Motivating Todays Athlete

There are a variety of reasons why athletes participate in sports. Recognizing those reasons for each individual on your team will help you to motivate them. Below is an article from "Championship Coaches Network" on ways coaches can motivate their athletes. Visit them at the following adress, http://www.championshipcoachesnetwork.com

5 Keys to Motivating Your Athletes (Part I)
Greg Shelley, Janssen Sports Leadership Center

"Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm."

No doubt there are many ways to "motivate" and inspire others. In contrast, it may be argued that one person cannot motivate another, but only creates an environment that promotes one to motivate him/herself. In short, to motivate anyone can be difficult, dynamic, and frustrating. To be effective, motivating others takes insight (a plan) and patience (time).
There are generally three broad categories for which motivation strategies fall: fear, incentives, and/or purpose. Fear and incentives are often short-term "motivators", whereas providing purpose (or meaning) is more long-term.

1. Motivation Through Fear
First, instilling fear in others is simple (and it can quickly motivate some people) but over time, fear can easily breed resentment and disloyalty. The athlete who is motivated by fear is likely not so much trying to achieve something as they are trying to avoid something (e.g., losing a position or making a mistake). This athlete generally becomes focused on what not to do, rather than what to do. In time, this can become stressful and lead to a strong sense of resentment and/or disloyalty toward the one instilling the fear.

2. Motivation Through Incentives
Incentives too can be effective for the short-term. Dangling the "carrot" (e.g., playing time, money, trophies, etc.) is a strong motivator for many athletes but these extrinsic means generally last for only a short time before the "incentives" need increased or made more appealing. The less appealing the incentive, the less motivation one will generally show.

3. Motivation Through Purpose

Finally, developing a strong sense of purpose is most effective for promoting long-term motivation. Creating a sense of purpose and/or meaning is about changing the way athletes think about their roles, their reasons for coming to practice, their influence on teammates, their membership on the team, and their reasons for playing and competing. Providing purpose and meaning is about creating an environment that is conducive to personal growth and encouraging athletes to motivate themselves, as well as inspire their teammates. Developing purpose and meaning takes more time and energy (investment) but it can lead to that long-term motivation for which most coaches are striving.

Below are five important considerations as you go about developing a plan for motivating your athletes, your team, and your support staff.

1. Get input from your athletes (and most importantly your leaders) - check with your athletes to determine if what you are communicating to them is understood, what they need, and what they want. Encourage your leaders to make suggestions as to how things (e.g., practices, travel, game day preparations, etc.) might be improved. Remember, if you are asking for input... at least be willing to incorporate something (a suggestion) at some point.

2. Keep your athletes informed as to when, where, how, and why (and WHY is most important) - people are not generally motivated to start (or finish) a task that is not clear in terms of when, where, how, or why. Take away any questions or doubts that your athletes may have by clearly and consistently communicating your expectations and intentions. Be clear as to when, where, and how . . . but most important, be sure your athletes know "why" they are being asked to do something.

3. Create an environment that allows for challenge, recognition, appreciation, and quality - some of your athletes will be motivated by a challenge, some by recognition, some by appreciation, and some by quality of performance. It is important to know your athletes and what their primary motive might be. Challenge some (1 v 1 against a teammate), recognize others in front of their teammates (at the end of practice or in the locker room), appreciate others in private (in your office or the hallway), and provide others with a chance to show you a quality performance (quality over quantity of work). Remember, different athletes are motivated by different situations and feedback.

4. Give your athletes a reason to want to work hard - take the time to develop genuine, honest, caring, and trusting relationships with your players. Athletes will work harder (and longer) for someone they know genuinely believes in them, cares about them, and is committed to helping them achieve their potential. At the heart of player motivation . . . is the quality of the coach-athlete relationship.

5. Model what you want to see - be motivated yourself. If you want someone to work hard, you better be working hard. If you want someone to put in extra time, you better be putting in extra time. Athletes do what they see. This is why the motivation of the coaching staff is so important and why it is so important to have quality team leaders who can lead by example, hold accountable, and promote a climate of motivation and inspiration. Set a motivational "standard" by what you do, say, and expect. Say it, expect it, but also make sure you do it!

"If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader." ~ John Quincy Adams

Trust Wins

As each season starts, one of the biggest challenges for coaches is trying to develop trust between their coaches and players. Being able to trust coaches and players is one of the most important factors that could have an impact on whether your season can be a successful one. You can have all the talent in the world, but if your players don't trust you, your staff or each other, then they are going to have a very difficult time performing and committing to philosophies, strategies and building relationships. Here is a great article from PositiveSports.net ,written by Steve Horan.

