Succeeding When You're Supposed to Fail by Rom Brafman

Author:Rom Brafman [Brafman, Rom]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-307-88770-2
Publisher: Crown Publishing Group
Published: 2011-12-27T05:00:00+00:00

ORIENTATION

5

Temperament and Success

No one expected much of the University of Georgia women’s softball team when it kicked off its 2009 season. The Lady Bulldogs were especially young—all but two of the players were underclassmen—and besides, Georgia had never once made it to the Women’s College World Series in its school history. But the team had a hidden advantage of sorts—an elusive, intangible quality that researchers have spotted over and over again in tunnelers.

Playing shortstop for Georgia that year was Kristin Schnake, one of only two seniors on the 2009 squad. Schnake stands only five feet tall, looks young for her age, and has a fun-loving, spunky energy. Born and raised on a farm in Illinois, Schnake wasn’t groomed to be a collegiate athlete. In fact, she wasn’t originally slated to be a starter, as she struggled to find her footing on the team. “I was the backup for a lot of positions,” she explained, “taking balls in the outfield, just ready for anything.” Only when Schnake was a sophomore did her hard work and persistence finally pay off, earning her the starting shortstop position.

Georgia surprised everyone in 2009 when it started off the season with a 13–1 record. Without any obvious standout stars on the team and without much experience under their belts, somehow the Bulldogs managed to come together as a team. They kept on winning games, and by season’s end they had achieved what earlier in the year seemed impossible: they had earned their way to the coveted World Series. Never mind that they entered the postseason event as underdogs. For them, just getting there was a huge accomplishment.

The young team got off to a shaky start, though, in the World Series, losing their very first game to one of the top contenders, the University of Washington. Fortunately for the Lady Bulldogs, the double-elimination format of the tournament meant that Georgia was still alive. But they couldn’t lose another game. During the next two matchups, Georgia breezed by Missouri 5–2, and just when it looked as though they were going to be eliminated during their next game, they came from behind to beat Michigan 7–5.

Georgia’s run in the World Series was surprising. None of the players had any postseason experience, and the Bulldogs had no obvious star players. But what was equally surprising was the way in which Schnake and the Bulldogs carried themselves on the playing field. One would expect a team of relatively green players to be nervous and intimidated or stiff and overly eager, but the Bulldogs appeared unusually relaxed.

They played their games with the laid-back style and attitude of a weekend game with family and friends on a sunny afternoon cookout. Imagine having so much fun that you high-five your teammates every chance you get, roll your eyes and shrug your shoulders when a close call goes against your team, and playfully strike a favorite dance pose whenever you hear music playing in the stands. Well, that’s exactly the way the 2009 Bulldogs played in the World Series—all engineered by Schnake.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.