Accountability Breeds Success

Being accountable, and holding others accountable, are some of the core values of the Edgemont Panthers (Scarsdale, NY) High School wrestling program.

In fact, some of those values serve as daily reminders since they are listed on a wall in the Panthers' wrestling room:

• Be the person everyone knows they can depend on.
• Take ownership—no excuses, no finger pointing, no blame.
• Do what you say you’re going to do, when you say you're going to do it.
• Be a finisher—finish what you start, no quitting.

These core values are all a part of the program’s Standard of Excellence, says Edgemont head coach Pete Jacobson.

But Jacobson knows simply listing core values on a wall in a wrestling room isn’t going to instill those values, or accountability, in young men and women.

“We’re crazy to think we can post some words on a wall, point to them one time the first day of practice and expect our kids to really get it,” says Jacobson, also a New York City firefighter (FDNY) and creator of Win Smarter, a guide and system that helps coaches in all sports build successful programs. “You don’t teach a high crotch once and expect your kids to master it or to understand why it’s so important.”

So Jacobson hammers home these values every day in practice and during team talks, and in greater detail once a week during an exclusive 30-minute team talk/discussion on core values. In many cases, upper classmen lead the discussion.

“We talk about our values, what they mean, why they’re important in wrestling and life, and how we make them a part of our lives. Our values become almost a virtuous cycle in that way, with our older kids living them out and passing them down to our newer wrestlers.”

For most boys and girls, and young men and women, the biggest challenge they face is learning how to become accountable to themselves, says Scott Green, head coach at national prep power Wyoming Seminary (Kingston, PA), and the 2009 USA Wrestling FILA Junior/University Person of the Year.

“Theoretically you shouldn’t need someone to stand over you and be sure you are doing your schoolwork or paying attention to your nutrition—you should be intrinsically motivated,” Green says. “But it rarely starts out that way. Someone (a parent, a coach) or something (grades, the scale) acts as the accountability arbiter. You grow as a student athlete when you start taking charge of everything and are accountable to yourself.”

At Wyoming Seminary, coaches and team members emphasize the importance of holding each other accountable.

“You spend more time with each other than you do any adults,” Green says. “If everyone is reflecting the program’s values it’s easier to get people to come to the table. This can be obvious stuff, like encouraging people to finish reps in the weight room, or cheering each other on during a hard practice, but it also comes in subtle doses as well. Does everyone show up for optional 6 a.m. practices? If your team is holding each other accountable, they do.”

Green says teenagers are going to make mistakes. How a coach or parent responds can influence how one matures, or how they respond to future situations where accountability might be questioned. Punishing a wrestler for a mistake is not holding them accountable. Educating them though, can be helpful.

“Some adults make the mistake of equating accountability with punishment,” Green says. “It is more than that. It is an opportunity for a child to learn. If you consistently mishandle these situations you will lose credibility.”

Teaching accountability through sports or organized activities helps boys and girls develop skills necessary to become a well-rounded adult, says Jerry Concannon, owner and director of QuickSkills Soccer, a Pittsburgh-based soccer program providing instructional training and products for developing soccer players.

“Through sports, we can teach athletes to be accountable to their teammates, their coaches, their family, fans, and themselves,” Concannon says.

How so?

For athletes, Concannon says, being accountable is learning to be self-aware and responsible to those they’re interacting with. In a structured sports setting this can be as simple as showing up to practice on time, prepared to train with the right equipment and attitude, and taking their role on the team or on the field seriously, he says. As athletes continue to develop, they’re faced with putting in the work outside of the structured training environment to be ready for their season, to eat properly and get adequate sleep so they’re ready to compete in a match, and to be committed to the team, Concannon says.

Accountable athletes put in the hard work and effort when no one is watching, he says, because they care about themselves, their teammates, and strive to do what’s right and what’s best. 

This pays dividends in the future. 

“As athletes leave the organized sports systems and enter into the workforce, accountability is a necessary component of being a desirable workplace teammate,” Concannon says. “Employers value individuals that are accountable for their actions and contribute to the team.”

In today’s world, everything we do is recorded and posted for everyone to see online, points out Mike Clayton, Manager of USA Wrestling’s National Coaches Education Program.

“This may not seem like a big deal to young people today, but these photos and videos will follow young people throughout their lives,” Clayton says. “It isn’t enough to be just a talented athlete in today’s sports culture. Athletes today must be the whole package: skilled, hardworking, trustworthy, and able to communicate with adults and peers effectively.”

If an athlete wants to be elite in any sport, or find success in life on and off the mat, they must learn to be accountable.

“If the athlete’s goal is to compete at an elite level, their conduct and ethic should reflect their goals,” Clayton says. “We’re not just talking about avoiding illegal drugs or alcohol. Athletes must learn how to balance good nutrition, being on time (or communicating to coaches if something comes up), and getting rest (not staying up late on a phone or other digital device).

Clayton elaborated in greater detail: “We’re really shooting for self-efficacy. This means that kids get to make decisions and find out that there are consequences for their actions (both good and bad). When kids learn to make better choices on their own, they no longer need adults ‘telling’ them as much. This is also a great benefit for the adults since they are creating young people that can make good decisions on their own. This is how a strong team culture is built.”

John G. Miller, author of QBQ! The Question Behind the Question and CEO of QBQ Inc., an organizational development firm dedicated to helping organizations and people be outstanding by making personal accountability a core value. His father, Jimmy Miller, was the head wrestling coach at Cornell University for 25 years. Miller wrestled in high school and later coached at the high school level in Ithaca, New York.

Before his matches, John Miller said his dad would always remind him he had three people to beat: His opponent, himself, and the referee.

“That I had to beat my opponent was obvious,” John Miller says. “By ‘myself’ he meant I had to overcome the fears any athlete might have. About beating the ref, he’d say, ‘It doesn’t matter how close the match is, Johnny. Even if you lose in overtime by one point, even if some questionable calls are made, you cannot blame the person in black and white."

Miller’s father would then conclude with: “If you want to win, you must be good enough to beat the ref.”

“Now that’s personal accountability,” Miller says. “Personal accountability, though critical on the mat, is not a wrestling thing. It’s a life thing. In the QBQ! book, we share how to eliminate excuse-making from our lives, and doing that begins with understanding the referee metaphor. When I am good enough to beat the ref, I do not blame that which is beyond my control. Rather, I take personal responsibility for every aspect of my life. Personal accountability works on the mat and off, it’s as simple as that.”

Mike Bostwick, Head Wrestling Coach at Millennium High School in Goodyear, AZ, and Coach/Owner of the Will 2 Win Wrestling Club, says kids focus on winning, but instead should focus on being successful in life. Because if you do the work and are accountable, your chances of winning in wrestling and life increase.

“Sometimes parents lose sight of this goal because they are also focused on winning,” Bostwick says. “Kids will win if they put the work in, but we need to hold them accountable so they can be successful in life.”