Friday, October 30, 2009

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