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137. Lessons from Coach Kelvin Sampson Postgame Interview
3 Plays2 months ago
In episode #137 of the Especially for Athletes Podcast, we break down a postgame interview with Coach Kelvin Sampson of the Houston Cougars after their dramatic victory over Duke. In this interview, Coach Samson exemplified three of the core principles we emphasize at Especially for Athletes: resilience, preparation, and competing without contempt.
We dive into the key lessons that can be learned from his approach to coaching and leading a team:
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Resilience: Coach Samson reminds us that “no one ever loses at anything as long as you don’t quit.” Resilience is about persevering through challenges, focusing on what’s within your control, and not letting setbacks define you.
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Win the Hour: The victory wasn’t just about a single game—it was built through countless hours of preparation. Trusting the work you’ve put in and focusing on every moment, no matter how small, is how great success is achieved. “What just happened was not luck, it was work.”
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Compete Without Contempt: Coach Samson gives credit where it’s due, acknowledging the strength of his team’s opponents and appreciating the competition. True competitors strive for victory but respect those they compete against.
In this episode, we break down how these three principles can shape the way you approach sports, life, and leadership. It’s not about luck—it’s about living with purpose and integrity, no matter the stage you’re on.
Key Takeaways:
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Resilience means never giving up, no matter how tough the situation gets.
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Trusting the hours of preparation you’ve put in is key to achieving success.
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Competing without contempt means respecting your opponents, even while fiercely striving to win.
If you want to build a foundation for long-term success and impact, start by embracing these principles, just like Coach Kelvin Sampson and the Houston Cougars. Remember, success is a byproduct of living a principled life.
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Credits:
Hosted by Shad Martin
Produced by IMAGINATE STUDIO
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Support the show: https://especiallyforathletes.com/podcast/
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Introduction to Empowering Athletes
00:00:01
Speaker
Welcome to the especially for athletes podcast where we explore essential principles that empower athletes to learn life's most valuable lessons through sports.
Post-Game Breakdown: Houston vs. Duke
00:00:16
Speaker
Hey, what's up, athletes, parents, and coaches?
00:00:18
Speaker
Today's podcast is going to be a little bit unique.
00:00:21
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We're actually going to do a breakdown of a post-game breakdown.
00:00:27
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So some of you on Saturday evening maybe saw the game between Houston and Duke.
00:00:34
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It was an incredible comeback.
00:00:37
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Duke was down six with around 30 seconds left and somehow ended up pulling off that improbable victory.
00:00:48
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Now, listening to the post-game interview with Houston coach Kelvin Sampson, all of a sudden we started to hear,
00:00:57
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E4A principle after E4A principle.
00:01:01
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And so we thought we'd do a post-game breakdown of a post-game interview and see what coach Kelvin Sampson can teach us about some of the especially for athletes principles.
Resilience and Not Quitting
00:01:15
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So here's the first thing that he said.
00:01:19
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He was asked how he felt about the overall victory, and Coach Sampson said the following about resilience.
00:01:27
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So listen to this.
00:01:29
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Well, thanks a lot, Coach.
00:01:30
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You came over and you said, heck of a game.
00:01:33
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11-1 run to end this.
00:01:34
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How would you describe the resiliency of your team down the stretch there?
00:01:40
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Yeah, Jim.
00:01:43
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No one ever loses at anything as long as you don't quit.
00:01:47
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And when you quit, then I don't care, you've lost.
00:01:49
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Isn't that awesome?
00:01:51
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Simple.
00:01:52
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But you'll notice that these great programs are built upon principles.
00:01:58
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That's what we try to do when we go around and teach young people and coaches about these principles of especially for athletes.
00:02:05
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You'll often see, even if people use different words, you'll see that these four core principles that we teach, they really are building blocks to a successful person, a successful program, and you'll see them pop up everywhere.
00:02:21
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But I love what he says here.
00:02:24
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No one ever loses at anything as long as you don't quit.
00:02:28
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When you quit, I don't care, you've lost.
