Off the Dribble: Fundamentals for On and Off the Court

Attitude Defined

2011-05-17T07:51:00.002-04:00

Blog: Attitude Defined by Dena Evans, PGC...

http://www.pgcbasketball.com/basketball-blog-attitude-defined/

Buzz Williams' Path to Marquette

2011-03-22T11:03:00.001-04:00

http://hoopthoughts.blogspot.com/2011/03/buzz-williams-path-to-marquette.html

Dream It. Believe It. Achieve It.

2011-03-22T08:36:00.000-04:00

Dream It. Believe It. Achieve It.

Coach Don Meyer on Winning

2010-11-18T13:41:00.002-05:00

Here is an exerpt taken from Coach Meyer's new book, "How Lucky You Can Be, The Don Meyer Story" on his rules on winning...

Work Hard.
Stick Together.
Have the Right Attitude
Be Positive; Don't critisize, look to compliment
Improve everyday as a person
"How bad do I want it?"
Understand that no one can beat you, you beat yourself. Morale is what motivates the best to get better. As you think, so you shall be.
Until you find a purpose higher than winning, you will never win!

http://hoopthoughts.blogspot.com/2010/11/coach-don-meyer-rules-on-winning.html

12 Ways to Help Your Team Today

2010-11-08T08:09:00.002-05:00

A former point guard for legendary coach Don Meyer, Steve Smiley, shares 12 ways players can help or make an impact on their team each and every day...
http://hoopboost.blogspot.com/2010/11/12-simple-yet-significant-ways-to-help.html

Beware of Energy Vampires

2010-11-01T09:09:00.002-04:00

Although Halloween has come & gone, unfortunately Energy Vampires exist year round! Here are some ways to remove them and keep them from poisoning your team...http://www.jongordon.com/newsletter-110110-energyvampires.html

Play to WIN!

2010-10-25T09:49:00.002-04:00

A new post from Jon Gordon on "Playing to WIN"...http://www.jongordon.com/newsletter-102510-playtowin.html

Spartans Focus on Getting on the "Energy Bus"

2010-10-20T08:02:00.001-04:00

http://www.statenews.com/index.php/article/2010/10/spartans_focus_energy_to_get_on_energy_bus

Did You Fill the Bucket Today?

2010-09-07T08:10:00.004-04:00

Each of us has an invisible bucket. It is constantly emptied or filled, depending on a number of factors...what others say or do to us; what we put into "it' each day or take out of "it" each day. When our bucket is full, we fill energized. But, when it is low or empty, we feel unmotivated. We can use our buckets to take from our own and fill our teammates buckets, by saying or doing things to increase their positive emotions or energy. By filling others' emotional buckets, we are also filling our own! But, when we take or dip from others, by being negative or energy vampires, we not only diminish others, but we also diminish ourselves. Every single drop in that bucket gives us a positive outlook and renewed energy. Every drop makes us stronger, gives us spirit, brings us together and helps us overcome negativity or adversity. That's why everytime someone dips from our bucket, it brings us down.

So...we face a choice every moment of every day: We can fill one anothers' buckets, or we can dip from them.

It's an important choice, one that profoundly influences our attitude, our spirit, our relationships and our success. But the choice is yours!

The lunch pail concept was originally developed by Bud Foster, the defensive coordinator for Virginia Tech. Pulling from his up-bringing in the coal mining areas of Illinois, coach Foster chose the lunch pail as a symbol of the blue collar work ethic of the Hokies football team. The pail features the word "WIN" on it, embodying the coach's approach to the game and to life...

W-I-N, stands for What's Important Now...to make a change; to influence; to use the moment to be better than you were before; to win at home, win at school, win in the community and win at life. To achieve greatness in all aspects of your life!

The lunch pail or bucket symbolizes our pride, our spirit, our dedication and commitment to excellence!

From "How Full is Your Bucket?", by Tom Rath and Donald O. Clifton, Ph. D.

5 Concerns of Every Teammate

2010-08-16T08:18:00.001-04:00

The following post comes from www.sportleadership.com and is a great piece for team captains to keep in their notebooks...

http://hoopboost.blogspot.com/2010/08/5-core-concerns-from-every-teammate.html

Ubelievable Believers

2010-08-09T09:19:00.003-04:00

The journey of the 2009-10 National Champion, Duke Blue Devils... http://blog.dukeblueplanet.com/2010/08/unbelievable-believers/

Getting Out of the Comfort Zone

2010-05-10T08:16:00.002-04:00

Here is an article posted at Winninghoops.com by Alan Stein, Getting Out of the Comfort Zone...If you're not consistently trying to take your skills and abilities to the next level, you'll stay where you're at and never make it to the next level. In the article, Alan Stein explains that comfort zones are enemies because they make you soft, which leads to complacency. Being comfortable being uncomfortable is crucial in understanding that in order to grow, you must be willing to step outside of your comfort zone. This may mean having failure or making mistakes, but in order to succeed, you must first fail. This requires patience, poise and perseverance when willing to step outside of your comfort zone and understand that you're stretching yourself, putting yourself out there. Here is the full article...

http://www.winninghoops.com/wh-blog/687/getting-out-of-the-comfort-zone/

The Journey to Excellence

2010-03-16T14:04:00.002-04:00

The following is an article from Greg Brown, assistant women's basketball coach at UCF...
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but
a habit.”--Aristotle

If excellence is a habit as Aristotle suggests, then we must focus on the process to get us where we want to go. We want the result of Excellence, therefore we will focus on the process (the habits) needed to get our desired result. We are working to be process oriented. We must have process oriented thinking. Process Oriented vs Outcome Oriented. We’re not talking about results. Focusing on the things in the process that are important to being successful, that are excellent. As we develop our Process, we must first:
1. Educate—teach technique to identify quality problems.
2. Organize—Make work cleaner, simpler and with more initiative. Nothing is random.
3. Analyze—Study the root cause of every defect and fix the problem once and for all.
4. Track—Map out every process. Make people own it and reward constant improvement.
5. Lead—Convert top management into disciples..Non believers will head for the exits.
Must have complete comprehension or our current situation before we can improve upon it.

Don Meyer on Practice Planning, Motion Offense & Game Evaluation

2010-02-24T10:17:00.002-05:00

This article is one of the best articles ever written on Coaching strategy. The article was provided by Coach & AD Magazine and covers various topics from legendary coach, Don Meyer's philosophy on practice planning, motion offense and evaluating games with statistics and team goals.

Don Meyer's Mission
By Michael Austin, Senior Editor
Early in Don Meyer’s 37-year coaching career, he attended Bobby Knight’s Coaching Academy…and came home with 145 pages of notes. There are a lot of words to describe Meyer, college basketball’s all-time leader in victories, and current head men’s basketball coach at Northern State University (Aberdeen, S.D.), but “Prepared” might be the best one.
Meyer credits legendary coaches like Knight for providing him with so many useful coaching ideas but he also credits him for showing coaches that it’s important to share those ideas with their peers. The 145 pages of notes Meyer took helped pave the way for many victories during his career at Hamline University (St. Paul, Minn.), Lipscomb University (Nashville, Tenn.) and now Northern State. Maybe more importantly, however, is that those notes led Meyer to establish his own coaching academy 19 years ago.
“I would have been out of coaching if it hadn’t been for Bobby Knight’s Coaching Academy. He helped me stay in coaching and was open about sharing all the knowledge he had…he didn’t hold back. So, I wanted to do the same for other coaches,” Meyer explains.
Since Meyer’s first academy in 1990, the clinic has grown to one of the most popular in the country. And while having one of the most-recognizable names in coaching circles doesn’t hurt, Meyer says any coach has the ability to establish and run a successful camp.
“Big names are a great draw but some of the best coaches I’ve ever listened to at clinics have been high school and even junior high coaches,” says Meyer. “People might come to your camps to see the coaching rock stars but make sure you have plenty of solid coaching topics from a variety of coaches. Our first six years of running our academy, we just used our staff to instruct. No matter what, make sure your purpose is to help coaches, provide good materials and get campers to learn something new.”
Meyer says his advice for coaches who are attending camps and clinics is to have an open mind so they don’t become overwhelmed.
“Right now, there are so many great clinics and great ideas out there, that sometimes you go and get too many good ideas. Remember, anything you learn at a clinic needs to fit you, your team and your personnel. Don’t just pick up something at a clinic and mindlessly try to plug it into your program,” he cautions. And while Meyer has been in the clinic business for 19 years, he’s been coaching twice as long. His practice-planning routines are legendary, his motion offense has produced the top-scoring team in the country five times and the way he evaluates every detail of a game provides him with a clear vision to improve his players for their next game.
Practice PlanningFor Meyer, there are two things that are going to happen at every practice: players are going to have their notebooks with them and they are going to sign into practice to provide pertinent information about themselves for the day.
Meyer is a stickler for notes, which is evident by the notebooks his players are required to carry with them at all times. The notebooks contain basketball-specific information about plays and drills, individual skills that need to be addressed in practice, leadership materials and motivational strategies.
“We are big on using notebooks. It keeps players organized and it keep you (as a coach) organized,” says Meyer. “By carrying a notebook, it forces players to concentrate more on what you’re saying and it forces them to get your ideas down on paper. It also makes a coach be more simplistic in what is being told to the players. You know they are writing things down, so it slows you down when trying to make a point.”
Meyer also uses the notebooks to give players specific responsibilities, such as something to address at the next practice. He says this lets the coach know who is responsible and who is not. Initially, make the players responsible for remembering a simple task, such as asking someone to remind you to run extra dribbling drills next practice. It almost acts as a test for the player and it is one less thing you have to remember (as long as you have responsible players) heading into the next practice, according to Meyer.
The sign-in process at practice for Northern State requires players to write down their resting heart rate, provide recent test scores and the dates for upcoming tests. They also mark off their class attendance for the day. On the sign-in sheet for each player, Meyer also leaves short notes for players if he needs to get in direct communication with them.
After signing in, Meyer wants players to get taped, then move on to stretching on their own. Sometimes, they will stretch as a team on the court, but, unless you are coaching at the Division I collegiate level, court time is precious. There always are other sports and basketball teams jockeying for practice time on the court.
Once the “official” practice starts, Meyer’s teams go through a progression of individual skill work and drills. By keeping notebooks, players mark down what skills need more work according to the coaches, so, at that day’s practice, players team up and work together on a specific skill. For example, if two post players need extra time on finishing layups, they immediately head to an open basket and work on in-close shots until the coaches blow the whistle and move everyone into team drills.
“For your team drills, give them the big-picture reasons for the drill first so they can see how the little things relate to what you’re doing,” Meyer says. He wants his players to understand why they are running a drill and what is going to be accomplished. And, he doesn’t spend an elaborate amount of time explaining his drills because he keeps them simple (see sidebars with shooting games and dribbling drills).
“Your drills don’t have to be masterpieces,” he explains. “Keep it simple to get the most out of them.”
He wants his drills also to have a dual purpose in that there is a primary emphasis and a related emphasis.
If you are running a defensive drill, Meyer contends there still is an offensive element to it, which needs to be coached. However, he does not stop a defensive drill if an offensive player makes a mistake. He rotates out the offending player and has an assistant speak to that player about what he did wrong while the team continues its work.
Another element of Meyer’s drills is that they are run at an “uncomfortable pace,” meaning at game-speed. This helps players work on conditioning while sharpening their on-the-court skills. Meyer doesn’t believe in a lot of running simply for running’s sake.
“We try not to do a lot of sprint lines when players do something wrong,” Meyer says. “The whole idea is to condition them when they have a ball in their hands so it’s a game-like situation. If we wanted them to run track, we’d have them put on track shoes and go outside.”
In addition to the sign-in sheet, notebooks, keeping drills simple and conditioning while playing, Meyer says there are three things his teams must do at every practice.
- Concentrate. “Players need to be there physically and mentally. And, I want them there (practices and games) early,” Meyer says. “The veterans need to set the example for the rookies in terms of how to come prepared to practice.”
- Communicate. “A quiet team is a scared team. I want my players talking all the time,” he adds.
- Compete. “Players need to dive after loose balls. They need to practice like they’re playing in the playoffs,” Meyer says. “If they do those three things, then we’ll have consistency.”
Motion MasterMeyer certainly didn’t invent the motion offense and he’s not the last one to add his own wrinkles to it either. But, he did use his motion-offense principles to help lead Lipscomb (where he coached from 1975-1999) to national scoring titles in 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993 and 1995.
“The most important part of my motion offense is to fast break every time you get the ball to put pressure on the defense,” Meyer explains. “Sometimes we’ll run a straight 3-out, 2-in set with a simple post exchange but we also change with our personnel. If we have a post player who is a great three-point shooter, we’ll run a 4-out, 1-in look. In a sense, it’s the players who end up telling you how you’ll run the offense.”
While the methods might change from year to year, Meyer says his motion offense is based on 16 principles.
1. Spacing. Meyer wants as much spacing as possible on the court and says “spacing is offense; offense is spacing.”

2. Angles. The posts constantly must seal to create better angles for the ball to be fed into the block. The perimeter players must move to create better angles for which to feed the ball.

3. Momentum. Drive the ball against the movement of opponent’s momentum and at mismatches. Ideally, Meyer wants his players penetrating in the middle of the floor. He adds that pass fakes, shot fakes and skip passes are great ways to move the defense in one direction while looking to attack from another.

4. First Open Player. Pass the ball away from the defense to the first open player.

5. Rim, Post, Action. On every caught ball, the player must look to the rim, then to the post, then to create action.

6. Ball On Top Twice. The ball should make its way to the top of the key twice in a possession to create space. Four passes creates a good shot. Five passes makes for a great shot. Seven passes typically results in a great shot and a foul.

7. Top Feeds. Have guards hold the ball a little longer when they are at the top of the set. Meyer says the best feeds into the post come from the top of the key regardless if you are playing against a man or zone defense.

8. Go Inside. “We want to go inside, inside and inside some more,” says Meyer.

9. Read Defense. Players must slow down and read the defensive player while making a cut.

10. Basket Cuts. Instruct players on how to use basket cuts to score or whenever they don’t know what to do on the perimeter. “Players should stick their head under the basket, read the defense and space to the appropriate area at the NBA three-point line.”

11. Post Seal. Meyer wants his post players constantly sealing defenders in the post rather than chasing the ball around the perimeter. He adds that post players who are in a position to show their uniform numbers to the ball should receive a pass every time.

12. Fast…But Not Too Fast. The ball needs to move quickly and crisply around the perimeter in Meyer’s offense, but slow enough so players have time to see the “rim, post and action” of Principle No. 5.

13. Move With A Purpose. When players cut and when they screen, they must move with a purpose. “We don’t need a quantity of cuts and screens. We need quality cuts and screens,” Meyer explains. He says you should designate a few players as the “screeners” in your offense so only a few athletes have to master the proper way to screen.

14. Open, Rhythm Shots. In Meyer’s Motion Offense, an open layup is the best result, followed by an open jump shot, then a decent shot by a good shooter.

15. Offensive Board Coverage. Crash the offensive glass with 2-on-1 rebounding advantages on the weak side.

16. Transition & Talk. On the shot, make sure two players retreat to mid-court to stop the ball going the other way. You don’t want to give up layups or uncontested three-pointers. Have the other three players hitting the glass, then busting their butts to get back on defense.

Evaluating The Game: When the final horn sounds, you need to find a way to evaluate what just took place on the court. Sure, you may have had a fantastic set of practices leading up to your game, it may have seemed that your players took good shots and that you controlled the tempo…but did you really play a great game?
“Many times, the scoreboard is a poor judge of your team’s performance,” Meyer says.
Meyer uses a 10-point strategy to determine where his team excelled and where they fell short. After evaluating the game with this system, Meyer then identifies specific skills that need work in practice.
- Turnover Margin: As the coach, you must determine prior to the game what are your goals when it comes to turnovers.
Some coaches might want to have a plus-5 margin while others might always want to have fewer than 10 turnovers while forcing at least 15. Set your goals, then evaluate how you did afterward.

