Story by Hunter Sales
In my role as a college fishing coach, I often find myself searching for characteristics that separate an average fisherman from a superstar. This happens throughout recruiting but goes further throughout an angler’s four years in college as he develops his craft. The one attribute that all great tournament anglers have in common is a fierce will to win and a hatred of losing.
This intense will to win has been seen in nearly all of sport’s superstars through the years. My mind goes to Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Derek Jeter, et al. At the top of any sport, everyone is skilled, everyone has access to the best coaches and trainers, and everyone should have the same opportunities to be successful. However, there is always a class of guys that rise above the rest. The competitive spirit is often the reason why. In fishing, the same thing is true of the superstars.
Growing up, I always respected the “hustle” that Kevin VanDam seemed to have during tournaments. It was evident he was fishing to win rather than to simply have fun. Recently, I’ve gotten to know Ott DeFoe really well. Ott is from the same hometown as I am and is closing in on nearly $5 million in career earnings. Each year Ott hosts a casting competition at a local Baptist Church and competes in this competition like it’s a championship event. Any amount of time watching the way Ott operates around this event will tell you that he wants to win … badly.
Each competitor has his own reasons for wanting to win. For some it’s about money, for some it’s status, and for others it’s simply trying to be the best they can be. Of course everyone wants to win, that’s not nearly enough. To separate himself from the pack, an angler must be ultra-committed to doing what it takes to win. In other sports, it’s the weight room or sprints. In bass fishing, it’s pre-practice, learning new techniques, organizing tackle, working on equipment, etc. An intense will to win and dedication to doing what winning requires can turn average fishermen into stars and stars into superstars. The tricky thing with this type of dedication is that it never produces results overnight. I can look at a college freshman who is spending 20 hours each week working on tackle or tinkering with baits and know that he will be successful before he graduates. It may take one, two, or three years, but he always gets there. Doing the right things the right way for a long enough period will always produce results.
One of the most interesting parts of this type of dedication is that it usually translates to all areas of someone’s life. Guys who hate losing still hate losing whether it’s football, fishing, or playing cards. As a college fishing team, we always spend the first week of school playing various sports as a team. This week we’ve done 6:00 a.m. basketball, flag football, and ultimate frisbee to name a few. Our best anglers are not always our best basketball players, but they are certainly our best competitors and they typically find a way to help their team win. Bass fishing rules are changing a lot in today’s world and I certainly expect to see a temporary shakeup in AOY standings across the sport due to technology restrictions. My unpopular opinion is that in two or three years, the guys with the highest will to win will find themselves back at the top of the standings. It was this will to win that drove them to master technology. The same will to win should drive them to succeed without it.
Hunter Sales – Angler Profile