00:02:33
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So that right there is resilience in one sentence.
00:02:38
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That's what we tell young athletes all the time.
00:02:40
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The only way that you truly lose is if you give up, if you quit.
Staying Calm and Teamwork during Timeouts
00:02:47
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He went on to say the following.
00:02:49
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Our thing in our timeouts, we've been here before.
00:02:53
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It's not like we're down 20.
00:02:54
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It's not like we were playing great.
00:02:56
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We felt like if we could get it close enough to put some game pressure on them, then something good could happen.
00:03:03
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So that's what resilient teams and people do.
00:03:07
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When they face difficulty, they don't panic.
00:03:11
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They don't make excuses.
00:03:13
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They don't start pointing fingers and blaming people.
00:03:17
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They come together.
00:03:18
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They relax.
00:03:20
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They lean into the moment.
00:03:23
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And they just say, okay, what's our next step?
00:03:25
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In this case, he said they felt that if they could get close enough to put some gain pressure on them, then something good can happen.
00:03:36
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They started to think about what was within their control.
00:03:40
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That's what resilient people do.
00:03:42
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They focus on their response rather than the events that have happened in the past.
00:03:48
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They don't come back to the sidelines, start throwing things around, blaming people, yelling at people.
00:03:55
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They come together and they say, okay, here's where we're at.
00:03:59
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Now, how do we get to where we want to go?
00:04:02
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That's what resilient people do.
00:04:04
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That's what the Houston Cougars
Struggle, Growth, and Toughness
00:04:06
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did.
00:04:06
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They said, okay, let's just get close enough to put some game pressure on them and then something good could happen.
00:04:16
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Dawn Staley, coach of South Carolina, was also in the final four.
00:04:20
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She said this, a lot of times people want to skip through the struggle, but the struggle is where the growth happens.
00:04:30
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So both Samson and Staley remind us that it's the fight that
00:04:34
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not the comfort that reveals greatness.
00:04:38
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One of our favorite E4A messages applies here.
00:04:41
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Tough times don't last, but tough people do.
00:04:48
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And it's not a motivational quote.
00:04:50
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It's a principle.
00:04:51
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It's a way that champions live.
00:04:54
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It's a way that successful people live.
00:04:57
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To realize that tough times, even in a game, it's not going to last.
00:05:01
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A team's going to go on a run.
00:05:03
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They're going to just hit shot after shot after shot.
00:05:06
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It feels like there's nothing you could do.
00:05:08
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Most teams, not all, and sometimes you just have to tip your cap and
00:05:13
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and accept the fact that they beat you.
00:05:16
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But most teams, those tough times, they won't last.
00:05:22
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But tough people, they don't shrivel, they don't disappear.
00:05:26
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Tough people last.
00:05:28
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And so our first principle of be resilient is
00:05:32
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is what coach Sampson led off with.
Preparation, Hard Work, and Success
00:05:35
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Now, the second one was in regard to our principle of win the hour.
00:05:41
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And so let's talk a little bit about preparation.
00:05:43
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Coach Sampson was asked how lucky he was to have experienced players who could deliver under pressure.
00:05:51
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His answer was awesome.
00:05:54
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Here's his answer.
00:05:55
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What they did down the stretch, how lucky is it to have these guys on your team in these moments?
00:06:01
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Well, it's lucky to have them, but it's not lucky that they do what they do because that's work.
00:06:07
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They trust their work.
00:06:08
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They trust their teammates.
00:06:10
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Isn't that cool?
00:06:11
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He said, I'm lucky to have them, the players, but it's not lucky that they do what they do.
00:06:19
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That's work.
00:06:20
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They trust their work and they trust their teammates.
00:06:23
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You can't microwave success.
00:06:27
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These young men who played for coach Sampson had put in thousands of hours behind the scenes so that in the heat of March Madden's,
00:06:36
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they could rise to the moment.
00:06:39
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That's what we mean when we say win the hour.
00:06:42
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Make the most of every moment, every lift, every drill, every minute of practice.