When trust abounds, teams play harder, smarter, quicker, tougher, and more together. That's how they win.

Athletes perform better in a culture of trust. When they trust themselves they are more confident. When they trust their teammates they are more collaborative. When they trust their coach they are more committed. When their coach trusts them they are more courageous.

Trust is not something to be taken for granted. It is a highly valuable asset which must be built up over time, but can be lost in a day. One of the most important jobs of a coach is to create a team culture in which trust can live and grow. Here are ten ways a coach can create a culture of trust on a team.

1. Think trust
Before we take a significant action, we can help ourselves by stopping to ask: 'How will what I am about to do affect trust for the team as a whole and this athlete in particular?' Asking this question keeps us from making rash decisions which can erode team trust.

2. Include everyone
Teams are more trusting when everyone feels included. No good coach wants to exclude any athlete from a feeling of belonging to the team. But we all are susceptible to focusing our energy on the athletes who play the most during the course of the season. We can build trust by making a conscious effort to include every athlete in our circle of attention, from the captains and stars to the last athlete off the bench.

3. Show you care
As the old saying goes, 'they don't care what you know until they know that you care.' If you have ever spent any time counseling athletes, you know that caring matters - a LOT. Showing that you care does not mean being a buddy to your athletes. It simply means getting to know your athletes and making it clear that you believe in them and want them to do well. A simple show of caring can dramatically elevate your trust account with an athlete.

4. Be clear and consistent
A wise sports parent once advised me that, 'If you don't give them a reason, they will make one up - and the one they make up will probably be wrong.' This taught me the importance of being clear and consistent. We need to be clear and consistent about our vision, values, and expectations for each athlete. We need to be equally clear and consistent about the reasons for our significant decisions affecting the team or individual athletes. The more our athletes understand our reasoning, the more they will trust our decisions. Note that explaining does not mean justifying. It is important that our athletes understand our decisions. They do not necessarily have to agree with our decisions.

5. Be firm and fair
A fifth way to create a culture of trust is to be firm and fair with all of our athletes. Our athletes watch closely when we make decisions about roles, positions, playing time, and discipline. When they perceive us behaving inconsistently or delivering preferential treatment, our trust account drops. When they see us being firm and fair, they accept our decisions more readily because they trust our motivations.

6. Define roles
Teams become restless and lose trust whenever there is a group of athletes with no clearly defined role on the team. It is a fact of life that not everyone can start and play the whole game. But this does not mean bench players cannot be given highly valuable roles on the team. When we take the time to define roles for all of our athletes, we send a strong message of respect and caring. The result is an increase in trust.

7. Seek understanding
Every athlete struggles at some point. Sometimes the athlete is simply underperforming. Other times the athlete is grappling with a real problem which is affecting their performance. It is hard to know if we don't talk to them about the situation. If we discipline an athlete or withdraw our confidence from an athlete before fully understanding their perspective, we may lose an opportunity to help that athlete grow as a person and a player. On the other hand, we can build tremendous trust with our athletes by taking time to understand their point of view when they are struggling.

8. Show loyalty
Athletes notice loyalty. In particular, they watch how we treat our veteran athletes (e.g. seniors), hard working role players, and injured players. If our athletes perceive that we are disrespecting or neglecting players in these three categories, they will begin to wonder whether their own investment of hard work will pay off. When this happens, our trust account drops. If our athletes see us supporting and respecting these same players, their trust (and commitment) will escalate.

9. Support leaders
Another way to create a culture of trust is to support team leaders, particularly team captains. Some coaches are quite good at delegating responsibility to their captains and then supporting those athletes as they execute their job. But it is not uncommon for coaches to punish captains for stepping up and asserting some leadership. The unfortunate message to the team is, 'Uh oh, leaders get shot down around here.' Captains need not be given an excess of special treatment. But they should be treated respectfully in front of the team. This will build your athletes' trust in you and the captains.

10. Reward effort
Coaches are sometimes susceptible to looking the other way when star athletes do not give 100 percent effort. We may be equally susceptible to not noticing when non-stars give 110 percent. Noticing effort, and rewarding that effort with playing time, sends a powerful message to the entire team. That message is, 'Effort really does matter here. If I work hard, I will be rewarded.' As a result, your athletes learn that they can trust you when you say that effort matters.