- Rebound Margin: “Using a rebounding margin is a good barometer of how well you competed on the glass and is probably better than measuring your rebounding effort with absolute numbers,” Meyer explains.
He says establishing a goal of out-rebounding the opponent by more than 10 boards is more realistic than wanting to grab 50 total rebounds in a game. The number of rebounds available per game always is changing, so margin is a better way to judge how you did on the glass.

- Field Goal Attempts: Meyer says that if everything is equal, the team that gets the most and best shots wins.

- Field Goal Percentage: Two rules Meyer wants coaches to think about for their teams are that the best shooter should have the most shots in a game and the worst shooter should have the team’s best field-goal percentage as that player only should be taking layups and wide-open shots.
For Northern State, Meyer grades every possession with a scoring system ranging from 4 down to 0.

4= Wide-open layup; 3 = Wide-open shot by good shooter; 2 = Contested shot by good shooter; 1 = Terrible shot; 0 = Turnover.

- Free Throw Attempts: Make more free throws than your opponent attempts.

- Free Throw Percentage: Great teams make their free throws…plain and simple (check out the free-throw-game sidebar to make shooting from the charity stripe more fun and competitive at your practices).

- No One With More Than 15: Use 15 points as a barometer to keep individual players in check. Do not let anyone on the other team score more than 15 points in a game. Help-side defense, rotations and an overall effort by everyone on the floor are necessary to keep a big-time scorer in check.

- 3-Point Game: Your team must make open three-pointers on offense…and, your best shooters need to be taking those shots. On defense, do not allow a player who shoots more than half of his or her shots from behind the arc to get a standing look at the hoop. Force that player to dribble to create space to shoot.

- Floor Game: This involves getting to loose balls, taking charges, saving the ball from a turnover, etc. Make a team goal of taking two charges per game or getting to 90 percent of loose balls.

- Assist Game: Try to have an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2 to 1. Also, look at how many made baskets came from assists. And, try to subjectively track assists by recording “screen assists,” which is when your team scores due to a teammate’s screen.

Of course, all of this information is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what Meyer is willing to offer. He says to email his assistant coach, Matt Hammer, at matt.hammer@wolves.northern.edu for additional information on things such as perimeter play, post play, extra motivation, faith in coaching, getting the most from your players, etc.

Understanding What It Takes to Win

2010-02-17T08:31:00.003-05:00

Below are some comments from Tom Crean, Indiana Head Men's basketball coach on rebuilding the basketball program. Tradition never leaves, but it's about embracing it, respecting it, but more importantly understanding it and making your own mark on it. Coach Crean is the best of the best when it comes to re-building programs, he did it at Marquette and now he's doing it at Indiana and he's doing it the right way! It's about spirit, energy, belief and getting better every day. Changing culture requiresToughness, Belief and Pride along with the 3 C's : Courage; Confidence; Commitment.

"Right now, we are just focused on getting the spirit and energy back, and really the believability that you can play and win. That's what I think we have lost in these games and it's a product of not having the leadership not anywhere near where it needs to be and guys that are truly confident that they can make a difference. That's where we have to continue to build, every day in practice. I don't want to say it has been back to the basics, but it has been back to those defensive drills that are really easy to lose sight of when you are preparing for game after game. If our preparation had to wait until last night and not at practice yesterday morning, that's one thing. But I think the preparation to understand what we are trying to do and getting the spirit back is more important than anything.

"We have a lot of ebbs and flows with the youth of this team, and it's really not just the youth, but the team. We have to continue to grow through that. Like I told the team, there are things that have to be there in order for us to improve and move forward. Number one, there has to be energy on defense. Number two there has to be toughness in the rebounding game and number three there has to be unselfishness in the offense. That means some guys are going to score more than other guys and some guys are going to distribute more than other guys. It's not about playing a role, it's about understanding what it takes to win and that is what we are locked into.
"I may get angry and irritated, but I am not going to get frustrated because I cannot allow frustration to creep into this team. That is what happens when immaturity rears its head. I just don't believe that you can get anywhere with frustration. If there is going to be negative energy, I want it to come from the coaching staff or me. But my focus every day has to be on `Let's just go get better.' "

Being True to Who You Are

2010-02-02T10:57:00.004-05:00

When the topic of 'coach of the year' comes up, there are several coaches this year that can be part of the conversation. However, for me, no other should be higher on that list of candidates than Tony Bennett from Virginia. Currently, Bennett has taken a below average Virginia basketball program, which has struggled the last several years in the ACC conference and energized the program into becoming an ACC title contender. This article talks about Tony Bennett's philosophy of never getting too high and never getting too low and being true to who you are. These are two concepts that we often preach to our teams, yet we never practice them as coaches and individuals. We need to be more positive throughout the whole game, learn to read our players to develop better relationships with them and stay true to who we are as individuals. Like Bennett on the sidelines, we can be competitive without jumping up and down or using foul language. Here is the link to the full article... http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/27/AR2010012703264.html

Alabama's Blueprint for Success

2010-02-02T10:46:00.003-05:00

On the cover of the workout manual issued to UA players nearly 12 months before the BCS National Championship Game was played is the image of a gloved hand, with each digit marked with one of five values. Those five values were designated by head coach Nick Saban as the building blocks of the program from the moment he was hired in January of 2007 with the mission of taking the Crimson Tide back to the national title game. Below are the Five values of success for Alabama Football:

Discipline

Committment

Effort

Toughness

Pride

Find the full article here... http://www.tidesports.com/article/20100201/NEWS/100209986/1011?p=all&tc=pgall

Here is another article about Alabama's blueprint for success... http://www.tidesports.com/article/20100131/NEWS/100139950

What's your blueprint for success?

Coaching Today's Athlete

2010-01-27T11:46:00.002-05:00

The following is the first of four parts of notes taking from a Coach Nick Saban clinic talk while he was coaching at LSU. Thanks to LSU women's assistant, Bob Starkey for sharing this article on his blog, Hoop Thoughts.

You have to relate all the good and bad things that happen to you to some individual play or player. Sometimes players hide within the team. They don’t do what they are supposed to do. I see it in the fourth quarter or in our off-season program all the time. What it boils down to and what I address with the players is, “You don’t get what you want, you get what you deserve.” You are going to get out of the program to what you put in it. The challenge is greater for coaches, plus the kids are different. Are kids different today or does it just seems that way to me? I have a 16-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl at home. They are different because they are not allowed to suffer through anything. We coach a competitive game. In that game there is adversity and failure. In that game you have to play the next play and try to overcome that adversity and failure to receive self-gratification. That is really important. None of the kids are allowed to suffer. As soon as something gets hard for them, someone fixes it for them. They grow up not knowing the difference between cause and effect. Discipline is getting people to do what they are supposed to do, when they’re supposed to do it, and the way it is supposed to be done. Discipline is not punishment. Discipline is changing someone’s behavior to get him to do what you want him to do.Whatever you take away from the players in terms of discipline had better mean something to them. We have a simple rule at LSU. If the player doesn’t do what he is supposed to do, he doesn’t play in the game.I have suspended seven players for academics in 10 years of being a head coach. We are 7-0 in the games where I had that player suspended.It is our responsibility as coaches to get them to do the right thing, not enable them to do the wrong thing. As teachers and coaches, we have to get guys to understand the reasons behind doing things a particular way. That is the best way to coach. Everybody has to have a vision of what they think they can accomplish. You don’t have to be able to see it to do it. Ray Charles sings “America the Beautiful” better than anyone I know. Everything he is singing about he has never seen. He has never seen the sky or the mountains but he has a vision. It is important that people understand what they want to do and how they want to do it. I think you have to have a road map and direction in your program so guys can see that. We have principles and values in our program. Players have to know what is important within a program. Our principles start with helping the individual become successful as a person. We want the player to be more successful for having been in our program than he would have been if he were not here. We want to continue to develop the commitment and character of the players. We want our players to get an education. We have an academic support program that will help the players get that education. The players need to know that their welfare and best interest is at heart with the coach, his staff, and the people whoa re trying to help them. We want every player who comes to LSU to have the opportunity to win a championship before they leave. Since I have been coaching here, all our guys have had a chance to do that. There are no individual goals included in this section.

Motivating Your Team

2010-01-27T11:40:00.003-05:00

I become a big fan of Jon Gordon ever since I started following Coach Bob Starkey from LSU. This posting, which is from Coach Starkey's blog, Hoop Thoughts, is the latest from Gordon's newsletter and taken from his book, "The Energy Bus":

1. Lead with Optimism - Negativity and fear are likely knocking your people off balance and it’s time to regroup, refocus, and unite to create a winning mindset, culture and positive team environment. Now, more than ever, is a time for positive leadership. Now is the time to uplift, encourage and inspire your teams. When your folks talk about the challenges, you talk about the opportunities. When others talk about why they can’t succeed, you give them every reason why they can. So often the difference between success and failure is belief and as a positive leader you need to inspire this belief and optimism in your people.
...
2. Jump into the Trenches – You need to be humble and hungry. Humble in that you seek to learn, grow, and improve every day, and hungry with a passion to work harder than everyone else. Now is not a time to be barricaded in your office. Now is a time to be in the trenches with your people, leading, working, and building a successful future.
.....
3. Fill the Void - These are uncertain times. Employees are questioning how their industries and jobs will be impacted by the current economy. They’re unsure about what actions to take. Unfortunately this uncertainly creates a void and where there is a void, negativity will fill it. In the absence of clear and positive communication, people start to assume the worst, and they will act accordingly. Make transparency the norm, not the exception—after all, the more you communicate, the more you foster trust, and the more loyalty is built. Talk to your team members often, and let them know where they stand. Host frequent town hall meetings, host a weekly conference call, send out a daily email, and share your positive vision for the future. As a leader, you must continually communicate, communicate, and communicate.

4. Share a Positive Vision – Rally your team around a positive vision for the road ahead. Instead of being disappointed about where you are, decide to be optimistic about where you are going. Vision helps you and your team see the road ahead and it gives you something meaningful and valuable to strive towards. Discuss where you have been, where you are going and why you are going there. Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream/vision and he changed the world with it. Share your dream and improve your organization with it. After all, if you think your best days are behind you, they are. If you think your best days are ahead of you, they are.
......
5. Teach Your People to Be Heroes, Not Victims - Heroes and victims get knocked down. The distinction between the two groups lies in the fact that heroes get back up while victims simply give up. Help your employees to realize that they are not victims of circumstance. Rather, remind them that they have a high locus of control—in other words, they have a significant influence over how things turn out. As I wrote in The Shark and the Goldfish, goldfish let fear paralyze them, but sharks choose to swim ahead, believing that the best is yet to come. Faith and belief in a positive future lead to powerful actions today! Life is a story, and the story we tell ourselves and the role we play determines the quality and direction of our life. The most successful people and teams are able to overcome adversity by telling themselves a more positive story than the rest. Instead of a drama or a horror movie, they define their life as an inspirational tale. Instead of being the victim (Goldfish), they see themselves as a fighter and over-comer (Nice Shark).

"Those Who Stay Will Be Champions"

2010-01-18T15:17:00.002-05:00

Schembechler began his tenure as head coach at Michigan with a rallying cry to his players: "Those who stay will be champions!" This slogan foreshadowed the challenges Michigan football players would endure from the dramatic culture change initiated by Schembechler, who emphasized toughness and introduced practices and conditioning far more rigorous than any the players had been exposed to before. His first training camp in 1969 saw around 140 players enter but a mere 75 emerging from the grueling camp and choosing to embrace Schembechler's system. Schembechler's subsequent successes and legacy of propelling the Michigan football program to further national prominence immortalized his promise to his players after accepting the head coaching position at Michigan. Every Michigan football player who played for Bo Schembechler and stayed at Michigan for four years left Michigan with at least one Big Ten championship ring. Not only were they considered champions on the football field, but Schembechler made sure that they were going to be champions off the field as well for the rest of your life. Furthermore, not once did any Michigan player under Bo endure a losing season during his tenure. As such, "Those Who Stay Will Be Champions" remains a beloved team slogan for the Michigan Wolverines and has been immortalized into the tradition and mythology of Michigan football.

The Bridge Builder

2010-01-15T16:13:00.001-05:00

Martin Luther King, Jr., said, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: What are you doing for others?” In a world increasingly dominated by unapologetic selfishness, this idea may seem quaint and outdated. Yet, for those who have a grand vision of their purpose and value, striving to be of service is not only a noble thing to do, it’s the best way to lead a truly fulfilling and significant life.

The Bridge Builder

An old man going a lone highway

Came at the evening, cold and grey,

To a chasm, vast and deep and wide,

Through which was flowing a swollen tide.

The old man crossed in the twilight dim.

That swollen stream held no fears for him,

But he paused when safe on the other side

And built a bridge to span the tide.

“Old man,” said a fellow pilgrim near,

“You’re wasting strength with building here.

Your journey ends with the ending day.

You never again must pass this way.

You’ve crossed this chasm deep and wide.

Why build this bridge at the even’ tide?”
The builder lifted his old grey head,

“Good friend, in the path I have come,” he said,

“There followeth after me today

A youth, whose feet must pass this way.

“This swollen stream that was naught for me,

To that fair-haired youth may a pitfall be.

He too must cross in the twilight dim.

Good friend, I am building the bridge for him.”

- William Allen Droomgoole, Poet

Leadership Lessons from Roy Williams

2010-01-05T09:26:00.002-05:00

I came across this article from Championship Coaches Network, by Jeff Janssen of Janssen Sports Leadership Academy. The article talks about Williams' new book titled, Hard Work.

4 Leadership Lessons from Carolina Coach Roy Williams

The full article can be found here... http://www.championshipcoachesnetwork.com/public/414.cfm

Coach Williams' new book is aptly titled Hard Work. He put in decades of hard work as an aspiring coach to reach the pinnacle of the coaching profession and continues to put in the hard work to maintain his program's elite status by consistently out-recruiting and out-coaching many of his peers.
Coach Williams says, "We put our hands in and chant something my teams have been saying since I was North Carolina's junior varsity coach: Hard work! It's something I've believed in since I was a kid shoveling snow off the basketball court so I could practice or selling calendars or going right back out on the recruiting trail after winning a national title. The phrase is a reminder that nobody is going to outwork us. I think it pulls our guys together and gives them strength. It is what the players chant when they huddle for any timeout or any deadball. It's a constant reminder: Hard work!"

Here are four powerful Leadership Lessons from Coach Williams book Hard Work that can be used by all coaches to build and maintain an elite program.

1. Character Counts
Coach Williams: When I decide that a kid has the talent I am looking for, then I try to find out about his character. I once had an elementary school principal in Wichita, Kansas tell me, "Coach, I wish you'd say academics is the second priority."
"No ma'am," I said. "because if he's a great player and a 4.0 student but he's going to be a pain in the rear end, I want it to be somebody else's rear end."
Too many coaches (and athletic directors) lower their program's standards and take talented players (and coaches) with questionable or poor character. They knowingly accept talented people who have a history of not doing the right thing. It's a big gamble that sometimes pays off in the short-term, but usually has negative consequences in the long-term.
Just as Coach Williams heavily weighs character in the recruiting process, so too should you consider character when selecting your team. (Or if you are an AD, when hiring your coaching staff.) Having people of character makes it much easier to build and maintain a team that is focused on a common goal, not their own selfish desires. Coach Williams writes, "If you have one guy looking out for himself, you're in big trouble. If you have more than one, you have no chance."
Plus, choosing people of character preserves the kind of positive culture and reputation you want for your program. Your athletes will represent you and your school with pride and class. As Coach Williams reminds us - Let the talented yet turbulent individuals be a pain in somebody else's rear end, not yours.

