I love this time of year: it's October, the end of summer. The trees are showing beautiful colours; it's fall, hockey season is here, and the World Series is in full swing.
Congratulations to the Milwaukee Brewers for defeating the powerful Los Angeles Dodgers 4-0 and becoming the first team to reach the World Series. This marks the team’s first World Series appearance in 44 years.
At the end of game four, I heard an interview with their captain, Christian Yelich, and he gave the Brewers' recipe for success. He reveals it all in this interview. Their ingredients apply to any sport, corporate or work team.
1. Resilience – during a competitive season, there will be many ups and downs; there has never been a season where everything goes perfectly. There is a lot of pressure to get results; teams must learn to work through it. Teams will lose games; sometimes a team will play very well and still lose, and they must find a way to bounce back. The Dodgers led most of the series, and the Brewers always found a way to crawl back into the game. There will be adversities, such as injuries and slumps; great teams always find a way to overcome them.
2. Responding – Mistakes and setbacks will happen all the time; that is a given, especially in sport. The key is responding to failure in a positive, constructive way. We call it the “next play mentality”: you have to be where your feet are right now; you need to learn to “play present.” The Brewers were great at playing present, not looking back at mistakes or too far ahead. Just looking at the “next play.” Breathing and reset techniques work best when responding to setbacks.
3. Sticking Together – no one can do it alone. It is easy for a team to fall apart when things go wrong and don't work out like we want. Losing teams always blame and make excuses; winners find a way. They stick together, find solutions to the issues, and make sure they get fixed. There is an acronym: T.E.A.M., “Together Everyone Achieves More.” Or Together Everyone Achieves Miracles.
4. Play Our Game – In sport, good teams are designed to play a certain style. They find their optimal way to play and build an identity through it. The Brewers play “Murph Style” ball, named after their manager, Pat Murphy. Quoted from .mlb.com, they play “an old-school, relentless, and aggressive style of play that values high energy and grinding out results. They play with a gritty mentality where attention to detail dictates the game.” We like our hockey teams to play fast, check to get the puck back, and be a relentless, good-passing team. No matter your style, if it works, stick to it; it will pay off in the long run. Successful teams make adjustments as needed, but they play “their game.”
5. Pick up your teammates – Individual performances on a team are always going to fluctuate; some players are going to shine, but they will have bad days at one time or another. Good teams communicate with mutual encouragement and accountability. It does not help the team or the individual by tearing a teammate down when things are going sideways. Positive and constructive communication works best. A team that works as a sum of its parts learns to trust each other, and trust goes a long way. It got the Brewers a berth to the World Series!
6. Belief in each other – Christian said it best, “We are a close group that believes in each other.” Belief is the engine that drives the whole process and ties it all together. Belief is the key to shared team confidence; it drives 2nd and 3rd effort, resilience under pressure, and on-field performance. The Brewers are proving it right now!
Enio Sacilotto is the President of International Hockey Camps and runs the Mental Edge High-Performance Training. Enio has 44 years of coaching experience (professional hockey in Europe and the Victoria Royals (WHL)). He currently coaches at the Burnaby Winter Club Hockey Academy, coaches the Serbian U18 men’s National hockey team, and serves as senior advisor with the Burnaby Steelers. If you have questions or are interested in his services, contact Enio at enio@coachenio.com or call 604-255-4747. Website: www.coachenio.com.
