What Ted Lasso Teaches Us About College Success

Note: This post contains minor spoilers for season three of Ted Lasso.

Source: Ted Lasso Wiki - Fandom

AFC Richmond ended their season by defeating archrival West Ham, finishing second in the Premier League and earning a coveted spot in the Champions League. But Ted Lasso was never about football, and the show finished its celebrated run with a Cat Stevens-backed montage of our beloved Greyhounds, if not living their best lives, at least living much better lives than when we met them three seasons ago. And since the show’s debut, countless pieces have been written about what Ted Lasso teaches us about leadership, education, philanthropy, dating, mental health, and life in general (everything, it seems, except football).

I offer that Ted Lasso also teaches us something about college student success. Richmond reminded me of a college in a microcosm, with Ted, Beard, Roy, and Nate (the educators) collaborating with Rebecca, Higgins, Keeley, Will, and Dr. Fieldstone (the administrators and staff) to support their players (students). And like Jamie, Sam, Colin, and Dani, our students bring their own motives for success to college—and their own baggage.

Perhaps the most important lesson I took from Ted Lasso is that unlocking a student’s potential is hard work and the key is not always obvious. Below I detail three reasons why this is the case and how we can help students become as successful as the Greyhounds.

Asking for help

“The best we can do is to keep asking for help and accepting it when you can. And if you keep on doing that, you’ll always be moving toward better.” —Leslie Higgins

If Ted Lasso stands as a testament to anything, it's help-seeking. In Season one, Ted, Beard, Nate, and Higgins form the “Diamond Dogs,” an inner circle for discussing each other’s non-work problems. When Nate turns cad and leaves for West Ham, he struggles personally without that support group in his life. In Season two, several Richmond players (and, ultimately, Ted) seek professional therapy from Dr. Fieldstone. In season three, Jamie accepts personal training from Roy, his former athletic and romantic rival, and a beautiful friendship blossoms. Never does any character grow without reaching out for help.

The ways in which people find help around the dogtrack are reflective of how students seek help around campus. Some students are what I call the “Avid Academic,” looking straight to the professionals for academic (professors, tutors) and administrative (advisors, campus offices) support. But many other students are the “Social Scholar,” preferring help from peers and eager to form their own version of the Diamond Dogs. What’s important is for us to make available and known various sources of high-quality help, both official and social, for all student challenges: academic, interpersonal, financial, and anything else.

Life gets in the way

“None of us know what is going on in each other’s lives.” —Roy Kent

Rarely on Ted Lasso did players struggle on the pitch because of conditioning, preparation, or strategy. Instead, the problems came from beyond Nelson Road: Jamie’s toxic relationship with his father, Sam’s encounters with racism, Colin’s fear of revealing his homosexuality. In true Hollywood fashion, once these outside issues were resolved the player instantly transformed into a superstar.

Our students are the same—budding superstars sometimes held back by life circumstances. We know the stats: 25% of college students work and attend school full-time, more than 20% are parents (with 11% being single mothers), 40% experience food insecurity, 14% experience homelessness, 33% have significant depression and anxiety, and the list goes on. When students’ physiological and security needs go unmet, we cannot expect them to ace algebra any more than we would expect a footballer to score a hat trick.

One way to encourage help seeking is through difference education: highlighting how college students come from myriad backgrounds each with their own strengths and limitations. Or, in Rebecca’s words, “Every disadvantage has its advantage.” Incoming, first-generation students who learned about the diverse experiences of their older peers were more likely to seek help, which led to higher first-year GPAs. And the benefits of difference education extend beyond the classroom: lower stress and anxiety, stronger social fit and engagement, and overall better adjustment to college.

Being adaptable

“Taking on a challenge is a lot like riding a horse, isn’t it? If you’re comfortable while doing it, you’re probably doing it wrong.” —Ted Lasso

I can’t speak to proper equestrian technique, but I can confirm that taking on challenges is uncomfortable. To meet any challenge successfully, you almost always must stray from your plan, get creative, improvise, and try new strategies. Adaptability was, in fact, an undervalued key to Richmond’s success. Over the course of three seasons, they flexed from a traditional 4-4-2 strategy, to a 4-3-3 false-9, to what can only be described as “give Zava the ball,” to Total Football (which only worked when they repositioned Jamie in the middle.) These changes always brought discomfort, but they always helped Richmond win.

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A new study speaks to the importance of discomfort in learning. Across five uncomfortable tasks, people were told to either focus on their performance and ignore their discomfort, or to focus on their discomfort because it’s a sign of growth. The latter group, in other words, wanted to feel uncomfortable because they’d been told it signaled success. This emotional reframing increased risk-taking in an improv class, willingness to engage in expressive writing about an emotional issue, and openness to hearing political viewpoints different than one’s own. In all cases, people who were comfortable with being uncomfortable were more adaptable in their thinking and behavior.

Making a genuine connection

“I think one of the neatest things about being a coach is the connection you get to make with your players.” —Ted Lasso

While we may never see another new episode of Ted Lasso, we can carry with us the lessons about college success taught by this show. Unlocking our students’ potential won’t happen without a genuine connection and compassion for everything going on in their lives. Helping students to ask for help and embrace the inherent discomfort in learning and personal growth will allow them to shine in ways even they might find surprising. And, of course, we must always BELIEVE.