or season to season?

I think that's, that's what sports are for. I mean, that's why there's records. That's, you know, people can date back a long time on teams that have failed or have had successes and you can, you can chronicle, you know, whether it's basketball teams or football teams, when they were good, when they were bad, you know, so that's a natural thing to do.

And then for us it's even we compare our GPAs from previous years and other factors too. Number of classes fail. There's a lot of data in sport that we can grab to. And the interesting thing to me is what's our emphasis? What's our priority? It'll be different for the three of us in this podcast. Like, well, maybe a gpa, maybe it's failures, maybe it's classes. You know, I track how many, what classes we fail more than once or in the same in on the field, like you might look at batting average, I might look at pitching, you might look at fielding. And just there's different emphasis for people that you can grab anything you want to kind of make your argument in sports. And that's, you know, yeah, one of the good discussions that we can have. And when I think about being better, back to your point of complacency or dissatisfaction. A lot of focus on the transfer portal nowadays and how people always. The phrase that comes up a lot in sports is grass is greener on the other side,

the portal is crazy at this point in the baseball world, it'll open on June 3rd and I mean there's so many kids that are already, you know, announcing that they're going into it. It's completely changed. If, if you didn't get the playing time you wanted or it's not the right fit or you know, maybe you think you can play at a, you know, a greener grass to place, then I mean, it's just really changed everything. And certainly I've said for a couple years now it's, it's hurting high school aged kids in their recruiting processes.

Well, it is because there's experience out there. And even now, the biggest variable I've seen in the transfer portal that I wasn't sure people realized that those people betting on themselves that they can do better. I think most thought it'd be the people that wasn't a good fit or didn't get the playing time that they wanted. But now we're seeing some of the best athletes at certain levels be able to play themselves into that next level, which is good for them. But it's just again, something that's changed and it goes right into the comparison theory. They're comparing what they have now to what could possibly be. And it's a risk and it's a gamble. I mean, you don't know if it's going to be better for you. And a lot don't end up transferring or finding that right fit. And it's hard and we talked a lot about it in our previous podcast about culture and experience and, you know, just having a. Providing a good situation. We, I, I would hope in this business, all coaches want the student athlete to succeed, whether it's for them or somewhere else.

And I think the comparison theory is really tough, and for a large majority of people, it's. It's not a very healthy thing to do.

Yeah.

And I, you know, the social media and everything else, it's just kind of been proven. It's not extremely healthy to, to go around comparing yourself to others and trying to, you know, one up or, Or. Or whatever it might be. And I think it really shows a little bit in older people. If you spend time watching people and listening to people instead of talking, you know, and have. And hoping they listen to you. But if you spend time paying attention. If you've ever watched older people, a lot of times they're not wearing high heels, and they don't necessarily have their nails painted, and the hair's not always just perfect. They're in comfortable clothes and they're in comfortable shoes because they've gotten to a point in their life that they realize none of that stuff matters.

Yeah, excellent point. And I'm gonna quote one of my favorite rock singers, Bon Jovi, who is an older rock singer now, and he's coming out with a new album. And he just made this comment, which stuck with me too, like, you know, he was a popular rock star throughout his career and had all things going for him. The looks, the voice, the songs. And he talks about, like, each stage, like any. The last two I remember was, like, in his 50s, the man who he thought he'd become. And now he's in the 60s. He's the man he ought to be or something. And that to the point that you finally get comfortable in your own skin, to a point where you comfort or family, become that. You know, you've tried everything, you've done everything, and now you are who you are. And I don't think you stop learning or growing or being better. I mean, obviously he's still working on putting out music and such, but I think that's true.

You're focusing on what's truly important, and

I think that's true even in sports, even throughout that season. I mean, the beginning of season, I've talked about how much, how exciting the beginning of seasons are for me, because there's hope, and you're zero and zero, and you have these high goals, and that first part of the season, you're figuring things out. And then at some point, you start to realize who this team is, whether good, bad, or indifferent, but you still go down trying hard to make them better until the end, which is back to even, you know, my daughter, Tennessee, that at the end of the season, but, you know, continue to play your best and do your best. So I think sports epitomizes that of. Of that. That circle of life kind of a thing, and even the season itself and the year itself.

