The Rockefeller Tree

Sitting in the conference room in front of my team I turn on my power point and the first thing I show my players is a picture of my         family’s half lit Christmas tree.   My players looked at me like I was crazy… (this happens often but now I know I have their attention.) 

I told them every year we would take out our box of lights and have to untangle them and every year we would plug them in and only half of them would be on… My family and I would search for this missing light; this light affecting and turning off the others.  

** One of my players told me later on that when I showed this picture she really thought I was crazy... and really wondered why she was looking at a picture of my half lit Christmas tree before practice. 

I went on and said we are all connected; connection is one word I use often as a coach. If one “light” is off it could affect the others… Others could turn off but, if one light is willing to turn on and bring energy it will indeed turn the others on and this light will spread to make a beautiful tree.

If you spend your time on the wrong energy this could happen…. 

How can you turn your light back on or turn your teammates light on? We are all connected like this circuit. How can we make our light bright both as an individual and as a team?

I don’t/never want to rely on 1-2 players. Every player has a weapon and I want to find the way to connect them, where everyone plays each others best foot; an environment where the individual lifts the team and the team lifts the individual; where everyone makes each other look good.

I said, if your light is off then it could possibly effect other lights… It could be like my families Christmas tree lights where sometimes the one light that is off affects nothing, half the tree, or the whole tree… I don’t want a half lit tree.. I want a fully lit beautiful tree.. 

I want to find that BEAUTY… I want to BUILD and CREATE the CONNECTION. Something so great you can`t take your eyes off it.

The players now understand the meaning behind my Christmas tree.  I have had the honor to coach many amazing players but one player I am thinking of when it comes to being a light is a German player I had in Skellefteå; Michelle Wörner.  Michelle is now playing in Damallsvenkan for Djurgården. This young player makes you question the laws of physics at times with what she can do.  Sometimes I ask myself “how does she do what she does?”  She brings an element of surprise to fans, coaches, and teammates when she plays which makes her appealing to the eye; a light both on and off the field.  When this light is on and connected it spreads not only to her teammates but it brings joy to everyone around watching.  Michelle is the “Christmas tree in the Rockefeller Center”