MONDAYS WITH MATT – A HADLEY PARK & REC COLUMN – AUGUST 5, 2024

The One Heartbeat Concept in Sports

Greetings Everyone,

For this week’s talk with Coach Matt, I want to cover the heart of the matter when it comes to becoming one – a team. A team that has pride, unity and skill. This is about the importance of taking what you have to offer and combining it with others to develop a cohesive balance – a heartbeat. One heartbeat.

 In sports, and in life, a team is the most powerful concept and entity that you will encounter. Yes, we all have our individual skills. If we are following the Keys to Success, we are also self-aware, positive and hard-working. These ideals serve us well in putting us in the best position to be the best that we are capable of becoming. We are setting ourselves up for success and to be successful. To what end, however? Most things in life are not performed alone. Sure, some are. But many tasks that you will perform in life or on the field of play are done with others. It is not you alone seeking the glory or achieving a goal. It is a group of people – a team. Now, if you are performing the best that you are capable of becoming, then you are contributing to your team. But it takes everyone doing that to have the optimal chance to succeed. Every person on a team must have the same goal, the same achievement in mind. Everyone must strive to be the best that they are capable of becoming in order for the collective objective to be completed. That is the basic essence of a team. It is something that we see every day as well. It is not just a sports team seeking a championship. It is your organization or your school seeking to achieve its goals. It is the story of your company.. Whether we are talking about an institution of education, a marketing company or an athletic sports team, you are seeking one heartbeat. The “One Heartbeat” concept is another cornerstone to succeeding both on and off of the field.

Let your mind go for a moment. Take a deep breath. Do that several more times. What do you start noticing as you relax? Your heartbeat. The steady, rhythmic beat of your heart. Boom. Boom. Boom. Steady as a beating drum, it helps supply life to your body. When your heart is not working well, you are not working well. Really listen to those beats of your heart. There are not multiple, spasmodic beats – each doing their own thing. It is not straining nor beating out of tune – or, at least, it is not supposed to.

Now, come back into the present. Think about your work organization. Think about your sports team or your recreational crew. You all want to achieve the same overarching goal. How do you do that? By working together, right? Your body and your team are one and the same. They both need to have a functioning heart – a heart that is working in tune, in time with all of its other parts in order to achieve its goal. A team – a successful one – has one heartbeat. A collective group of people or parts that work together in order to achieve a goal. If there are too many different beats – the body, the team, falters.

If you read enough books or watch enough documentaries about successful teams and coaches, you will start to notice a trend. One of their main concepts has to do with a team finding one heartbeat and coming together as one. A team may be made up of numerous differing individuals, but the effort should be of one entity. Individually, we can be fractured, no matter our strengths. Together, we are a force to be reckoned with. We can accomplish and achieve great things. We can be unstoppable.

In sports and recreation, having the ability to function as a member of a team is one of the greatest strengths that a player can have. You do this by following the keys to success and working hard. By being self-aware, knowing your strengths and weaknesses and how to best utilize them, that is what is meant by being a team player. You help your team by being a part of the heartbeat. You help the team by doing what you are best capable of doing to add value to your family – your team. The same holds true for life. You are always part of a team in life – your family, your co-workers and company, your friends. If you can understand what it truly means to be a member of a team and to help others, you will have led a successful life.

Now, remember this – performing a task might not always mean accomplishing a greater goal. But, knowing how to add value to your team always will. Being part of that one heartbeat.

To end, I want to leave you with a quote from a movie called Junction Boys, chronicling the journey of the 1954 Texas A&M football team, coached by Paul “Bear” Bryant. In this movie quote, he talks about “one heartbeat”.

“You all know when you’re ready to be your best? When you ain’t got nothin’ left to fear. We came to Junction to find out who wanted to play football. We know now. Johnny Haynes wants to play. Heck, he’s played six different positions already. Skeet Chaney- he wants to play. He’ll play with a broken back. Now, I know this ain’t been no picnic. Some heat, couple of stickers, fire ants. Smokey tells me y’all dropped some weight. But I will tell you one thing- you boys who are left, you are players. One heartbeat. That’s what we’ve been looking for since we arrived. Today, we got one heartbeat. We got a team.”

The Junction Boys Movie – One Heartbeat Scene
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxXD2YrRTyA