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Greatness is something that you cannot easily come by in today’s world. There are so many voices that get into our heads and can make is hard for us as players and even coaches to be great at what we do. Who do I listen to? How do I cultivate a healthy team culture? How do I keep fighting and keep working hard even when I’m not getting the play time that I think I deserve?
If you’ve ever wanted to know what it takes to be great, this is the episode for you. Today I am joined by Tish Hoch. She is considered to be one of the greatest in the history of women’s soccer. She scored 44 goals and represented her country 132 times since making the U.S National Team. As a 9 year National Team veteran, Tisha played in 1 Olympic Game and 2 World Cups. She was a 1995 World Cup Bronze medalist, a 1999 World Champion, a 1996 Olympic Gold Medalist, and in 2001 she won WUSA Founders cup champ. Tish was also a Founding member of the WUSA and played for the San Jose CyberRays from 2001-2003.
Her story is so impactful for even myself. Her encouragement to us today is to keep fighting to be great. Something she learned from being on one of the greatest teams in the world is that you have to have fun. You don’t have to be worried about messing up all of the time. There is importance in keeping it loose and fun.
3 key takeaways from this episode:
Tish Hoch’s story
Tish’s life and story proves that hard work pays off. She worked throughout her life to make it big and she did. Her career highlights and life story are both proof that you are a player for life, on and off the field and it matters who you are as a person first. Since retiring, she has found joy elsewhere in her husband and kids.
Mental toughness
Being an athlete (especially a female athlete), you have to constantly compete. A question that Tish said that she asked herself is “are you going to fight back?” She shares that being afraid of messing up all of the time is inhibiting you from becoming great.
Her guide to greatness
Greatness doesn’t always look like winning every game. Sometimes winning looks like having fun. Sometimes winning looks like doing one more rep when you don't think you have that much left in you. Greatness is being a light on your team. Having a great attitude is so much more important than picking people apart. As coaches, we are building better people for a better team. For players, we are building a better community.
Here are all the things mentioned in this episode:
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