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Above the Line: Lessons in Leadership and Life from a Championship Season
Remarkable lessons in leadership and teambuilding from one of the greatest college football coaches of our time
In only thirteen years as a head football coach, first at Bowling Green and then at Utah, Florida, and Ohio State, Urban Meyer has established himself as one of the elite coaches in the annals of his sport, with three national championships and a cumulative record of 142 wins and only 26 losses. But sheer statistics are not the measure of his true accomplishment, nor do they speak to his own extraordinary learning journey. Now, in Above the Line, he offers to readers his unparalleled insights into leadership, team building and the keys to empowering people to achieve things they might never have thought possible.
Despite winning two national championships at Florida in only six seasons, Meyer stepped back from the game at the end of the 2010 season, amid health concerns and a growing awareness that his almost maniacal pursuit of perfection was distorting his priorities, distancing him from his family and taking him away from the reasons he wanted to coach in the first place. When he returned to the sport in 2012 as the head coach at Ohio State, the school he grew up rooting for, Meyer did so with a renewed sense of the deeper purpose of his work and a profound commitment to life balance that had previously been lacking. What remained constant was his passion for leading, teaching and motivating, forging his football teams into a cohesive whole, playing for one another with selfless commitment and uncommon intensity.
Ohio State’s 2014 season was in many ways Urban Meyer’s master class in leadership. The world knows how the story ended: with the Buckeyes capturing the inaugural College Football Playoff Championship with a 42–20 victory over Oregon, with the team’s third-string quarterback at the helm, in only his third collegiate start. Few remember how it began: with a bad early season loss that sent OSU out of the Top 20, season-ending injuries at the most important position on the team, and then, infinitely worse, the tragic death of a teammate. But this team’s resilience was no accident. In Above the Line, Urban Meyer shares with readers OSU’s groundbreaking game plan—the game plan he followed every day in the Buckeyes’ historic 2014 season—for creating a culture of success that engages and inspires the people around them
A student of psychology long before he became a coach, Meyer believes that trust is the bedrock of great achievements and healthy relationships, and explains how to build it, step by step—whether in a team, a family, or a Fortune 500 company. With trust in place, a deep bond unites us in common purpose, and cultivates what he calls "Above the Line" behavior—a learned, empowered response to the challenges we face every day.
Writing with his customary candor and humility, Meyer delivers insights both practical and profound—and applicable far beyond the football field. Packed with real-life examples from a storied season, Above the Line offers wisdom and inspiration for taking control and turning setbacks into victories.
In only thirteen years as a head football coach, first at Bowling Green and then at Utah, Florida, and Ohio State, Urban Meyer has established himself as one of the elite coaches in the annals of his sport, with three national championships and a cumulative record of 142 wins and only 26 losses. But sheer statistics are not the measure of his true accomplishment, nor do they speak to his own extraordinary learning journey. Now, in Above the Line, he offers to readers his unparalleled insights into leadership, team building and the keys to empowering people to achieve things they might never have thought possible.
Despite winning two national championships at Florida in only six seasons, Meyer stepped back from the game at the end of the 2010 season, amid health concerns and a growing awareness that his almost maniacal pursuit of perfection was distorting his priorities, distancing him from his family and taking him away from the reasons he wanted to coach in the first place. When he returned to the sport in 2012 as the head coach at Ohio State, the school he grew up rooting for, Meyer did so with a renewed sense of the deeper purpose of his work and a profound commitment to life balance that had previously been lacking. What remained constant was his passion for leading, teaching and motivating, forging his football teams into a cohesive whole, playing for one another with selfless commitment and uncommon intensity.
Ohio State’s 2014 season was in many ways Urban Meyer’s master class in leadership. The world knows how the story ended: with the Buckeyes capturing the inaugural College Football Playoff Championship with a 42–20 victory over Oregon, with the team’s third-string quarterback at the helm, in only his third collegiate start. Few remember how it began: with a bad early season loss that sent OSU out of the Top 20, season-ending injuries at the most important position on the team, and then, infinitely worse, the tragic death of a teammate. But this team’s resilience was no accident. In Above the Line, Urban Meyer shares with readers OSU’s groundbreaking game plan—the game plan he followed every day in the Buckeyes’ historic 2014 season—for creating a culture of success that engages and inspires the people around them
A student of psychology long before he became a coach, Meyer believes that trust is the bedrock of great achievements and healthy relationships, and explains how to build it, step by step—whether in a team, a family, or a Fortune 500 company. With trust in place, a deep bond unites us in common purpose, and cultivates what he calls "Above the Line" behavior—a learned, empowered response to the challenges we face every day.
Writing with his customary candor and humility, Meyer delivers insights both practical and profound—and applicable far beyond the football field. Packed with real-life examples from a storied season, Above the Line offers wisdom and inspiration for taking control and turning setbacks into victories.
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First published August 25, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 271 reviews
November 23, 2015
As a Buckeye fan, this book was like "seeing how the sausage is made." And in college football, the sausage is made by a perfectionist, molded by an apparently abusive father, who drills military- and fraternity-themed banalities into people over and over (and over). The entire book, excluding excerpted play-by-play from the last three games of the 2014-2015 season (just watch the games again), could have been a three slide PowerPoint presentation. It read like:
There are pig parts in the sausage. The sausage is made of pig parts. You have to put pig parts in the sausage, or it's not sausage.
And then, incredibly:
Chapter Summary:
- There are pig parts in the sausage
...
Only a couple of anecdotes about good things happening for players and my Ohio State tribalism saved the second star.
There are pig parts in the sausage. The sausage is made of pig parts. You have to put pig parts in the sausage, or it's not sausage.
And then, incredibly:
Chapter Summary:
- There are pig parts in the sausage
...
Only a couple of anecdotes about good things happening for players and my Ohio State tribalism saved the second star.
October 30, 2015
This is more than a sports memoir or leadership book. It’s a manifesto about core principles. It’s a bible on leading men. My three sons are going to hear a lot of Meyerisms in the coming weeks. 5-Bauers-Strong!
April 8, 2021
I am one of the biggest Ohio State football fans you will meet but that is not why I read this book. In the Air Force there is an emphasis on the whole airmen concept. This is basically striving to improve in all aspects of your life all the time. We can all work on being better leaders and this books has some advice that I think everyone can benefit from.
This is actually one of the better leadership books I have read with more good material in the first 20 minutes than a lot of others have in the entire book.
The only reason it didn’t get 5 stars is that the book seemed to fizzle out as far as good points and start to become a recap of a bunch of Urban Meyers football games. I watched all the games Urban so I don’t need play by play. Any readers focused on the leadership aspects of the book wouldn’t want the play by play either.
Overall a very good read.
This is actually one of the better leadership books I have read with more good material in the first 20 minutes than a lot of others have in the entire book.
The only reason it didn’t get 5 stars is that the book seemed to fizzle out as far as good points and start to become a recap of a bunch of Urban Meyers football games. I watched all the games Urban so I don’t need play by play. Any readers focused on the leadership aspects of the book wouldn’t want the play by play either.
Overall a very good read.
September 14, 2017
I LOVED this book! As a huge Ohio State fan, it was fun for me to kind of get an inside glimpse of what practices and mindsets are like with Urban! Even if you aren't an Ohio State fan, this book is so insightful. My Michigan fan basketball coach actually lent it to me! It will teach you so many ideas on keeping a positive lifestyle and a good attitude. It is so important to have leadership with everything we do! If you want leadership, but don't quite know how to execute what you want, Urban tells us so many eye-opening ideas that he does with the Ohio State football team! I love that now I feel like I know so much more than I used to about Ohio State just be reading this! It's insane how much Urban has packed into this book! I really, really enjoyed it and would highly recommend it to anyone who is debating! You will definitely not be disappointed! Go bucks!
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March 9, 2018 This quarter I read the book Above The Line by The Ohio State University Head Football Coach, Urban Meyer. The book is a nonfiction text that describes the mindset and steps needed to becoming a better leader. Coach Meyer gives his take on life by sharing some of his stories and applying them to any situation that someone could come across. I enjoyed reading this book because of the relatable life lessons that it entailed, and also because it was written by someone who I personally look up to.
The main points of the book Above The Line are that everyone is put in difficult situations in life, and the path to being successful comes from the response and ability to overcome these difficult situations. This ideal is called E+R=O which stands for Event plus Response equals Outcome. In order for people to overcome their problems, they must first accept and take responsibility for them. Meyer calls this step eliminating BCD or Blame, Complain, Defend. By first taking responsibility for any predicament that has affected you or the team, you have already made yourself stand out as a leader. Another important leadership quality to possess that Meyer discusses is to make the people around you better as you better yourself. This comes from first earning their respect, and then setting an example of the type of effort and composure needed from everyone else on the team or group being led. If you do not first gain the respect and trust of those around you, they will either not follow your example or will lose sight of the purpose for their actions. Meyer used a story from his coaching days at Florida to describe how a leader makes the team better as a whole. He said that on the average team there are 10% of people who put forth maximum effort and will be the elite contributors, 80% of people who come and work hard most of the time and are reasonably reliable, and the other 10% of people who do not care or try to cause trouble. At the University of Florida, he told his quarterback Tim Tebow to try and turn as many 80’s into 10’s as he could.
For me personally, the book had great messages about how to overcome obstacles in sports and in life. Although Urban Meyer is not known as a great writer, I still see this work as a top notch piece with a few parts that were somewhat cliche or corny. I felt that the themes taught through stories definitely came from the heart and that Coach Meyer has truly implemented these into his whole lifestyle to become a more successful football coach, but more importantly a better all around human being. Being an athlete and captain, I believe that if I buy in to the Above The Line way of thinking, that my teams will have more success, and I will be much happier.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is an athlete or part of a team that wants to take the next step in their role as a leader. Even if you are not a huge fan of football there are still many great lessons to be learned that relate to all aspects of life.
