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I can tell you what they have that I don't yet, but hope to acquire someday:
POISE: Never, never lose control of self, or of game.
CONFIDENCE: As Padgett says, "Sometimes wrong, never indecisive."
PHYSICAL CONDITION: Olympic speed sprint after sprint after sprint -- even in the last two minutes.
PRESENCE: The personal power to control emotional players, coaches, and the occasional out-of-control fan.
CALM: The courage to laugh gently at the silly, or childish. The self-contained quietness to avoid a shouting match, or a media flourish.
There is a woman here in Portland, who is not up to D1 yet, but will be soon, I'm sure. She embodies this all for me and I have been studying her style and her psyche. When the coach steps out onto the floor to scream at her, she calmly looks up into his face (She's not real tall), she puts a hand on his shoulder in a motherly sort of way, and she nods gently. Then she says a word or two, and walks away. When I see her do this at times that I would undoubtedly explode, I feel I have had an epiphany. It isn't just the rules knowledge, the mechanics, or the political push, although she has all that -- but so do many others. She has this huge quiet cloud that brings out the best in everyone and it makes such a huge difference.
How do I get it? That's a whole nother question.....
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