Hustle Is Not Enough

Anyone who knows me knows how much of a zealot I am for the concept of hustle and hustling as an athlete. In my 23 years of coaching there is one thing that has never changed: jogging always draws negative attention; sprinting always draws positive attention. Hustle is usually the difference-maker whenever two teams are evenly matched in talent. The team that out-hustles the other is the team that wins. Likewise, the player that out-hustles everyone else on the court or the field is the player who turns the most heads.

Whenever people think of a team, its character is what they think of and remember, even more than its wins and losses. The kind of character I always want to build with any team I coach is a character of hustle, and that is done by making sure every player has a hustle mentality.

I used to believe hustle was something that just came naturally to those who love the game (or at least I believed it should). But hustle is always a choice and I now believe it can be learned behavior. Some do love the game but they have just never realized the value of hustling everywhere, all the time. Hustle is closely related to work ethic. Some people intrinsically have a great work ethic. Others have to be taught the virtue of great work ethic. THEN, it becomes a choice for them to either apply it or not.

In my opinion, it is embarrassing for a team to get out-hustled. Psychologically, I feel that the way a team plays gives it an edge when the ability of both teams is even. This is not to say that other teams don't hustle; I just always want our team to hustle more. To take it to another level.

I will always have a special place in my heart for the kid who hustles a little bit more than the others. I will always treasure the player who gives a little extra effort even when others don't see the necessity.

Now, let me turn the page on this point.

Hustle is not enough. Sometimes when people laud the idea of hustle, they assume that hustle by itself is enough to overcome an opponent, win games and even championships. Not so. Sure, hustle can make up for some other on-field shortcomings, but by itself it is insufficient for competing at your best level.

There is a popular meme that has made its way around social media. I have seen photos of posters and signs with this saying affixed to weight room and locker room walls. The quote is:

"Hustle beats talent when talent doesn't hustle."

That is not entirely accurate. At least, not always. If you out-hustle a team that is more skilled than you, it is possible that you may still not beat them. That is because hustle by itself is not sufficient. Hard work and great effort is fantastic. I love it! But, it is foolish to give great effort on poor fundamentals. It is futile to work as hard as you can with poor technique.

What we need is properly aligned hustle. Skilled hustle. Fundamentally sound hustle. It is true that it does not require skill to be able to hustle. Hustle requires determination and willpower, that's all. Nevertheless, determination and willpower misguided is nothing more than running really hard in the wrong direction.

If you want to compete at your highest level, you must be committed to skills and fundamentals, and then blend those with hustle. Watching a bunch of unskilled and fundamentally lacking players hustle is like watching a bull running through a china shop. It is frustrating and at times, cringeworthy.

I don't care how hard you run, if you are running without skill, recklessly, then your hustle will do more harm than good. You won't just make an error, you will be quick to make an error!

I don't care how much effort you give, if you are giving great effort with poor fundamentals, then you are only reinforcing bad behavior. Some people will even praise you because of your hustle, so you will think you are doing well. But what you don't realize is that you are making the game more difficult to play, not easier.

Hustle is intended to make the game easier. When a person hustles and gives maximum effort, with good fundamentals, a really cool paradox happens. In their max-effort-hustle blended with skill, they actually slow the game down for themselves. It feels easier to play. They are giving max effort all the time, but they don't feel winded. They are actually more energized.

Watching a person hustle their butt off while lacking skill and being fundamentally unsound is a painful thing to watch. They look like they are laboring. They appear exhausted. I'll give them credit for the effort. It's certainly better than being lazy while also lacking fundamentals.

But here's the point. We need to pay close attention that we are getting the little things right. We need to be sure that we are not just hustling and giving great effort. We need to be sure that we are giving our BEST effort.

Our best effort is given when we are devoted to being masters of the fundamentals of our game, working on building greater skill in the small things, and then we do those things with the utmost effort we can muster.

Hustle with skill.

Hustle, fundamentally sound.

Put those things together and you will have something special. At the least, you will be able to play the game at your highest potential. You may not win every game. Teams that are more talented than you and also hustle will still beat you. But you can at least walk away with the satisfaction of knowing that you did everything within your power to perform at your highest level possible. You were careful to be fundamentally sound in the small things, and you maintained that value in practicing your skill to become the best you are capable of being. Then, you went out and gave everything you had. Max effort. Hustle. With skill.

It's not just about hustle. It's about skilled hustle. That makes the biggest difference.