So I was wondering, because trying to teach my son these type of lessons, this has been very hard. So how do you, as a coach, how do you go about teaching someone to not go into comparison or, you know, to be okay with themselves in the process of, you know, the grind and the growth?

Yeah, I think it naturally. It's fairly easy because the mind is there to your brain, there to protect you.

Okay.

And that's what it naturally does. So what naturally comes of that is everybody ends up pretty selfish from a young age. Take a. Take a toy away from a young child and they start crying. So, I mean, there's plenty of examples of that. And so they're naturally selfish. And so the more you can teach them to start looking at what they're doing, and it's a natural fit for them. They're paying attention to what they're doing, and it's taking. Stacking those bricks and knowing, like, through consistency and discipline, you are getting better. 100 days, 10,000 hours, you know, whatever it might be. And if you can get them to lock more into themselves and what they're doing versus what they're seeing on their phones or maybe in the gym or someplace else, you will see more growth from them. Just. And it's a. It's a supernatural thing, because embedded in them, I feel like too much. We try to pull that out and take that away, and as soon as we pull that piece out and away from them, then their eyes are wide open and they're seeing what everybody else is doing. And they're like, I'm not. I'm not tall enough. I'm. I'm not fast enough. I'm not big enough. You know, what. Whatever it might be. And then that's a really slippery slope because then that starts affecting how they perceive themselves. And pretty soon they put themselves in a box and they start saying things like, I can't. I'm not. And anything really is possible.

Yeah, and I think you're right on. And I. I think we've talked about it, too. Comparing yourself to your own standard, not the other team And I think it's getting harder with ESPN showing highlights, and not just espn, but and then social media. Because another thing I learned in researching about the comparison theory is there's personal comparison, there's the social comparison, and there's the economic comparison. And they all can play a factor. And the social part is huge now in sports and in society with these kids and social media and being on their phones, seeing what you know else is out there. And to your point, it the discipline of teaching yourself to measures yourself against the standard instead of against your opponent, because you might never be 6, 2, you might never be a 4, 3, 40 person, but what can you do the best that you can do?

And I think it leads to a pretty challenging life, too, whether you're talking about somebody young or somebody older. I was watching a baseball game last night, and they were in the, they're in the college baseballs in their conference tournaments at this point. And if the teams had a really, at the Division 1 level, if they've had a really good season, even if they don't win their conference tournament, they, they'll likely get a seed to go to a regional. But if they haven't had a very good season, if they don't win their conference tournament, the season's over. And I was watching this game and they, the two teams that were playing, the one team, they had won a national championship at the Division 1 level just two seasons ago. And the announcers and the social media presence around it were talking about this season, the team had not had a very good season and that their coach was going to get fired if they didn't win their conference tournament. And they lost last night. They got, they got walked off in the ninth. And that was the only conversation that was happening, was he was going to get fired two seasons ago, he won a national championship. So he's at the top of the mountain, you know, greatest coach, you know, greatest. You know, all this stuff. And, and now he's at the bottom. And so if you're always using the comparison theory for the external stuff, you're going to ride a heck of a roller coaster in the sports world, whether you're a player, a coach, or a fan.

I think that's a great point. And I think that might be where sport and educational athletics specifically has changed more, because as we've talked about before on this podcast, you know, some of the most famous coaches took a long time to win a championship, and then they started winning some of them. But if you even look at today's coaching Staff, how many won multiple national championship? That number is pretty few. And winning that second championship usually puts you in an elite level. That, that's not good enough nowadays, that winning one two years ago is totally, it's what you've done for me lately mentality and that pressure because even, and I was thinking when you brought this up about even seasons like that particular season where two seasons removed from a national championship and what if your best player gets hurt in a season that you can't control and totally changes your outcome. And you know, I had a coach once say that yeah, this is the difficult part of the job when you put your livelihood on, you know, 18 to 22 year olds and many variables that can affect them. We've talked about what the backpack that kids bring every day in relationships and such. So I think that's an interesting point where comparison theory has really significantly changed our business. That winning once isn't enough back to even reflecting on our own and how, you know, year to year, season to season and having that high standard of being successful is a double edged sword, as you pointed out.