Handling Expectations

The following comes from a great piece written by Don Yeager for Success Magazine on maintaining excellence. The following are some thoughts he penned from UNC's Roy Williams:

"But I want them to have dreams, not expectations. I want them to have goals, not be concerned about what others say. I wanted them to realize from the earliest point that others who have lots to say have nothing invested. We will be successful if we make the investment and ignore the hype. If you have dreams and goals and are committed to them, are working toward them, it becomes easier to block those outside forces.”

“I recruit character as much as I recruit ability,” Williams says. “And if you’ve built a team of character, they can handle moments that others cannot and they accept coaching on how tomanage pressure.”

“Most elite teams have elite players,” he says. “And when the guy others look up to also happens to be dedicated to constant development, that’s a dream situation.”

Williams used his preseason time with players to reinforce his message and offer his prescription. “I reminded each player that the way you deal with expectations is to focus only on today,” he says. “Yes we have a plan for the entire year, but it all begins with what we are going to do today. If you work to be the best you can be today, you’re preparing yourself to be the best you can be tomorrow. It sounds simple, but it’s not. “If each of us works every day to be the best we can be on that day and then come back and do the same tomorrow, then we have a better chance of being our very best at year’s end. Will that be enough to win a national championship? That’s hard to say in college basketball today. “But handling as high expectations as we are gives us our best chance for success.”

Read the entire article: http://bit.ly/33HmVE

Much thanks to Coach Starkey, LSU Women's Assistant Coach for providing this article on how to be a good teammate. His Hoop Thoughts blog can be found here...http://hoopthoughts.blogspot.com/

The following comes from our Hoop Boost site which is dedicated to players. If you haven't visited it yet, take a look and share it with your team. We don't post nearly as often at Hoop Boost, probably about twice a week but all the information is geared towards motivating players.
http://hoopboost.blogspot.com/
1. Puts others ahead of their own agenda.
It means intentionally being aware of your teammates’ needs, available to help them, and able to accept their desires as important.

2. Possesses the confidence to serve.
The real heart of being a good teammate is security. Show me someone who thinks she is too important to serve, and I’ll show you someone who is basically insecure.

3. Initiates service to others.
Just about anyone will serve if compelled to do so. And some will serve in a crisis. But you can really see the heart of someone who initiates service to others.

4. Is not position-conscious.
Good teammates don’t focus on rank, position or playing time.

5. Serves out of love.
The desire to be a good teammate is not motivated by manipulation or self-promotion. It is fueled by love. In the end, the extent of your influence depends on the depth of concern for others.

Paraphrased from The 21 Indispensable Qualities Of A Leader
By John C. Maxwell

What Winners Do...

Winners are confident. Losers have doubt.

Winners hustle. Losers loaf.

Winners praise others. Losers complain.

Winners listen. Losers talk.

Winners are accountable. Losers point the finger.

Winners are enthusiastic. Lowers lack passion.

Winners are great teammates. Losers are selfish.

Winners never quit. Losers give up.

Winners have focus. Losers are disheveled.

Winners have discipline. Losers are weak.

Winners are loyal. Losers are self centered.

Winners have urgency. Losers put things off.

Winners have pride. Losers don’t care.

Winners are coachable. Losers already know it all.

Winners prepare their minds and bodies to win on a daily basis.

Winners do what losers don’t want to do

Pre-Season Workouts: Intangibles

This is the third installment of a three part series on pre-season basketball training. The first post gave a comprehensive overview of a sound pre-season training program. The second post was a checklist to ensure maximum results. This post will tie everything together and take a closer look at the intangible qualities needed for success.

First and foremost, how is your (and your team’s) pre-season training going? Are you getting stronger? Are you getting quicker? Are you becoming more explosive? Are you getting in great basketball shape? Are you better than you were two weeks ago? Do you deserve to be successful this season? You should be evaluating your progress every week. It is not too late to make some adjustments if things are going as well as you would like!

There are three areas you need to make sure you continue to focus on in your pre-season training in order to be the best player (or team) you can this season. They are athleticism, fundamentals, and the intangibles.

Athleticism: strength, power, explosiveness, quickness, agility, reaction, flexibility, and conditioning. These traits must be applied to your fundamentals in order to be a great basketball player. Remember, enhancing these qualities is a means to an end; not an end itself. You need to learn how to use your improved strength and quickness on the court and in your game!

Fundamentals: ball handling, passing, shooting, rebounding, and defending. These skills must be applied to your knowledge and overall feel of the game (basketball IQ) in order to be a great basketball player. Your fundamentals are the parts that make up the whole. You don’t want to be a good “drill” player. You need to learn how to use your improved handle and shot in practice and in the game!

