An Unusual Display Of Sympathy
IllustrationStory★★★★When Mike Westhoff, special teams coach for the Miami Dolphins, was in the hospital dying (so everyone thought) of cancer, he received a visit from his boss, head coach Don Shula. Up to that point, everyone who had visited him had done all but acknowledge Mike’s life was slipping away. Not Shula. He leaned in close to the assistant coach and said. “Listen, Mike, I need you in training camp in July—on the field, ready to go. We’re going all the way this year.” Mike Westhoff recovered from bone cancer and went back to work for the Dolphins. He later said, “I thought Coach Shula would tuck me in, but he didn’t. He treated me the way I could be, not the way I was.”
Also attributed to: Don Shula
The point
Coach Don Shula motivated a dying player by speaking to his future capability rather than his present condition. This perspective transformed the player's will to recover.