Growing up in the state of Tennessee as a female athlete, Pat Summitt has always been someone that I have looked up to. I’ve read her other books and studied her career and her leadership skills closely over the years. Her book Sum It Up is an anthology of her entire career as she confronts the devastating diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. Throughout her career, she has relied on a sharp mind, dogged determination, and a quick wit to take her place as one of the most outstanding coaches ever…in any sport…male or female. She holds a remarkable number of records and has experienced every success that basketball has to offer. She quickly points out that she would trade it all in for the chance to continue coaching and permanently defeat Alzheimer’s.
I didn’t highlight a lot in this book…I was too focused on the conversation and the stories. As someone that had a chance to watch many of Pat’s milestones over the years, this book felt like a conversation at a cookout recounting humorous moments, sharing heartaches, learning about the girls she coached, and most importantly hearing about her faith that has become her rock through all of this. This book indeed summed up the outstanding legacy of Coach Pat Summit.
- They wanted an environment of healthy structure, one in which they felt I cared about them and cared that they did things the right way. Deep down they understood there was a relationship between discipline and success, and they wanted me to show it to them.
- Our rules and policies were just another expression of caring.
- I picked up a saying from the legendary UCLA coach John Wooden: “I don’t treat them all the same, but I treat them all fairly.” I asked all our players to achieve the same standard, but I couldn’t ask all of them in the same way.
- Leadership is really a form of temporary authority that others grant you, and they only follow you if they find you consistently credible. It’s all about perception—and if teammates find you the least bit inconsistent, moody, unpredictable, indecisive, or emotionally unreliable, then they balk and the whole team is destabilized.
- God doesn’t take things away to be cruel. He takes things away to make room for other things. He takes things away to lighten us. He takes things away so we can fly.