The main points of the book Above The Line are that everyone is put in difficult situations in life, and the path to being successful comes from the response and ability to overcome these difficult situations. This ideal is called E+R=O which stands for Event plus Response equals Outcome. In order for people to overcome their problems, they must first accept and take responsibility for them. Meyer calls this step eliminating BCD or Blame, Complain, Defend. By first taking responsibility for any predicament that has affected you or the team, you have already made yourself stand out as a leader. Another important leadership quality to possess that Meyer discusses is to make the people around you better as you better yourself. This comes from first earning their respect, and then setting an example of the type of effort and composure needed from everyone else on the team or group being led. If you do not first gain the respect and trust of those around you, they will either not follow your example or will lose sight of the purpose for their actions. Meyer used a story from his coaching days at Florida to describe how a leader makes the team better as a whole. He said that on the average team there are 10% of people who put forth maximum effort and will be the elite contributors, 80% of people who come and work hard most of the time and are reasonably reliable, and the other 10% of people who do not care or try to cause trouble. At the University of Florida, he told his quarterback Tim Tebow to try and turn as many 80’s into 10’s as he could.
For me personally, the book had great messages about how to overcome obstacles in sports and in life. Although Urban Meyer is not known as a great writer, I still see this work as a top notch piece with a few parts that were somewhat cliche or corny. I felt that the themes taught through stories definitely came from the heart and that Coach Meyer has truly implemented these into his whole lifestyle to become a more successful football coach, but more importantly a better all around human being. Being an athlete and captain, I believe that if I buy in to the Above The Line way of thinking, that my teams will have more success, and I will be much happier.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is an athlete or part of a team that wants to take the next step in their role as a leader. Even if you are not a huge fan of football there are still many great lessons to be learned that relate to all aspects of life.
April 17, 2018
Book Review
During this reading cycle I read the novel Above the Line by Urban Meyer. This is an autobiography about his personal and coaching career. This novel was about lessons in leadership and the life and hard work from a championship season.
There are 8 chapters in this novel and the first one is about the foundation. The foundation is by far the most crucial part in having a good team or even being a good player. The next chapter is about the R factor and Urban Meyer talks about this equation, E+R=O. The E stands for event and the R stands for Response and that equals O which stands for outcome. Urban then gives examples of how this works like when something happens and the what you do in response will determine an outcome, sometimes good or bad. The chapter that I felt was the best and applied to me the most was the last one which was called The 10-80-10 principle. This chapter was about the players and how there were people who worked the extra mile to achieve greatness. Then there were players that were there just to get by but worked hard. Finally there were the players that did not work very hard and seemed to not want to be there. The first 10% were the people who worked the hardest and stayed after practice to work and came in early to work. As Urban said, these are the players coaches love to coach. The 80% are the majority of people and they just come to practice and work hard and don't do anything extra. The last 10% are the people who seem like they don't want to be there and as Urban said that the last 10% can be a nightmare to coach.
I would rate this book a 5 because I never got bored reading it. I would recommend this book to anyone who liked sports or is a very lazy person try to improve and not be lazy. All in all this book has been my favorite book I have read all year this school year.
During this reading cycle I read the novel Above the Line by Urban Meyer. This is an autobiography about his personal and coaching career. This novel was about lessons in leadership and the life and hard work from a championship season.
There are 8 chapters in this novel and the first one is about the foundation. The foundation is by far the most crucial part in having a good team or even being a good player. The next chapter is about the R factor and Urban Meyer talks about this equation, E+R=O. The E stands for event and the R stands for Response and that equals O which stands for outcome. Urban then gives examples of how this works like when something happens and the what you do in response will determine an outcome, sometimes good or bad. The chapter that I felt was the best and applied to me the most was the last one which was called The 10-80-10 principle. This chapter was about the players and how there were people who worked the extra mile to achieve greatness. Then there were players that were there just to get by but worked hard. Finally there were the players that did not work very hard and seemed to not want to be there. The first 10% were the people who worked the hardest and stayed after practice to work and came in early to work. As Urban said, these are the players coaches love to coach. The 80% are the majority of people and they just come to practice and work hard and don't do anything extra. The last 10% are the people who seem like they don't want to be there and as Urban said that the last 10% can be a nightmare to coach.
I would rate this book a 5 because I never got bored reading it. I would recommend this book to anyone who liked sports or is a very lazy person try to improve and not be lazy. All in all this book has been my favorite book I have read all year this school year.
December 10, 2020
A friend recommended Mr. Meyer's "Above the Line," saying he enjoyed it, but disliked Meyer personally, and so my interest was piqued. I will say this: Urban Meyer is tough and smart. He has obviously spent a lot of time thinking about leadership, and through trial and error has come up with several techniques he believes build the ultimate team. I found the techniques interesting, especially the giving up on the bottom level performers (or rather devoting no energy towards their improvement). However, it was the personal anecdotes and coaching stories that I found more enjoyable, especially in this year when we've been deprived of so much, these stories reminded me of how much we have to look forward to after this pandemic has passed.
September 21, 2017
This is now my favorite book, hands down!
The way Urban Meyer puts his leadership and spiritual concepts together, and develops a championship caliber program is unbelievable.
I felt very connected to this book, like he was talking to me! I will be using a lot of his tactics in my everyday life, and I will be referring to this book often!
The way Urban Meyer puts his leadership and spiritual concepts together, and develops a championship caliber program is unbelievable.
I felt very connected to this book, like he was talking to me! I will be using a lot of his tactics in my everyday life, and I will be referring to this book often!
March 19, 2018
I read “Above The Line,” by Ohio State University football coach, Urban Meyer. This popular biography was published after Meyer’s surprisingly successful 2014 football season. I strongly believe that this story should be read by those who not only enjoy sports, but also learning how to become a better leader and creating a mentality to win. The plot is based upon Urban Meyer’s coaching career, mainly focusing on the year 2014 when he won a National Championship when no one thought he could do it. Throughout the book, Meyer takes a very detailed style of writing and gives readers incite as to what he was thinking and what was going on at certain points within the season. The theme of this biography is that leadership creates success. Not only does he apply this on the football field, but Meyer discusses how important leadership can be in a workplace or any other situation where working with others is important.
There really is not much characterization created by Meyer, however he does discuss the attributes of being a leader and what players he has had that apply those attributes. Also, Meyer most apparently creates a characterization of himself, discussing what he believes and how his ideas on leadership can make a team great.
The plot created by the author is very interesting and informative. Meyer mainly goes over different ideas that can be applied to make better leaders on and off the football field. The most important idea he discusses is called “above the line” behavior. This is being the bigger person in all situations. It is making right decisions when others decide not to, and trying to get others to be above the line with you. Meyer stresses the importance of pulling others up to your level, whether it is with physical performance on the field or mental performance in the classroom. Another idea he talks about the “E+R=O”. This is event+response=outcome. Meyer talks about how you can’t always control the event that occurs, but you can always control your response to any situation. This goes along with the idea of “above the line” behavior because your response to an event needs to be thought through and made correctly.
“Above The Line” by Urban Meyer is most like the biography “Through My eyes” by Tim Tebow. In Tebow’s book he also discusses his views on leadership and applying them on the football field. Also, each book discusses the importance of having the mentality to win. Each author believes in order to be the best you have to have good leadership and a will to win in any situation. I strongly suggest reading each book because they will teach very much on becoming a better person and competitor.
There really is not much characterization created by Meyer, however he does discuss the attributes of being a leader and what players he has had that apply those attributes. Also, Meyer most apparently creates a characterization of himself, discussing what he believes and how his ideas on leadership can make a team great.
The plot created by the author is very interesting and informative. Meyer mainly goes over different ideas that can be applied to make better leaders on and off the football field. The most important idea he discusses is called “above the line” behavior. This is being the bigger person in all situations. It is making right decisions when others decide not to, and trying to get others to be above the line with you. Meyer stresses the importance of pulling others up to your level, whether it is with physical performance on the field or mental performance in the classroom. Another idea he talks about the “E+R=O”. This is event+response=outcome. Meyer talks about how you can’t always control the event that occurs, but you can always control your response to any situation. This goes along with the idea of “above the line” behavior because your response to an event needs to be thought through and made correctly.
“Above The Line” by Urban Meyer is most like the biography “Through My eyes” by Tim Tebow. In Tebow’s book he also discusses his views on leadership and applying them on the football field. Also, each book discusses the importance of having the mentality to win. Each author believes in order to be the best you have to have good leadership and a will to win in any situation. I strongly suggest reading each book because they will teach very much on becoming a better person and competitor.
April 24, 2024
I did not choose to read this book. It was a professional development option for school. I am not a fan of “self-help” books, and a lot of this book just talked about Urban Meyer’s success in the 2014 College Football Season. If you enjoy self-help books, read it. If you enjoy football, read it. If you enjoy both, definitely read it.
January 11, 2018
How would you feel if you got to play for one of the best college football coaches in history? The 2012 Ohio State Buckeyes were pleased to hear that Urban Meyer came out of retirement and would be the head coach. In Urban’s book Above The Line he talks about his journey of coming out of retirement to come to coach at The Ohio State University. This book takes place mostly in Columbus, Ohio. The book fits into the category of memoir because Urban revisits the great memories he had with his past OSU football teams. I greatly enjoyed this book because I love Ohio State sports.
There are three main characters in this book: Urban Meyer, The Ohio State football squad, and Urban’s family. After winning two championships in just six years at Florida, Urban is on his way to being a very successful football coach. Then Urban unexpectedly announced that he will be stepping down as coach. This shocked the college football world. Urban left because of his personal health, relationships, and his personal priorities. In 2012, Urban accepted the head coach position at the school he grew up cheering for, Ohio State. At Ohio State he preached to his players and staff to have “above the line behavior in everything they do”. The 2014 season tested Urban greatly. Quarterback JT Barrett had injured himself, so back up quarterback Cardale Jones had to mature real quick. “It’s important to understand that success is not determined by the situations you experience,” Meyer writes. “Success is determined by how you choose to manage the situation.” It is very exciting seeing Urban Meyer go through rough times, learning from the rough times, and making sure himself or his team doesn’t go through them again. That is how winning is done.
