True Grit, the Pete Carroll Way

Since taking over as the Seahawks leader, Carroll has led Seattle to eight double-digit winning seasons, including capturing the first-ever franchise Super Bowl Championship in 2013. For Carroll, a major force in his success has been player development and having an eye for finding moldable talent through heart.

Over the course of time, Carroll has found sources of inspiration for his speeches to his players. One person that he’s leaned on for inspiration is award-winning psychologist Angela Duckworth.

“I was at my desk doing some work in the spring time (in 2013) and the TV was on in the background and it was a Ted Talk and it was this doctor talking about this concept she had for grit,” said Carroll. “She was talking about passion, perseverance, resilience and finisher and all of the elements that make up somebody who has grit. She was saying grit was the best person to measure a person’s potential for success.”

Carroll and Duckworth have spent plenty of time together over the years, with Duckworth’s written works describing the need for girt to succeed becoming a driving force for both Carroll and the Seahawks locker room.

In July, Duckworth paid a visit to Seahawks training camp to hone how important grit and resilience is – from starters to roster hopefuls.

“So here’s the new idea of goal-fusion that’s just coming out,” said Duckworth. “It looks like world-class performers who are truly the best at what they do, when they are doing practice drills, especially when they’re doing something hard and boring, they fuse the goals together. So when you ask them ‘What are you doing’, they don’t say ‘I’m doing a drill.’ They don’t say ‘I’m doing what coach told me.’ They don’t say ‘I’m practicing.’ They will say while they’re practicing, ‘What are you doing’, ‘I’m winning the Super Bowl’, ‘What are you doing’, ‘I’m being my best-self.’ And it makes all the difference.”

It’s easy for a coach in power to just talk the talk, but Carroll walks the walk in preparation. A long time removed from his playing days at the University of Pacific, Carroll is still youthful both mentally and physically. Episode 5 shows just how much that hasn’t changed over the years, from being stern on drawing the best out of his players – to keeping in shape and getting the best out of himself.

Whether it’s running his customary 100-yard down-and-back sprints on the field before practice, to using metaphors and expletives to draw…