00:06:50
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Coach Kevin Young of Brigham Young University became famous this year for saying, we just got to stack days, stack days, stack days.
00:06:57
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We would just say, true, stacking days happens because you've stacked hours.
00:07:03
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And so you do all these hours in the dark.
00:07:07
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right that no one sees no cameras were there but the houston cougars were making all these deposits they were stacking all these hours and all of these days and then when the bright lights of march madness in the final four was shining on them what coach sampson was saying was what just happened was not luck
00:07:31
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It was work.
00:07:33
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Well, what work is he talking about?
00:07:35
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It's all the hours, even the summer hours, the fall hours, then all those hours throughout the season that they had put in to prepare for that very moment.
00:07:45
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They were prepared because they had won the hour in so many situations.
00:07:50
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So you could almost feel Coach Sampson recoiling at that word luck.
00:07:56
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He was like, yeah, I'm lucky to have them.
00:07:59
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But what just happened was not luck, it was work.
00:08:03
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Serena Williams once kind of reacted the same way to the word luck.
00:08:07
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She said, luck has nothing to do with it because I have spent many, many hours, countless hours on the court working for my one moment in time.
00:08:21
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So that's a universal truth.
00:08:23
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Whether you're a tennis player, a basketball coach, or a high school athlete trying to earn a scholarship or a spot on the team or whatever, you have to put in the work
00:08:33
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And then trust the work.
00:08:35
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There's no shortcuts.
Discipline and Excellence in Work
00:08:36
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There's no microwaving success.
00:08:38
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You have to stack hour after hour after hour and win hour after hour after hour.
00:08:46
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Legendary coach Pat Summitt once said, discipline helps you finish a job and finishing is what separates excellent work from average work.
00:08:58
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So discipline is what brings about the development necessary for success.
00:09:06
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And I think that's what Coach Sampson was saying there is no, this was not luck.
00:09:11
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It was work.
00:09:13
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So Coach Sampson didn't win that game in one shining moment.
00:09:16
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It was one hour by hour.
00:09:18
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In every moment, his team competed and outworked other people.
00:09:25
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And if you've watched them, they are hardworking.
00:09:29
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I mean, this is an incredible, scrappy team, which leads to the next principle that he seemed to emphasize, or at least he was an example of in this one-minute postgame interview.
00:09:44
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And so this part is on competing
Competitiveness and Respect for Opponents
00:09:46
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without contempt.
00:09:47
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And he said the following...
00:09:49
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You know I hear what people say.
00:09:53
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You know Duke this Duke that.
00:09:55
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Duke's great.
00:09:56
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John Shire is awesome.
00:09:58
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But don't sleep on Houston.
00:10:00
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Don't sleep on Houston.
00:10:04
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We weren't 34 and four playing in the toy poodle league.
00:10:09
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We were 19 and one in the big 12.
00:10:11
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Planning the big 12 helped us.
00:10:14
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Shout out to my big 12 brethren, coach Brett, your mark, and all the great coaches in the big 12.
00:10:21
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Do you see the principle here?
00:10:22
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You could tell he's a competitor of the highest order, right?
00:10:28
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Kelvin Sampson is a competitor.
00:10:30
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You watch him on the sideline and it's incredible.
00:10:34
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Notice, though, he wasn't trash-talking Duke.
00:10:38
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He gave them credit.
00:10:39
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He said they're a great team.
00:10:40
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He gave their coach credit.
00:10:43
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But then he stood up for his own team.
00:10:45
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He said, look, we weren't playing in the Toy Poodle League.
00:10:50
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We were playing in the Big 12.
00:10:53
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And then he went on to give credit to the Big 12 Conference, who maybe it seems like from this...
00:11:04
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he feels like maybe was a little underappreciated nationally.
00:11:08
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And I think that the, that the NCAA tournament has revealed that they were right.
00:11:13
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They have the best winning percentage and a lot of attention was given to other conferences and
00:11:20
Speaker
But Coach Sampson here talks about those 15 other teams in the Big 12 who he feels like prepared his team to be ready for this moment.