2. Choose to work hard every day.
Coach Williams: I tell every prospect I recruit that I'm going to try to outwork every other coach... I like to ask prospects, "Who is recruiting you the hardest?" If they don't say me, I'm mad and I'll go back to my staff and tell them we've got to do more.
The more I learn from highly successful coaches and athletes, the more I am convinced that having a compelled work ethic is one of the biggest keys to success. Look at most anyone who is consistently at the top of their profession and you will see an individual and a team that is absolutely committed to being the best. They are highly passionate about what they do, invest themselves fully, and willingly put in the necessary hard work.
The great thing about hard work and commitment is that it is a choice. You get to choose at what level you bring it every day. The tough thing about hard work and commitment is that it is also a choice - you must consistently choose to bring it at a high level each and every day - despite distractions, disappointments, and human nature telling you to give up and give in. Roy Williams has chosen to bring it every single day for the last 50 some years of his life - and is a big reason why he, his team, and the Tar Heel faithful are enjoying the fruits of his labors.

3. Be a Fierce Competitor
Coach Williams: I love playing road games. I love that atmosphere. I encourage my players to treat games away from home as a wonderful challenge. I like to tell my team, "Let's go into their living room and steal their brownies." It's all about having the confidence and attitude that I can beat your butt anytime, anywhere, anyplace, anyhow... The bottom line is that I want my players to understand that at some point in every game, somebody's going to give in, and I don't ever want it to be us. We want to be the last team standing.
Underneath Coach Williams folksy and cordial outward demeanor beats the heart of a fierce competitor. He is driven to be the best and enjoys the continual challenge of taking every opponent's best shot - whether at home or on the road. He relates several stories in the book about how his competitiveness has been an edge throughout his career.
If you want to compete with the big boys and girls, you too are going to need to become a fierce competitor. More importantly, you will need to instill your own competitive will in your team as you develop them into competitors. Highly successful programs look to dictate the tempo of the competition and impose their will on their opponents. They force opponents to react to them rather than the other way around. You too can get to this level. But you must remember that having a competitive team is a big key - and it begins with you modeling it, developing it, demanding it, and rewarding it as coach.

4. Win on and off the court.
Coach Williams: Winning still drives me. But I also enjoy putting a team together. Every year presents a different challenge for me. What I will miss the most is building relationships with players. Those bonds are always going to be there and they are personal. They are not based on wins and losses but on something you gave them, something you tried to do for them, something you tried to establish in those kids that would affect their lives.
Even though Coach Williams is highly committed to winning on the court, he also cares about his players' futures off the court. He is just as demanding of his guys when it comes to their performance in the classroom and in the community. He sees himself as a mentor who is privileged to prepare young men for the game of life - whether they are future NBA Superstars or productive members of society.

A Culture of Greatness

2009-12-31T10:58:00.001-05:00

The following is a blog post by Jon Gordon...

"To build a winning a team and a successful organization you must create a culture of greatness."
It’s the most important thing a leader can do because culture drives behavior, behavior drives habits and habits create results. In the words of leaders at Apple, “Culture beats strategy all day long."
When you create a culture of greatness you create a collective mindset in your organization that expects great things to happen—even during challenging times. You expect your people to be their best, you make it a priority to coach them to be their best and most of all you create a work environment that allows them to be their best.
A culture of greatness creates an expectation that everyone in the organization be committed to excellence. It requires leaders and managers to put the right people in the right positions where they are humble and hungry and willing to work harder than everyone else. A culture of greatness dictates that each person use their gifts and strengths to serve the purpose and mission of the organization. And it means that you don’t just bring in the best people, but you also bring out the best in your people.
If you are thinking that this sounds like common sense, it is. But unfortunately far too many organizations expect their people to be their best but they don't invest their time and energy to help them be their best nor do they create an environment that is conducive to success. They want great results but they are not willing to do what it takes to create a culture of greatness.
A culture of greatness requires that you find the right people that fit your culture. Then you coach them, develop them, mentor them, train them and empower them to do what they do best. As part of this process you develop positive leaders who share positive energy throughout the organization because positive energy flows from the top down. You also don’t allow negativity to sabotage the moral, performance and success or your organization. You deal with negativity at the cultural level so your people can spend their time focusing on their work instead of fighting energy vampires. And you find countless ways to enhance communication, build trust and relationships that are the foundation upon which winning teams are built.
If creating a culture of greatness sounds like a lot of work, it is, but not as much work as dealing with the crises, problems and challenges associated with negative, dysfunctional and sub-par cultures. While most organizations waste a lot of time putting out fires you can spend your time building a great organization that rises above the competition.

Jumping on the Engergy Bus

2009-12-31T10:42:00.002-05:00

The following is from the book titled, The Energy Bus: 10 Rules to Fuel Your Life, Work and Team with Positive Energy authored by Jon Gordon.

Here are Gordon's 10 Rules to Fuel Your Life, Work, and Team with Positive Energy.

1. You’re the Driver of the Bus.
2. Desire, Vision and Focus move your bus in the right direction.
3. Fuel your Ride with Positive Energy.
4. Invite People on Your Bus and Share your Vision for the Road Ahead.
5. Don’t Waste Your Energy on those who don’t get on your Bus.
6. Post a Sign that says “No Energy Vampires Allowed” on your Bus.
7. Enthusiasm attracts more Passengers and Energizes them during the Ride.
8. Love your Passengers.
9. Drive with Purpose.
10.Have Fun and Enjoy the Ride.

10 Thoughts about Leadership

1. People follow the leader first and the leader's vision second - It doesn't matter if the leader shares a powerful vision, if the leader is not someone who people will follow the vision will never be realized. As a leader, who you are makes a difference. The most important message you can share is yourself.

2. Trust is the force that connects people to the leader and his/her vision - Without trust there is a huge gap between the leader and the vision. Without trust people will stay off the bus. However if people trust the leader they will hop on the bus with the leader and help move the bus forward towards the vision.

3. Leadership is not just about what you do but what you can inspire, encourage and empower others to do.

4. A leader brings out the best within others by sharing the best within themselves.

5. Just because you're driving the bus doesn't mean you have the right to run people over - Abraham Lincoln said "Most anyone can stand adversity, but to test a man's character give him power." The more power you are granted the more it is your responsibility to serve, develop and empower others. When you help them grow they'll help you grow.

6. “Rules without Relationship Leads to Rebellion” - Andy Stanley said this and it's one of my favorite quotes. As a leader you can have all the rules you want but if you don’t invest in your people and develop a relationship with them they will rebel. This applies amazingly to children as well. It's all about relationships.

7. Lead with optimism, enthusiasm and positive energy, guard against pessimism and weed out negativity.

8. Great Leaders know they don't have all the answers - Rather they build a team of people who either know the answers or will find them.

9. Leaders inspire and teach their people to focus on solutions, not complaints. (The No Complaining Rule)

10. Great leaders know that success is a process not a destination - One of my heroes John Wooden, the legendary UCLA basketball coach, never focused on winning. He knew that winning was the by product of great leadership, teamwork, focus, commitment and execution of the fundamentals. As a leader focus on your people and process, not the outcome.

Passion Energizes Talent!

2009-12-02T10:54:00.001-05:00

"What carries people to the top? What makes them take risks, go the extra mile, and do whatever it takes to achieve their goals? It isn't talent. It's passion. Passion is more important than a plan. Passion creates fire. It provides fuel. I have yet to meet a passionate person who lacked energy. As long as the passion is there, it doesn't matter if they fail. It doesn't matter how many times they fall down. It doesn't matter if others are against them or if people say they cannot succeed. They keep going and make the most of whatever talent they possess. They are talent-plus people and do not stop until they succeed."

From "Talent Is Never Enough" by John Maxwell

Choices

2009-11-30T15:15:00.002-05:00

Tom Crean believes that it's the details, energy and passion that seperate the winners. Everyone wants to win, but not everybody is willing to do all the things that are necessary to win, not everybody is willing to do the little things time and time again, that's what is needed to reach excellence. It's the extra that seperates the ordinary from the extrordinary! Tony Dungy, the former coach of the Indianapolis Colts, believes that there are 4 traits of a winner and they are...
1.) Talent
2.) Intellegence
3.)Character and
4.) Toughness

What are your 4 traits of a winner?

My personal 4 traits of a winner are...
1. Energy: is how much passion and enthusiasm we commit towards something. Without energy, we cannot give our best because when you are energized you are engaged and it's essential to be engaged in order to compete at the highest level, which is excellence. Energy and enthusiasm then become contagious and can inspire others around you.

2. Effort: is simply hard work and "there is no substitute for hard work!"

3. Execution: is combining energy and effort to prepare to the best of your ability, which gives you discipline to execute at the highest level, which is excellence.

4. Toughness: is essential for a player or team to develop to reach potential. Toughness has nothing to do with size, strength or athleticism. Toughness is a choice that anybody can make. Toughness is a skill that anybody can develop and improve on. "Players play, but tough players win!"

Energy + Enthusiasm + Execution = Excellence

I refer to them as the 3 E's plus toughness. When equated together, the 3 E's always equals Excellence! You need toughness, however, to get you through the obstacles that all great teams are faced with overcoming. You need toughness to do the little things right and to do them consistently. The ultimate goal of a winner is to strive for excellence! When you combine passion (energy), hard work (effort) and preparation (execution), you give yourself an opportunity to achieve full potential, which is considered to be excellence!

Whatever your 4 traits may be, the most important thing is that it all comes down to one thing...choice! It comes down to you making the choice to believe in those things, stick to 'em and never waivering from them. Sometimes life deals us situations that are outside of our control, but our traits are always our choice. We can choose our attitude, we can choose our enthusiasm, we can choose what we are passionate about, we can choose how much energy we have, we can choose how much effort we put into something and we can certainly choose how much we prepare for something, we can also choose how tough we are or how tough we play. Everyday we make choices, some good, some bad, but it's our choices that determines our character, our attitude. It's our choices that determine how we handle adversity, how we overcome obstacles.

It's All About Character...

Watch your thoughts,

they become your words.

Watch your words,

they become your actions.

Watch your actions,

they become habits.

Watch your habits,

They become your character.

Watch your character,

it becomes your destiny.

Wooden on Leadership

2009-11-30T13:58:00.002-05:00

Over the Thanksgiving holiday I had a chance to do some reading. At the start of the season, I always like to pick up and read something from John Wooden, his coaching methods and beliefs always helps put coaching into perspective. I read some chapters from the book "Wooden on Leadership", here are some of the things that I picked up as I was reading...

Wood On...Character

Character Starts with Doing the Little Things:

1. Choosing the Right Attitude & Conduct

Do nothing that will harm or will negatively impact you, your family, your friends, your school or your team.

2. Having Respect

Respect yourself - have personal pride

Respect others...opponents, coaches and officials

Respect the game

3. Being a Good Student

Be a good student in the classroom

Be a student of the game

Be a good citizen in the community

4. Fighting Spirit & Conditioning

Have more energy than your opponent

Be better conditioned - mentally & physically

Respect your opponent, but believe that you are better in talent, knowledge, condition and fighting spirit

"It's the Little Things that Make the Big Things Happen"

Think small. Work Hard. Get Better (good).

High performance & production are achieved only through the identification and perfection of small details...little things done well!

If you collect enought pennies, eventually you'll be rich. Each relevant & perfected detail was another penny in our bank...When you focus on doing the little things and work hard to make those a habit, you will get better. When those little things are done well on a consistent basis, you can consider it to be perfected!

"The difference in a championship team and a good team is often the perfection of minor details" - John Wooden

Wooden On: Coach and Player Relationships

"Nobody cares how much you know, until they know how much you care." - John Wooden

If you don't think your team as a family, why should the team think of you as head of the family. You must have love and respect for those you lead.

1. Be close, but keep their respect. Have a vested interest in them as a person and be easy to approach

2. Maintain discipline without being a dictator. Be fair and lead, don't drive.

3. Study & respect the individuality of each player, handle them accordingly. Follow the "Golden Rule"...and treat them as you would expect to be treated.

4. Try to develop the same sense of responsibility in all...no matter what their talent level, playing time may be.

5. Analyze yourself & your players to be coached accordingly; "The Man in the Glass" poem

6. Approval is a great motivator. Use positive reinforcement after severe criticism.

7. Teach loyalty, honesty and respect inorder to build proper team spirit.

8. The team always comes first, but don't sacrifice a player just to prove a point

Wooden On...Coaching Methods

"You must first be what you want your team to become" - John Wooden

1. Be a teacher. Use the laws of learning: explanation > demonstration > imitation > feedback > repetition until it becomes a habit

2. Use lectures, photos, videos or diagrams to supplement practices

3. Insist on undivided attention

4. Insist on punctuality and proper dress for practice

5. Practice is preparation

6. Show patience, poise and faith

7. Give new things early in practice period, then repeat daily until learned.

8. Avoid public criticism

9. Encourage teamwork and unselfishness

10. Individual development helps the team development

11. In practice, use small, carefully organized groups

12. Have a practice plan...and follow it.

Action speaks louder than words...

No written word nor spoken plea,

Can teach your team what they should be,

Nor all the books on the shelves,

It's what the leaders are themselves.

Wooden On...Leading

1. Control Emotion Or It Will Control You

Uncontrolled emotion decreases a leaders stature, lessens respect and undermines a teams effort

Intensity, when correctly applied, can produce improvement and positive results

2. Avoid Excess. Shoot for Moderation

Moderation & balance are linked to long term success

Excess can create ineffective and/or undisciplined performance

3. Install Emotional Discipline

4. The Star of the Team is the Team

Your team first message must be delivered consistently and persistently

5. Insist Team Members "Share the Ball"

Team members and coaches must communicate openly and consistently with each other and share information, ideas and feedback...have a 'best practice' mindset

6. Go Out of Your Way to Praise Quiet Team Members

Praise those team members who make things happen, but don't always get noticed. Praise those who are behind the scenes working hard (i.e. assistants, janitors, statisticians, volunteers, students, parents...)

7. Desire Players Who Make Good Teammates

You want players who will make good teammates, not good players.

Learning How to Win & Pioneer

2009-11-24T11:04:00.002-05:00

This morning I listened to a radio show, hosted by Coach K called "Beyond Basketball". His guest for this particular show was Pat Summit, head women's coach at Tennessee University. During the conversation between Coach K and Pat Summit, many interesting topics were discussed, probably the most interesting topic in my opinion was when Coach Summit was explaining the difficulties she was having with her team 'learning how to win'.

As Coach Summit explained it, sometimes programs, such as Tennessee, who have long standing traditions of winning championships and excellence, the players sometimes beleive that all they have to do is 'put on the uniform' to win. However, recently that has not been the case with Tennessee, who has lost Candace Parker and a number of other key players to graduation. Coach K asked her what they do in the Tennessee program to teach young players how to win...

As Pat Summit explained it, in her program, it all starts with building a foundation. That foundation is made of up things that you have control over...

How hard you play...defense, rebounding, protecting the basketball

Your attitude

Competing everyday

Leaders taking ownership

The final segment of Coach K's radio show, "Beyond Basketball" always ends with a key word. The word for this segment that he spoke about was 'pioneer', which was very fitting considering his guest was Pat Summit. Coach Summit has been a 'pioneer' for womens basketball. She became the first and only head women's basketball coach at Tennessee University in 1974 at the young age of 22 (her first graduating seniors were 21 at the time). When she started, there were no chartered buses or planes to away games, no administrative assistants, no sponsorship deals, no top of the line basketball practice facilities or locker rooms. At the time when she started, she was the head coach, who also drove the team van to away games. When you look at where she started to where she is now and where women's college basketball is now, she is considered to be a 'pioneer'. Here are some of Coach K's highlights on what a pioneer is and what it takes to be a pioneer...

A pioneer is someone or some group who starts a movement through their hunger, vision and ability to drive success. Pioneers don't break molds, but are willing to go into unchartered waters to start a journey that defines the future for others who will follow, setting a precident. As Coach K explained, since pioneers don't have any traditions or past experiences to follow, they must have guts and courage. They must be committed to their vision and willing to take risks, without being afraid to fail. They must have passion and the confidence to follow their instincts. To be a pioneer, it takes a special person or a special group, willing to fight and sacrifice, willing to go above and beyond and willing to do the things that have never been done!

