A Lesson In Greatness from Tom Brady

A lesson in greatness from Tom Brady and a lesson that it’s not always the obvious choice which turns out great

This coming Sunday is the SuperBowl. The showcase sports event of the year for America. And Tom Brady is making his 7^th appearance since reaching his first SuperBowl in 2001. What a dynasty he and his coach Bill Belichick have created at New England. This article could have looked at many factors of this weekend, notably the coaching brilliance of Belichick (and I will cover it). But the focus is mainly on Brady and what he represents, in terms of judgements and talent ID of young players.

There are some players who at a young age you just know they will be great. LeBron James being perhaps the best example of this. For those who don’t read the blog or tweets I consider LeBron the greatest athlete/sports man in all of sports. I believe his dominance, success and quality is simply phenomenal. He seemed destined for greatness through his teenage years. It may have been the closeness and support of his teammates and coach at St Vincent-St Mary high school which took him forward. Yet the only obstacle to greatness was himself. That may sound easy and obvious but that’s the hardest aspect of success, dealing with the pressure of expectation, early fame and the fortune it brings. 

LeBron was being compared with Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, big shoes to fill. And for me, he has filled them. He has been the NBA’s best player for over 10 years. That’s incredible. The discipline, self-sacrifice and commitment to being at that level for so long. It’s amazing because so many struggle to either live up to the expectation on them, or fail to continue to improve and do what’s needed to be at the top. It’s why only so few make it I guess. 

Look at what Roger Federer has just achieved at 35 years old. The greatest tennis player ever. And yet as a young man coming into tennis Federer was not the cool, collected character we know now. He was hot tempered, would complain and moan and be guilty of angry flashes. As David Waldstein says in a New York Times article on Federer, “had he not learned to control his emotions and gain a sturdier mental approach when he was younger, Federer could easily have gone the way of Marat Safin, supremely talented but unable to convert pure skill into greatness.” We see this issue with Nick Kyrgios now, a talented player yet one lacking the mental strength and character to turn that talent into success. 

It’s so evident that emotional control and mentality are the key attributes for success in sport. Many have the physical capabilities and the skill, many are fortunate to be gifted opportunities but few possess the strength of mind to succeed, and to keep succeeding. Which is why when you witness greatness you must appreciate, value and learn from it. 

The importance of mindset for success

There is a lot of talk about growth and fixed mindset in today’s coaching and learning environment. And although the work of Dweck it has its critics, you can’t deny there's an element of truth and sense there. 

When an individual believes that talent and skill is fixed; if you can’t do something, then you will never be able to do it, then it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. This has been the thinking of English football for decades. And coaches will always tend to compliment and shower the talented players in adoration, giving a player the sense they are "naturally" better than the rest. More often than not this is the best player in the team at 12-16, yet if they have a fixed mindset, these players will not progress to elite levels because when they hit a wall, which they will always do at some point, they will choose to opt out and not develop and challenge theirselves.

By praising work rate over talent, a coach can motivate a player or group to persist and overcome boundaries and see mistakes as learning tools and challenges and not as signs of being un-talented. This is called the “growth mindset” and people who possess this are more willing to challenge and “stretch” theirselves and will ultimately become better than those deemed “naturally talented”. Perhaps in the world of talent identification, that element of being 'chosen' or 'selected' helps fuel this debate.

Let’s go back to basketball. LeBron was a sensation as a teenager, everyone knew he would be special. Yet Michael Jordan’s progression wasn’t as clear. Jordan is regarded as the best basketball player ever, his willingness and drive combined with his immense skill brought success to his Chicago Bulls side. Yet did you know that he was not selected to play for his Varsity team at High School? The story is that he was 'cut' but truth was he put on the 2nd team based on his size; he was only 5’10 at the time. It wasn’t that he wasn’t good enough, but at 17 he wasn’t tall enough. And how many times do we hear of this in football; "he's a good player, but he's too small". 

Some players would take this as a sign to quit or stop dreaming of becoming a pro. His reaction to this ‘rejection’ was not just accept he wasn’t good enough, but decided to work on his skills, enhance his speed and agility, all through hard work and determination. And as he grew he became a phenom in college and progressed to the pro's.

What I love about Jordan is his mentality and drive to prove people wrong, to use people’s criticism as fuel to play extraordinary. His mentality is what defined him. For all the quality he possessed, there’s never been a better competitior and that’s what defined him. Perhaps being drafted at No.3 (some seeing this as a surprise as many had him at No.1) probably fuelled him to prove that he should have been No.1. And as we will come to later, perhaps that was fate for Jordan. Chicago allowed him to work with the great Phil Jackson. Like Brady and Belichick.

Could this moment of failure and rejection be the key motivational tool that players need to progress and work harder? It is interesting to ponder, because those who are showered in praise and accolade perhaps do not need to work as hard, believing they already possess the skills necessary. 

The world’s best players always talk about their need to improve further, to keep honing their skills, being better constantly. They never seem to be content and thus continue to improve and be the best. Imagine if we could make all our players believe that hard work and practice will improve performance.