I give this book a five out of five stars. I loved this book because of Urban Meyer’s cleverness and watching the Ohio State team mature and fight through adversity. He went from being in a slump in life, to picking himself up and taking a ordinary team to a national championship. In the college football world, teams who lose their starting quarterback NEVER win a lot of games. Urban lost his starting quarterback to injury, and used an inexperienced Cardale Jones and won a national championship, just unbelievable.
There are three main characters in this book: Urban Meyer, The Ohio State football squad, and Urban’s family. After winning two championships in just six years at Florida, Urban is on his way to being a very successful football coach. Then Urban unexpectedly announced that he will be stepping down as coach. This shocked the college football world. Urban left because of his personal health, relationships, and his personal priorities. In 2012, Urban accepted the head coach position at the school he grew up cheering for, Ohio State. At Ohio State he preached to his players and staff to have “above the line behavior in everything they do”. The 2014 season tested Urban greatly. Quarterback JT Barrett had injured himself, so back up quarterback Cardale Jones had to mature real quick. “It’s important to understand that success is not determined by the situations you experience,” Meyer writes. “Success is determined by how you choose to manage the situation.” It is very exciting seeing Urban Meyer go through rough times, learning from the rough times, and making sure himself or his team doesn’t go through them again. That is how winning is done.
I give this book a five out of five stars. I loved this book because of Urban Meyer’s cleverness and watching the Ohio State team mature and fight through adversity. He went from being in a slump in life, to picking himself up and taking a ordinary team to a national championship. In the college football world, teams who lose their starting quarterback NEVER win a lot of games. Urban lost his starting quarterback to injury, and used an inexperienced Cardale Jones and won a national championship, just unbelievable.
January 10, 2021
This book is more than just a story about football. And in the football story, it's more than just about the best of the best players and beyond just the field. It's a refreshing tale of leadership and empowerment that does end up leading to a big win!
December 1, 2025
Of course I have to give an Ohio State book 4 stars! Coach Meyer gives some good leadership lessons and a great history of the 2014 national championship team.
October 19, 2017
Do you believe a person can really change ? Well Urban Meyer believes in change. He wrote a book called Above The Line. This book would fit in the sports genre, it would fit into this genre because he talks about sports and the fundamentals of football pretty much throughout the whole book.
This book is about the way Urban Meyer believes in coaching football, but at the end of the 2010 college football season he announced that he was stepping down from his coaching job at Florida. He explains in his book that he had lost himself, that he wasn’t who he wanted to be as a father, husband, or a coach. He also said that he has stepped down due to health problems. Urban Meyer returned to coaching at Ohio State in 2012. He talks about in the book the standard he holds his players to. He also talks about the leadership he teaches them and how he goes about teaching them. Urban Meyer believes in “above the line” behavior that includes leadership, being brave, and doing what’s expected of you at all times. Urban Meyer talks about his experiences as a child and how his dad praised him when he got into his first fist fight for standing up for his sister. Urban Meyer shares his groundbreaking game plan, the game plan followed every day in the Ohio State Buckeyes’ championship season, for creating a culture of success built on trust and a commitment to a common purpose.
I would give the book a rating of 5 out of 5 stars . I would give it that rating because it’s a really good and interesting book. I would also give it that rating because it is inspirational; in a way it makes me have a different outlook on the way I do and go about things. Urban Meyer shows amazing leadership and teaches how to go about being a leader. Not many people are like that. This is probably one of the best books I have ever read .
This book is about the way Urban Meyer believes in coaching football, but at the end of the 2010 college football season he announced that he was stepping down from his coaching job at Florida. He explains in his book that he had lost himself, that he wasn’t who he wanted to be as a father, husband, or a coach. He also said that he has stepped down due to health problems. Urban Meyer returned to coaching at Ohio State in 2012. He talks about in the book the standard he holds his players to. He also talks about the leadership he teaches them and how he goes about teaching them. Urban Meyer believes in “above the line” behavior that includes leadership, being brave, and doing what’s expected of you at all times. Urban Meyer talks about his experiences as a child and how his dad praised him when he got into his first fist fight for standing up for his sister. Urban Meyer shares his groundbreaking game plan, the game plan followed every day in the Ohio State Buckeyes’ championship season, for creating a culture of success built on trust and a commitment to a common purpose.
I would give the book a rating of 5 out of 5 stars . I would give it that rating because it’s a really good and interesting book. I would also give it that rating because it is inspirational; in a way it makes me have a different outlook on the way I do and go about things. Urban Meyer shows amazing leadership and teaches how to go about being a leader. Not many people are like that. This is probably one of the best books I have ever read .
February 18, 2018
Some of the most phenomenal leadership lessons I’ve ever read. Don’t need to be a college football fan to learn from this book.
August 23, 2018
Above the Line by Urban Meyer is a great book for athletes wanting to compete at the next level by learning more about leadership on the field, and in everyday life. Urban Meyer is the head coach for Ohio State football, and throughout the book he explains how he trains his players to become leaders. It is a fairly simple book, with the main points being made straight forward. For him, it is more than just football. It is about getting his players in the right mindsets for situations that may come up on the field or in life. In my opinion, this mindset is correct because it isn’t always about sports, but also about life as a whole. No matter how good an athlete may be, if they lack leadership or self control, then they are not complete. Urban and his assistant coaches spend hours every week getting the players mentally prepared for anything by hosting leadership meetings. This book is great for anyone, and it does not even necessarily need to be an athlete, looking to gain knowledge about positive leadership. One of the main examples that Urban walks his team through is his saying "E+R=O," which stands for "event + response = outcome." This allows the players to understand that certain events will trigger responses, but it how the individual might respond that gives the outcome. The book was really inspiring for me since I myself am an athlete and I was able to comprehend the information. The life lessons are remarkable in this book. Personally, there wasn’t really any time in the book where it bored me or let me lose track of what was happening. It is very easy to follow along, and many times I couldn’t put the book down because the information was so good. I strongly recommend reading this book if your a fan of Ohio State football, or someone who wants to learn more about leadership and life lessons while participating in athletics.
March 13, 2016
I had mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, it was incredibly inspiring and very convicting on a personal level. I plan to look at my life and figure out the ways in which urban Meyer's life challenges my own, so that I can live life more fully.
His approach to football is clearly hard-core. The book is meant to give lessons in leadership, and while I can see some obvious parallels between military leadership and Ohio State football, I struggle to figure out how to apply his principles to something like a voluntary society, a Church, a nonprofit, or even a business. I'm pretty sure that if I adapted his leadership methodology to a church I was leading, it would very quickly become a cult. Unless you were coaching a football team or leading men into battle, you would have to be very choosy about the kinds of principles you applied rigorously from this book.
The most intriguing statement he made was "I have never seen the tougher team that played the hardest lose a game." I really wonder if this is true. He boils everything down to effort. I like that he encourages his players to fail by failing forward. I am just not sure that when it comes down to it, effort and discipline always outweigh talent. Like, ALWAYS?
But he is surely correct that culture is more important in a team effort than individual brilliance or talent.
This is a great book for someone who loves getting inside peoples heads. And it's wonderful for a Buckeye fan who wants to know what makes this psychology major turned top shelf football coach into such a winner. I think for anyone who likes football, and definitely for someone who likes Ohio State football, this is a must read. It will take some creativity to figure out what to apply to your own leadership, but it's much easier to figure out where you are being a slacker and apply his discipline method to your own daily life, leading yourself.
His approach to football is clearly hard-core. The book is meant to give lessons in leadership, and while I can see some obvious parallels between military leadership and Ohio State football, I struggle to figure out how to apply his principles to something like a voluntary society, a Church, a nonprofit, or even a business. I'm pretty sure that if I adapted his leadership methodology to a church I was leading, it would very quickly become a cult. Unless you were coaching a football team or leading men into battle, you would have to be very choosy about the kinds of principles you applied rigorously from this book.
The most intriguing statement he made was "I have never seen the tougher team that played the hardest lose a game." I really wonder if this is true. He boils everything down to effort. I like that he encourages his players to fail by failing forward. I am just not sure that when it comes down to it, effort and discipline always outweigh talent. Like, ALWAYS?
But he is surely correct that culture is more important in a team effort than individual brilliance or talent.
This is a great book for someone who loves getting inside peoples heads. And it's wonderful for a Buckeye fan who wants to know what makes this psychology major turned top shelf football coach into such a winner. I think for anyone who likes football, and definitely for someone who likes Ohio State football, this is a must read. It will take some creativity to figure out what to apply to your own leadership, but it's much easier to figure out where you are being a slacker and apply his discipline method to your own daily life, leading yourself.
November 30, 2015
One word to describe the book Above the Line by Urban Meyer is “detail.” It is the word to describe it because everyone sees the success of a group of people, but what they don't see is the detail: sweat, tears and blood that an individual or team puts in. This book exposes what the 2014 National Championship Ohio State Buckeyes went through to get them there.
I chose this topic because I followed this season really closely and, of course, found it interesting how they won it all after all of the adversity they faced that season. It is easy to see success from the outside. Only successful people or programs actually know what you have to do and continue to go through to be successful. This book shows what the 2014 National Champions did to achieve the ever elusive title they wanted.
Another thing I found interesting about the book was that Urban Meyer talked about the way he coached and his personal life in the book throughout the journey to the championship.