Other 'pioneers' for the game of basketball:

John Wooden

Will Robinson and John Chaney...pioneer for African-American coaches

Don Haskins, Texas Western...1966 NCAA Champions; first coach to start five African-Americans

Dr. James Naismith...invented the game of basketball

Cheryl Miller, Lisa Leslie, Candace Parker...pioneers for women's basketball

Thoughts on Beginning a New Season

2009-11-17T13:50:00.004-05:00

The start of each season is so exciting, fresh start, new opportunities and new faces. As the beginning of the hoops season comes upon us, here are some quotes and thoughts to help get your team off to a great start!

Play Hard, Play Smat, Play Together & Have Fun...with Enthusiasm, Energy and Execution for 40 minutes, with a Will to WIN!

Don't count the time, make the time count for you. - Roy Williams

Goals that are not written down are just wishes.

The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra.

Never quit. It is often the last key on the ring that opens the door.

Great people talk about ideas. Average people talk about things. Small people talk about other people.

Begin with the end in mind.

It is useful to look back and to look forward as well. Always remember, though, that now is where you are, and now is when you can make a difference.

There are people who make things happen.
There are people who watch things happen.
And there are people who wonder, "What happened?"
To be successful, you need to be a person who makes things happen.
- James A. Lowell, Astronaut

Becoming a Champion...on the court, in the classroom and in the community!Champions do not become champions on the court. They become recognized on the court. They become champions because of their daily routine and daily commitment to excellence. Players do not decide their future; they decide their habits and their habits decide their future!

All of this starts with how you think and what you think.
Your thoughts become your words.
Your words become your actions.
Your actions become your habits.
Your habits become your character.
Your character becomes your destiny.

Therefore, being successful at anything is determined by your daily choices and habits.

A champion is someone who gets up when he can't. -Jack Dempsey

Sacrifice and Rise Above

"If you want something you've never had...you must be willing to do something you've never done."

Do the hard things...do the little things

It's about each one of us rising up above, rising our levels, where others say we are or where we don't belong. It's about us pushing ourselves and each other to rise above those levles. It's about us lifting the program above that...each taking accountability, step by step, inch by inch.

The Top Ten Tips to a Successful Basketball Season (from iHoops.com)

10. Be Eligible & Stay Eligible!
First and foremost, you have to take care of your academics. As we always say, “You can’t make the plays if you can’t make the grades! Student comes first in "Student-Athlete"!

9. Set a Realistic Goal for the Season!
Set a realistic goal and work towards it everyday; have it visible on your dresser, on your bathroom mirror or in your locker at school.

8. Eat Right & Sleep Tight!
Make sure you eat a balanced, healthy diet and you give your body the rest it needs! Read your summer conference notebook or some old First Team Newsletter stories for nutrition and health tips.

7. Execute Fundamentals, Fundamentals, and Fundamentals!
Be solid and be text book! Do what you know, know what you do. Now is not the time to experiment. Summer is when champions are made…Fall is when they perform!

6. Follow Team Rules!
Honor your team rules and be a part of the team. No one is bigger than the TEAM! Be a "Program Guy", not a player guy!

5. Be Coach-able & Accept Constructive Criticism!
Don't make the same mistake twice! Take criticism from coaches and upperclassman; know the coach’s philosophy and follow it. Know your role! Ask questions and observe.

4. How You Practice is How you Play!
If you loaf in practice, you’ll loaf in the game. When you practice hard every practice as if it were a real game, when game time comes, you will be able to play at a high level of intensity. Out hustle the next guy. Leave all of your effort out on the floor everyday. What are you saving yourself for? You might just find out how much more heart you have buried deep down inside! On days you don't feel like practicing, practice harder!

3. Play Hard, Play Smart, All the time!
Is there anything else to say? What ever you do, do it with the same enthusiasm, positive attitude and desire. Maximize your time at practice when it’s time to practice. No joking around. You have to do 10-wind sprints at practice, do 10, not 9½. The same for the books. When it’s time study, don’t cheat yourself, study. If your homework requires you to read 3 chapters, read 3, not 2½. Don't just play hard and play smart...Play hard, Play Smart, Play Together and Play with Pride!

2. Balance Your “ABS” (Academics, Basketball & Social Life)
You must find balance between ACADEMICS, BASKETBALL and SOCIAL LIFE. If one begins to dominate, then the others will begin to suffer. Each must be kept in proper perspective with attention dedicated equally to all three. Work those ABS!

1. Have Fun!
You’re still a young man or woman and remember you play this sport because you love it! You’re good at something you love and something you’re dedicated to, HOOPS! There’s no pressure on you? What’s pressure? Chuck Knoll, former head coach of the 6-time Super Bowl Champions Pittsburgh Steelers once said, “Pressure is something you feel when you don’t know what you’re doing! You know how to HOOP…So HOOP it up!

"Somewhere behind the athlete you've become, the hours of practice, the coaches who push you, the teammates who believe in you and the fans who cheer for you, there's a little boy who fell in love with the game and never looked back...PLAY FOR HIM!"

Motivating Todays Athlete

2009-11-03T11:31:00.002-05:00

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

2009-11-03T11:16:00.003-05:00

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

2009-10-30T11:16:00.002-04:00

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

2009-10-30T11:09:00.004-04:00

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...

2009-09-29T11:43:00.002-04:00

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

2009-09-29T11:19:00.002-04:00

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

2009-09-29T11:16:00.001-04:00

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

2009-09-29T10:18:00.003-04:00

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

2009-08-19T13:48:00.001-04:00

Nestle - Remember When

Shared via AddThis

100,000 Ways to Show Commitment

2009-08-14T10:13:00.003-04:00

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.''

The A, B, C's of Success

2009-08-10T13:41:00.002-04:00

Found this on Kevin Eastman's Twitter. Kevin is the assistant coach for the Boston Celtics and a great player development guru!

"ATTITUDE, BELIEF, and CHEMISTRY are 3 key factors in TEAM SUCCESS; I call them the ABC's of Success"

Twitterisms for August 10

2009-08-10T08:21:00.003-04:00

Below are a few great quotes I found on a few Twitter sites...

"There comes a time when winter asks what you have done all summer"

The price of greatness is responsibility

"Surrender" is not in a CHAMPIONS vocabulary

"ENCOURAGEMENT". It ENables players to play with the *COURAGE* to dare the difficult-without the fear of making a mistake

CONFIDENCE determines whether our steps — individually and collectively — are tiny and tentative or big and bold.”

You must be committed to do the things today that others won’t do, so tomorrow you will have the things others won’t have.

A secret to success: ALWAYS exceed expectations. Even with the "small" stuff. Under promise and over deliver. Do more than is asked.

Momentum Breakers vs. Momentum Makers

2009-07-31T11:36:00.002-04:00

This is a very good article from John Maxwell, a well known author on Leadership. As Dr. Maxwell explains, your responsibility as a leader is to understand momentum, to get it moving for your organization, and to sustain it over time. That momentum must be sustained even during times of adversity. People who are fully committed to a team, a group or an organization never waiver that committment during times of adversity. This is an important concept to remember when speaking to a group about gaining their commitment towards establishing relationships, identifying roles and achieving team goals. As a leader or a coach, we should all be reviewing the concept of momentum breaker vs a momentum maker and defining each type and the overall impact each has on a team's ability to achieve success.

Momentum Breakers and Makers
Momentum breaker - double-mindedness
Momentum maker - focus
By creating and following a clear and focused vision statement, a leader develops momentum. A leader drains away momentum by shooting at nothing or attempting everything.
Movement causes friction. When you paint a target for your team, you'll likely encounter resistance. As a leader, you can't restrict yourself by living inside of someone else's comfort zone. Great accomplishments require leaders to fix their gaze beyond what's easily attainable.

Momentum breaker - the past
Momentum maker - the future
An organization picks up steam when its leaders point to a better tomorrow. Momentum breaks down when leaders preoccupy themselves with the past. Or, as I've heard quoted, "Losers yearn for the past and get stuck in it. Winners learn from the past and let go of it."
Many people have powerful dreams. However, most don't realize that the viability of their ideal tomorrow is based on what they do today. The difference between a dream and wishful thinking is what you're doing now. Practice today what you want to be tomorrow. If you do it well enough, someday you may arrive at your dream. In other words...if you want to be a champion, then you must practice like a champion everday!

Momentum breaker - individualism
Momentum maker - teamwork
If you want to kill momentum, then insist on doing things by yourself. Momentum grows through team victories in which numerous people can claim to have played a role. The level of celebration on a team depends upon the level of participation.

Momentum breaker - critical attitude
Momentum maker - constructive attitude
Tennis great Chris Evert said it best, "The thing that separates good players from great ones is mental attitude. It might only make a difference of two or three points over an entire match, but how you play those key points often makes the difference between winning and losing."

Momentum breaker - tradition
Momentum maker - creativity
Don't tear down the fence until you understand why it was built. At the same time, relentlessly question the logic, "that's how we have always done it." What worked in the past may be outdated and could hold you back in the future.

Momentum breaker - apathy
Momentum maker - passion
Passion energizes your talent and rubs off on those around you. If you have courage, then you will influence people based on your passionate convictions. If you lack courage, then you will only influence people to the extent of your comfort zone.

Momentum breaker - dishonesty
Momentum maker - character
Character is the sum total of our everyday choices. It cannot be built overnight. A trustworthy leader has a much easier time generating momentum than a leader with a reputation of being manipulative and deceitful.

Momentum breaker - conformity
Momentum maker - change
As John F. Kennedy said, "Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth." Sticking with the status quo won't create an ounce of momentum. Although it's difficult and may demand sacrifice, change is required to build momentum.

Momentum breaker - ingratitude
Momentum maker - gratitude
As a Chinese proverb states, "Those who drink the water must remember those who dug the well." No one can claim to be self-made. Whatever accomplishments we attain in life have connections to the goodwill and support of those around us. When we express thankfulness for the benefits bestowed upon us by friends and colleagues, then those people are more apt to aid us again in the future.

Momentum breaker - indecision
Momentum maker - action
I am never overly impressed with idea people. Anyone who takes a long shower can come up with a good idea. I'm impressed with a person who has the tenacity and discipline to make ideas happen. I've seen many leaders break the momentum on their team by succumbing to the paralysis of analysis. Leaders have to act with incomplete information. You can never know all of the variables. Momentum and risk go hand in hand. As a leader, if you always play it safe, then you'll never inspire excitement in those you lead.

Closing Assignment
I'll leave you with a simple assignment. Assess your personal momentum. Are you serving as a momentum breaker or a momentum maker on your team? What is responsible for your momentum or lack thereof? Do you recognize any of the momentum makers or breakers in your personal leadership?

The Importance of Having a Team

2009-07-31T11:28:00.002-04:00

This article was posted by Bob Starkey, the Associate Head Coach for the women's basketball team at LSU. Special thanks to coach Starkey for providing us with such a powerful article on why coaching a team is so important to so many. For me, this article really hit home because a day not spent in gym helping student-athletes improve and work towards achieving their goals, is like a having a bad day!

If you have followed Coach Don Meyer the past year, he has not doubt been a great inspiration to us all. But it is important to understand that as he navigates through the adversity that even in pain he is trying to teach us coaches. It is what he does best -- help us to do our jobs better.
That's why one message he was sending us over and over resonated with me very strongly -- give thanks we have a team. If you watched any of his interviews, the part that was most emotional for Coach Meyer was talking about having a team to coach -- to teach -- to mold.
During a video of his story showed during the ESPYs, the poignant moment of the night was when his daughter Brittany spoke of the first communicative message from Coach after the car accident. Unable to speak, he grabbed a pen and pad and wrote, "How long before I can coach?" In other words, "when can I rejoin my team!"
Not too long ago I had career opportunity that would have kept me in athletics but took me away from coaching. As I do before making a big decision, I have a small circle of influence that I ask for advice and guidance which by the way always includes Coach Meyer. At the top of that list is my junior high coach and mentor, Allen Osborne. Allen listened to me explain everything and then told me to pass on it and stay in coaching. I asked him why and he responded, "You will miss the feeling of being part of a team. You will miss shaping a team. There is something special about a team." His words carried a lot of weight because a few years before, after long and successful career, Allen had retired. It lasted on year. He need a team again.
To me the best part of being a coach is practice. It's what I enjoy the most. It's where I think I have the most influence on our "team." The way we conduct practices at LSU, in my opinion, not only makes them better players but better people. When asked what he misses most about coaching, John Wooden simply said, "Practice. The smell of the gym. The sound of sneakers squeaking."
This really hit home even more last night when I was reading "Champion," a magazine published by the NCAA. Don Ketchum wrote an article in this summer's edition on Bruce Snyder. Coach Snyder was an outstanding football coach that died last spring after a courageous 10-month battle with cancer.
Here's a little from Ketchum's article:
Snyder's cancer was discovered in June 2008, and he began his long difficult fight at medical facilities in Phoenix and at his home. Late in 2008, Snyder was invited by Texas coach Mack Brown to visit practice for the Fiesta Bowl. Snyder described the experience on http://www.caringbridge.org/:
"I was treated first class," he wrote. "Golf cart, access to the entire field, introduction to Coach Brown's staff individually and was able to watch the entire practice."
"At one point, I closed my eyes and took in the feeling of being at practice. There was the smell of cut grass, the voices of coaches on the run yelling instructions, the sound of the horn to alert players and coaches to switch drills and the sounds of pads -- it took me back to the days that I cherish."
"And at the end of practice, Coach Brown introduced me to his team and asked if I would say a few words. What an honor. I love talking to a team. It wasn't my team, but it was a football team."
Sometimes we take things for granted -- like we in fact do have a team...our team! Sure, we have our share of adversity and obstacles but that's life -- and we still have our team!
It also reminds of something that I heard Kelvin Sampson speak about three springs ago at a coaching clinic. He said his program would look each year for a retired coach to adopt because of the enormous hole in your soul when you get out of coaching. They would invite the coach to practices. Ask him for input. Have him address their team. Take him on a road trip. What an amazing idea. Mack Brown gave Coach Snyder a wonderful gift by making him a part of the Longhorn football program for an afternoon.
So today, let's be thankful that we have a team...a team to practice...a team to coach. And let's think about those who no longer do and make them a part of our team!
If you have the time, please copy and paste and email this to every coach you know. It's really an important message for all coaches to understand.

How to Win with Less Talent

2009-07-21T14:18:00.002-04:00

Let's face it, we have all been there as coaches...young players who are inexperienced, undersized and lack athleticism. How do you win with such a low level of talent? Good, talented players make us out to be good coaches. You can have the best offensive plays, presses or scramble defense in the world, but it takes talented players to execute those x's and o's. So, how do you win with less talent? It's been done! Here is a piece from Hubie Brown on how it can be done...

Control the defensive boards
Take more shots than your opponent...by forcing turnovers and offensive rebounds
Shoot more Free Throws...must make them; get 3-pt plays...you must get to the line! The team that takes the most FTs wins 9 out of 10 times.
Get your best shooters high percentage shots...is your offense getting your best 2 shooters shots that they can make?... chart your shooting drills to see where they shoot well from
Prevent turnovers...by breaking pressure...the difference between great teams is often the amount of time it takes to advance the ball from top of key to top of key.

Here are some thoughts from Dick Bennett on how to win with less talent...
Make free throws; don't foul - giving up free throws & negating pressure; don't give second shots to the opponent; don't give up offensive rebounds; prevent turnovers; take good shots; and don't give up uncontested shots to the opponent.

Twitter Quotes

2009-07-21T13:59:00.002-04:00

I don't currently have a Twitter account, but it's a great place to go for powerful quotes that are short and to the point. Here are a few that I came across lately that I thought were interesting...

You haven't EARNED the right to shoot until you have LEARNED what a good shot is.

from Ed Schilling:"Guard your yard"-prevent your man from dribble penetrating 1 yard on either side of you

Your program must have an overriding purpose which is clearly visible and which teaches lessons beyond winning. -- Don Meyer

"Success comes from knowing that you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming."

