Camp REcap....




 A quick Camp RECAP….


Team Camp once again proved to be fantastic for our team. Congratulations to

Team 7…..”Jump” Kris Kross
Probst, Chris
Desmond, Evan
Lunsford, Dana
Oryschyn,Sydny
Kurtz, Hannah
Simon Straub
Straub, Ethan

In what was once again a fun and tough Lip Sync Battle, they prevailed. Sydny becomes a back to back champion in the event and Chris Probst kept the title in the family, winning as his brother did a year ago.

At camp this year we discussed a couple of things we will refer to as the year moves along. First, we talked about Confronting the Brutal Facts and how the Stockdale Paradox will be a key feature of our process this season. As a reminder, the Stockdale Paradox… and a couple of other food for thought quotes from Jim Collins…

“ Stockdale Paradox: Retain Faith that you will prevail in the end regardless of the difficulties AND at the same time confront the most brutal facts or your current reality, whatever they may be”---Jim Collins Good to Great pg 86

“Starting with an honest and diligent effort to determine the truth of your situation, the right decisions often become self-evident. It is impossible to make good decisions without infusing the entire process with an honest confrontation of the brutal facts”. ---Jim Collins Good to Great pg 88

“Leadership does not begin with vision. It begins with getting people to confront the brutal facts and to act on the implications”. --Jim Collins Good to Great pg 89


In addition, we started our work on developing a “Hedgehog Concept” for our program.

The Hedgehog Concept is a simple , crystalline concept that flows from deep understanding about the intersection of three circles:

1.     What you can be the best in the world at? (And equally important what you cannot be best in the world at).
2.     What drives our engine? What motivates us? What keeps us moving forward?
3.     What are we deeply passionate about?

A crucial point here…a Hedgehog Concept is not a goal to be the best, a strategy to be the best, an intention to be the best, a plan to be the best. It is an understanding of what you can be the best at. ( Jim Collins Good to Great pg 98)


It can take years to develop a Hedgehog Concept. At camp this year we began to develop our programs Hedgehog Concept. We are in the initial stages of this concept development. So, for now we have some broad ranges within each circle.  Here are some of the answers our student –athletes discussed during our discussion. Certainly, as we go we will narrow focus as we understand more thoroughly the three circles and what they mean for our Track and Field/ Cross Country program.  


1.     What you can be the best in the world at? (And equally important what you cannot be best in the world at).

Sportsmanship, work ethic, support, Encouraging one another, Being good teammates, competitiveness, determination, respect, being great in community.  

2.     What drives our engine? What motivates us? What keeps us moving forward?

Seeing each other succeed, personal desire to improve, Representing Dakota Ridge High School, Pride, pushing each other to improve

3.     What are we deeply passionate about?

Ultimate Ping Pong
Family, Each other, Progress, Commitment, Working Hard





Greatness is not a function of circumstance. Greatness, it turns out, is largely a matter of conscious choice, and discipline. 

---Jim Collins
http://www.jimcollins.com/books/g2g-ss.html#articletop

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