The book changed the way I viewed success, It gave me reasons to help others find success and what do if things go sour. The book is a must-read for anyone but especially people who are into sports, self-improvement, biographies or looking for a book to read. I found the book interesting because in the book the football season and the events before that were given a new perspective. I like the writing style of the book because it reminds me of being presented with a game plan. It told what they did to succeed and how they made plans when things got tough and succeeded even then.
I chose this topic because I followed this season really closely and, of course, found it interesting how they won it all after all of the adversity they faced that season. It is easy to see success from the outside. Only successful people or programs actually know what you have to do and continue to go through to be successful. This book shows what the 2014 National Champions did to achieve the ever elusive title they wanted.
Another thing I found interesting about the book was that Urban Meyer talked about the way he coached and his personal life in the book throughout the journey to the championship.
The book changed the way I viewed success, It gave me reasons to help others find success and what do if things go sour. The book is a must-read for anyone but especially people who are into sports, self-improvement, biographies or looking for a book to read. I found the book interesting because in the book the football season and the events before that were given a new perspective. I like the writing style of the book because it reminds me of being presented with a game plan. It told what they did to succeed and how they made plans when things got tough and succeeded even then.
June 22, 2024
"We will practice and play with relentless effort. We will go four to six seconds, point A to point B, as hard as we can." Urban Meyer
Ohio State Buckeyes Head Football Coach Urban Meyer explains how he used leadership techniques to build a championship team. The 2014 Buckeyes overcame a great deal of adversity to win the first college football playoff. In this book coach Urban Meyer, along with Wayne Coffey, describes in great detail how he instilled leadership into his student-athletes to build a cohesive unit that won the national Championship.
The leadership principles in this book can be applied in sports, business and family. They can be incorporated into planning and goal setting strategies for all walks of life. Fans, coaches, athletes, medical professionals and small business owners will benefit a great deal from the leadership methods described in this book.
I highly recommend this motivating and inspiring read for all, especially Ohio State Buckeyes fans. Go Buckeyes.
Ohio State Buckeyes Head Football Coach Urban Meyer explains how he used leadership techniques to build a championship team. The 2014 Buckeyes overcame a great deal of adversity to win the first college football playoff. In this book coach Urban Meyer, along with Wayne Coffey, describes in great detail how he instilled leadership into his student-athletes to build a cohesive unit that won the national Championship.
The leadership principles in this book can be applied in sports, business and family. They can be incorporated into planning and goal setting strategies for all walks of life. Fans, coaches, athletes, medical professionals and small business owners will benefit a great deal from the leadership methods described in this book.
I highly recommend this motivating and inspiring read for all, especially Ohio State Buckeyes fans. Go Buckeyes.
February 11, 2016
This was a great book. It taught a lot about life and how to live your life on and off the field. This book doesn't just shows how it is to be a winning coach or football, it shows how to be a winning man. It teaches to be above the line in all walks of life. It makes you realize what you need to do and who you need to be around. It is a great story from a great season. Urban Meyer is a very good coach and I enjoyed reading about the way that he thinks. I learned a lot of from this book and I think it would help anyone that reads it.
April 15, 2016
I really enjoyed this book on leadership and culture development - really helpful for what we're trying to accomplish at my workplace. It's not something you breeze through in one sitting, though. It's much better if you read slowly and pause to think about how you could make something work on the job, or to reflect on where you are currently versus where you could be. We've already started trying to change the culture of our department. I don't think you'll be disappointed in this book (though if you care nothing of football, you'll have to skim some sections).
August 7, 2020
I’ve read this twice and am reading it a third time and I will constantly refer back to it. As a former athlete and current coach the information is relevant, entertaining, and invaluable. I use it to teach leadership to my team. It’s a must read for coaches and athletes. Urban is a top of the line guy. Oh, I mean “Above the Line.” 😄
October 5, 2023
Review
A talented sales manager friend of mine gifted me this book. I don't adore college football, so the book sat on my shelf for years. But once I got around to reading it, I was blown away! I highlighted passages on nearly every page. While other authors have shared similar ideas, Meyer systemizes them into a motivational and unforgettable package. This is a must-read for anyone establishing a group vision or engendering community culture. (Inspiration for Ted Lasso?)
*I highly recommend pairing this book with The Oz Principle and The Wisdom of OZ by Roger Connors. Both use the visual of behaving "above the line," and come at the topic from slightly different angles.
Summary
Foundational Leadership 101! This book illustrates core leadership principles couched in personal and athletic anecdotes. Fortunately, you don’t need to be a sports fan to learn from this book.
Notes
Excellent leadership isn’t an accident. It’s a system. Something that is on purpose and can be relied upon under pressure.
Average leaders have quotes. Good leaders have a plan. Exceptional leaders have a system.
Address your failures. Failure is often the fertilizer for tomorrow’s success. If we have the strength and courage to look inside and ask hard questions, our failures can be catalysts for improvement.
Clarity of Purpose: Think hard, and be as specific as possible. Ask yourself: “Exactly what I am after every day?” Ohio State Clarity of Purpose: Nine Units Strong
[Intentional, On Purpose, Skillful]
ABOVE THE LINE
--------------------------------------
BELOW THE LINE
[Impulsive, On Autopilot, Resistant]
The performance of a team rises or falls on behavior. Winning behavior is intentional, on purpose and skillful. It is Above the Line. But it’s easier to be impulsive, on autopilot and resistant. This is Below the Line. Below the Line is dangerous because it is comfortable and convenient. It is the path of least resistance. Above the Line behavior is conscious and thoughtful – a choice made in alignment with your larger vision or where you want to go. Below the Line behavior is directed by impulse or the gravitational pull of old habits; you just react without thinking. Below the Line is your default response. It isn’t hard to find people who are caught up in Below the Line behavior. All you need to do is look for those whose first reaction is to blame (others), complain (about circumstances), and
defend (yourself) or BCD.
E + R = O (Event + Response = Outcome)
We don’t control the events in life and we don’t directly control the outcomes. But we always
have control over how we choose to respond.
Six R Factor Disciplines they teach to players:
1. Press Pause – gives you time to think, gets you off autopilot, avoids doing something foolish or harmful, focuses on acting with purpose.
2. Get Your Mind Right – What you focus on, how you talk to yourself, productive vs negative mindset, Irritated Mindset or Survival Mindset (both below the line) vs. Purpose mindset (above the line).
3. Step Up – Understand the situation, understand what is required of you and respond above the line.
4. Adjust & Adapt – Consider current path of your R Factor habits. Where are they taking you? Where do you want to go? Adjust.
5. Make a Difference – take complete ownership of the experience you give others and your contribution to the team’s culture.
6. Build Skill – Elite performers build skill above their talents. Talent is a gift, greatness is a choice.
A rapidly changing world deals ruthlessly with people who fail to adapt. If you don’t like change, you are going to like irrelevance even less.
Leaders create culture, culture drives behavior, behavior produces results. (Performance Pathway)
Embrace productive discomfort. Discomfort marks the place where the old way meets the new way. Push through the pain. If it doesn’t challenge you, it will not change you.
The way you respond creates the culture. This means you must respond with intention, purpose, and skill.
Culture is what leads when no one is watching.
The foundation of culture is core beliefs. Not platitudes or quotes. Core beliefs. Ohio State core beliefs: relentless effort, competitive excellence, power of the unit:
(1) Relentless effort: Four to six, A to B—time duration (4 to 6 seconds, average football play) and direction (a to b).
(2) Competitive excellence: constant focus on mental reps and game reps, mindset of a winner
(3) Power of the unit: uncommon commitment to each other and to the work necessary to achieve our purpose.
Building a culture is a three-part process:
1. Believe it.
2. Sell it.
3. Demand it.
If you permit it, you promote it. Challenge below-the-line behavior. Recognize and reinforce above the line behavior.
What motivates a player to give maximum effort and play with selfless commitment to the team?
I believe the key to solving the mystery lies in something called small-unit cohesion. (Doing it for those you share a fox-hole with.) The true solider fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.
Build trust (Need all 3, strength in one cannot make up for weakness in another):
1. Character – ethical trust. Built through repeated experience of you doing what you say you will do.
2. Competence – technical trust. Built through repeated experience of you doing your job and making team better.
3. Connection – personal trust. Built through repeated experience of caring, listening and fully engaging with the people on the team.
It is important to remember that players do not experience your intentions; they experience your behavior. If players are going to trust you, they must experience your character and competence, and they must experience a personal connection with you. Repeatedly. Over time. Especially in difficult conditions.
Alignment: When a team is aligned, everyone understands and is fully committed to the team’s purpose, culture and strategy.
An aligned organization gets things done faster and with better results and is more agile and responsive to the competitive environment.
Each player and each unit is moving in a particular direction. The task of a leader is to provide a center of gravity that exerts a pull – attraction and energy – that aligns the trajectory of every player and unit. In other words, it’s leadership that gets every player and every unit on the team going in the same direction.
Need the right amount of leadership energy.
• Too much energy, too much pull = impairs developmental momentum and slows down players. Micromanagers. Heavy-handed and harsh. Result – disconnect, discourage and demotivate players.
• Too little energy, too little pull = players spin off in all directions. Laissez-faire leaders. Standards are unclear and don’t hold players accountable. Lenient, soft and want to be friends with players. Result – allow an undisciplined culture.
How to get alignment:
• Hire the right people and recruit the right players.
• Communicate your purpose and your culture with exceptional clarity and relentless consistency.
• Make it clear to your leaders that it is their responsibility to build and maintain alignment and equip them with essential skills.
• Hold everyone accountable. If someone is out of alignment, deal with it quickly and decisively.
10-80-10 principle:
• Top 10 percenters: nucleus of team, give all they’ve got, all of the time, essence of self-discipline,
self-respect and the relentless pursuit of improvement – the elite.
• 80 percenters: the majority, go to work, do a good job, relatively reliable. Trustworthy and dutiful, but don’t have the drive and unbending will of top 10 percent.
