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Getting Started, CHAPTER Two

NOW WHAT??

Now that you understand our definition of success in 100 Mile Club®, what do you do? That’s easy!!

Make a commitment. This must come from you as the classroom teacher and/or 100 Mile Club® Site Head Coach. You are responsible for setting the standard for 100 Mile Club® procedures, motivating individuals with words of encouragement, sticking to the daily commitment, observing and providing positive feedback, and teaching proper 100 Mile Club® attitude. It’s not a competition; it’s a personal journey…and that concept needs to be reinforced daily for a while. After 100 Mile Club® is up and running, it almost takes care of itself. Participants and/or parents carry out the day to day procedures, and you simply provide feedback, guidance, encouragement, reinforcement, and enthusiasm.

Set the rules.  

1. Be safe. 
2. Be responsible. 
3. Be respectful. 
4. Be kind. 
5. Do your best.  

If you reinforce these concepts, not only will 100 Mile Club® function smoothly, but your class will gain tremendous amounts of self-respect and ownership not only of the Program, but of themselves, their peers, and their classroom as a whole. It’s quite powerful. 

 

Reinforce the idea that 100 Mile Club® is their program, not yours to enforce upon them…Do it right, do it well, and the rewards are endless for both you and the participants. (I know of dozens of parents who have requested specific classes/teachers simply because that class uses 100 Mile Club® as part of their p.e. curriculum.)

Measure your track/walking course. Don’t reinvent the wheel here. If you are a school, your site should have this information from having to run the mile for physical fitness testing. Check with your office or grade level team. If not, grab a pedometer or GPS and go for a walk around your designated running area. Once this is done, it’s done forever. 

You are responsible for setting the standard for 100 Mile Club®…

Do it right, do it well, and the rewards are endless for both you and your participants.

A Definition That Makes Success an Equal Opportunity Player

After taking a position teaching high school English at the age of 24, John Wooden soon grew frustrated with the grading system he was required to use and felt compelled to help his students better understand success as a result of personal effort. 

He thought of his father’s advice:

“Never try to be better than anyone else, but never stop trying to be the best you can be.” 

He remembered his high school math teacher, Mr. Scheidler, and his essay challenge to define success. 

Then Coach recalled a verse of poetry he had recently read: 

At God's footstool to confess,
A poor soul knelt and bowed his head.
“I failed,” he cried. The Master said,
“Thou didst thy best, that is success.”
 
A Definition Created

These influences helped Coach Wooden coin his definition of success in 1934:

"Success is peace of mind, which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to do your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming."

A Pyramid Built

The definition satisfied Wooden for a short while, but he quickly realized it was insufficient. He needed something more concrete – more visual. So he spent the next 14 years identifying 25 behaviors he believed were necessary to achieve his idea of success. This search culminated in a simple but profound diagram Wooden called "The Pyramid of Success", which he completed in 1948.

Nearly six decades later these foundational behaviors have weathered the test of time - unchanged, full of wisdom, as rock-solid as the first day Coach established the cornerstones of Industriousness and Enthusiasm. 

Sources:  

The John R. Wooden Course® http://woodencourse.com 

The Official Site of Coach John Wooden http://www.coachwooden.com/

GETTING STARTED: Accept the Challenge

The 100 Mile Club® is simple to set up and begin. You should be ready to “hit the ground running” the first day of your new year, or as soon as possible once your year begins. Here are some guidelines to get you going. The following ideas, concepts, and procedures are extremely helpful and will make 100 Mile Club® run smoothly and positively.

Accept the Challenge

There is a philosophical mindset that must be adopted and understood before beginning The 100 Mile Club®. 

Our philosophy is simple. We believe that every single individual has the ability to achieve true personal success and a new level of physical fitness by Accepting the Challenge of running (or walking) 100 Miles at school during a single school year. These feelings of true personal success and fitness are ones that will carry an individual to new levels of achievement in all areas: academics, athletics, and implementation of the valuable life skills identified in the bricks of Coach Wooden’s Pyramid of Success.

The 100 Mile Club® is a personal journey toward a very personal goal.

·         It is not a race with anyone but yourself.

·         We NEVER compare individuals.

·         We never race or compete between classes, departments, or individuals to see who makes 100 miles “first”.

·         100 Mile Club® is not an external competition. The competition is with your biggest rival: yourself.

·         We celebrate all personal successes at the end of the year. Our year begins in July and end in June. 100 miles or not, we award individuals together, celebrate together, and never separate out those that make 100 miles from those that do not.

·         The personal successes individuals feel while on the 100 Mile Club® journey are unquantifiable but ever-present. We celebrate those most of all.

100 Mile Club® encourages team spirit by asking individuals to work together to help one another reach their goals. Often, we see the more athletic individuals Kara Lubin encouraging and mentoring those that might need that little extra boost…it is wonderful to see individuals cheer for each other or run together to just make it one more lap.

100 Mile Club® does not publicly (e.g.-website, school announcements, etc…) identify or announce individuals who hit 100 miles until the end of the year awards presentation. Some individuals make 100 miles by mid-January…We let these individuals savor the inner rewards that come from humility, poise, confidence and friendship as they help others reach their goals, too. We ask that these individuals reach inside themselves and set new personal goals in order to reach their true level of competitive greatness.

The 100 Mile Club® is an individualized physical fitness program. Individuals will have the opportunity to exercise their bodies through stretching and running (or walking) activities as they move closer and closer to 100 miles and their very own gold medal. Please strike a careful balance between encouraging individuals to do THEIR best, honoring differences, and challenging individuals to reach to a new level of greatness.

The 100 Mile Club® is a life skills program. Through the personal experience of running (or walking) 100 miles at school, each person is given unique situations in which to truly experience each and every one of the life skills outlined in The Pyramid of Success.

Make sure you know your participants. Some may have medical conditions of which you may not be aware, some may need to see their doctor before beginning a program such as this. The 100 Mile Club® is a physical activity. We strongly recommend that one should always consult with a physician before beginning any exercise regimen.

The 100 Mile Club® is uncomplicated, yet profound. We believe strongly that each and every student who Accepts the Challenge of running (or walking) 100 miles at school during a single school year will discover a phenomenal new part of themselves…the part that thrives on team spirit, hard work, determination and enthusiasm. Once a child gets a taste of the deep and powerful intrinsic rewards of true, TRUE personal success, he or she will seek that feeling again and again…at school, at home, and in life.