[Wayne Bennett is recognised in Rugby League circles as one of the most influential and innovative of modern day coaches. He is the longest serving coach of a single club, has one of the best winning percentages, and ranks second in the number of premierships won as a coach at an elite level]
“Don’t stop three steps short.” Bennett barked this with particular emphasis during training runs, according to one of his autobiographies, ‘Don’t Die With The Music In You’.
His players undertook seven-minute runs, finishing at a concrete slab. If they stopped running just short of the slab, Bennett took issue.
“It’s a state of mind,” he said.
“Three steps won’t make any difference fitness-wise, but three steps make all the difference to the psyche. You know you haven’t taken a shortcut, you know when you’re tired you’ve found something”.
“And that’s what they’re going to be on Sunday. When they get to that point, they know they can go those three extra steps because they have to”.
“The kind of people who stop three steps short, I wouldn’t call them losers, but they’re never winners either. They always fall short”.
“A lot of times other people don’t know that, but they do. They know who we’re talking about, and they’re in all forms of life. Great ability, talent … they just won’t make those last three steps.”
How are you making sure that you don’t stop 3 steps short in the things you do in life?
