Process Over Product

Stephen Curry is one of the biggest stars in basketball and is known by many as someone who has changed the game forever. On courts around the world, you will find aspiring basketball players shooting shots from the logo, walking off a three-pointer, or doing a dance after they make a three. This is largely due to the entertaining and joyful way Steph Curry plays the game. However, far too often we are consumed by the visible outcome or the product a player like Steph Curry puts out. In actuality, we should be obsessed with the process; this is what we should fall in love with. Rather than focusing on the events on the court during a game, it is what happens behind the scenes that allow someone like Steph Curry to shoot the ball at a level we have not seen before. The 300 shots after the game, 500 shots on off days, over decades, is what sets him apart.

It can be easy to get caught up in the results, whether it is an expectation we have of ourselves, or for those we lead. Are we more focused on the product of the performance, or the process that will lead to those desired outcomes? One of the biggest points of emphasis we have as a P.E. teaching team is to utilize sports, fitness, and recreational games as an avenue to assist in building a foundation for students in classes, at home, and in the community. A common phrase that you will hear in Lower School P.E. classes is “follow the STARS.” S.T.A.R.S. is a simple acronym that serves as the students’ process to begin building that exact foundation: 

• Stay on task
• Try your best
• Actively listen
• Respect ourselves, each other, and the equipment
• Show sportsmanship

These five principles can be easily translated throughout all areas and stages of life. We believe that utilizing the S.T.A.R.S. to structure the P.E. environment allows us to celebrate and encourage students, no matter what their skill level is, which in turn will lead to personal growth, an increase in self-confidence, and the mindset to be able to set and achieve their goals.

“Consistent results are a product of our process” - Coach K

Brandon Kotake

Lower School P.E. Teacher