Ask most people how they define excellence in athletics, and you’ll likely hear one word: winning.

And yes—winning matters. It reflects preparation, execution, and competitive success. But in school-based athletics, winning is just one metric. It’s not the only one. And it’s rarely the most important.

As athletic directors, we must champion a broader, deeper definition of excellence—one that aligns with our school’s mission and supports the long-term growth of our student-athletes.

Legendary basketball coach John Wooden put it best: “Success is peace of mind, which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming.”

In other words, success isn’t synonymous with winning; it’s about committing to a process—not chasing a single outcome.

Research supports Wooden’s wisdom. A 2022 meta-analysis on goal setting and performance found that process goals—the ones focused on how you approach the work—had the strongest positive impact on performance. Performance goals produced a moderate effect, while outcome goals showed little to no measurable benefit.

The study also showed that self-referenced goals (process, performance, mastery) are consistently more beneficial than comparison-based goals (e.g., beating another team or player).

If we define excellence as maximizing performance in a sustainable and ethical manner, then we should guide our coaches, staff, and student athletes to focus on doing what matters most and to do it with care and consistency.

With that in mind, I encourage you to define athletic excellence using the following pillars:

Mission Adherence

Are our teams truly reflecting the values our school stands for? Are our coaches consistently modeling and reinforcing character, respect, and integrity—not just teaching strategy and skills? Answering these questions requires absolute clarity on your program’s core values and a deliberate system for evaluating how well those values are being lived out by your coaching staff.

Growth Over the Season

Did our athletes grow—not just in skill, but in mindset, teamwork, and resilience? Did our coaches develop as leaders? The appeal of defining excellence by wins is that it is easy to quantify. But the most meaningful forms of growth are intangible and harder to measure. That is why Athletic Directors and coaches must be both intentional and creative in tracking what isn’t on the scoreboard.

Lifetime Impact

In the U.S., about 8 million students participate in high school sports. Yet, only about 6% of high school athletes go on to compete in college. This means that for every 100 student-athletes you work with, roughly 94 will not continue their athletic careers after high school. And even for those who do compete in college—or go on to play semi-professionally or professionally—their athletic careers are typically short-lived.

This reality underscores a critical point: all athletes need to be prepared for life beyond the game. Our focus, then, should be on using sports as a vehicle to develop future employees, friends, spouses, parents, mentors, etc. Are we helping our athletes build habits of discipline, resilience, and accountability that will serve them long after the final whistle, or are we overly focused on the short-term skills that may produce a winning season?

Integrity

Athletic Directors are busy and regularly face high-pressure situations. Amid those demands, it can be tempting to cut corners, become short-tempered with others, or retreat into our offices just to manage the stress. But modeling excellence for our coaches and student athletes means upholding values and standards even when it’s inconvenient or uncomfortable. As the visible leaders of our programs, we must continually ask ourselves: Are we compliant, communicative, and consistent? Are we treating officials with respect, managing logistics carefully, and leading with integrity and transparency? Excellence often requires choosing the harder path.

Giving Our Best—Every Day

On April 16, 2018, Des Linden became the first American woman to win the Boston Marathon in 33 years. She was no stranger to the course, having completed the race five times before, missing victory by just two seconds in 2011. Over the span of 11 years, she had run 15 marathons without ever crossing the finish line first. When asked for advice on what to do for aspiring runners, Linden offered a simple yet powerful mantra: “Keep showing up.”

Those three words capture a profound truth. Excellence isn’t about instant results; it’s about consistently putting in the work, day after day, regardless of the circumstances. Linden laced up her shoes through countless setbacks and near misses before finally having her breakthrough moment. One of the most valuable lessons we can teach student athletes is that relentless consistency leads to meaningful results. For example, you may not see the impact of your parenting when your child is a toddler, or earn a promotion in your first few years on the job, but if you continue to show up and give your best regardless of how you feel, progress will come, and you will eventually see the fruits of your labor.

In conclusion, winning is a byproduct. A good one. But it’s not the whole story.

Athletic Directors have the opportunity—and responsibility—to redefine excellence for their communities. To remind stakeholders that how we win matters just as much as if we win. And that sometimes, the most meaningful victories aren’t posted on a scoreboard—they’re etched into a student’s character.