Defensively think about this: wins occur by what you do on the other side of the floor; not always what you do on the ball side of floor

execution requires timing, spacing, pace, vision, and concentration; the great teams understand this and work on these things each day!

"Habit passes" are what our defenders have to ready for; all players seem to have them; if defense is ready for them you can get a few

A hesitant athlete is a non athlete

Little hinges swing big doors. Little things do make a big difference!

Take pride in overcoming difficulties. The greater the difficulty, the greater the pride

"Treat people as they are, and they will remain that way. Treat them as what they can be, and you help them become..." - Goethe

The 4 Cancerous Behaviors of Athletes: Criticizing, Complaining, Comparing & Condemning.

Small minds discuss people. Average minds discuss events. Great minds discuss ideas.

Notes From the LeBron James Academy

2009-07-17T13:33:00.002-04:00

LeBron James Academy Recap

by Alan Stein 9. July 2009 08:23

The mission of the LeBron James Nike Skills Academy was the same as the position academies; “positively impact the lives of elite players by providing superior instruction, personal mentorship, and a once in a lifetime experience.” The goal of the Lebron Academy was to build on the previous academies and teach players how to incorporate the skills they learned specifically for their position in to a team philosophy. Did they accomplish their goal? As George Bush said, “mission accomplished.” Although this time it is true!

Nike set the standard for youth basketball development and the LeBron James Skills Academy and accompanying King City Classic have been heralded as the premiere events of the summer. What made it such an incredible event was the fact that King James himself was so actively involved. The reigning NBA MVP made a commitment to be an integral part of this event and he came through in a big way. It is universally accepted that LeBron has an undeniable work ethic, solid fundamentals, and an obvious passion and true love for the game. He epitomizes everything positive about the greatest game on earth. And despite his astounding fame, fortune, and world renowned notoriety, he still made the time to give back and to help those aspiring to follow in his foot steps. I saw first hand, for three and half days, that LeBron is a class act and deserves every bit of the success he has achieved.

In addition to LeBron’s participation, Nike assembled an elite staff of coaches and skill instructors; including many of the games best teachers. The theme at the initial staff meeting was succinct:

Have energy and enthusiasm at every workout; sweat with the players.
Teach
to your personality; don’t try to be someone you’re not. Be authentic.
Keep the drills moving! Less talk, more action!
It’s not how much you
know; it’s how much you bring that counts! Bring your best every workout.
Improvement is a constant, repetitive process. Do the little things to
keep things fun!

The official banquet was held on Monday and was absolutely spectacular. The food, décor, and atmosphere were first class. There was a professional DJ spinning records the entire time and they showed numerous LeBron highlight clips and commercials (many of which haven’t been released yet). The highlight of the night was a live Q & A with King James and ESPN’s Jay Bilas. Jay asked numerous questions as well as asked LeBron to say the first thing that popped into his mind when historic pictures of his career were put on the big screen; first Sports Illustrated cover (“I was just a kid”), shaking David Stern’s hand on draft night (“a dream come true”), holding up the 2009 MVP trophy (“hard work paid off”), and hearing the National Anthem upon receiving the Gold Medal in the 2009 Olympics in Beijing (“biggest accomplishment of my career”). LeBron was funny, entertaining, but very truthful. Again, a total class act. Nike kept highlighting the fact that LeBron is extremely loyal. For example he still resides in Akron, where he grew up, and insisted the academy was held in his hometown. He even chose to have his MVP press conference at his old high school to show the world he hasn’t forgotten his roots. Nike presented him with a pair of one of kind LeBron 2009 MVP Air Force 1’s. In closing, LeBron told the players, “I am here for you guys, the players. You are the games’ future, so take that seriously. Represent yourselves to the fullest and honor the game. Heck, one of you might host a camp that my kid goes to one day!”

While this was my third time meeting and seeing LeBron up close; I forgot how physically imposing he is. He is an absolute specimen. He has the perfect basketball physique. I closely followed his every move as I am always trying to learn from the great ones. He had a very standard pre-workout routine (which I wrote down in my notes) he followed meticulously before every workout session. It included getting his ankles taped and having his trainer (Mike Mancias of the Cleveland Cavaliers) stretch him out thoroughly. Once he hit the court he was all business. Intently watching him in the drills, I noticed that everything he did was crisp and sharp. He did everything at game speed; never just went through the motions. Every pass, every shot, and even his footwork were perfect. LeBron has great work habits. He had tremendous focus and an unbelievable level of concentration during each workout. He was also a great communicator. Despite balls bouncing, shoes squeaking, and players competing in drills on two courts – you could always hear his voice. He was a presence. Mark my words; LeBron James is not a great player by accident. He was worked for it. He has earned it.

Speaking of communication; midway through the first workout, he pulled the high schoolers aside to offer this bit of wisdom, “As the best player on your team, your presence alone should create opportunities for your teammates. You should demand double and triple teams every time you touch the ball which means your teammates are open. It’s your responsibility to get them the ball and to help them be successful. Great players make those around them better.” Amen.

Unfortunately, I never got the opportunity to interview LeBron one on one about his training. So I did the next best thing; I spoke with his trainer! Mike Mancias, an assistant athletic trainer and strength & conditioning coach for the Cavs, was gracious enough to rap with me for a few minutes and give me some insight to LeBron’s regiment. While working for the Cavs full time, Coach Mancias is primarily responsible for LeBron. He goes with LeBron everywhere; even went with him to China for the Olympics. Since LeBron is such a workout machine, Coach Mancias admitted he is on call and keeps his Blackberry glued to his hip! He said LeBron does something workout wise almost every day; shooting work with private coach, hits the weights, takes yoga, or does some pool work. He aims to do 3 or 4 structured strength workouts a week focusing on full body movements, core strength, and improving joint mobility and integrity (ankles, hips, etc.). He also incorporates some cardio intervals in the mix. I watched one of LeBron’s strength workouts which included a combination of upper body movements, core exercises, and short intervals on the versa-climber. I always feel good knowing the stuff I do with my players is the same stuff guys like King James does! I also saw part of one of LeBron’s shooting workouts; very intense.

Jay Bilas, whom I have always very much respected and admired, brought up a great point about Mike’s talk. Inevitably, when you ask a group of elite level players “who wants to play in the NBA?” every hand in the room goes up. Then you ask, “Who truly believes they will play in the NBA?” not a single hand budges – they all stay up. Then you ask, “How many of you have made basketball your #1 priority; have made it 100% your main focus in life?” Again, no hands waver. Every player in the room swears they have made basketball their life and truly believes they are doing everything they can to make it to the league.

Yet when you ask them if they spend an hour a day working on their weak hand, or if they make (not take) 400-500 shots a day from game spots at game speed, or if they have read any books by Dean Smith, John Wooden, or Pete Newell, or if they are on a structured, year round strength & conditioning program, if they eat breakfast every day… 99.99% of the time you only get excuses. A lot of players say they will do anything to make it the NBA, but only a select few actually do.

The 4 P's for Success

2009-07-17T07:45:00.002-04:00

The 4 P's for Success...

Proper Preparation Produces Positive Results!

Random Thoughts

2009-07-09T09:06:00.003-04:00

I usually post a "Thought of the Day", but I have recently come across a few thoughts and quotes that I really liked...

"He works great with players," Hewitt said. "I think the way he connects with players is what separates him from everyone else. He knows the game really well, too. He studies it and always does a great job scouting. He's going to get the kids to buy in, and he'll keep them motivated and they'll play really, really hard for him."
- Paul Hewitt, Head Coach at Georgia Tech on newly hired coach at Georgia Southern, Charlton Young.
"It’s the way you handle the kids and it’s morale and that’s a big thing here. When you break morale, kids aren’t going to play for you; they don’t want to play for you. The kids have to like you to a certain extent and have to respect you. But you have to respect them, too, and treat them fairly.”
- Former Marine Corps Lt. and newly hired Shade HS Head Varsity Footbal Coach, Gene Boley
- Pete Newell, the legendary coach and teacher, has often said that basketball is "over-coached and under-taught".
- Wake Forest football coach Jim Grobe: "We're not looking for the best players we can find. We're looking for the best kids we can find."

Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-26T13:31:00.004-04:00

Check out the video below I posted from You Tube, where Hubie Brown talks about his greatest inspiration...his father. In the video he talks about how his father taught him everything, most importantly to never cheat yourself, never cheat your teammates and never cheat your coaches or employer! He taught him that everything in life must be earned. Our fathers should all be our inspirations!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IIRsGIn3Ko&feature=player_embedded

I can honestly say that my father was my inspiration. He was a small man physically, very kind hearted, very calm and soft spoken. But, in so many ways he was a giant. His lessons that were taught to me were the best. He was great father who taught me so many life lessons, mostly through sports. He was a great person who valued friendship, honesty, integrity and servicing his community. He was hardworking, dedicated and commited to giving his best to what ever he was doing. He was extremely proud of his family and where he came from and was willing to do anything for his family and friends. He was proud but humbled and constantly reminded me that no matter how hard I worked or how good I thought I was, there was always somebody out there somewhere working just as hard, if not harder than me. That drove me to work harder, thinking that there could be somebody else out-working me. I didn't want that, so I kept working and working to get better. Dad, thanks for being you. Thanks for always being there, coaching, supporting and loving us no matter what we did. We love you and miss you greatly!

The Power of Purpose

2009-06-10T09:48:00.000-04:00

When you are inspired
by some great purpose,
some extraordinary project,
all your thoughts
break their bounds:
Your mind
transcends limitations,
your consciousness
expands in every direction,
and you find yourself
in a new, great,
and wonderful world.
Dormant forces,
faculties, and talents
become alive,
and you discover yourself
to be a greater person by far
than you ever dreamed
yourself to be.

- Patanjali (Second century B.C.) philosopher

"TOTD" for May 31, 2009

2009-06-04T15:30:00.003-04:00

I thought that I would publish this "TOTD" as a post in honor of my father on his birthday... thans Dad for helping me to fall in love with sports as a kid and teaching me the lessons in life through sports!

Somewhere behind the athlete you've become, the hours of practice, the coaches who push you, the teammates who believe in you and the fans who cheer for you, there is the little boy who fell in love with the game and never looked back...PLAY FOR HIM!

Thanks Dad for helping me to fall in love with sports as a kid and teaching me the lessons of life through sports! I love you!

Positive Coaching Aliance (PCA) - The Double Goal Coach

2009-06-04T14:44:00.002-04:00

Double-Goal Coach™: “Coaching for Winning and Life Lessons”
https://www.positivecoach.org

The workshop begins by defining the Double-Goal Coach™ as one who strives to win and works to prepare his/her team to play at its highest level, and, at the same time, teaches life lessons (teamwork, dedication, bouncing back from mistakes, etc.) to his/her players. We explain that these are not mutually exclusive goals.Various scenarios are presented. We ask coaches to pair up to discuss how they would handle this situation. This scenario leads us into the discussion of PCA’s themes.

Principle #1 - Honoring the Game
Honoring the Game goes to the ROOTS of the matter, where we all have to RESPECT the Rules, Opponents, Officials, Teammates and one’s Self. Coaches receive specific tools to help them introduce the concept of ROOTS to their players and parents.

Principle #2 - Redefining "Winner"
Here we talk about how the American culture is a Win-at-all-cost culture, and we have to work to shift our focus away from the scoreboard. What’s more important is a “Mastery” definition, where we care most about our players’ giving their maximum effort, continuing to learn and improve, and dealing well with mistakes when they happen. Again, we introduce specific tools (such as "flushing" mistakes, in which a coach makes the motion of flushing the toilet after a player makes a mistake, which symbolizes that the mistake is done and everybody’s moving on). Coaches can use these tools to Redefine Winner with their teams and parents.

Principle #3 - Filling the Emotional Tank
This theme talks about how players who have FULL emotional tanks will have more fun and perform better. The thought-provoking piece of this theme is that, according to research studies, coaches should achieve a 5:1 ratio of positives to negatives with their players to keep their tanks full! We talk about how coaches can use both verbal and non-verbal cues to attain this ratio in a meaningful way. We stress that coaches are still teaching when they are giving positive feedback, and we illustrate how they can effectively correct mistakes within the context of this 5:1 ratio.

Here is an article that was in the Washington Post that talks about the PCA and the positive impact it can have on players, coaches, parents and the relationships between each of them...http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/23/AR2009052301852.html

Some key points in the article:

"Yes. It's about FUN. Right now, they're having fun. But come Saturday, we
kind of mess things up with the scoreboard, because we want our child to do
well."
"the philosophy is pretty simple: Children flourish with positive encouragement. Mistakes are okay. Doing one's best is more important than winning or losing."
"Most athletes perform better when they focus on their effort, when their coaches and parents praise them and when they all stop looking at the scoreboard."
"Kids' anxiety goes up when they focus on things they can't control, and self-confidence goes down," he said. "Focus on what you can improve. Ignore what you can't. You can't control calls. You can't control the scoreboard. But you can control effort."
"It's also a great way to learn, giving players an opportunity to experiment without fear of failure"
Here are a few ideas you can start implementing the "Double Goal" concept:
"winner's circle"- following each game or practice, the coach leads an effort to promote positive reinforcement by each team member towards another team member by reflecting on something good that player did.
"hard hat" award - given out by the coach to a team member at the end of each week/ game or practice to those who have demonstrated good effort, hard work and enthusiasm...
"positive charting" - As coaches we tend to think that we add value by finding things that are done incorrectly and improving them. But it is equally important to find things that are being done correctly and to reinforce them. Positive Charting is a method for increasing the number of "right things" that your players do. It also creates a wonderful positive atmosphere in which players are more receptive to being corrected because they feel appreciated. Effective Positive Charting helps you reach the Magic 5:1 ratio, which best keeps players' Emotional Tanks full.
A few thoughts...
Rule #1: Think and act like a Champion in everything you do, on the court, off the court in the classroom and in the community.
Rule #2: Don't let your teammates or coaches down
Rule #3: Everybody cannot do everything, but everybody can do something. Find something that you are good at and do it to the best of your ability...everyday!
We cannot control a lot of things, including wins and losses. But, we can control our effort, out enthusiasm and our execution. When we focus on doing things the right way and striving for excellence in all that we do, the wins will fall in place.

Dancing with the Stars and The Boss

2009-05-20T16:00:00.003-04:00

Last night I watched the finale of Dancing with the Stars and it was such a close race between 1st and 2nd place. Both finalists performed their best dances. But, it came down to Olympic Gold Medalist, Shawn Johnson, who received the most votes by the outside voters. It was fun to watch as her competitiveness and will to win as an athlete naturally took over...focus, preparation and determination result in success!

If you have never had the opportunity to watch The Boss, Bruce Springsteen perform live in concert, you don't know what you're missing. I had the chance to see him live for the second time, a few weeks ago in State College, PA. Whether you like his music or not, you have got to respect his passion for performing! I have never seen another performer play with so much passion, it's very inspiring! We should all strive to perform with as much passion as he does!

Tough vs. Dumb

2009-05-04T08:41:00.002-04:00

Below is an article from Kevin Eastman, well known player development coach and an assistant coach for the Boston Celtics. The recent series between the Chi-town Bull and the Celtics made a lot of headlines, and for the first time since Jordan, Magic and Bird competed against each other, engaged fans in the NBA playoffs like it was the late 80's and early 90's all over again...passion, determination, competetitiveness and will to win, that's what the NBA playoffs were all about "back in the day"!
*****************
Tough vs. Dumb
Everyone seems to be riveted to the NBA playoffs this year, and for good reason. The games have been unbelievable — and extremely physical as well. And whenever you have a physical game, at any level, there comes a time when players have to make decisions on how physical; how tough do they want to play?
In the Chicago – Boston series, both teams have very competitive players, staffs, and organizations. Both teams want to win so badly. Both teams are pretty evenly matched. So, without a doubt, emotion enters the equation. But it is important that it be intelligent and positive emotion. It is positive emotion that helps your team get over the hump. It can’t be bravado emotion that only registers with those who don’t understand the game anyway.
Both teams have to make sure that they make tough plays and not dumb plays. Tough plays are plays that are made of hustle and grit; often times they don’t even require skill. But they are definitely within the rules. Dumb plays are those made doing something that looks tough but gets your team nowhere and often times hurts your team. Players need to understand this if they are going to be champions. Championship teams make sure they protect their turf but they do so in an intelligent, disciplined, and tough way!
Truth be told, players today have to understand that in a run for a championship, often times the tough play is the one where you don’t retaliate to something done by the other team. Instead, you beat them on the scoreboard.