Lionel Messi is a great example of proving people wrong, the best player in the world, perhaps ever. At 11, he was deemed to be too small and rejected by many in Argentina, he must have thought his dreams of being Maradona were over. Yet Barcelona took a risk and gamble and clearly he repaid that and thanked them for their belief in him. 

If all had been plain sailing for Messi, would he be the player he is today? I doubt it. Periods of failure and rejection can motivate a player more than any kind of success, understanding defeat and making mistakes improve players, coaches and individuals more than winning. For coaches and academies therefore, the psychology of young individuals is the single most important factor in taking a good player into an elite one.

Drafted at 199 

Let’s return to Tom Brady. Without question the greatest quarterback of the 21^st century. Perhaps only eclipsed by the great Joe Montana in the all time list. Brady is incredible. His longevity of greatness, his quality as a decision maker, thrower and ability to read defences along with his strict diet, sleep and lifestyle schedule has allowed him to be 39 years old and still the best QB in the world. So he was destined for this greatness, right? Not really. 

He was drafted at No.199 in the 2000 NFL draft. 199! Scout reports had come back quite negative on Brady and he had performed poorly at the NFL combine (one of the worst forms of talent ID and as Brady shows, a very poor indicator of potential quality and effectiveness in the pro game). Yes Brady wasn’t the fastest, but he didn’t need to be. He was an excellent QB.

Belichick said at the time. "The value board at that point really clearly put him as the top value. Brady is a guy that has obviously played at a high level of competition in front of a lot of people and he’s been in a lot of pressure situations. We felt that this year his decision-making was improved from his junior year after he took over for Brian Griese [at Michigan]. He cut his interceptions down. He’s a good, tough, competitive, smart quarterback that is a good value and how he does and what he’ll be able to do, we’ll just put him out there with everybody else and let him compete and see what happens."

It was a calculated risk. They had done their research and seen something in him which others hasn’t. That line; “Brady is a guy that has obviously played at a high level of competition in front of a lot of people and he’s been in a lot of pressure situations. We felt that this year his decision-making was improved” High competition, lot of pressure, decision making. They were looking at his mentality, his character, his personality. Not how fast he ran. That is what the best QB’s are, they are great thinkers. And this can applied to all the best in all sports, they make the best decisions.

In an article last month in The Players Tribune retired Patriots running back Kevin Faulk gave great insight into “The Patriots Way”. His comment on when Tom Brady came in for the injured Drew Bledsoe makes some fascinating insight into why Brady is so great.

“Back in 2001, when Drew Bledsoe got hurt and Tom took over at quarterback, we knew there was something special about him right away. You could just feel it.

We used to run offensive drills where we would run plays against the air. No defense, just skill guys executing plays. And I can’t even tell you how many times we’d run a play and after it was over, Tom would be like, “Kevin! Stop! Let’s run that again.”

It didn’t matter who he was throwing to. If a pass fell incomplete or if something wasn’t right, he would stop the show and run the play over and over until we got it right. And if we didn’t have enough time, he’d ask us to stay after practice to run it again. Or if there was even a slight miscommunication he’d take us all into the meeting room after practice and draw the play up on the board to see what we got wrong.

Watching him operate this way, we all thought, Damn … this is a guy who was drafted in the sixth round, and he has that kind of confidence and work ethic? That’s pretty special.

He wasn’t the biggest, strongest or fastest guy. But he always wanted to compete against the biggest, strongest and fastest because he loved the challenge and he wanted to make himself better.

So yes, that competitiveness is a huge part of who Tom Brady is.

This is a guy who, when the schedule came during the off-season, would identify the defensive coordinator for each of our opponents and start looking back at film from everywhere that coordinator had coached in the previous five years — just to study tendencies and get a step ahead before the season started. That’s how dedicated he is to his craft.”

“Watching him operate this way, we all thought, Damn … this is a guy who was drafted in the sixth round, and he has that kind of confidence and work ethic? That’s pretty special.”

Like Jordan with Chicago, maybe it was fate. Had Brady gone to another side he may have just ended up as a back up quarterback or a decent QB. For players to succeed having the right coach helps without question. And Belichick has proven to be the best there is. He has also shown an ability to get the best out of players when others haven’t before. That’s called great coaching. 

And Brady was perfect for him also. Brady clearly had the mentality and intelligence to be a great player, he just needed a great coach to bring that out in him. And they have become almost without question, the greatest coach/player partnership in all of sports history. Jordan and Jackson could be fighting for 1^st but the Patriots pair have done it over such a long period of time it’s frightening really. They compliment each other so well. Both are winners and obsessed with winning. That’s The Patriot Way.

The pressure of expectation

So let’s consider this aspect of pressure. Was there pressure on Brady at 199 in the draft to deliver when he got his chance with the Patriots? Was it easier to go in 'under the radar'? Or perhaps he had a point to prove. To show all those who didn’t choose him, or those players who went before him, that he would, like Michael Jordan did, to use that to fuel his greatness? It happens so often, in all walks of life. People are written off, doubted and they come back stronger to prove those doubters wrong. 

But think of the pressure of the quarterback who is drafted at No.1? All that pressure and expectation is now on your shoulders. And a whole lot of $$ is in the bank straight away. Could they be weighed down by the pressure? Distracted by the fame and fortune? Neglecting the work ethic, studying and practice which went into to working on your craft before the big money came? 

