The Mizzou Football Bottom Line

“One play at a time, deliver your best.”

For the Mizzou Football Family, going through the motions will never cut it.

Being a successful athlete and a successful team involves knowing what is required of you to perform at the highest possible level. Every single drill, every single play, and every single game requires the highest level of commitment—no matter what.

There are four core elements to the Mizzou Football bottom line:

  • We are enthusiastic
  • We are six-second competitors
  • We know our assignments
  • We play tough and physical

When these elements come together—in combination with thorough preparation and mutual trust—the results can be astounding. Players who understand what is expected of them, keep their eyes on the next play, and deliver their best every single time have the mental strength and focus to do what is needed.

Responsibility and success go hand-in-hand. Everyone wants to achieve success, but the true champions are the ones who know it takes determination and responsibility to reach great heights.

For example, if you want to get an A on a test, you can’t rely solely on the teacher’s instruction. The teacher is a crucial part of the learning process, but you have to take the time to practice and understand the material that will be asked of you on test day. Once you realize that it is your responsibility to fail or ace a test, you get out of the habit of making excuses and start taking responsibility for your own successes.

The same applies in athletics. An athlete’s plan for success must be his own personal plan because without personal commitment, nothing will be achieved.

So, what is necessary for you to achieve at the highest level for your team, as a student, as a person, and as a player?

Here are the 4 ways to plan for success:

  1. Be a team player. It’s not about you—it is about the team. Once you learn self-sacrifice, the overall success is a gratifying win for all of your teammates, as well as for you.
  2. Have a great attitude. Attitude is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes. The remarkable thing is that we have the choice every single day to choose the attitude we will embrace. We cannot change the inevitable, but we can certainly play on the one string that we possess, and that is our attitude. Life is 10 percent circumstances and 90 percent reaction, and we are in charge of our attitudes.
  3. No excuses. Success and excuses are incompatible. It is impossible to sustain any sort of success while you are in the habit of making excuses for yourself. Any excuse for non-performance, however valid, softens the character. It is a sedative against one’s own conscience. We all have a supply of excuses we could use at any given moment, but the more we use them, the lower our standards become and the poorer our performance. An excuse-free lifestyle will bring improvement not only to your work ethic, but also to your personal character.
  4. Have a great work ethic. Working hard will provide the opportunity to succeed at the highest level because you will grow and achieve daily.

Understanding your personal “bottom line” will help you identify and improve the areas you find most important. The Mizzou Football bottom line helps the Mizzou Football Family deliver its best every single day, and it helps hold coaches and teammates accountable to one another. At the end of the day, any program success is the product of hard work, dedication, good attitudes, and a no-excuse environment.