The toughness comes in from the discipline that champions have to be
bigger and
smarter than the moment.
What I love about this series is that both the Celtics and the Bulls are
trying extremely hard to make the tough, intelligent plays without giving up any
edge or turf. And they are clearly doing so in a very emotional, hard-fought
series! I wish all of you had a chance to be down there on that floor
experiencing the effort, the determination, the sweat, the diving, the
physicality, and the will to succeed. I can’t even begin to describe it in
words. It’s why this is the greatest game there is!

8 Keys to Team Success

2009-04-22T10:08:00.002-04:00

Below is an article that was found on Buzz Williams' new coaching site, MU Coach 2 Coach. This is an excellent site that talks about different areas behind the Marquette basketball program. Buzz Williams is one of the rising stars in the coaching profession, who has literally worked his way up through the ranks on hard work, committment, dedication and relationship building. The site can be found here...http://www.gomarquette.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/coach-to-coach.html

The article below was posted in the "Leadership Thoughts" section of the site. It talks about the keys to team success. Coach Williams states at the end of the article that, "even when you've played the game of your life, it's the feeling of teamwork that you'll remember. You'll forget the plays, the shots, and the scores, but you'll never forget your teammates."
*****************

The Eight Keys To Team Success

by John Maxwell

The Benefits of a Team
Throughout my leadership journey, teams have lifted me to heights I never could have climbed alone. Here's a few ways my teams bring me success:
My team makes me better than I am.
My team multiplies my value to others.
My team enables me to do what I do best.
My team allows me to help others do their best.
My team gives me more time.
My team provides me with companionship.
My team helps me fulfill the desires of my heart.
My team compounds my vision and effort.
Invariably, great teams are the main ingredients of a leader's biggest accomplishments. In this edition of Leadership Wired, I'd like to share eight keys to team success.

Eight Keys to Team Success
#1 - Vision determines the direction of the team.
Teamwork gives you the best opportunity to turn vision into reality. However, to earn the support of a team, a leader must cast vision. A compelling vision supplies the team with direction and confidence. Transmitting a vision requires an emotional and logical transference. Emotionally, a leader must gain credibility, demonstrate passion, establish relationships, and communicate a felt need. Logically, a leader must confront reality, formulate strategy, accept responsibility, celebrate victory, and learn from defeat. When lacking either the emotional or logical component, a leader's vision may fall flat.

#2 - Values determine the foundation of the team.
Values influence the team and drive its behavior. Shared values define the team, and they play the following roles:
Glue -- They hold the team together.
Foundation -- They provide stability for the team to grow upon.
Ruler -- The measure the team's performance.
Compass -- They give direction and guidance.
Magnet -- They attract like-minded people.

#3 - Work ethic determines the preparation of the team.
Outstanding teams are comprised of teammates who understand the Law of the Big Picture: the goal is more important than the role. Coming together is a beginning, and staying together is progress, but only when teams sweat together do they find success.

#4 - Personnel determines the potential of the team.
Oftentimes, winning teams rise above losing teams on account of where the players are placed. Take a look at what I mean:
The Wrong Person in the Wrong Place = Regression
The Wrong Person in the Right Place = Frustration
The Right Person in the Wrong Place = Confusion
The Right Person in the Right Place = Progression
The Right People in the Right Places = Multiplication
Successful teams adhere to The Law of the Niche: all players have a place where they add most value. These teams funnel their people into positions where they can leverage each member's strengths.

#5 - Structure determines the size of a team.
An organization's structure should encourage flexibility, change, and innovation. Structure does not cause growth, but it does control the rate and size of your growth. Beware of broken processes and ill-defined systems. They have a way of stunting growth and squandering efficiency.

#6 - Relationships determine the morale of the team.
Winning is often a battle, and there are times in the life of every team player when he or she needs to fight. But if you fight all the time, you can wear yourself out. That's why it's important to pick your battles.
To gain a better perspective of when to fight back and when to sacrifice your interests, practice the following disciplines:
Spend time with people who are different from you. This helps you appreciate and understand how others think and work. As a result, you will be less likely to judge or battle others.
Give in on matters of personal preference or taste. Keep the main things the main things. If you don't save yourself for what matters most, then you'll wear yourself out and wear out your welcome with others.
Don't take things too personally. Always remember, hurting people hurt people, and they are easily hurt by others.
Practice the 101% principle. Whenever possible, find the 1% you agree on in a difficult situation, and give it 100% of your effort.
Be a servant leader. If your mindset is to serve rather than to be served, you will encounter less conflict.

#7 - Training determines the excellence of the team.
Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich argued for companies to spend much larger sums of money for worker training. In his words, "If employers fail to upgrade their workers then they're trying to be competitive only with their capital. Anybody can replicate physical capital, but the one resource nobody can replicate is the dedication, the teamwork, and the skills of a company's employees."

#8 - Leadership determines the success of the team.
As The Law of the Edge states, the difference between two equally talented teams is leadership. Talented performers flock to the best and brightest leaders. In turn, these leaders lift the lids off of their people and uncork the latent talent inside of them.

Final Team Thought:
In the end, a team fails or succeeds together. The best way to serve the individuals on the team is to see that the whole team wins. Do that, and dreams can come true for everyone. Even when you've played the game of your life, it's the feeling of teamwork that you'll remember. You'll forget the plays, the shots, and the scores, but you'll never forget your teammates.

"One Shining Moments": Final Four Scouting Reports

2009-04-03T11:46:00.003-04:00

And then there were four! Final Four weekend is upon us. It should be a memorable one. Below is an article from SI.com, scouting the four teams playing in Detroit. The article indicates that the scouting report information came from opponent's assistant coaches This post particularly focuses on Michigan State and a favorite play they like to run that involves two screens by Goran Suton.

The entire article, by Luke Winn of SI can be found here...http://www.fannation.com/si_blogs/tourney/posts/60421-final-four-xs-and-os-examining-the-stars

Goran Suton, PF/C, Michigan State (10.1 points, 8.1 rebounds)
Why He Matters: His shooting ability can pull Hasheem Thabeet away from the basket.Likely To Be Guarded By: UConn's Hasheem Thabeet or Stanley Robinson
Bread-and-Butter Play: "They'll use physical signs; this one was a downward thumb from Kalin Lucas. Lucas passes Travis Walton on the left wing, and then they have Suton set a back-screen for Lucas, who runs off of that and loops off a double-screen on the right block. At the same time, Suton moves out from the elbow to run a side pick-and-roll with Walton. They love to use these pick-and-rolls late in the shot clock; between this one and one they call by touching the forehead -- a simple one with Lucas and Suton at the top of the key -- they were successful something like 42 percent of the time with the clock winding down."

Scouting Points on Suton:
• "Suton is a face-up 4-5 man who presents a very difficult matchup for a lot of big guys, because they're not used to defending pick-and-pop stuff out to the three-point line. Michigan State uses Suton more like a three-man than they do a five, given how many screening actions involve him on the outside."
• "Suton isn't all that physical in the post; he's just smart. He'll pull the chair out from under you when he's guarding you, and try to get around and go for the steal on the post-entry pass. And he never leaves his feet, either, because he knows he's not a shot-blocker. He just forces you to catch the ball farther out than you're used to, and does things to get you off-balance."
• "He almost reminds me of a Bill Laimbeer, in that he's not the greatest athlete, or the best jumper, but just has a really high basketball IQ. He knows you're not comfortable guarding him outside, and he knows that he's more likely to stop you by pushing you out of the paint than letting you catch it in deep."
• "I wouldn't be surprised if UConn makes adjustments and puts Stanley Robinson on Suton instead of Thabeet, just to keep Suton from scoring on threes."

"Act As If..."

2009-04-02T15:35:00.004-04:00

FIRST STEP IN BECOMING A WINNER:

ACT LIKE ONE

The New York Times By MELISSA JOHNSON
On March 14, 1998, I sat in a dark hotel room with both hands over my mouth to prevent my yelps from waking my teammate in the next bed.
A 6-foot-4 sophomore center at North Carolina, I was transfixed by the N.C.A.A. tournament game lighting up before me, a game that would persuade me to give up my full scholarship, million-dollar locker room, teammates who could dunk and fancy Nike luggage.
Sixteenth-seeded Harvard, a bunch of basketball nobodies, was battling top-ranked Stanford at raucous Maples Pavilion -- and winning.
A veritable banner-making machine, Stanford had produced more N.C.A.A. championships in women’s sports than any other college. It was a surreal and sanguine affair: the Crimson versus the Cardinal. David versus Goliath. Revenge of the Nerds.
No Ivy League women’s team had ever won a game in an N.C.A.A. tournament, and Stanford, though missing two key players to injury, was one of the strongest programs of the decade, having won the national title twice and owning a 59-game home winning streak dating to the 1993-94 season. In her spare time, Stanford’s coach, Tara VanDerveer, had led the 1996 United States team to an Olympic gold medal. She couldn’t have expected much competition from a college known for its SATs, not M.V.P.’s.
“Welcome to real basketball,” an event worker coolly offered the Cambridge women as they stepped onto the court after their cross-country flight. Meanwhile, the news media talked about them like smart little hors d’oeuvres: pigs in a blanket to the slaughter, brainiac bruschetta to whet Stanford’s appetite for the meal to come.
Yet, the Harvard women summoned the performance of their lives, including a 35-point exhibition by the all-American Allison Feaster. Miraculously leading by a point with 1 minute 32 seconds to play, they secured the win with a 3-pointer from a lanky, unassuming future E.R. physician named Suzie Miller, who wore her hair in double braids.
Stanford looked too shocked to be ashamed. With my television muted, the court erupted in silent pandemonium as I jumped up and down on the bed, waking my roommate after all.
The mastermind behind this astonishing victory -- the only time a No. 16 seed has beaten a No. 1 seed in the men’s or women’s N.C.A.A. tournament -- was a scrappy blue-collar Boston kid turned coaching icon named Kathy Delaney-Smith.
Wanting to learn from someone who could pull off this kind of magic, I transferred to play for her the next year, and she told me her secret.

Any decent athlete, salesman or Starbucks barista can put on a good
game face. But her philosophy, “act as if,” goes much deeper than mere swagger or theatrics. It’s a method -- a learned skill for convincing your mind that you already are what you want to become. The body follows where the mind leads. “Act as if you’re a great shooter,” she would instruct. “Act as if you love the drill. Act as if when you hit the deck it doesn’t hurt.” Negativity, even in the form of body language, was not tolerated.
What the overly analytical Harvard players might have lacked in comparative
speed or vertical jumping ability against Stanford, they made up with their
power of belief. In 1969 she picked up the whistle as a favor to a friend. A former synchronized swimmer who hadn’t had the opportunity to play competitive basketball, she was clueless but determined to do a good job faking it. She figured out drills as she ran them, read every sports psychology book available, and went undefeated in her first six years as a high school coach. “I started out fooling a lot of people,” she said. But the farce became the truth -- she won more games than any other women’s basketball coach in the Ivy League and emerged as one of the longest-tenured coaches in the country. Positive thinking is hardly a revolutionary notion in sports, but her brand has been so compelling because of the
authentic and irreverent way she lives it. My senior year didn’t go how either of us planned. Kathy was fighting breast cancer and I had blown out my knee. We both had surgery. Feeling like a failure, I captained the team from the bench, far from the star player I was supposed to have been. But I watched Kathy show up exhausted for practice every day, in pain and in a wig, bravely embodying her own mantra like never before. Pretending to be fearless. So I just tried to be like her. We didn’t win the league that year; there was no shot at the tournament. But we both got better.
Eleven years after Stanford, I asked Kathy what happened after the buzzer
sounded. She was approached for a postgame interview. Before the camera started rolling, she whispered to the commentator Ann Meyers and asked her not to let her
say anything stupid. “I’d never been on national TV,” she confided. “I was desperately acting as if.”

Melissa Johnson is an online director for BBC Worldwide America and an independent filmmaker. Her short documentary “Act as If” will be playing next month in the Boston International Film Festival.

One Shining Moments: Yelling or Trusting

2009-04-02T08:14:00.005-04:00

Jay Wright is one of the most successful young coaches and with Villanova's recent appearance in the Final Four, he has solidified the Wildcat basketball program as one of the nation's elite basketball programs. This article talks about how the former Rolly Mossamino assistant understands the "modern athlete". The dictator type coaching style is long gone. The coaching profession has changed to fit the modernization of athletes and is now more about creating a culture of trust, leadership and a bigger focus on team unity. Coaches must now understand that they are not bigger than the program itself, it's not about them. It's about the players. The players make the program. It's about putting those players in a position to succeed...on the court and off the court. This article shows how 'Nova and Jay Wright have built that trust and how it can pay off when coaches and players respect and trust each other.

http://www.philly.com/dailynews/sports/20090331DickJerardiVillanovasWrightmakesanidealboss.html

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Jay Wright on the last two plays for Villanova against Pitt...

When Reggie Redding threw that unsuccessful long pass against Pittsburgh, some coaches would have gone berserk. Instead, on the final play, after a timeout that came between Pitt foul shots (so Pittsburgh would not be able to set its defense as it would just after a timeout), Wright gave the ball to Redding again.
"It's very easy in the huddle to tell kids what to do, very difficult to be that guy out of bounds," Wright said after the game. "Reggie did the right thing. We've got to trust him."
The safe play would not have been that long pass. It was a risk. It failed.
Wright could have played it safe on the next play. Instead, he went over what he wanted in that huddle and trusted his players. Even when one of those players forgot where to go and Redding looked like he might be in trouble, the last option came open at the last second. Then, it was Redding to Dante Cunningham to Scottie Reynolds to Ford Field.

"We always tell them in those end of game situations, we have to trust your decisions," Wright said Saturday. "And that was the point I made to the team. If that [long pass] would have cost us the game, we would have applauded Reggie for the guts to make the play."

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A couple of great quotes came out of the article...

"Coaches with good ideas and good players can win games. Risk-takers win championships."

The modern big-time college basketball coach is part CEO, tactician and big brother. It is the coach who can excel at all three that has a chance to win big.

"If it's not broken, break it," - Rick Pitino, Louisville

Wanting to Be Significant and Wanting to Make a Difference

2009-03-31T10:38:00.002-04:00

With all the hear say that is surrounding the Kentucky basketball opening and John Calipari, some other recent hires in college basketball have been overshadowed. One in particular is the news from another SEC school, Alabama, hiring former VCU head coach, Anthony Grant. I have been following Anthony Grant and his teams at VCU ever since they beat Duke in the first round of the NCAA tournament a couple years ago. I was extremely impressed with his coaching style and philosophy and his relationships with his players. Below are some comments from his press conference as he was introduced to the media as the next head coach at Alabama...

Why he chose Alabama?
- He knew and understood the history, tradition and success of the Alabama athletic program.

- The most important thing in having the ability to be successful is the people. He was impressed with the leadership and passion for the university that surrounds Alabama.

- "You want to be significant...you want to make a difference. At Alabama, we are in a position to do that." That was Anthony's conversation with his 13-year old son on why he chose to take the position.

His thoughts on people referring to Alabama as a "football school":
- "Alabama is a football school. Alabama is a basketball school. Alabama is a gymnastics school. Alabama is a baseball school. Every sport at Alabama is givent the commitment and the resources to be successful. Each sport is provided the opportuntiy to compete for championships."

What his style of play is and coaching philosophy:
- Style of play encompasses what everbody is looking for...fun for the fans to watch, fun for the players to play, allows to attract recruits. It's a winning style.

