Juice Box

[CT45]

It's very refreshing to see the posts like the one below by Jeff Gonzales from Trident Concepts. Enjoy!

"It’s come to my attention that people don’t like failing. What a surprise right. In our classes we put a heavy emphasis on standards and I am upfront about my expectations from the beginning of class. In the end it’s still their own performance matched against standards that leads to a pass or fail.
Everybody’s a winner

One of the cultural norms we see popular today is how everybody graduates, I use the term everyone gets a juice box to describe this theory. Basically, there are no losers. All I have to say to that is it’s no wonder our country is going down the toilet. Even as a father I know the importance behind teaching the boys why winning is so important. It has to do with hard work, discipline and failure. We’ve created a society where failure is to be avoided at all cost for fear of traumatizing the psyche. What a bunch of bullshit!"

http://www.tridentconcepts.com/juice-box/

[SeriousStudent]

Good article, and thanks for the link.

It does make watching people who have embraced hard work all the more enjoyable.

[CT45]

yw SS.

Here is another one along the same lines by a friend:

"When I was in Ranger Battalion, when you failed at a task, you might have been stupid enough to try to excuse yourself by explaining that you were just doing the best that you could, and perhaps you could cement your fate by additionally whining that the task was either unfair, too hard, or obsolete. This would only result in the leadership making everyone involved do mountain climbers, burpees, and/or star bursts until there was a good pool of vomit in the dirt deep enough for everyone to crawl through before they allowed forced you to try again, in your vomit-soaked clothing. And you would typically succeed the second time, covered in your comrades’ vomit, with less than happy emotions toward your leadership. In fact, I still don’t like my first Squad Leader, incidentally. If I ever see him again, I’ll probably buy him a beer (perhaps vomit on him again just for old time’s sake) and then walk out, because there’s still a misunderstanding between us. [twitch] But I digress….."

http://crazyranger.com/stop-doing-your-best/

Good article, and thanks for the link.

It does make watching people who have embraced hard work all the more enjoyable.

[SeriousStudent]

I am reminded of Sean Connery's exclamation about "doing your best" in the movie "The Rock".

[bjxds]

WTF - you mean we are not all equal, and we do not all deserve the same things regardless of effort and the results derived from it! IMHO the Juice Box concept is BULLSHIT, but are there that many people in the world that really believe this is the way to go?

This is not on the same level as the Ranger story, but it's where it starts. Years ago, I coached a 8u team, the league had a "New Mandate" Do Not Keep Score. During one of the games one little boy asked who is winning, I said, "I am not sure, lets just keep playing", another little boy said, "IT"S TIED, WE ONLY NEED 1 TO WIN!" I called a time out, and told the team we need 1 to win, we ended up loosing by 1. I finished the season, and did not coach in that league the next season.

I believe most people want to be the best in what they do, but I don't think many are willing to do what it takes to be the best. My only hope is that the Juice Boxthought process does not become so prevalent that it becomes the norm, but when it is taught to our kids at an early age, I am afraid we have an up hill battle.

[SeriousStudent]

I know a lot of folks do express concern about younger folks not possessing a work ethic, or feeling entitled.

But I also see a lot of terrific people at my work, who are in their early to late 20's. They bust their butts, they ask for nothing but a chance to succeed. It's enormously satisfying to mentor and train them, and pass on the "tribal knowledge."

I had dinner a couple of weeks ago with two gentlemen that are both VERY skilled law enforcement officers, who have decades of experience in very difficult environments. It was a great pleasure to just sit and listen, and take mental notes. After dinner, one of them said something that really struck home:

"We have a duty to pass on what we have learned to the new generation. We have learned all this, and we must not waste it. We have to teach them, so they can save lives - their own and others. We must do this."

It was a very earnest statement, from someone that passionately believes in the capabilities of young people.

I know none of you gents are writing off the fine folks that work hard. And when you think of it, you know the young kids you coached wanted to win. It was the stupid grownups that betrayed their future.

I am old, and I know I will hand the reins over soon. I want it to be a very proud day, excited about who fills my shoes. I'll never leave muttering under my breath. I'll smile, and know they will surpass me, because I have given them all I have and more.

Jeff Gonzales has exacting standards, and teaches because he wants to save lives. We should all do that in our own way.

Again, not yelling at anyone, just expressing how very proud I am of my younger teammates, and our young Americans.

[Pariah Carey]

Nothing wrong with doing your best and failing. Failure is a part of life. It can't be avoided. It's what you do in response to it that determines your success. You just have to try again. I've learned that the more successful you are, the more you're going to fail because you keep pushing yourself to new levels. And the more you keep at it after you fail, the more successful you'll be. Funny how that works.

MJ said it best:

[Voodoo_Man]

I agree with the concept of passing on what we have learned, lessons in blood and so forth.

The tactics and skills sets we pick up through our respective journey's are very important, in that we do not want those following in our steps to repeat them, but make their own and let the cycle continue.

A big +1 for standards, having personal standards for firearms, fitness, mental preparedness and so on is very important.

[glockmpw]

We just have to remember, when we set up standards for others, who the target audience is and can we reasonably expect the target group to achieve the standard in the allotted time frame. The mark of a great instructor is to take a student where they are, set an achievable goal for them, and tailor your training so that they have a reasonable expectation of success. Anyone can dump on "That Guy" but the greats get him/her functioning and progressing.

[MAWhite]

At the end of the day it's still up to us to raise our kids (or at least it should be).

One of my ten year old daughters is athletically gifted enough to have been recruited by several select club soccer teams since the age of five. Some family and friends have commented that it is too intense and stressful for kids her age to be in this competitive of an environment but I disagree and do what I feel is right.

She's learned the value of hard work, sportsmanship when winning AND loosing and what it means to "make the team" or "get cut".
Admittedly I spoil my girls but someday I'll be gone and they will need to know how to cope in the big bad world.