Intangibles: leadership, toughness, communication, and competitiveness. These characteristics are what enable you to take your game to the highest level. They help average players (and teams) become good players (and teams) and good players (and teams) become great players (and teams). If you apply these intangibles to your athleticism and fundamentals you will absolutely be the best player (or team) you can be.

Leadership
Alan Stein believes there is a tremendous lack of leadership in today’s game, which I strongly agree with; specifically with today’s youth. Basketball is a team game that thrives on leadership; from both the coaches and players.

“An army of asses lead by a lion will always defeat and army of lions led by an ass.”

Toughness
Mental toughness is an acquired skill; not inherited trait. Every basketball player out there can become more mentally tough. A good part of being mentally tough is learning to “be comfortable being uncomfortable.” You have to learn to embrace obstacles, difficulties, mistakes, and adversity. You can’t expect anything to be easy. Failure is not only a part of life, but a major part of basketball. If you never fail, you aren’t pushing hard enough or challenging yourself. There are 7 characteristics to mental toughness, all of which can be improved with instruction and practice: competitive, confident, control, committed, composure, courage, and consistency.

Communication
Effective communication can make or break a team. This includes communication on and off the court; among players and coaches. Communication is much more than what you say; it is how you say it. And on top of that, it’s not what you say or how you say it that is important; it’s what the other person hears! Does everyone on your team know exactly what your goals are? Does everyone on the team know exactly what their role is? Do players and coaches know how to effectively deal with confrontation when problems arise?

HUA= Hear, Understand, Acknowledge

Competitiveness
The desire to compete is vital for success. While basketball should most certainly be “fun”; winning is important. And preparing to win is even more important than that. Like toughness; competitiveness is an acquired skill. You can learn to be more competitive. Your pre-season workouts should be competitive. Players should compete against themselves (against a previous effort), against the clock, and against other teammates. Winners should be rewarded as incentive. If you wait until the jump ball of your first game to get your competitive juices flowing… you will be too late!

Pre-Season Workouts: 12 Questions

Most schools have been in session for a couple of weeks and most programs have already started their pre-season workouts. So now is the perfect time to take inventory and evaluate.

Here are 12 questions to see if you are really on the right path. Questions to see if you are doing everything you can to not only make the team, but to earn some serious playing time, and have a championship caliber year.

1) Are you on top of your school work? If not, you aren’t going to be able to play so you might want to take care of this ASAP. Once the season starts, time management will be crucial in making sure you don’t fall behind academically. Start strong!

2) Are you getting 8-10 hours of sleep every night? Sleep is when your body grows! You will never be able to perform up to your potential if you aren’t well rested. Intense pre-season training is extremely taxing on your body; so make sure you get your rest.

3) Are you eating breakfast every day? Are you starting your day off by refueling your “machine?” There is no way you can give 100% for an entire workout if you are running on fumes. Pancakes, waffles, bagels, cereal, oatmeal, and fruit are high energy foods and a great way to start your day.

4) Are you drinking enough water? Your performance will decrease severely with the slightest bit of dehydration. Don’t wait until you are thirsty to start drinking water… sip all day long. If you want to maximize your pre-season workouts you must be hydrated.

5) Are you tending to any nagging injuries or soreness? If you are having issues with your knees or back… are you doing anything about it? In most cases, ice is your best friend. If something is sore, ice it down! If pain persists, make sure you go see a doctor or physical therapist for a professional diagnosis. Do not wait until the season to do this… it needs to be addressed now! Don’t let something “little” in the pre-season have an effect on your season.

6) Are you making 200-500 (extra) shots a day? And I am not referring to “social shooting” or just going through the motions. I mean “game shots, from game spots, at game speed.” Are you doing this above and beyond your pre-season workouts? How about your ball handling? Repetition is not punishment; it is the only way to get better! Also noticed I said “make”; not “take” 200-500 shots a day. The name of the game is making shots!

7) Are you on a structured workout program? Are you participating in a structure, organized, progressive program to work on your strength, power, quickness, agility, reaction, and basketball conditioning level? Is it safe? Time efficient? Productive?

8) Do you get to every workout on time? Better yet, do you get there early? If you are only “on time” – you are late! You wouldn’t show up to a game 2 minutes before tip-off, would you?

9) Are you an energy giver at every workout? Is your enthusiasm contagious? Do you hype up your teammates? Nothing great was ever accomplished without enthusiasm.

10) Are you a team leader? Do you step up to the front of the line for every drill and every sprint? Do you run hard or push for that extra rep in the weight room regardless of whether or not the coach is watching?