It's tough. And I think for the most part you got to let the other people use comparison theory all the time against you. So it's important to seek perspective, turn internal and focus on what you can influence or as you said, what you can control and what you can't. But it's basically what can you influence or what can't you influence and you let those things that are outside of your influence just stay out there and other people will use the comparison theory against, you know, whatever you're doing and that's, that's fine. But stay internal. It doesn't mean that's not going to hurt, doesn't mean that you're not going to have joy. It just means that it's, you're going to find out eventually maybe when you, when you're really old that all that stuff doesn't matter what, what you're doing is what matters the most.

Yeah, and so true. And that's where discipline comes in the place where, you know, keeping it internal and not letting you get caught up in the comparison theory, which all of us do. And, and it's tough, especially in sports and when you do lose, I mean I wanted my daughter to win that tennis match, find a way to, to overcome that strategy to beat that girl and if she sees her one more time, let's try something else or you know, and, and it taking them out of their strength, you know, not to get them rattled or Something, so. But the best ones, you know, figure out a way to do that. So anything else on that before we go to our final question?

I was gonna say, like, you know, I'm an NBA man. It was a crazy thing that I. A stat that they was talking about. In the last couple years, no championship team has made it past the second round. So, like that comparison and.

And complacency.

Yeah, complacency. Cause I watched team I like a lot, the Denver Nuggets, who has a complete good team, like all around, and they lost against a young team, which I like them to. The Timberwolves are really good this year. But I'm like, what is going on?

Like, I think that it's a whole nother thing with complacency, but it's. It's everywhere. It runs rampant. And that's. That's about the. You know, you were talking about tennis with your daughter, how she'd gotten beaten already once by this person. That's a great way for her to beat that person is just the complacency. You're hoping that complacency is running wild with them.

All that confidence, the highest levels when you win because you have so much drive to win that first one that once you win it, we've talked about relief or satisfaction and do you have that same desire for that second one? But it's more than that, too. With other teams becoming better or using your model, there's more parity with even youth sport. There's more depth out there. So there's a lot of factors. And our comparison allows us to look at what they've done year to year. But definitely complacency. Maybe that'll be our next topic.

That's a good one.

Is complacency.

What's your final question?

Okay, I have two because I feel bad because after our last podcast, we were going to talk about walkout song. What would be your walkout song? But I've been listening to this podcast from ESPN and they keep honing in on your favorite condiment. What's your favorite condiment? And therefore they choose from is they only use three. Salsa, hummus, or guacamole. But they don't like cheese. But I like cheese. And one of my go to snacks is nachos. Like cheese and chips.

That's a good one.

I don't like hummus or guacamole. So for me it's easily cheese or salsa. But I thought it was interesting discussion. So what do you guys got for

me on those kinds of so what's

the four are Hummus, guacamole, cheese, or salsa.

Ooh, cheese is a. So as I. As I get better of my health. Cheese is a lover, but it's not as good for you.

But that's what they say.

Yeah, that's what they say.

That's why I like it.

Yeah. So if I was to choose, I have to. To go with cheese.

Do you like hummus?

Hummus is fire.

Really?

I love hummus.

I don't like hummus. My daughter eats hummus every day in her.

You gotta have a good chip to go in it.

She uses, like, green peppers or pita bread with her hummus.

Pita breads, yes. Real good.

I do not like hummus.

I don't like.

It's green.

Get some good hummus.

What about you, Coach Cutter?

I would say I'm a big fan of the tostitos chips, and I would go with some hot salsa.

Oh, hot salsa.

My wife makes salsa and she'll make it hot, you know, for me. And it's. It's really good, you know?

You like hummus?

No.

You like guacamole?

No.

I got a random mason jar of spicy salsa. Just happened to, you know, a little

bite of the salsa.

I like that.

I had a good friend, Jesus, who. His sister made some real good salsa.

Yeah. Fresh, good homemade sauce. Previous administrative assistant makes good salsa. My wife has a. One different. You can make. Add different ingredients. Yeah.

It tastes completely different when it's fresh.

I kinda like it. I'm not a tomato person, but I like salsa. Did you like guacamole? Did we get.

Yeah, I like guac now.

That's pretty popular. They're becoming real popular. I mean, yeah, they're running out of avocado because it's so popular.

I think avocado's popular because it's like the new, like, healthy thing that they want to put on toast and stuff like that.

So. Yeah.

Okay.

Blind TikTok.

Well, I think that's good. We'll wait on our walkout song. That'll give you guys time to think of one before our next one. But anything else, Dan?

No, no.

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!