• Bottom 10 percenters: uninterested or defiant, coasting through life, not caring about reaching potential or honoring gifts they’ve been given. Coach killers.
Leadership challenge: Move as many of the 80 percenters as possible into the top 10.
Spend most of your time as a leader on 80 percenters. Top 10 percenters motivate themselves and the bottom ten percenters are not worth wasting energy on.
Four approaches to moving 80 percenters into top 10:
1. Mastery and Belief
a. Players need to believe it will be worth it to join the elites
b. Position coaches have pictures of NFL players they have coached on walls as
reminders/motivation
c. Message: “This could be you. All you need to do is work, train and live Above the
Line. Be as fully committed to getting better as the guys whose pictures you are
looking at.”
2. Harness the Power
a. Most people will keep the company of like-minded people (i.e. 10 percenters with
10 percenters, 80 percenters with 80 percenters…)
b. Pair top 10 percenters with 80 percenters as often as possible in workouts, drills,
meetings
c. Harness the power of the elites in your program
d. John Simon came in and lifted at 6 AM by himself every day. Urban told him he
couldn’t do that any more unless he brought someone with him.
e. Top 10 percenters not allowed in the weight room unless they bring an 80 percenter with them
3. Building Ownership
a. Player or employee gives maximum effort when he feels an ownership stake in what’s going on
b. Give 80 percenters more ownership (include on ring design committee, decisions about jersey styles, training table menus, etc.)
c. The more people that share ownership, the more that will be loyal and committed
4. Positive Peer Pressure
a. Everybody is pushing each other to get better.
b. If you are going through the motions, staying in the same place, there’s a good chance somebody is going to move right past you.
Quotes
“Run toward problems. If you ignore them, they only get worse.”
“Your team, business, or organization will perform to the level of leadership you provide.”
“We teach our players to replace low-performance self-talk with high-performance self-talk. We tell our players, ‘The voice in your mind is a powerful force. Take ownership of that force.’
“Under pressure, we do not rise to the occasion. We rise or fall to the level of our training. When contact is made, it is too late to train and build skill. We must prepare and develop our R Factor capacity before we experience challenging situations.”
“You reach a new level—an elite level—by continually pushing yourself through specifically designed repetitions, and doing it with uncommon dedication.”
“Your culture message must be exceptionally clear: no confusion, no uncertainty, no excuses. Explain to your team that this is what we believe and how we behave in all circumstances. It is who we are.”
“Every organization has a culture either by design or by default.”
“You don’t get the culture you want; you get the culture you build.”
“If you attack behavior without building the culture, the behavior may change temporarily, but it will eventually (probably quickly) revert.”
“Make your cultural standards clear, hold people accountable to those standards, and the results will follow.”
“A great culture can make even a mediocre strategy successful, but a weak culture will undermine even the best strategy.”
“We grade our players on every measure of performance possible at Ohio State. We grade their performances in games, practices, weight room, conditioning, nutrition, rehab, and especially, in the classroom and tutor sessions. Each Thursday, every player gets a score on a scale of 1 to 10 to determine his accountability in each area.”
“Either you worked harder than your opponents or you got outworked. The challenge is to build a culture—a competitive environment—where everyone gives relentless effort every day. A culture everyone wants but few get.”
“I’ve never been in a football game where the team that played the hardest didn’t win.”
“Here’s the not-so-hidden secret for achieving success: clarify what you really want, then work as hard as you can for as long as it takes. Toughness can achieve things that talent by itself can never accomplish.”
“First you win the battle in your mind. Next, you win the battle in practice. Then (and only then) you win the battle in the game.”
A talented sales manager friend of mine gifted me this book. I don't adore college football, so the book sat on my shelf for years. But once I got around to reading it, I was blown away! I highlighted passages on nearly every page. While other authors have shared similar ideas, Meyer systemizes them into a motivational and unforgettable package. This is a must-read for anyone establishing a group vision or engendering community culture. (Inspiration for Ted Lasso?)
*I highly recommend pairing this book with The Oz Principle and The Wisdom of OZ by Roger Connors. Both use the visual of behaving "above the line," and come at the topic from slightly different angles.
Summary
Foundational Leadership 101! This book illustrates core leadership principles couched in personal and athletic anecdotes. Fortunately, you don’t need to be a sports fan to learn from this book.
Notes
Excellent leadership isn’t an accident. It’s a system. Something that is on purpose and can be relied upon under pressure.
Average leaders have quotes. Good leaders have a plan. Exceptional leaders have a system.
Address your failures. Failure is often the fertilizer for tomorrow’s success. If we have the strength and courage to look inside and ask hard questions, our failures can be catalysts for improvement.
Clarity of Purpose: Think hard, and be as specific as possible. Ask yourself: “Exactly what I am after every day?” Ohio State Clarity of Purpose: Nine Units Strong
[Intentional, On Purpose, Skillful]
ABOVE THE LINE
--------------------------------------
BELOW THE LINE
[Impulsive, On Autopilot, Resistant]
The performance of a team rises or falls on behavior. Winning behavior is intentional, on purpose and skillful. It is Above the Line. But it’s easier to be impulsive, on autopilot and resistant. This is Below the Line. Below the Line is dangerous because it is comfortable and convenient. It is the path of least resistance. Above the Line behavior is conscious and thoughtful – a choice made in alignment with your larger vision or where you want to go. Below the Line behavior is directed by impulse or the gravitational pull of old habits; you just react without thinking. Below the Line is your default response. It isn’t hard to find people who are caught up in Below the Line behavior. All you need to do is look for those whose first reaction is to blame (others), complain (about circumstances), and
defend (yourself) or BCD.
E + R = O (Event + Response = Outcome)
We don’t control the events in life and we don’t directly control the outcomes. But we always
have control over how we choose to respond.
Six R Factor Disciplines they teach to players:
1. Press Pause – gives you time to think, gets you off autopilot, avoids doing something foolish or harmful, focuses on acting with purpose.
2. Get Your Mind Right – What you focus on, how you talk to yourself, productive vs negative mindset, Irritated Mindset or Survival Mindset (both below the line) vs. Purpose mindset (above the line).
3. Step Up – Understand the situation, understand what is required of you and respond above the line.
4. Adjust & Adapt – Consider current path of your R Factor habits. Where are they taking you? Where do you want to go? Adjust.
5. Make a Difference – take complete ownership of the experience you give others and your contribution to the team’s culture.
6. Build Skill – Elite performers build skill above their talents. Talent is a gift, greatness is a choice.
A rapidly changing world deals ruthlessly with people who fail to adapt. If you don’t like change, you are going to like irrelevance even less.
Leaders create culture, culture drives behavior, behavior produces results. (Performance Pathway)
Embrace productive discomfort. Discomfort marks the place where the old way meets the new way. Push through the pain. If it doesn’t challenge you, it will not change you.
The way you respond creates the culture. This means you must respond with intention, purpose, and skill.
Culture is what leads when no one is watching.
The foundation of culture is core beliefs. Not platitudes or quotes. Core beliefs. Ohio State core beliefs: relentless effort, competitive excellence, power of the unit:
(1) Relentless effort: Four to six, A to B—time duration (4 to 6 seconds, average football play) and direction (a to b).
(2) Competitive excellence: constant focus on mental reps and game reps, mindset of a winner
(3) Power of the unit: uncommon commitment to each other and to the work necessary to achieve our purpose.
Building a culture is a three-part process:
1. Believe it.
2. Sell it.
3. Demand it.
If you permit it, you promote it. Challenge below-the-line behavior. Recognize and reinforce above the line behavior.
What motivates a player to give maximum effort and play with selfless commitment to the team?
I believe the key to solving the mystery lies in something called small-unit cohesion. (Doing it for those you share a fox-hole with.) The true solider fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.
Build trust (Need all 3, strength in one cannot make up for weakness in another):
1. Character – ethical trust. Built through repeated experience of you doing what you say you will do.
2. Competence – technical trust. Built through repeated experience of you doing your job and making team better.
3. Connection – personal trust. Built through repeated experience of caring, listening and fully engaging with the people on the team.
It is important to remember that players do not experience your intentions; they experience your behavior. If players are going to trust you, they must experience your character and competence, and they must experience a personal connection with you. Repeatedly. Over time. Especially in difficult conditions.
Alignment: When a team is aligned, everyone understands and is fully committed to the team’s purpose, culture and strategy.
An aligned organization gets things done faster and with better results and is more agile and responsive to the competitive environment.
Each player and each unit is moving in a particular direction. The task of a leader is to provide a center of gravity that exerts a pull – attraction and energy – that aligns the trajectory of every player and unit. In other words, it’s leadership that gets every player and every unit on the team going in the same direction.
Need the right amount of leadership energy.
• Too much energy, too much pull = impairs developmental momentum and slows down players. Micromanagers. Heavy-handed and harsh. Result – disconnect, discourage and demotivate players.
• Too little energy, too little pull = players spin off in all directions. Laissez-faire leaders. Standards are unclear and don’t hold players accountable. Lenient, soft and want to be friends with players. Result – allow an undisciplined culture.
How to get alignment:
• Hire the right people and recruit the right players.
• Communicate your purpose and your culture with exceptional clarity and relentless consistency.
• Make it clear to your leaders that it is their responsibility to build and maintain alignment and equip them with essential skills.
• Hold everyone accountable. If someone is out of alignment, deal with it quickly and decisively.
10-80-10 principle:
• Top 10 percenters: nucleus of team, give all they’ve got, all of the time, essence of self-discipline,
self-respect and the relentless pursuit of improvement – the elite.
• 80 percenters: the majority, go to work, do a good job, relatively reliable. Trustworthy and dutiful, but don’t have the drive and unbending will of top 10 percent.
• Bottom 10 percenters: uninterested or defiant, coasting through life, not caring about reaching potential or honoring gifts they’ve been given. Coach killers.
