Two Game Week & John Wooden Lessons - Blog #39 (Oct. 6 - 19)

Basketball Update:

I did not post a blog last week because we did not have a game, and then, I was busy with two games as well. Then, I finished my blog, but the whole thing was deleted, so this is my second revision of this blog. Sorry for the delay! Our first game of the week and first road game of the season was in Gliwice. We had a great start to the game and controlled throughout. We played much better than our first game of the year, and controlled the game the whole time for the most part. I played pretty well personally, too, and it was a nice, long bus ride back home. We also got a little time with our fans who traveled after the game in the stands.

It was a relatively quick turnaround from Monday to our next game on Friday. We had a big matchup with Gdynia, who is traditionally toward the top of the league. It was not my best game by any stretch. I got hit with some bad foul calls and was in foul trouble in the first half. Then, I couldn't find a good rhythm in the second half, and our other four-man, Kuba, was playing really well. I didn't play much which was unfortunate, and we ended up losing by just two points after a missed shot at the buzzer. As a team, we did not play that bad. They hit some timely threes, and we had some silly mistakes. Definitely have to bounce back this week.

Leadership Lesson:

This blog's leadership lesson is courtesy of a recurring guest of the blog last year, Peter Kalthoff, who has since retired from basketball and is teaching this year in SoCal. One of the classes he is teaching is on leadership, and he sent me a great excerpt from our guy, John Wooden. He says that in order to maximize your ability and how hard you work, you should be doing something you enjoy. If you enjoy what you are doing, you will be much more inclined to work hard at that thing. This made me think about my love for hoops, and the fact that it is easy for me to work hard in that. However, I also think that I can be better at investing more into the relationships that I enjoy. A good leader invests into the people around them to make them better. Wooden's advice can be applied to your job but can also be applied to your role as a leader in all parts of your life.

He also talks about the difference between loud enthusiasm and quiet enthusiasm. Leaders should lead enthusiastically, but there is an important distinction between the two. Loud enthusiasm is boisterous and noisy when things are going well. It is based on emotion. However, when things are going poorly, it causes much more harm than good. Too much emotion is counterproductive when adversity strikes. The highs are high, and the lows are low. Quiet enthusiasm is much more sustainable and is a healthier approach. It is more about being even-keeled, and it exudes confidence while rubbing off on others. Quiet enthusiasm needs to be a focus for me because sometimes on the court, I wear my emotions on my sleeve. I have felt like doing this has helped me at times but has also been counterproductive. Remaining even-keeled is important in moments when something uncontrollable does not go your way. Coach Medved would say it is OK to play with emotion, but not play emotional. That is key to staying even-keeled and using quiet enthusiasm to my advantage.

Top 5 of the Week:

Comedies

1. Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story - This was definitely in my top 5 movies list I did last year, and it comes in at #1 for my comedies. Ben Stiller's character is one of my all-time favorites.

2. Step Brothers - My favorite Will Ferrell movie for sure. Also, it has one of my favorite scenes ever. Adam Scott's character singing acapella in the car with his family is so dang funny. I might even paste it below.

3. Blades of Glory - This one is very nostalgic for me. Definitely the movie on this list that I have seen the most. Love this movie.

4. Happy Gilmore - Adam Sandler is one of a kind and could definitely be on this list more. This is my favorite one of his movies. A great storyline, but too bad the second one was a flop.

5. Mean Girls - This is pretty different than the rest of this list, but this movie is so funny. Great characters and a funny view of high school. A classic.

What Else Did I Do This Week?

Nikki and I had an enjoyable rest of the week. We made a couple really good dinners including a chicken and tomato-ish sauce pasta that I will put the picture of below. We went on some great nature walks too. The fall colors have gotten better, so it is great scenery here. I also got her an early birthday (Oct. 25th, don't forget) present for our first ever couples massage at a place in ZG. It was super nice, and I think we will be back. She went back to Amsterdam, but she will be back soon.

Because of our two game week, I was fairly busy with hoops and travel stuff. I have been trying to get better at cooking steaks on my recently purchased stainless steel pan. My teammate, Andy, and I have been ordering high quality steaks from this polish meat website, so I am invested in pan-searing steaks. My first attempt, I tried a cold sear. It was insanely smokey. Good thing I don't have a smoke alarm in my apartment because it would have gone off for sure. It came out raw after I couldn't handle the smoke. I had to put it in the oven for awhile until it was cooked, and I was kind of able to save it. This was a few weeks ago. I have recently tried the reverse sear method. This includes putting the steak in the oven at a low temperature for about eighty minutes, and searing both sides for about a minute on the pan with some basting at the end. This is just too time consuming. The steaks have been good when I have reverse-seared, but it takes too long. Let me know if any of you has advice.

We had an off day after our second game, and I went to check out this small "castle" about fifteen minutes away. It is surrounded by an awesome park with some great walking paths and a cafe. I grabbed a latte and had a nice relaxing off day. I was also walking to the grocery store, looked to my right, and was startled by the mini billboard next to the grocery store. It was a picture of me and a couple of my teammates from the photoshoot we did a few weeks back. Pretty cool to see and a first for me.

Another little life update... I found out that I am eligible for German citizenship (I think). I am in the process of obtaining it now which would be a huge help to play in Germany which has a great league. It will take most likely at least a year, but I will keep you guys updated about that.

Top Meal of the Week:

My top meal is going to go to my reverse sear steak that I did last week. I made a great ribeye with some sweet potato fries and veggies. Great dinner!

One Cultural Difference in Poland:

There is a superstition in Poland that you should not shake hands or greet someone in any way through a doorway. You have to both be in the same room. It is considered bad luck to do so. A quirky cultural difference that is interesting, and I think I will take with me. Thanks for reading!