One might think that it is a hard task to measure a life worth living. However, if a life leaves a legacy that impacts multitudes in a positive manner, it is safe to say that the life was a life of leadership and impeccable character. A prime example of a serving leader with great character is Coach Pat Summitt. Through her biography, virtues, fallibility and personal reflection from her life, it is easy to conclude that this woman is a great example of a servant leader.
Coach Patricia Summit was born on June 14, 1952 in Henrietta, Tennessee. Coach Summitt grew up on a farm and played basketball in high school. Also, she played collegiate basketball at the University of Tennessee-Martin until 1974. However, her career did not end there. Pat
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played on the U.S Women’s Olympic Basketball team in 1976. Meanwhile, she was a head coach at the same time while she was playing in the Olympics. (Pat, 2017)In her life she was mainly known for being the head coach at the University of Tennessee. Coach Summit began coaching at twenty- one years old and was the head coach from 1974-2012. (Wright, 2006) Her achievements during this time were numerous. During her career, she won 1,098 and only lost 208 games. That statistic alone shows the way that this woman could lead others. She not only led the University of Tennessee to victory, but also led the 1984 Women’s Olympic team to a gold medal as a coach. Over the course of her coaching career, Coach Summitt holds eight national NCAA Championships and 32 Southeastern Conference (SEC) titles. (Pat, 2017) Towards the end of Pat’s coaching career, in the season of 2011, she came out and told the media that she had found out that she had early on-set dementia. Even while battling this condition, she finished her last season out with a record of 27-9 and with a SEC Championship. Pat then retired and sadly passed away on June 28, 2016. (Pat, 2017) Although Pat was most known for her wins and legacy to the public eye, there was much more to the life of this legendary coach. There are countless numbers of players’ testimonies to the impact that coach Summitt had on their lives with her philosophies and ethics. For example, Pat had five major values. One of her philosophies was to be persevering. This was to teach her players that they can push through and persevere any problem without giving up or sacrificing their morals. Another great lesson that she taught was to never excuse failure. Pat would never let her players give excuses for their failures, but would make them explain why they failed. Also, Coach Summit always preached that she could only give her player’s tools and information to be successful. She expected them to make their own decisions and to be independent with the tools that she gave them.(Summitt, 1999) Coach Summit was big on feedback. She had a system in where the players had to repeat “two points” and “rebound” whenever they heard a praise or criticism. Lastly, Coach Summit was very adamant on trust. She believed that in order to gain her whole teams’ trust, she must treat them all equally. She believed that each individual could be pushed to different limits, so she pushed individually so that she showed her players love and equality. These five core values were detrimental in the building of the University of Tennessee Women’s Basketball Program. (Fletcher, 2016) Along with her five core values, Pat Summitt held a high bar for academic and character excellence. During her career at UT, players that played all four years in her program received their diploma. That is a task that is very difficult to achieve because she was not only creating national champions on the court, but also in the classroom. To be able to lead multiple graduating classes through four years of intense basketball and to inspire them to finish out school is powerful. However, teaching her players values and academic excellence on top of sports was not the only ways that Pat Summitt displayed her virtues. Pat was honored several of times for her success as a coach and life leader. In 2009, she was named as the only woman in the 50 Greatest Coaches of All-Time and was ranked 11th. She also received a resolution by the Senate, a doctorate from USSA and was inducted to the WBCA Victory Club. Also, Pat received the “Hon R. Wooden Legends of Coaching lifetime award. She was inducted in the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000 and inducted in the Women’s Sports Foundation Hall of Fame in 1990. Pat was named “Coach of the Year” in 1994, 1998 and 2000. (Summitt, 2014) These are only some of the many achievement awards that Coach Summitt received in her lifetime and was proof that she was not just good at coaching basketball but character. Although Coach Summitt had many achievements due to the sport of basketball, she had many achievements outside of sports also.
Pat received rewards based on her character. She received the Joe Lapchick Character Award in 2008. Also, in 2007 she received an award for Americas Best Leaders. She was also won the Dick Enberg Award in 2007. Pat was recognized as one of the 25 Most Influential Working Mothers in 1997 and chaired the United Way Campaign. (Summitt, 2014) These are only a fraction of the achievements and deeds that Pat Summitt had achieved in her lifetime. From basketball to community involvement, Pat showed through her life the virtues she possessed.
She showed passion and perseverance through her time as a coach on the floor by how successful and respected she was. She also showed compassion and fairness by the way she led her players through honesty and service. In her community, Pat obviously made a servant leader impact because of the amount of awards and respect that she received from those who did not even care about the sport of basketball. This specifically shows that she led by serving because the awards that were listed above are all based on qualities that require a servant mentality and leadership
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virtue. Pat Summit had such outstanding character that it was very difficult to find any virtues that stood out as negative. The only things that could be remotely negative were her anger and impatience during competition. Pat was a very passionate person while she coached and sometimes it led to fits of anger and impatience with her players. Also, Pat had an ongoing competition feud with the head coach from UCONN, Gino Auriemma. This could come off as a form of pride and selfishness, but it also can come through a competitive nature and though a drive for success. However, these are mere blemishes to a highly valued character that Summitt had. As I reflect on Coach Summitt’s life, there are a few things that we have in common when it comes to character.
As a young girl, I was always inspired and followed the life of Summitt. I had met her multiple times through basketball camp and was inspired to be just like her. One similar virtue that we have passion in the areas of our life is basketball. We both have perseverance. Pat had perseverance while she battled dementia while coaching and I have used perseverance while I have pushed through three ACL surgeries while playing. Also, we share similarities in the area of compassion. I have always been a compassionate person by wanting to help others or feeling strongly for people and their situations. Summitt showed an abundance of compassion through basketball and her foundation for dementia. I also share the characteristics of anger and selfishness as I am in the realm of competition. One virtue that I really wish I shared with her would be fairness. This is one area that I really struggle to exhibit because it is hard for me to construct the correct definition of fairness. I see very many similarities between Coach Summitt and I because most of my foundations as a competitor. She also was my inspiration to become a coach for the game of basketball so that I can impact others the way that she
did. In conclusion, Pat Summitt was definitely worth the experience of research as her character become more revealed. She obviously impacted the people around her and led with a servants’ heart. The more that I found out about her character and the way she treated others, the more I have been inspired to coach and treat others the same. This has enlightened me to the fact that everything that we do is under a microscope and we make an impact on others. This has motivated me to do right and strive to be the leader that Pat was. She was not a leader because or her wins or success, but she was a winner and successful because of the virtues and service that she held in at most importance. Pat Summitt was and always will be a legend.
She led the team to a Conference championship and a State Championship. As a Senior she was the #1 player in the nation, averaged a triple double with 31 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists. For the second consecutive year in history, she led the team to a state championship and led the nation in scoring. All four years in high school she was selected to be on the all-state team, all-region team, and all-conference team. During the summers of her High School years she would continue practicing and playing for an AAU team.
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