Leadership challenge: Move as many of the 80 percenters as possible into the top 10.
Spend most of your time as a leader on 80 percenters. Top 10 percenters motivate themselves and the bottom ten percenters are not worth wasting energy on.
Four approaches to moving 80 percenters into top 10:
1. Mastery and Belief
a. Players need to believe it will be worth it to join the elites
b. Position coaches have pictures of NFL players they have coached on walls as
reminders/motivation
c. Message: “This could be you. All you need to do is work, train and live Above the
Line. Be as fully committed to getting better as the guys whose pictures you are
looking at.”
2. Harness the Power
a. Most people will keep the company of like-minded people (i.e. 10 percenters with
10 percenters, 80 percenters with 80 percenters…)
b. Pair top 10 percenters with 80 percenters as often as possible in workouts, drills,
meetings
c. Harness the power of the elites in your program
d. John Simon came in and lifted at 6 AM by himself every day. Urban told him he
couldn’t do that any more unless he brought someone with him.
e. Top 10 percenters not allowed in the weight room unless they bring an 80 percenter with them
3. Building Ownership
a. Player or employee gives maximum effort when he feels an ownership stake in what’s going on
b. Give 80 percenters more ownership (include on ring design committee, decisions about jersey styles, training table menus, etc.)
c. The more people that share ownership, the more that will be loyal and committed
4. Positive Peer Pressure
a. Everybody is pushing each other to get better.
b. If you are going through the motions, staying in the same place, there’s a good chance somebody is going to move right past you.
Quotes
“Run toward problems. If you ignore them, they only get worse.”
“Your team, business, or organization will perform to the level of leadership you provide.”
“We teach our players to replace low-performance self-talk with high-performance self-talk. We tell our players, ‘The voice in your mind is a powerful force. Take ownership of that force.’
“Under pressure, we do not rise to the occasion. We rise or fall to the level of our training. When contact is made, it is too late to train and build skill. We must prepare and develop our R Factor capacity before we experience challenging situations.”
“You reach a new level—an elite level—by continually pushing yourself through specifically designed repetitions, and doing it with uncommon dedication.”
“Your culture message must be exceptionally clear: no confusion, no uncertainty, no excuses. Explain to your team that this is what we believe and how we behave in all circumstances. It is who we are.”
“Every organization has a culture either by design or by default.”
“You don’t get the culture you want; you get the culture you build.”
“If you attack behavior without building the culture, the behavior may change temporarily, but it will eventually (probably quickly) revert.”
“Make your cultural standards clear, hold people accountable to those standards, and the results will follow.”
“A great culture can make even a mediocre strategy successful, but a weak culture will undermine even the best strategy.”
“We grade our players on every measure of performance possible at Ohio State. We grade their performances in games, practices, weight room, conditioning, nutrition, rehab, and especially, in the classroom and tutor sessions. Each Thursday, every player gets a score on a scale of 1 to 10 to determine his accountability in each area.”
“Either you worked harder than your opponents or you got outworked. The challenge is to build a culture—a competitive environment—where everyone gives relentless effort every day. A culture everyone wants but few get.”
“I’ve never been in a football game where the team that played the hardest didn’t win.”
“Here’s the not-so-hidden secret for achieving success: clarify what you really want, then work as hard as you can for as long as it takes. Toughness can achieve things that talent by itself can never accomplish.”
“First you win the battle in your mind. Next, you win the battle in practice. Then (and only then) you win the battle in the game.”
July 9, 2018
My notes:
-prioritize family and loved ones
-you always need the culture kids & make sure their importance is known and felt
-intentional on purpose and skillful
-blame complain defend = not about it
-it’s how you respond to unexpected / setbacks
* E+R=O
* Physical and mental situations to challenge them to respond ABOVE the line
* R1: press pause- ask what does this require of me (challenge athletes to do this when they fail to respond well)
* R2: get your mind right-focus and think so you perform BEST - talk positively/productive mindset (have a time every day that we stop and ask how we are thinking?)
* R3: step up- big E & O requires big R - build your capacity for R (don’t run from pain, learn from it)
* R4: adjust and adapt- foolish to resist change, break habits that will break you— where would they lead you if you continued
* R5: make a difference- your R is an E for others, the quality of your relationships is based on what you give and how you respond and how much effort you give— make the others around you better
* R6: build skill— talent is a gift, greatness is a CHOICE, elite level is achieved by those who desire to grow beyond their talent, be uncomfortable—if it doesn’t challenge you it won’t change you
-enjoy the moment —don’t be so quick to move on to what’s next
-change or die -other book to read
-we are not measured by one your intentions but by our actions
-how we spoke— was about building a culture that trained at the elite level
-commitment to team and core beliefs are seen =culture by design (trust) (attitude and effort)
-quality of the leaders is the difference maker
-performance must be led not expected
-the right behavior must be reinforced
-clarity of culture =blueprint (what be believe, how we behave, what we expect to achieve)
* Relentless
* Toughness
* Game reps and mental reps
* Power of the unit
* Competitive excellence
-what behaviors do we need- what beliefs align with those
-adherence is a requirement- keep people accountable
-if you permit it you promote it
-guard culture making by not speaking too much about winning
- How do we practice? All in
- How do we play? All in
- How do we train? All in
- How do we rest? All in
-embrace the grind. Being elite is toughness. Mostly mental toughness
-mixing up sets and reps and partners
-what is the process/pathway to achieve every goal
-how you compete in practice will be how you compete in games
-you never know when your opportunity will come it’s your job to be prepared for when it does
MOTIVATION
* Small unit cohesion
* Love for teammates and coaches
* Trust - belief in the reliability of a person
* You can only push to the level of trust
* Strength of team is determined by that of the bonds between people
* Character-ethical trust
* Competence- technical trust
* Connection-personal trust
* People experience your behavior not your intentions
* Trust principles & why it’s important- outings to develop it (small groups?)
* Time is the developer of love and trust
* Need to affirm the good too
ALIGNED
- Hire there right people and recruit the right players
- Communicate purpose and hold people to that
- Disloyalty =gone
- Operational details very important to smooth sailing
- Get the 80% to the top 10%, don’t waste time on the bottom 10%
- Remind them it’s worth the effort to become top 10% (mastery & belief)
- Spread out the 10% to be with the 80%
- Give the 80% more ownership
- Knowing what each person needs
- Little victories
- Giving people the confidence to take risks
- Capacity for change- who knows 2-3 times? Do they want it? Truly? Then put in the effort to give those opportunities
- Positive peer pressure
* You have to be prepared in advanced- you don’t wait for the opportunity to explain your belief to consider it.
* Take time to think and reflect— esp during the grind
* Encourage new ideas, think about common things in an uncommon ways
* Belief- relentless and resilience “I will”
* You’re only as strong as the obstacles you’ve overcome
* You rise or fall to the level of your training —mental and physical
* Nothing more powerful than a team that believes together
-prioritize family and loved ones
-you always need the culture kids & make sure their importance is known and felt
-intentional on purpose and skillful
-blame complain defend = not about it
-it’s how you respond to unexpected / setbacks
* E+R=O
* Physical and mental situations to challenge them to respond ABOVE the line
* R1: press pause- ask what does this require of me (challenge athletes to do this when they fail to respond well)
* R2: get your mind right-focus and think so you perform BEST - talk positively/productive mindset (have a time every day that we stop and ask how we are thinking?)
* R3: step up- big E & O requires big R - build your capacity for R (don’t run from pain, learn from it)
* R4: adjust and adapt- foolish to resist change, break habits that will break you— where would they lead you if you continued
* R5: make a difference- your R is an E for others, the quality of your relationships is based on what you give and how you respond and how much effort you give— make the others around you better
* R6: build skill— talent is a gift, greatness is a CHOICE, elite level is achieved by those who desire to grow beyond their talent, be uncomfortable—if it doesn’t challenge you it won’t change you
-enjoy the moment —don’t be so quick to move on to what’s next
-change or die -other book to read
-we are not measured by one your intentions but by our actions
-how we spoke— was about building a culture that trained at the elite level
-commitment to team and core beliefs are seen =culture by design (trust) (attitude and effort)
-quality of the leaders is the difference maker
-performance must be led not expected
-the right behavior must be reinforced
-clarity of culture =blueprint (what be believe, how we behave, what we expect to achieve)
* Relentless
* Toughness
* Game reps and mental reps
* Power of the unit
* Competitive excellence
-what behaviors do we need- what beliefs align with those
-adherence is a requirement- keep people accountable
-if you permit it you promote it
-guard culture making by not speaking too much about winning
- How do we practice? All in
- How do we play? All in
- How do we train? All in
- How do we rest? All in
-embrace the grind. Being elite is toughness. Mostly mental toughness
-mixing up sets and reps and partners
-what is the process/pathway to achieve every goal
-how you compete in practice will be how you compete in games
-you never know when your opportunity will come it’s your job to be prepared for when it does
MOTIVATION
* Small unit cohesion
* Love for teammates and coaches
* Trust - belief in the reliability of a person
* You can only push to the level of trust
* Strength of team is determined by that of the bonds between people
* Character-ethical trust
* Competence- technical trust
* Connection-personal trust
* People experience your behavior not your intentions
* Trust principles & why it’s important- outings to develop it (small groups?)
* Time is the developer of love and trust
* Need to affirm the good too
ALIGNED
- Hire there right people and recruit the right players
- Communicate purpose and hold people to that
- Disloyalty =gone
- Operational details very important to smooth sailing
- Get the 80% to the top 10%, don’t waste time on the bottom 10%
- Remind them it’s worth the effort to become top 10% (mastery & belief)
- Spread out the 10% to be with the 80%
- Give the 80% more ownership
- Knowing what each person needs
- Little victories
- Giving people the confidence to take risks
- Capacity for change- who knows 2-3 times? Do they want it? Truly? Then put in the effort to give those opportunities
- Positive peer pressure
* You have to be prepared in advanced- you don’t wait for the opportunity to explain your belief to consider it.
