Central Valley High School, Spokane WA

Attitude is Everything

The Situation

High School by nature can be extremely competitive and stressful.   When you add peer pressure, parental expectation and one’s own desire to succeed, high school can be overwhelming.  Now, add sports.  Let’s say individual high school sports like tennis, golf and wrestling at the highest level – the situation can be nerve- racking and mentally draining.

Professional golfer Johnny Miller is known for saying “Golf is 90% inspiration and 10% perspiration”, but the quote that Central Valley Teacher and Varsity High School Coach Steve Rasmussen prefers came from Bobby Jones: “Golf is a game that is played on a 5 inch course – the distance between your ears.”

So who is Coach Rasmussen?

During the school hours Coach Rasmussen works with the students that everyone else has given up on.  The students who have given up on themselves and don’t want to be in school.  Students with autism, ADD, ADHD, apathy and anger; he gets them all, every school day.

When the school day is over for these students he heads to the golf course.  Not to relax, but to teach.  To teach the game of golf, both mentally and physically to another group of students at the other end of the spectrum, who in some cases suffer from the same illness the kids in his classroom suffer from:  Negativity.

The Opportunity

You see Coach Rasmussen, believes Negativity is a contagious, debilitating virus that attacks the mind and soul.  And, he believes that people everywhere are losing hope as negativity dominates the news and negative attitudes have paved the way for fear and anxiety. Negativity runs rampant throughout society without any real organized opposition – until now!

In 2009, Coach Rasmussen requested that the Central Valley Varsity High School be allowed to adopt Always Positive as the golf team motto.  The reasons were two- fold.  With golf being a game of mental toughness, the ability to maintain a positive attitude during the course of play, be it at practice or tournament play, is paramount.  Aside from good sportsmanship, the goal of being Always Positive would help each and every team member live up to their potential as a golfer, because attitude is such a major factor in individual and team performance.  Coach Rasmussen believed the better the attitude, the better the focus on having a better attitude, the better the score.

Coach Rasmussen’s second goal of adopting Always Positive as the team’s motto was to not only play positive, but to showcase the courage, character and commitment of the Always Positive athlete both on and off the course.  So before the season started, every member of the golf team received wind shirts, polos and golf hats with the Central Valley High School Golf logo and the Always Positive logo in the school’s colors.

The Results

The impact that the Always Positive message had beyond the golf season far outweighs shaving a few strokes off the scorecard.  It helped transform the lives of impressionable young men and helped them maintain a positive drive beyond the game — into their lives.  The things learned by Coach Rasmussen on the course were implemented into his classroom curriculum and vice versa.  The Central Valley High School Golf Team was motivated to play hard and finished well as their team unity improved and the individual character of each athlete became a personal decision.

When asked to participate in this case study, Coach Rasmussen drove home one more quote – the one we all like best “In golf as in life, it is the follow through that makes the difference”.

Coach Rasmussen was awarded the Always Positive Ambassador for June, not because he took the Always Positive pledge, but because he lives the Always Positive pledge.

I believe in the power of a positive attitude and possess the courage to cause positive change. I will exhibit humility when I triumph and strong character if I fail. I will begin every day with a sense of gratitude for my gifts and the desire to use them to their fullest. I will end every day with the satisfaction that I gave it my all. When I fall short, I will respond with integrity and determination to improve. I will strive to inspire others to adopt a positive attitude as I commit my talents and influence to have a positive impact on the world I touch.

I am Coach Steve Rasmussen and I am Always Positive!