Jim Thompson (@JimThompson18) is the Founder of Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA), a non-profit organization founded at Stanford University with the mission of helping to transform the culture of youth sports to give all young athletes the opportunity for a positive, character-building experience.

The following summarizes an excerpt from his book, Elevating Your Game: Becoming a Triple-Impact Competitor.

Many of the injustices in the world happen when observers stand idly by because they lack moral courage. Moral courage is standing up publicly for what you believe is right even when others — including sometimes your friends and teammates — don’t.

Human beings have a deep need to be part of a group. Mostly this is a good thing, and it has helped humankind in important ways. But there is a downside to it. Because being ostracized from a group is so scary to many people, they are willing to compromise their ethical standards to run mindlessly with the herd. Exhibiting moral courage requires real courage.

Many high school athletes have status because of what they do on the field. Unfortunately, in many schools a “jock culture” exists, in which athletes use their status and influence solely for their own benefit. Whether you realize it or not, you have an incredible opportunity to wield your power on campus in productive ways to make your life and the lives of others around you better, whether that means standing up against bullying, or hazing.

To read the rest of the excerpt, click below. To purchase the book, and to learn more about other PCA books, click here.

These books are used in PCA’s live workshops. To learn more about our workshops, click here.