* Take time to think and reflect— esp during the grind
* Encourage new ideas, think about common things in an uncommon ways
* Belief- relentless and resilience “I will”
* You’re only as strong as the obstacles you’ve overcome
* You rise or fall to the level of your training —mental and physical
* Nothing more powerful than a team that believes together
May 2, 2024
A FANTASTIC, hard-hitting book packed with wisdom.
Urban Meyer is one of the most successful NCAA football coaches in history. He’s one of only two coaches to win a National Championship with two different teams: the University of Florida and Ohio State University.
I got this book after Brian Cain referenced it multiple times in his great little fable, The 10 Pillars of Mental Performance Mastery.
It’s kind of like a mash-up of elite football coach Pete Carroll’s Win Forever and elite CrossFit coach Ben Bergeron’s Chasing Excellence in that, like Bergeron, he shares his leadership lessons in the context of a single season but only, like, Carroll, he does it on the football field.
NOTE: After reading the book, I learned that Coach Meyer has gone through some personal challenges in which he failed to practice his philosophy of living Above the Line. To which I say: PERFECT. There are no perfect humans. You and I and Coach Meyer won’t be the first to fall short of our standards. Hope you enjoy the great wisdom here as we all humbly yet Heroically strive to do our best and learn from our inevitable shortcomings!
The book is PACKED (!) with Big Ideas. Some of my favorites are:
1. Above the Line - vs. Below the Line.
2. Got BCD? - Stop blaming, complaining, and defending.
3. The R Factor - E + R = O.
4. Relentless Effort - For the gritty win.
5. The Power of Belief - I will. You?
Lastly… I’ve added Above the Line by Urban Meyer Goodreads Review to my collection of Philosopher’s Notes--distilling the Big Ideas into 6-page PDF and 20-minute MP3s on 600+ of the BEST self-development books ever. You can get access to all of those plus a TON more over at https://heroic.us.
“To me, the essence of life and leadership is change and growth. It is about pushing yourself to improve every day in whatever you do. I truly believe in the maxim that if you are not getting better, then you are getting worse. Do you know how many people wake up in the morning and say, Today, I am committed to being mediocre? I don’t. I believe most people want to give the best they have but don’t have the necessary tools and mindset to get there. That’s where leadership comes in. I go back to the way companies like Apple and Nike operate, and their willingness to continually push the envelope. It’s exactly what we want our players at Ohio State to do. We push our players every day. We train, coach, and perform at the highest possible level. And that level is not for everyone. I often refer to our players as elite warriors, not because they are going to war and certainly not because what we are doing is anything remotely as serious as war, but because they are trained in an incredibly rigorous way and are constantly engaged in physical, mental, and spiritual combat.
Many of our players and coaches have experienced profound changes in their lives, on and off the field, by embracing the ideas you are about to read. I would encourage you to see whether these ideas can have the same result for you.
If you are responsible for leading people, your challenge is to bring them along with you, help them live and work and play with passion and achieve things they never thought possible. In the pages that follow I lay out the leadership template that made the journey of our 2014 championship season so rewarding. I hope you find it helpful.”
~ Urban Meyer from Above the Line
Urban Meyer is one of the most successful NCAA football coaches in history. He’s one of only two coaches to win a National Championship with two different teams: the University of Florida and Ohio State University.
I got this book after Brian Cain referenced it multiple times in his great little fable, The 10 Pillars of Mental Performance Mastery.
It’s kind of like a mash-up of elite football coach Pete Carroll’s Win Forever and elite CrossFit coach Ben Bergeron’s Chasing Excellence in that, like Bergeron, he shares his leadership lessons in the context of a single season but only, like, Carroll, he does it on the football field.
NOTE: After reading the book, I learned that Coach Meyer has gone through some personal challenges in which he failed to practice his philosophy of living Above the Line. To which I say: PERFECT. There are no perfect humans. You and I and Coach Meyer won’t be the first to fall short of our standards. Hope you enjoy the great wisdom here as we all humbly yet Heroically strive to do our best and learn from our inevitable shortcomings!
The book is PACKED (!) with Big Ideas. Some of my favorites are:
1. Above the Line - vs. Below the Line.
2. Got BCD? - Stop blaming, complaining, and defending.
3. The R Factor - E + R = O.
4. Relentless Effort - For the gritty win.
5. The Power of Belief - I will. You?
Lastly… I’ve added Above the Line by Urban Meyer Goodreads Review to my collection of Philosopher’s Notes--distilling the Big Ideas into 6-page PDF and 20-minute MP3s on 600+ of the BEST self-development books ever. You can get access to all of those plus a TON more over at https://heroic.us.
February 5, 2017
Inspiring. This book really got me motivated to work harder and become a better person. In this book Urban Meyer talks about how much relentless effort pays off and how relentless effort can make up for lack of talent but talent can’t make up for a poor effort. This inspires me because I know it makes me realize I can succeed at things that I’m not necessarily good at if I give relentless effort.
Above the Line made me really emotional because it was about Ohio State Football which is one of my favorite things on Earth. It told the story of the 2014 National Championship season and how many hardships the team overcame. It made me remember all the joy and happiness I felt after Ohio State won the National Championship. It got me really excited and energized like when you hear your favorite song come on. Above the Line was a hard book to put down because it was written by one of my favorite people, Urban Meyer. I believe just about anything Urban Meyer says and I really look to him as a person and coach. He talked a lot about Ohio State football which is one of my favorite things. He also gave some great advice not only about football but life in general. He said leadership is one of the key components to success and if you have a great leader success is almost guaranteed. I also enjoyed the writing style of Above the Line because Urban talked about a lot of concepts that helped the 2014 Ohio State football team become so successful. He also talked about concepts that the most successful people in the world use. I liked this style of writing because it connected football and life together in a way I never thought of as possible. He talked about how the things he talked about in his book connected to the Ohio State football team. Such as how the team wouldn’t have been successful without a leader like J.T. Barrett. As well as how J.T. Barrett was such a good leader off the field when he was injured. After Meyer talked about his lessons he gave a summary of the 2014 season. He briefly summarized the key games of the 2014 season that were crucial to Ohio State winning the National Championship.
I think anyone who likes Ohio State football or Urban Meyer would really enjoy reading Above the Line. This is because Urban gives some amazing lessons that I think people that like Urban Meyer would really enjoy reading about. People that like Ohio State football would like Above the Line because it talks a lot about the 2014 National Championship season and how exciting it was to win.
Anyone who doesn’t like Ohio State Football (Michigan fans) should not read this book. People who don’t like Ohio State football shouldn’t read this book because when Urban isn’t talking about his beliefs he is talking about Ohio State football. Also anyone who dislikes Urban Meyer shouldn’t read Above the Line because the entire book is about Urban’s philosophies.
Above the Line made me really emotional because it was about Ohio State Football which is one of my favorite things on Earth. It told the story of the 2014 National Championship season and how many hardships the team overcame. It made me remember all the joy and happiness I felt after Ohio State won the National Championship. It got me really excited and energized like when you hear your favorite song come on. Above the Line was a hard book to put down because it was written by one of my favorite people, Urban Meyer. I believe just about anything Urban Meyer says and I really look to him as a person and coach. He talked a lot about Ohio State football which is one of my favorite things. He also gave some great advice not only about football but life in general. He said leadership is one of the key components to success and if you have a great leader success is almost guaranteed. I also enjoyed the writing style of Above the Line because Urban talked about a lot of concepts that helped the 2014 Ohio State football team become so successful. He also talked about concepts that the most successful people in the world use. I liked this style of writing because it connected football and life together in a way I never thought of as possible. He talked about how the things he talked about in his book connected to the Ohio State football team. Such as how the team wouldn’t have been successful without a leader like J.T. Barrett. As well as how J.T. Barrett was such a good leader off the field when he was injured. After Meyer talked about his lessons he gave a summary of the 2014 season. He briefly summarized the key games of the 2014 season that were crucial to Ohio State winning the National Championship.
I think anyone who likes Ohio State football or Urban Meyer would really enjoy reading Above the Line. This is because Urban gives some amazing lessons that I think people that like Urban Meyer would really enjoy reading about. People that like Ohio State football would like Above the Line because it talks a lot about the 2014 National Championship season and how exciting it was to win.
Anyone who doesn’t like Ohio State Football (Michigan fans) should not read this book. People who don’t like Ohio State football shouldn’t read this book because when Urban isn’t talking about his beliefs he is talking about Ohio State football. Also anyone who dislikes Urban Meyer shouldn’t read Above the Line because the entire book is about Urban’s philosophies.
March 25, 2022
Griffin Huffman
Miss Uhrich
1132: Period 2
24 March 2022
ABOVE THE LINE
The book Above The Line by Urban Meyer with Wayne Coffey is a very good read and is a novel about Lessons in leadership and life from a championship season. It talks all about the 2014 season when Ohio State University defeated Oregon in the National championship and takes you through the mindset throughout the whole season. The book starts off very surprising, even with all the successful things they did during this year and all the amazing players they had. Urban decided to single out one guy on the football team, not the biggest contributor or the strongest guy and most of his field time if any was seen during warmups. Nik Sarac is the young man Urban pointed out, a walk- on with a very big heart. So big that Urban offered Nik a full scholarship and Nik told them that it's ok and his family can pay for everything and that they should give it to someone who really needs it. “Save it for someone who really needs it,” Nik said. (Meyer Pg. 6) Wow, that's just unbelievable how unselfish he is.