- Vision is to play for championships

- No one will work harder and be more dedicated to make sure that a product is put on the floor, a product that will be recognized on campus and in the community, that people will be proud of...with the way the university is represented.

- Committment to winning- The biggest thing is to make sure players are provided the resources to being successful.

- Recruitment- comes down to establish relationships and buidling trust

- Players will know that the coaches and staff will care about them, will want the best for them, will push them to become all that they can become on and off the court. Players will have the opportunity for thier dreams to come true...play for championships and fulfill their personal goals and dreams.

- Coaching style is aggressive on both sides of the floor. Attack offensively and defensively.

Traits of A Coach

2009-03-30T11:41:00.003-04:00

Thanks to coach Steve Finamore for providing this post on his blog, Coach's Network. This newspaper article talks about some important traits that the new coach at Kenutcky should have in order to have a chance at success at a program such as Kentucky with such a great tradition and following. I listened to a podcast with ESPN basketball analyst and former Kentucky assistant coach, Jimmy Dykes as he spoke about the next coach for Kentucky. He spoke about Kentucky's program being worshipped by fans all across the state and how remarks made behind closed doors always find a way to get out. He added that in the states of North Carolina, Indiana and Kentucky, the head basketball coach is more important than the governors of those respective states!
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1. A winner
That’s the ultimate judgment. I’ve received angry e-mails from Billy Gillispie supporters arguing that were UK’s record better, Gillispie would still be coach. But it wasn’t better, so Gillispie’s inability to play nice with others came into play.
Still, the point is well taken. If you’re going to be the coach of the winningest program in college basketball, you need to win.
2. A recruiter
To win, you have to have players. The days when Kentucky attracted players simply because it was Kentucky are over. The school spent $30 million on the Craft Center, its indoor practice facility, yet its recruiting doesn’t seem measurably better than it was when the team practiced in Memorial Coliseum.
You recruit good players with a good product, a good coach, a good school, and a good recruiter.
3. Charisma
This characteristic might not be so important were the next candidate not following a coach who seemed uncomfortable with the personality aspects of the job. Considering this will be UK’s third coach in four years, it might help to have someone who gets the fan base excited.
4. Accessibility
No. 3 ties into No. 4. If you are going to excite the fan base, you have to be accessible to the fan base. That means speaking engagements, public appearances, charity events. Follow Tubby Smith’s example. Don’t be just a part of the university, be a part of the community, and the state.
5. An Ambassador
In everything he does and says, with every move he makes, the Kentucky coach represents the school, the program, and the state. Find someone who can do that in the best way possible.
6. comfortable in his own skin
You never really got that feeling with Gillispie, for whatever reason. The coach who can handle this job is someone who has self-confidence, self-respect and knows how to handle the praise as well as the criticism. He’ll receive an ample supply of both.
7. An appealing style of play
Does this mean the three-point-shooting, pressing, run-and-gun style of the Rick Pitino days? Not necessarily. But Kentucky has a tradition of “racehorse” basketball that for the most part has served the program well over the years.
Besides, today’s recruits want a style of play that showcases their talents, especially for the next level. Two examples are Coaches Bruce Pearl at Tennessee and Mike Anderson at Missouri. There’s a reason they were able to turn those programs so quickly.
8. Flexibility
After Gillispie’s rigid notions about the game, it would serve the next coach to be a bit more flexible.
9. driven
Yes, Kentucky has high expectations. Yes, those expectations sometimes spill beyond realistic bounds. So if you’re going to be the coach at Kentucky, you had better be driven to succeed.
10. Experience
When Billy Gillispie got the Kentucky job, I remember C.M. Newton sounding a cautionary word. The retired athletics director said he was a little surprised at the hire, given Gillispie’s lack of experience.

"One Shining Moments": Locked In and Locked Down

2009-03-30T10:00:00.003-04:00

"Players play, tough players WIN" - Tom Izzo

Focus, commitment, preparation and defense. That's how teams have punched their tickets to Detroit for the 2009 Final Four. Michigan State has undoubltly pulled off one of the biggest upsets of this year's tournament with a 12 point victory over the overall No. 1 seed, Louisville. Going into the tournament, Louisville was the country's hottest team, winning 13 straight games going into Sunday's regional final against Michigan State. Their uptempo style wore teams down, putting pressure on their opponents at both ends of the floor. Coming off of a victory over Arizona, where the scored 103 points, they proved to many that they were the favorite to win it all! However, the Tom Izzo and the Spartans were not impressed. The Big Ten and Michigan State have been critisized all year about the style of play...no offense, no tempo, no skilled offensive players. Those people obviously don't understand what it takes to win championships! Tom Izzo, once again, proved that while offense certainly sells tickets, it's defense that wins championships! Below is an article from ESPN.com, breaking down the victory over Louisville.

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Game Plan, Focus Lift MSU to Detroit

by Pat Forde

INDIANAPOLIS -- At 10 Sunday morning, the Michigan State basketball team reported for its walkthrough in a basement ballroom of the downtown Hilton.
The ballroom is called Monument Hall. What the Spartans showed their coach in that room was a monumental focus on the mission to reach the Final Four in their home state.

"They were locked in like they were in the army," Tom Izzo marveled. "I felt
like saluting them.
"I went from worrying about things to leaving there
saying, 'We're going to win the game.'"

Tom Izzo felt great about his team after the walkthrough. A confident, driven Michigan State team did more than just win the game. It dominated the game. It so totally frustrated and demoralized Louisville, the NCAA tournament's No. 1 overall seed, that the Cardinals virtually quit on the court in the final minutes. In the stands, their roughly 20,000-plus fans did the same, fleeing Lucas Oil Stadium well before the final horn.
A high-octane team that scored 103 points Friday was held to half that amount in a 64-52 Spartans triumph that might be Izzo's personal coaching masterpiece. The guy has done an awful lot in his career -- this will be his fifth Final Four and he's won a national title -- but this season is arguably his best work. And this game might be the best of the best.
Izzo began the season with a team many thought could reach the Final Four, then endured a steady succession of lineup-altering injuries and illnesses. In mid-January, a lot of people would have said the key to the Spartans' playing in Detroit would be forward Raymar Morgan. In late March, Michigan State thumped Louisville without a single point from Morgan, who played just 10 minutes and committed four fouls. The Spartans didn't need him because so many other guys stepped up -- and because their coach armed them with a brilliant game plan. Even if part of it was an 11th-hour game plan. Izzo went into that hotel walkthrough with a modified strategy, different than the one he gave his players at practice Saturday. After some additional film study Saturday night, he tweaked the way the Spartans handled Louisville's vaunted full-court pressure.
This is Izzo at his best: grinding away during the two-day NCAA tournament weekend turnarounds. Guard Travis Walton said their coach told them, "You get me through Friday, and I'll do my best to get you through Sunday." Promise kept. Izzo is now 14-2 in the second game of an NCAA weekend. "He is coaching his butt off," said Michigan State's most famous fan, Magic Johnson, 30 years removed from his own NCAA tournament glory. "Kentucky, stay away."
If Kentucky had any sense, athletic director Mitch Barnhart would camp out in East Lansing with all the money the school had and not leave until Izzo says yes -- especially after seeing what he did to the Wildcats' archrival. What they'd be missing in Izzo is a guy who deconstructed Louisville's half-court zone, gouging the Cardinals from the high post in the first half (Goran Suton scored 17 points before intermission) and on the backboard in the second (11 offensive rebounds). And locked into a half-court game, the Cards had absolutely no answer for the Spartans' air-tight defense. A team that often rode massive waves of momentum this season never scored more than four straight points.
Goran Suton carried the Spartans on the offensive end in the first half.
"They weren't expecting us to be as good as we were defensively," Michigan State assistant Mike Garland said. "You could tell they were frustrated. The normal open 3 wasn't there, or the normal drive, or the normal pick and roll." Said Magic: "We didn't let them drive, and we didn't let them get any good looks at the basket."
As the game wore on, Louisville steadily ran out of options and solutions. Its best player, Terrence Williams, made one basket in his final game as a Cardinal. It was an astonishing disappearing act for Williams, who sat out the final 4:52 of the first half and did almost nothing after the game's first 7:15. At that point, with Louisville leading 7-6, Williams had five rebounds and two assists. He finished with six rebounds, going 31 minutes and 28 seconds between boards, and four assists. His only basket was on an alley-oop dunk. Credit for taking him out of the game goes largely to Walton, the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. Despite giving away 6 inches, the rugged senior guard declared to his coaches Friday night, "I got Williams." "The job he did on Williams was incredible," Izzo said. When the game was over, the emotion of the moment overwhelmed Walton. He dropped into a crouch on the court, said a prayer, and cried into the Midwest Regional champion T-shirt he'd just been handed. If the Spartans had lost, he would have become the only four-year player in the Izzo Era not to have reached a Final Four -- a streak he did not want to see end on his watch. Michigan State staffers said Walton single-handedly demanded that his teammates approach this game with total focus. "I had pressure," Walton said. "Seniors had pressure. Our underclassmen had pressure to deliver this last class and get them to the Final Four so Coach can go on the road, anywhere he goes, and say ... 'You know what, I know you watched the Final Four on TV, I know you dream about going there. If you come to Michigan State University ... we're going to get you to a Final Four.'
"And now he can say that to every person, look them in the eyes and not have to say, 'There was one player I did not get [to the Final Four].' ... Thank you, Coach, and our coaching staff."
Defensive specialist Travis Walton locked down Terrence Williams. It also was a glorious day for State's other senior starter, Suton. I was at Michigan State's midnight madness, and the coaches were more excited about him than anyone else after a dedicated offseason revamping his body and improving his shooting range. Coming into this season, the 6-foot-10 Bosnian had made two 3-pointers in his career. He added 15 more in State's first 35 games this season. Then Suton went Pete Maravich on the Cards, busting three 3s in the first half. "Suton was definitely the difference-maker in the first half," Louisville coach Rick Pitino said. In the second half, a little luck helped the Spartans break the game open. It took 27:10 for either team to take a two-possession lead. Michigan State pushed it to nine, but a Jerry Smith 3-pointer cut the margin back to six at 46-40. Then Kalin Lucas banked in a 3, and State's lead was never smaller than nine again. "I called bank," Lucas said facetiously. A couple of minutes later, a Draymond Green tip-in hung on the rim so long that the ball actually stopped, then dropped, and the lead was double digits the rest of the way. It was that kind of day for the Spartans -- almost fated for them to fulfill their season-long dream of a home-cooked Final Four.
"It was just as big a win as our school has had because we're going to Detroit," Izzo said. "That's been a dream and a goal since the day they announced where the Final Four was in 2009."
The fact that it is the 30th anniversary of the school's first championship doubles the kismet. And the living symbol of that championship was soaking it up on the court while the Spartans cut down the nets. "We get a chance to do it again," the Magic Man said with his famous smile. "Thirty years later."

"One Shining Moments": Thoughts from Coach Cal

2009-03-19T10:23:00.003-04:00

The madness is set to begin in less than 2 hours from now. With March Madness officially upon us, I thought it would be appropriate to do a daily entry called "One Shining Moment". Each day throughout the NCAA tournament, I will provide a post that will cover coaches, players or teams that are on the journey towards becoming NCAA champions in Detroit.

Today's post cover's a few thoughts from Memphis head coach, John Calipari as he prepares his team for another Final Four appearance. Thanks to Eric Musselman's post, coach Cal's comments on practice are below...

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Loved how Memphis coach John Calipari turned over practice to forward Robert Dozier the other day in a move designed to force the quiet senior to take more of a leadership role with the team. As this article describes, "Calipari left the gym, leaving Dozier on his own to coach."
"He thinks I'm too quiet," Dozier says. "He wanted me to be vocal, get on guys and be more of a leader. I was mad at first, because I didn't want to do it. But I had fun with it. The guys enjoyed it. It wasn't a long practice." The usually subdued Dozier said he tried to get as animated as Calipari, a dynamic, demonstrative speechmaker never at a loss for words. "I had to tone it down," Dozier says, laughing. "There were a lot of people in there."

If you're wondering why, at a Memphis practice, "there were a lot of people in there," it's because Coach Cal opens nearly all of the Tigers' practices to the public.
Retired folks stop in with their grandchildren; a postman comes by after finishing his route. For many elite programs, open practices were long abandoned in an Internet age when word can spread fast to rivals about a team's offensive and defensive schemes or a frustrated coach can show up on YouTube for pitching a fit. Calipari shrugs off those possibilities but notes he keeps some practices closed during the NCAA tournament.Says Coach Cal: "I don't have anything to hide. You've got people, their lives seem to be this basketball program. They come to practice four or five times a week. They're able to get on the phone and talk to friends about what we're working on."

Gaining Commitment Through Trust

2009-03-19T10:12:00.004-04:00

You hear it over and over again through the likes of Coach K, Rick Pitino, Joe Torre and other great coaches and leaders. The only way to gain commitment from a group of people is through building trust. Below is a post from Eric Musselmans's blog that includes an experpt from Joe Torre's new book, "The Yankee Years".

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Torre provided a complete contrast to Showalter's micromanagement style. He gave his coaches and players a wide berth. One word kept coming up over and over again in the application of his management philosophy: trust."What I try to do is treat everybody fairly," Torre said. "It doesn't mean I treat everybody the same. But everybody deserves a fair shake. That's the only right thing to do. I'd rather be wrong trusting somebody than never trusting them."

"I'm of the belief that the game belongs to the players, and you have to facilitate that the best you can. I want them to use their natural ability. If they're doing something wrong, you tell them, but I'd like it to be instructive, rather than robotic. The only thing I want them all to think about is what our goal is and what the at-bats are supposed to represent. And that simply is this: 'What can I do to help us win a game?'

"Players quickly bought into Torre's management-by-trust style, and they did so because its abiding principle was honesty."Honesty is important to me. Where does it come from? I don't know, but even when I think back it was always something that was ingrained in me. Even now I may have trouble when I have to tell someone the truth if it's not a pleasant thing, but I won't lie to them. I can't do that. The only way you can get commitment is through trust, and you've got to earn that trust."

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Another great article about trust and how to build trust...How Trust Wins, 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. I had better get moving.' In addition, your athletes learn that they can trust you when you say that effort matters.

10 Tips to Motivating Your Players

2009-03-17T15:11:00.002-04:00

Ten Tips for Motivating Your Players
by Jeff Haefner

"Coaches who can outline plays on a blackboard are a dime a dozen. The ones
who win get inside their players and motivate." -- Vince Lombardi

One of the biggest challenges that basketball coaches of all levels face is the challenge of keeping your players focused, motivated to play, and playing as hard as they can. The following are 10 tried and true tips to keep your team motivated.
1. Set a precedent on the first day of practice. Establishing your expectations from the very beginning is the best way to not only establish your role within the team but to also let your players know what kind of coach you're going to be.
For example: As your first practice starts and players are milling about blow your whistle and call them to the center of the gym. If they don't sprint to you, they get to run right then and there. After they've run, blow the whistle again. This time all your players will enthusiastically sprint to you. And more importantly, you'll have their full attention for the rest of the year.

2. Show your players that they matter. Probably the most effective method for getting your players to work hard for you, and for themselves, is to let them know that you care about them.
Show interest in their lives outside of basketball. Get to know your players as individuals. Spend time talking to them one on one. It doesn't have to be for hours; a couple minutes will do the trick. The point is to let them know that they're important to you on and off the basketball court.

3. Model motivation in all of your actions. Have fun, remain positive, and let your players know what is expected of them immediately. Your players will pick up on everything that you say and do and they will respond accordingly. Verbalize your philosophy so your players know what to expect and to what to strive for.
For example: If you tell your players that the best rebounders will be starters, then players will all strive to be good rebounders. You've told them through your words and actions that rebounding is important to you.
It's all about what you emphasize! If you're constantly talking about rebounding, you're players will pick up on that and become good rebounders.