00:11:33
Speaker
That is awesome.
00:11:34
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If you watch Houston play, they are scrappy.
00:11:37
Speaker
They are competitive.
00:11:39
Speaker
They are fierce.
00:11:40
Speaker
They are tough.
00:11:42
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They compete like crazy.
00:11:45
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But Coach Sampson has the ability to take a step back
00:11:50
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and appreciate those who he plays against.
00:11:54
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Those other teams in his conference who prepared him for this moment, and also Duke who they had just defeated.
00:12:03
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And so it perfectly balances what we try to talk about when we talk about competing without contempt.
00:12:09
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You have to be a fierce competitor.
00:12:13
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If you are not a fierce competitor, then what are you doing?
00:12:17
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You have to want to win.
00:12:19
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You have to fight.
00:12:20
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You never give up.
00:12:23
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You scrap and you do everything you can within the rules to win.
00:12:29
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But at the same time, you can appreciate how great your opponent is.
Keys to Success: Resilience and Principled Living
00:12:35
Speaker
You can appreciate, even as Coach Sampson said here, those other teams that you play most often that make you better.
00:12:45
Speaker
And so just hearing Coach Sampson in a one-minute interview cover three of the E4A principles, let us know like, hey, we're on the right track now.
00:12:56
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These great teams that we get to see in March Madness, they emphasize the very things that we're trying to get into the hearts and minds of youth.
00:13:06
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Now, we call those first three principles that we covered today the preparatory principles.
00:13:12
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If you win the hour, if you are resilient, and if you compete without contempt,
00:13:18
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then what happens is it leads to success.
00:13:21
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And that sport light that we talk about shines brighter and brighter on you.
00:13:26
Speaker
And if you live those first three principles and that sport light grows brighter and brighter, then when you live the fourth principle, we call it the power principle, seek to bless and not to impress other people,
00:13:40
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It makes everything that you do even more powerful.
00:13:44
Speaker
When that sport light is bright, then the actions, the kindness, the lifting, the help,
00:13:52
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that you give to other people becomes even more powerful.
00:13:57
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And so it was awesome to hear him mention those three preparatory principles.
00:14:02
Speaker
And so just by way of review, here's what we take away from Coach Sampson's moment there as they just defeated Duke.
00:14:12
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Resilience means you don't quit no matter how hard it gets.
00:14:17
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The only way you could be a loser is to be a quitter.
00:14:21
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Second, win the hour means trusting the preparation that you have put in, that work you've put in every day, that effort in the dark when you were stacking hours when no one was watching.
00:14:34
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That's what it means to win the hour.
00:14:36
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And third, compete without contempt means respecting your opponents even as you try to defeat them and appreciating your opponents.
00:14:48
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like he did here with the rest of the Big 12.
00:14:51
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If you live by these principles, success will not be a surprise.
00:14:56
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It's not luck.
00:14:58
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It's a byproduct by living a principled life, by living it the right way.
00:15:05
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So to all you young athletes listening, coaches and parents, when you wonder if what you're doing matters, remember it does.
00:15:12
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When you feel alone trying to live this principle, remember that every great team out there, it seems like everyone who has success
00:15:23
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They do it the right way.
00:15:25
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And Coach Sampson and the Houston Cougars are a great example of those principles.
00:15:31
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And we hope you will exemplify those principles in your life, in your preparation, in the way you compete against other people.
00:15:40
Speaker
Does it mean you'll make it to the final four?
00:15:42
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Maybe, maybe.
00:15:45
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But you will be a better person regardless.
Conclusion and Resources for Athletes
00:15:49
Speaker
So have a great week.
00:15:51
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Keep your eyes up and do the work.
00:15:54
Speaker
Thank you for joining the Especially for Athletes podcast.
00:15:57
Speaker
To learn more about Especially for Athletes organization, get a copy of our book, The Sportlight, or to bring our program to your team, school, business, or organization, visit us at especiallyforathletes.org.