Oostende Loss and Getting in the Christmas Spirit - Blog #10 (Dec. 9 - 15)

Basketball Update:

This week, we traveled to league leading, Oostende, who sits atop the BNXT all by themselves. They are the standard of the league with the highest budget as well. They play in a very nice arena and have a rather erratic coach. They have won the Belgian championship roughly fifteen years in a row and are on their way to another. We lost 91-83. I fouled out in just 22 minutes. It was not my best performance to say the least. Still struggling a bit on defense and did not do much on offense this game. Our team played probably one of our best games of the year, however. We played much more like a team and had great ball movement that got us great shots. We had some defensive lapses, but we played well overall. Big game versus Brussels this weekend at home.

Leadership Lesson:

If I had to pinpoint the number one most important that indicates team success, I would say that it is shared goals/interests. Often, people assume team goals or assume everyone is on the same page regarding what a team's purpose is. This is pretty easy to do in athletics. Our goal as a team is to win as many games as possible. Wins can come as a result of many different things, though. Teamwork, strategy, chemistry, hard work, physicality, etc., are all ways wins can be accomplished. In the business world, I would imagine that this is a bit more difficult. Now, you could say that an organization's goal is to maximize shareholder wealth or make money. But every organization has several teams whose goals may differ greatly. Failure to clearly explain the purpose and goals of the team could result in a failure of a team. The bottom line is that people should be on the same page when it comes to what it is they are trying to accomplish.

Knowing purpose and goals is not only good for the fact of clearly defining what you want to do as a team, but it also provides a level of shared accountability as well. It gives the team a mission. This can also lead to more sacrifice and more effective action in pursuit of the mission. It should be the first step of any team no matter the discipline the team is working in.

Shoutout to Eric Coryell's book, Revolutionize Teamwork: How to Create and Lead Accountable Teams, for the inspo on this week's leadership lesson.

Top 5 of the Week:

Country Singers/Bands:

1. Luke Combs: This dude is a beast. Maybe my favorite song ever, Beautiful Crazy, is sung by him. I do not think he has missed a Spotify wrapped of mine ever. Countless bangers and really hope to attend a concert of his at some point.

2. Morgan Wallen: Newer and a bit of a basic pick, but a really talented guy. It feels like it has been awhile since he has released new music, but every time he does, it's a must listen. Has to be top 2.

3. Chris Stapleton: If you have never heard his Super Bowl national anthem, you need to stop what you are doing and go listen to that. Best of all time. His voice is so good even my parents who hate country like him. I could see him moving up this list in the near future. I'll paste his national anthem below to make it easy for y'all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFKXJ091Ed4

4. Old Dominion: Went to this concert as Frontier Days in Wyoming a couple of summers ago, and it was unforgettable. They have some all timers. On the boat, in the car, on a plane... never a bad time for these guys.

5. Blake Shelton: Really difficult choice for the 5th spot, but this goes to Mr. Shelton. Not much to say other than this dude has an amazing country voice and some bangers on his setlist. A couple of months ago, Zach Bryan is slotted in at probably 3 or 4 on this list. I just can't listen to him anymore without thinking about his recent controversy constantly. Maybe that will change in the future, who knows.

What Else Did I Do This Week?

To be honest, I did not do a whole lot this week. Nikki had a busy week. She went to a Christmas party, birthday party, and housewarming party solo Thursday-Saturday. Monday-Wednesday, we watched Christmas movies, made cookies (OK... this was mostly Nikki), listened to Christmas music, and online shopped for our families. Getting in the Christmas spirit is one of my favorite things to do. The vibes are unmatched. We got back from Oostende late after our game Saturday night at about 2:15 AM. Nikki was getting done at one of her parties in Amsterdam, so I went to pick her up (good boyfriend alert). Sunday, ZZ Leiden was nominated for Leiden's team of the year, so we had an award show to attend. We ended up winning which was cool. Afterwards, Nikki and I went into the center to walk around Leiden a bit. They put an ice skating rink in on one of the canals and had a couple of food shops around as well. I did a little bit of Christmas shopping, too while Nikki was on the phone with her friend, Kara. It was a great atmosphere and a nice little date night. Nikki and I made some soup and watched Santa Claus 2 before hitting the sack. Like I said, it was a bit of a slower week, but always love getting in the holiday spirit! Nikki has elected to stay out here for Christmas, so we are pumped to celebrate it together.

Top Meal of the Week:

My top meal of the week might be that Turkish pasta I talked about last week. I made it for myself when Nikki was gone one night, and it hit just as good as it did the first time. That will probably be a staple meal for me going forward. Nikki also made some really good chicken soup with corn, beans, diced tomatoes, etc. It was amazing!

One Thing I Miss About the US:

I miss normal driving rules. My paycheck was a bit less than it usually is because I got two tickets last month. Worst of all, I had no idea I got either of them. One was for speeding because I was going 10 km/hr over the speed limit. In mph that is six over...SIX OVER. I didn't get pulled over or anything. I had no clue I got this ticket. There are cameras everywhere in the Netherlands at stoplights and on the roads. Cops don't pull you over, they let the cameras do all the work. It cost me 156 EU which is about $170. Brutal. Learned that lesson the hard way. The other was for parking, and it was my own fault. No complaints on that one. Thanks for reading!