Since 1998 there have been 13 QB’s drafted at No.1. Only two have won a SuperBowl. Both have the last name Manning (in fairness Cam Newton was the MVP last season and reached the Super Bowl so he has performed as the No.1 pick). Call that a coincidence but it seems interesting to me that perhaps it is the mentality of the Manning brothers and family which sets them apart from the rest?

It’s a lesson for sure is it not? Arron Rodgers, who many consider to be the best dynamic QB in the NFL was drafted at No.24. Being No.1 doesn’t mean guaranteed success. Rodgers benefitted from learning under the great Brett Favre at a great NFL side in the Green Bay Packers. That all helps. Some No.1's are thrust in immediately, often to failing sides (No.1 pick is usually the worst side from the season before). This may mean new coach, new culture and now a young lad straight out of college has to be the one to bring this team up? That's hard. No wonder so ultimately many struggle. 

The Loftus-Cheek problem

Let’s discuss youth footballers, because it links in with the basis of this article. Ruben Loftus-Cheek turned 21 last week. This is a player who a few years ago was regarded as one of the brightest talents of his generation. At 18 years old he was already on a million pound contract at Chelsea. And yet what is he doing now? He has played only 18 senior games in his career. 18! That is shocking. No loans or experiences away from Chelsea. For a player regarded with such potential, it doesn’t look like Chelsea are helping his development? 

Perhaps there’s an issue with him? Mourinho criticised him for not working hard enough for the team and Conte doesn’t seem to trust him either. Is this a case of player who has had it too easy in his time as a footballer at a young age? Dominant from an early age, not really challenged and then handed a lucrative deal before he had even played a game for the club? Has he lost his desire and drive? Truth is he has been bypassed by other young English players. Chelsea should take the blame yet perhaps the player hasn’t done enough, hasn’t worked hard enough, not willing to do the extra things? 

Look at the careers of Ricardo Queresma and Cristiano Ronaldo. As teenagers it was Queresma who promised to be the better player, who had all the talent and skill. But it's Ronaldo has become one of the best ever. That's a combination of extreme hard work, dedication and self-drive. As well as having the fortune of being nurtured and supported by one of the greatest managers in football and sporting history, Alex Ferguson. Without question that helped Ronaldo in his formative professional years. 

Ravel Morrison is like Queresma. Another case of player who seemed to have the world at his feet, yet threw it away because of his attitude, commitment and support group. Even Alex Ferguson seemingly couldn't help him. 

And then there’s Dele Alli. At 14/15 not regarded by England scouts or any top clubs, just developing at MK Dons. At this time who would have thought he would become one of the best young talents in the world and England’s leading No.10. But he was very fortunate where he was. 

Alli was at a club who nurtured him with the coaching methods of Dan Micchiche. At a club who wanted and needed to use youth players in the senior side, with a manager in Karl Robinson who valued youth and gave them a chance. He had better opportunities at MK Dons than Loftus-Cheek has had at Chelsea. That doesn’t seem right, does it? But it makes sense. Alli had played over 60 senior games for MK Dons before he moved to Spurs at 18 years old. He was experienced, knew what senior football required and had excelled in that environment. 

It goes back to this idea of the No.1 draft pick. Alli was like Brady at 199, he was under the radar, but worked hard and developed his craft to soar above those who at 15/16 years of age were regarded better than him. Brady’s and Alli’s stories point to the fact that talent and greatness can often be overlooked early on, but that if they get the opportunity, if that provides great guidance and coaching, you could have the guy at 199 in 2000 become the best ever QB 17 years later. About to play in his seventh SuperBowl, which if if he wins it will have the most SuperBowl wins ever with five.

Looking beyond 'talent'

The point is that the journey to greatness is never simple or linear. For all the advanced analytics in todays sports and use of stats it is still hard to truly judge a young players potential for success. Those who promise much at a young age aren’t always the ones who make it. And those who weren’t deemed to be anything special sometimes can surprise everyone and become the best. 

A lot, if not all, of it has to do with the mentality and character of the individual. Something analytics can’t always show you. Perhaps a scout may see it when they watch a player; that level of competitiveness, desire and resilience. 

And don’t underestimate the importance of a strong support network. A coach can seek to develop these skills and improve the person and have a huge effect on a young athlete. Parents play a massive role also. As too peers. The wrong types of teammates or peers can distract or bring down potential - just look at Ravel Morrison. This again may be down to fortune, luck and opportunity. Surround yourself with the right people and potential can blossom.

Everyone is looking for the next big thing, looking for ‘talent’. It’s easy to spot a ‘talented’ player but it’s a lot harder to spot a player who can succeed at the top. The obsession with ‘talent’ and the neglect of the character and personality could be the biggest issue holding back the development of young footballers in England. Yet don’t forget about opportunity, Loftus-Cheek has suffered not prospered due to being at Chelsea. Sometimes it pays to be drafted at 199 and not No.1.

The Whitehouse Address @The_W_Address

Apologies for taking so long to get an article out so far this year.