University of Tennessee Athletics
Energy Bus Drives the Vols
September 11, 2014 | Football
By Brian Rice
UTSports.com
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- An offseason reading project turned into a life and habit-shaping event for members of the Tennessee football team.
The Tennessee football family read Jon Gordon's The Energy Bus, a motivational book that uses the story of a disgruntled businessman to present 10 rules to guide the ride of your life.
The focus of the message is looking at attitudes and thinking of situations and interactions in a positive light, rather than the negative that can dominate a person's psyche.
"I think it puts everything into perspective about the energy and the positive mindset, the positive attitude that you have to have each and every day," head coach Butch Jones said. "Being very gracious for what you have and putting everything into perspective, everything is how you look at things, how you interpret things and being the driver of your own bus. You're responsible for the vision that you create for yourself and the positive, upbeat energy that's required on a day-to-day basis to be successful."
As part of the program, Tennessee players picked individual words to define them for this season and beyond. Jalen Reeves-Maybin chose a word to define not just him as a football player, but as a person.
"My word is DEPENDABLE," Reeves-Maybin said. "I want to be someone that people can count on. When they hear my name, I want people to know what they're going to get, that I'm somebody they can trust."
Wide receiver Josh Smith chose the word NEW, to represent a rebirth heading into the season after facing adversity as a freshman a year ago.
"I didn't like my season last year, so I came up with NEW because it's a new year, a new me, a new hour, a new moment," Smith said. "I didn't want to go back to last year, so I've focused on the new me. I've taken that word and ridden with it, I haven't hopped off that bus."
The players' faces light up when they're asked about their words and The Energy Bus concept. Seeing the impact the experience has had on his players has made it all the more special to Jones.
"They have embraced it," Jones said of the player reaction from day one. "It's one of those things that's part of our personal growth and development program and our Vol for Life program."
At the end of the summer, Gordon himself came to spend a day with the team, driving the message home. The team had the opportunity to interact with the author and ask questions that made the concept and their words even more personal.
Gordon presented Jones with a model of the physical bus that is a key part of the book. The bus is placed prominently in Jones' office at the Anderson Training Center.
Like every off-field activity the team takes part in, Jones wants the message The Energy Bus sends to carry the players beyond football and into the next phase of their lives.
"Reading The Energy Bus and being a part of this isn't just something that will last this year for team 118, this they will carry with them for the rest of their lifetime," Jones said. "Whether they're walking into their first job interview in their life after football or going into a career in the NFL, they'll point to The Energy Bus, not only reading it, but meeting the author. Somebody the stature of Jon Gordon to come in here and spend the day with us and talk with us was something very special."
