McCutcheon redefines focus

The best athletes and coaches can turn on their powers of concentration and perform regardless of circumstances around them. Michael Jordan comes to mind. So do Tiger Woods and Bill Belichick. After watching the Beijing Olympics, add Hugh McCutcheon.

 

The 38-year-old New Zealand born McCutcheon showed an incredible amount of poise, concentration and grace while coaching the U.S. men's volleyball team to the gold medal under trying personal circumstances.

 

McCutcheon's father-in-law, Todd Bachman, was killed in a random Beijing stabbing on Aug. 9 while touring with his wife, Barbara and daughter, Elisabeth McCutcheon, Hugh's wife. Barbara was seriously injured in the attack and eventually flown back to the Mayo Clinic in the family's home state of Minnesota. After taking some time with his family, Hugh McCutcheon returned to the team that finished the tournament with a four-set victory over world No. 1 Brazil.

 

I thought I'd seen inner fortitude at its best earlier this summer when Woods won the U.S. Open on a bad knee. It's exhausting to limp through life, as Woods did.

It seems nearly impossible to try to escape them.