Urban always reiterates his plan on how to teach leadership and how to help people believe what he is teaching. Possibly one of my new favorite quotes actually comes from this book, “Average leaders have quotes. Good leaders have a plan. Exceptional leaders have a system.”(Meyer Pg. 9) Everything that he teaches his players is for a reason and the best thing is, he can explain exactly the purpose of what they're doing. Urban always talks about how he wishes he could have been there more for his daughter's games for whatever she was playing. But good/exceptional leaders own up to it if they are ever doing something wrong, they don't just shrug it off and move on. They stop, think for a second and revaluate the situation or the problem so that they don't keep making the same mistakes over and over again. Another one of Meyer’s biggest things is family, he talks about how it is everything, not just your personal family but if you want to have a successful football program you need to create that family not just within the players but in the coaching staff. He is always giving other coaches credit for what they have done for him and how they have helped create that family environment. Inconclusion , I strongly recommend Above The Line by Urban Meyer with Wayne Coffey to anyone who has an interest in not only football but sports in general. This book helps you become an even better leader for anything you're doing. You also don't need to like sports to connect with this book, it could help anyone that is working or just trying to become a better person. You can truly benefit from this book and become the leader that you would want to be.
Miss Uhrich
1132: Period 2
24 March 2022
ABOVE THE LINE
The book Above The Line by Urban Meyer with Wayne Coffey is a very good read and is a novel about Lessons in leadership and life from a championship season. It talks all about the 2014 season when Ohio State University defeated Oregon in the National championship and takes you through the mindset throughout the whole season. The book starts off very surprising, even with all the successful things they did during this year and all the amazing players they had. Urban decided to single out one guy on the football team, not the biggest contributor or the strongest guy and most of his field time if any was seen during warmups. Nik Sarac is the young man Urban pointed out, a walk- on with a very big heart. So big that Urban offered Nik a full scholarship and Nik told them that it's ok and his family can pay for everything and that they should give it to someone who really needs it. “Save it for someone who really needs it,” Nik said. (Meyer Pg. 6) Wow, that's just unbelievable how unselfish he is.
Urban always reiterates his plan on how to teach leadership and how to help people believe what he is teaching. Possibly one of my new favorite quotes actually comes from this book, “Average leaders have quotes. Good leaders have a plan. Exceptional leaders have a system.”(Meyer Pg. 9) Everything that he teaches his players is for a reason and the best thing is, he can explain exactly the purpose of what they're doing. Urban always talks about how he wishes he could have been there more for his daughter's games for whatever she was playing. But good/exceptional leaders own up to it if they are ever doing something wrong, they don't just shrug it off and move on. They stop, think for a second and revaluate the situation or the problem so that they don't keep making the same mistakes over and over again. Another one of Meyer’s biggest things is family, he talks about how it is everything, not just your personal family but if you want to have a successful football program you need to create that family not just within the players but in the coaching staff. He is always giving other coaches credit for what they have done for him and how they have helped create that family environment. Inconclusion , I strongly recommend Above The Line by Urban Meyer with Wayne Coffey to anyone who has an interest in not only football but sports in general. This book helps you become an even better leader for anything you're doing. You also don't need to like sports to connect with this book, it could help anyone that is working or just trying to become a better person. You can truly benefit from this book and become the leader that you would want to be.
December 29, 2020
It's no secret that I am a massive OSU fan. On top of that, naturally, I am a huge fan of Coach Urban Meyer. Following the team closely my entire life, I have come to understand that Urban is not only a football mastermind and an inventive football strategist, but he is even more so a gifted leader of young men. He implements real-life training and decision-making into his program and focuses on things outside of football, with the reality being that even at top-tier program like Ohio State, the majority of players never end up playing on Sundays. All that being said, my favorite parts of this book were the anecdotes about the 2014 season. Hearing stories and getting the inside scoop on some of my favorite Buckeye legends was quite entertaining. I have always wondered what goes on in the locker room and in the practice facility, and it was fun for me to get a peek into the life of a college football player at The Ohio State University (my childhood dream). In a way, I had the chance to live out my lifelong football dreams by reading this book and becoming part of a championship program in my own small way (Being 5'6 never helped my football aspirations).
As far as the leadership aspect of the book, I agree with everything that Coach Meyer has to offer in this book. I would only point out that Coach Meyer is not offering anything new or groundbreaking. However, I say that as no fault of Coach Meyer's, but simply because fundamentals for success do not change. This is a reason why I have little interest in leadership books, because I believe that the core tenants of leadership and success are common sense and have more to do with getting up and doing them than reading books about getting up and doing them. There are no substitutes for hard work, consistency and trust. Despite my distaste for these types of books and "self-help" books in general, I thoroughly enjoyed this book simply because of the way it ties in something I am passionate about, Ohio State Football. In short, rather than offering new perspectives on success, Urban drives home the point that "effective leaders look at common things in uncommon ways." In other words, although there is nothing "fresh" or innovative in Urban's philosophy of success, he does an effective job of emphasizing the importance of these well-known values in this book. Building a culture and setting the example for behavior within that culture perpetuates a successful program.
As far as the leadership aspect of the book, I agree with everything that Coach Meyer has to offer in this book. I would only point out that Coach Meyer is not offering anything new or groundbreaking. However, I say that as no fault of Coach Meyer's, but simply because fundamentals for success do not change. This is a reason why I have little interest in leadership books, because I believe that the core tenants of leadership and success are common sense and have more to do with getting up and doing them than reading books about getting up and doing them. There are no substitutes for hard work, consistency and trust. Despite my distaste for these types of books and "self-help" books in general, I thoroughly enjoyed this book simply because of the way it ties in something I am passionate about, Ohio State Football. In short, rather than offering new perspectives on success, Urban drives home the point that "effective leaders look at common things in uncommon ways." In other words, although there is nothing "fresh" or innovative in Urban's philosophy of success, he does an effective job of emphasizing the importance of these well-known values in this book. Building a culture and setting the example for behavior within that culture perpetuates a successful program.
October 15, 2018
“Giving up on somebody takes nothing. Helping them change takes a tremendous amount of time, energy, discipline, and love. In the end, it's worth it.”
Genre: Sports Non-fiction.
Number of Pages: 272.
Perspective: First.
Location: Columbus, Ohio.
This is a sports memoir and leadership seminar combo by The Ohio State Buckeyes head coach, Urban Meyer.
Oh, Urban, I love you and the Buckeyes, but this book was not good. My husband and I listened to the audiobook together on our last road trip (Disclaimer: I hate audiobooks, and it’s even worse when the author is not the narrator). My husband enjoyed the book because of all the behind-the-scenes Buckeye football info. He also played football in high school, so he could relate to the fraternity mindset of football. But he admitted that most info was already public knowledge, especially the recap of the National Championship season.
For me--the casual football fan and proud Buckeye--this was redundant and boring. I close to starting a word frequency search for how many times he used the phrase “above the line.” Each chapter had a keyword and he repeated that keyword hundreds of times. It got to the point where I laughed and groaned at each repetitive use. The leadership strategies were vague and did not give clear ways to implement them outside of football.
To read the rest of my review, go here: http://judgingmorethanjustthecover.bl...
Genre: Sports Non-fiction.
Number of Pages: 272.
Perspective: First.
Location: Columbus, Ohio.
This is a sports memoir and leadership seminar combo by The Ohio State Buckeyes head coach, Urban Meyer.
Oh, Urban, I love you and the Buckeyes, but this book was not good. My husband and I listened to the audiobook together on our last road trip (Disclaimer: I hate audiobooks, and it’s even worse when the author is not the narrator). My husband enjoyed the book because of all the behind-the-scenes Buckeye football info. He also played football in high school, so he could relate to the fraternity mindset of football. But he admitted that most info was already public knowledge, especially the recap of the National Championship season.
For me--the casual football fan and proud Buckeye--this was redundant and boring. I close to starting a word frequency search for how many times he used the phrase “above the line.” Each chapter had a keyword and he repeated that keyword hundreds of times. It got to the point where I laughed and groaned at each repetitive use. The leadership strategies were vague and did not give clear ways to implement them outside of football.
To read the rest of my review, go here: http://judgingmorethanjustthecover.bl...
May 15, 2017
Finished
*Spoilers*
The book is about the 2014 Ohio State Buckeye team, and what it took them to win the National Championship. A team that could have just been an average team, worked harder than the others and was more dedicated and because of that they took out the two top ranked teams in the league and won the National Championship. The main character of the book is the head coach of the team, Urban Meyer. The main conflict in the story is probably Man vs Self because the players have to not give in or not give up and just become an average team, they have to work harder and be more dedicated than all other team. They have to come into a game not only physically prepared but also mentally.
What I liked about this story is the fact that it teaches that nothing great is achieved easily, you have to work hard in order to be great. I did enjoy the writing style because it was like how a coach would normally talk. The story was realistic and all the events happened. I like this story because it taught great morals and I feel like it made me a better leader. What I didn't like about the story was that I felt like some details didn't have to be included.
I would recommend this story to an athlete who is looking to improve on his/her work ethnic or someone who needs inspiration or wants to become a better leader.
*Spoilers*
The book is about the 2014 Ohio State Buckeye team, and what it took them to win the National Championship. A team that could have just been an average team, worked harder than the others and was more dedicated and because of that they took out the two top ranked teams in the league and won the National Championship. The main character of the book is the head coach of the team, Urban Meyer. The main conflict in the story is probably Man vs Self because the players have to not give in or not give up and just become an average team, they have to work harder and be more dedicated than all other team. They have to come into a game not only physically prepared but also mentally.
What I liked about this story is the fact that it teaches that nothing great is achieved easily, you have to work hard in order to be great. I did enjoy the writing style because it was like how a coach would normally talk. The story was realistic and all the events happened. I like this story because it taught great morals and I feel like it made me a better leader. What I didn't like about the story was that I felt like some details didn't have to be included.
I would recommend this story to an athlete who is looking to improve on his/her work ethnic or someone who needs inspiration or wants to become a better leader.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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