11) Are you comfortable being uncomfortable? Do you play it safe each workout or do you give it everything you’ve got? Do you push yourself to the edge of the proverbial cliff every time? Do you work on your weaknesses?

12) Have you met with your coach for his/her evaluation? Have you formally sat down with your coach to ask what things you need to work on to earn time this year? Or to be the best player you can be? Or what he/she envisions your roll to be when the season starts? Coaches, have you done this with each of your players?

Pre-Season Workouts: It's About Choices

Below is segment 1 of 3 that I will be posting on Pre-season workouts. The information was posted on Alan Stein's website at www.strongerteam.com

To get into great basketball shape; your conditioning program must be:

- Energy system specific (high intensity/short duration, drills should last :15 - :60)
- Movement specific (sprint, back pedal, defensive slides, jumping)
- Progressive (increase intensity, increase volume, decrease rest)
- Competitive (compete against teammate or clock)
- Fun (try to find drills you enjoy doing, you will work harder if you are having fun)

One thing that unites every player in the world this pre-season is the power to choose. You have the right to chose how you will train this pre-season. Every one of us is a product of the choices we make on a daily basis. Where ever we are in life, we are there as a result of the choices we have made. If you are happy and successful, it is because of your choices. If you are unhappy and miserable, it is also because of your choices. Same goes for pre-season training. When the season is here, if you are in great shape it is because you made the choice to be in great shape!

“Keep doing what you’ve been doing and you’ll keep getting what you’ve been getting. If you don’t like what you’ve been getting than quit doing what you’ve been doing!”

What kind of choices are you making now to start the pre-season? Are you choosing to get plenty of sleep at night? Are you choosing to eat breakfast every day? Are you choosing to work hard in the weight room? Are you choosing to run every sprint/drill as hard as possible? Are you choosing to be enthusiastic and supportive of your teammates?

These are all choices. Your answer to these questions will dictate the success of your pre-season as well as the type of player you will be.

Nestle - Remember When

Nestle - Remember When

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100,000 Ways to Show Commitment

By Andy Katz, ESPN Basketball Analyst
Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Kevin Stallings made the commitment to his Vanderbilt team that it would take a trip this summer to Australia -- and man, did he mean it.
The timing was perfect. Teams are allowed to go overseas for an offseason trip once every four years. Coaches always make sure the trips are done when it makes the most sense. Incoming freshmen can't go since the trips are supposed to occur when school is out of session, so having a veteran team coming back can maximize the experience.
Then a few months ago, reality hit. David Williams, Vanderbilt's vice chancellor for student affairs and athletics, met with Stallings in early spring and told him the money wasn't available for the trip.
"We had waited an extra two years, since it had been six years since we'd gone on a trip,'' said Stallings, whose program traveled to Italy, Spain and the Canary Islands in 2003. "I knew the university was facing a tough time just like the rest of the country. There were people losing jobs. There was so much distress economically for the university to shell out $100,000 for us to make the trip."
The majority of coaches would have likely just left the decision alone. But not Stallings, not with this team, not at a school that he has been so committed to the past decade -- a school that has as sterling a reputation for its ethical behavior as Stallings has within the college basketball community.
"I was convinced it was the right time for the program; it was a hard thing to let die,'' Stallings said. "So I went back to him and proposed the idea of me paying for it, and he agreed to that.''
Nevertheless, Stallings still had to convince his wife, Lisa. Foregoing $100,000 that the university would otherwise owe him as part of his salary is no joke. But this was the ultimate investment in his team, his program, and his future at Vanderbilt. If the trip is a success, it could ultimately be the impetus to catapult the Dores toward a banner season.
"I went home and was convinced the trip had to be made,'' said Stallings by phone from Melbourne, Australia. "I felt our players earned it, deserved it. And my wife said to me, as she usually does, to make sure I've thought it through. I gave it some thought and said it did [make sense]. Our players deserve this and it is an investment in my program.''
Williams, who is traveling with the team on the trip, wrote in an e-mail to ESPN.com that Stallings "did not want the story told, but I am glad you are writing it so all can see that while he is a great ballcoach, he also cares about what's happening around him."
"He understood why we could not pay for the trip at this time and stepped up to help the team and the school," Williams continued. "We are truly lucky and proud that Kevin Stallings is Vanderbilt's basketball coach. I am sure his generous and commitment will pay back a hundred times over."

"This wasn't a difficult decision to make,'' Stallings said.
"It wasn't something I had to labor over. The players are having a terrific time. We demand a lot in this program, but our guys work hard, play hard and conduct themselves with a tremendous amount of class, and that's important to me.''