4. Offer verbal rewards. Rewards grab attention - players and people love compliments. Whether you're running beginner basketball drills or drills that require more skill, give praise for improvement and for working hard.
Occasionally, for significant effort, praise players in front of the team. Public praise is often well received and players will work hard to earn such praise. Remember that if negative feedback is required to sandwich it between positive feedback. For example: "You did a great job hustling down the court, next time wait for a better shot. Keep up the great hustle and the good shots will be there for you."

5. Offer occasional non-verbal rewards. Players can be motivated to achieve goals by occasionally offering tangible rewards like a Gatorade or by utilizing a tactic of the great Morgan Wooten. Wooten offered "Permissions" to his players.
Permissions were rewards granted to players based on outstanding efforts or reaching set goals. The permissions are earned throughout the practice and then totaled up at the end. Each permission resulted in one less lap, suicide, or other conditioning drill.
You can also add laps to players for not meeting expectations. For example you can set up a basketball rebounding drill and players that get 5 or more rebounds pick up a permission and those that get less than 4 pick up a lap.

6. Coach the success of the team. When it comes down to it, it is more fun to win together than it is to win alone and basketball is a team sport. Your players are more likely to give greater effort if they know the team is counting on them. By reminding players, through your actions and words that they are a team, they'll be motivated to work together to succeed.
Often this can be accomplished by verbally praising players that are working well together or by offering a non verbal reward for practices where they work together particularly well. Also, by knowing your players strengths and weaknesses you'll be able to keep an eye out for potential conflicts and enforce a team attitude.

7. Add competition to your drills. A great way to spice things up and keep players working hard is to add competition to your drills.
As an example, you could establish teams for a shooting drill and reward the team or individual player that makes the most shots successfully.
With a little imagination, you can come up with ways to make almost all your drills competitive. Just remember that comparisons between teammates can make some players feel badly about themselves and can spur rivalries between teammates. In short, it can squash a player's motivation. If you need to compare teammates, do so only to model a desired behavior or skill. For example, "Watch how Joe follows through with his free throw shot, try that next time you're at the line and see how it feels."

8. Teach visualization. Visualization is a valuable coaching tool and it is the one skill that all athletes can take away from their sport, no matter what level they perform at, and use the skill to attain success the rest of their lives.
Teach your players to visualize reaching their goals. Visualization teaches focus. It teaches planning, executing, and succeeding. Incorporate a few minutes of visualization in each practice by asking the team to visualize a play that they're having difficulty perfecting, a shot that they need to work on, or executing the drill of their choice.
Teach them to utilize all their senses in the visualization so that they can hear the ball bouncing, see the ball bouncing, and feel their gym shoes squeak on the floor.

9. Don't punish, discipline with the intent to teach. Punishment for poor or inappropriate behavior only serves to fragment the teams focus and hinder their motivation. Instead, discipline with the intent to teach your players how to conduct themselves appropriately.
Rather than yell or punish players that aren't living up to their potential, ask them, "Is that the best you can do? Are you trying your hardest?" Often simply by acknowledging to you or to themselves that they're not trying their hardest, players will try harder, particularly if they know that you notice.
Additionally, discipline with consistency. For example, if it is unacceptable to be late to practice then all who are late to practice receive the exact same consequences no matter what.

10. Set the right type of goals for your team and for your players. Players and teams need goals so that they know what to focus on and they know what to strive for. But the key is the "type" of goals you choose...
I'm a firm believer that you should NOT set goals for the prestigious statistics, like scoring the most points and even winning games. Players already want those things without setting goals. Not to mention, it gives them the wrong idea.
However, if you set goals for other critical aspects of the game you will see huge success!
You can set goals for a low number of turnovers, team shooting percentage, your opponents shooting percentage, team rebounds (not individual), defensive stats, and possessions per game. You always want more possessions that the other team and that comes from recounding and taking care of the basketball. You could even have conditioning goals like 100 push-ups or run a mile in less than 5 minutes. Just be careful about the message you send your players when setting goals.
When used properly, goals are a powerful motivator. Don't forget to reward players for achieving their goals. Know that what motivates some players will not motivate others. It is important to get to know your players as individuals and to know how they will respond individually and as a team to motivational tactics. In the end, if you're involved, excited, and willing to take the time to keep practices interesting, then your team will respond.

Building Relationships with Your Players...Surviving or Thriving?

2009-03-17T11:40:00.002-04:00

by Mandy Green, Selling for Coaches

When you bring a recruit to campus, are they going to see a program that is hanging on by a thread in terms of the team’s relationship with the coaching staff? Or, is it a healthy, thriving team that has great team/staff chemistry?

If the answer is anything other than "thriving", you need to begin building team/staff relationships and doing some important things internally that can drastically improve the atmosphere. Otherwise, you will need to be prepared to see it have a negative impact on your recruiting.
When trying to build relationships with your athletes, there are six important concepts to convey to each and every athlete on your team:
Show that you care and are concerned for the player as a person.
Take the initiative to invest the time to connect with them as people. Go out early to practices and work with players, to talk about the day's events, and show you are interested. Check in on their families, how their classes are going, how they feel about the team's confidence, commitment, or even how they feel about their role on the team, chemistry, etc.

Communicate in an effort to build understanding.
Increase communication, decrease anxiety. Decrease communication, increase anxiety. It is very important to give players a very clear sense of why they are going to be doing what they are doing. By communicating early and often to each of them about their roles, your vision, goals, and your expectations, you will reduce the risk of miscommunication and ineffectiveness.

Be willing to listen.
The student-athletes in your program deserve your full and immediate attention when they come to see you. When a player comes to talk to you, stop what you are doing and focus on nothing else but what they are saying. Make eye contact, nod your head when you understand what they are saying, and don’t interrupt until they are done talking. When players feel like you are listening to and care about what they have to say, you will have their trust and respect. Active listening is also an important part of recruiting and overcoming objections, which we'll be dealing with at a special coaches conference in Atlanta in November (you should be there!)

Share ‘ownership’ of the process.
A coaching style based on command and control may not work as well as it has in the past. Entrust your players with some responsibility and then make sure you support them as they put their decisions into action. Get feedback from them about drills they like, practice gear, the locker room, travel routines, and about recruits that they hosted. Being included in the journey throughout the year empowers players to have greater control of their collegiate experience and ensures player motivation and cooperation.

Create adult-adult relationship.
Traditionally, coaches used fear and intimidation to motivate athletes. Successful coaches now are focusing on developing strong relationships with athletes based on trust and respect. There is no way in this day and age that you can expect to control everything that goes on with your program. Clearly define what your expectations, goals, roles, and vision are and then let your team run with it. You will get more from each and every player you have when and if they feel like they are trusted, respected, and allowed to have the freedom to utilize their talents to reach their potential. Plus, our studies show that's what they are looking for in a coach when they are being recruited.

Be willing to laugh and cry together.
Collegiate sports is so much more than the game. For many players and coaches, the team is their second family. The relationships built can last a lifetime. Coach, stop being serious all of the time and enjoy the people who you are surrounded by. If you are going to have a successful program, your players need to look forward to coming to practice, be surrounded by people who are fun to be around, and in an atmosphere where they can learn and develop and people and players.
Better relationships with your players will lead to a more motivated and psychologically strong team. Focus on developing strong relationships with athletes based on trust and respect.

When players feel like they are cared for, being listened to, know what is
expected of them, and have a role in accomplishing the team goals, they will "go
to war" for you and for the team.

Selling Your Vision

2009-03-17T11:21:00.002-04:00

Recently, I came across an excellent website that can be a resource used by coaches or leaders in developing their teams. The website is called Selling for Coaches, by Dan Tudor. The website can be found here...https://www.sellingforcoaches.com/ and his blog can be found here...http://www.dantudor.com/

The Importance of Selling Your Vision
by Mandy Green, Selling for Coaches

Coaching your team and developing leadership starts with having a vision statement, then developing a plan to achieve it. That's the starting point for every business that wants to be successful, and it's a must for college coaches who want to build a successful program.
A vision statement answers the questions "What will our program look like 5 to 10 years from now?"
A vision is more than a destination. It is an inspiration, a motivator, and a rallying point for a team. Results matter, but they are often the by-products of an effectively created and communicated vision.
How does the vision you have for you team apply to recruiting?
Dan Tudor, the founder of Selling for Coaches, talks a lot about how recruits don’t care about your past or your present, they only care about how they fit into your future.
Coaches who consistently sign the recruits they want have mastered really good communication and a great selling message on how the program’s future expectations, goals, and aspirations will meet the recruit's needs and help him or her achieve their goals.
Communication of a vision is the difficult process of inspiring your recruits to see the future reality which you see, and are committed to make happen for them. Communicating your vision will help recruits focus their energies to see that their real needs might best be met through your program.
So, how do you do it? Communicating your vision is talking about the future, evoking images and responses in the mind about what it is going to be like for them over the next 4 years while at your college. Communicate your vision so people can feel it, see it, and feel it.

When communicating and selling your vision to recruits remember the following:
1. Clearly articulate the vision of your organization. 2. Be enthusiastic toward your vision, and let others see your passion for that vision. 3. Repeatedly share the vision in various ways.
Concentrate on the "what’s-in-it-for-them" and the what’s-in-it-for-you will usually take care of itself.

Good to Great...5 Ways to Becoming a Great Coach

2009-03-17T11:10:00.002-04:00

Thanks to Dan Tudor and this post on his blog at dantudor.com for providing this post.

5 Things That Separate GREAT Coaches from Good Coaches
by Mandy Green, Selling for Coaches

If you are like most coaches out there, you didn’t win the National Championship in your sport...you didn’t get every recruit that you wanted...and, you may have fallen short of a few of your team goals.
Just like everybody else, at the start of the New Year you probably set new personal goals, new team goals, and new recruiting goals.
The potential problem? A new year and new goals, but the same old behaviors.
My question to you is this:
WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO DIFFERENTLY IN 2009 TO MAKE SURE YOUR VISION AND GOALS AS A COLLEGE COACH BECOME A REALITY?
Let me put it another way: What are you going to do to make sure you are separating yourself from the coaching pack who are merely "good" so that you can become "great"?

As you already know, you are responsible for setting the vision for your
program; responsible for putting into place a process and plan whereby the
vision can be achieved; responsible for motivating and inspiring others in
pursuit of greater goals than they themselves might have believed possible; and,
you are responsible for providing both momentum and urgency for achieving your
programs goals.

Dreaming for an outcome can be helpful as you set your initial vision, but there is a big difference between wishing for something and actually doing what it takes to make it happen. Detailed planning is an important process no matter what your goal-- taking a dream vacation, losing weight, or building your program.
The majority of coaches have no written plan to accomplish their goals so they have a tendency to get into a rut and keep doing the same things over and over. And if those things we are doing are not moving us any closer to our goals, something needs to change.
One thing that separates successful coaches from less successful coaches is their plan for making their vision and goals a reality.
Successful coaches we work with at Selling for Coaches are fully aware of the fact that success is not just a matter of desire, but rather the by-product of preparation and hard work. The more you plan your work and then work your plan, the more likely it is that you will be successful.
To a point, it can be relatively easy to have a plan. The difficulty lies in the details involved in developing a sound plan. Here are some proven ideas to get you started on writing your plan of action for 2009. These are the same principles we teach at our On-Campus Workshops and Recruiting Conferences, and they work:
1. Write down the goal you want to accomplish or the thing you want to change about your program, team, recruiting plan, or your personal life.

2. Brainstorm. Write down everything and anything you can think of that pertains to accomplishing each goal. Don’t hold back and do not leave anything out, you can always cut down on your list later. As you brainstorm, one idea will lead to another...things you have not considered before will come to mind, and you will start to form an idea of the steps it will take to realize your goal. Some things to ask yourself about for each goal are:
what does the end result look like?
what is your timetable?
what skills do you need, and if you don't have them can you find someone to help you?
what resources will realistically be available to you within your athletic department?
what concrete action steps will you need to take?
who will help hold you accountable for your progress (or lack of it)?
how will you determine what you want to be different about your current situation compared to where you want to be?
what are you willing to change?
what could go wrong?

3. Get Organized. Now is the time to organize the thoughts and ideas that you came up with while brainstorming. Without organization, answering all of those questions above is meaningless.
A. Prioritize each goal.B. Break each goal into detailed, specific, manageable action steps. Short term accomplishments are critical for motivation.C. Create your timetables for each goal.D. Document who is going to hold you accountable for each goal.

4. Set aside time each day to accomplish your goals. Decide on one or two things that you can do each day that moves you toward your longer term goal. A written daily to-do list can be a big help to keep you on track.

5. Be assertive and take action! Opportunities don’t just drop in your lap. The action that you take doesn't have to be perfect. It's better to take at least some kind of action and get momentum going than to sit idle and wait.
You're much more likely to advance your college coaching career by planning and working toward a goal than you are if you never chart a course for success. Accomplishing goals can be complicated and a lot of work. When you prepare a specific and detailed plan for how you plan to take action with your personal, team, and recruiting goals, the work of making it happen becomes more clear and doable.
Creating an action plan will help you to reduce stress, stay focused and motivated. Chances are your plan will need to be adjusted and will not go as perfect as planned. Be flexible, be persistent, and keep working towards your goals no matter what happens.
If you're a SFC Premium Members, you are going to be getting more detailed information on how to create and implement your personal, team, and recruiting plan later on in the week. We'll give you some more practical ideas on how to put it to use so you can see the maximum benefits as soon as possible.

Wrapping Up Your Season

2009-03-10T15:03:00.002-04:00

Wrapping Up Your Basketball Season: 15 Surefire Coaching Tips to Make Next Season Successful by Don Kelbick

The season is winding down. Routines change, friendships have grown, priorities change. As a coach, what should you do now? When practice time comes and there is no practice, what do you do? When there are no games to prepare for, what do you do with your time?Coaching is an all encompassing job. It takes time, devotion, and is very crisis oriented. To do it well, you have to plan your year, just as you have to plan your practices. Those outside the profession don't understand it. Don't try to explain it to them or expect them to understand. Coaches are a special breed.Here are a just a few thoughts as to how to recover and prepare for the next season.

1 - 2 weeks post season:
Relax - After every season, there are decisions to be made. Whether they are career, personnel, or personal, immediately after the season is not the time to do it. Take some time for yourself, catch up with family and friends and try to settle back to a traditional lifestyle. Let your mind and body rest.
Organize - collect all of your practice plans, put all your game films in order, and collate your statistics.
Make the most of extraordinary clarity that you have after the season -- If you're like most coaches, you'll have some amazing clarity a few days or weeks after the season is over. It's very important to document what you've learned while it's still fresh in your mind. You'll find that this tip alone can have an enormous impact on your team's improvements next year. You never think it will happen, but it's amazing how much you forget during the off season. And you'll be just as amazed how much documenting these thoughts will help you. Document what you've learned. Document what you should do different next year. Get those thoughts and ideas down so you can reference them next year.
Be sure your players have their priorities straight. Players often let their schoolwork slip after the season. Be sure they are caught up and on time with their classes.

3 - 4 weeks post season:
Begin your evaluation process. Interpret your stats and decide what you feel is important and what you can affect by coaching. Start watching your game films and evaluate what you did well and what you did poorly. Evaluate your practice plans and determine what type of practice flow was most effective. Be sure to include your assistants in this process. Different points of view can be very helpful.
Meet with your players. Discuss their thoughts of the season. What do they feel the team did well, what was done poorly? What do they feel they did well personally and what they need to work on? Discuss your feelings in regard to their performance. Talk about expectations for the next season.
Develop an off-season development program. Rules differ state to state in regard to what coaches can do in the off season. Many coaches also have other responsibilities (teaching, other sports, etc.) so the program should be simple and self moderating, the players should be able to get through it themselves. At least the first half of the off season should be spent on development as opposed to playing. In addition, if you wish to have your team strength train, maximum gains should be achieved during the first 75% of the off season.

A month after the season you are essentially in the off season.
Use this period to recharge.
If you can work with your players on skills, do so.
Start to improve your team's shooting percentage. In order for you to have a great team of shooters, you must get started right about now. The off season is the time to fix mechanics, start implementing player development programs, and give your players instructions on how to develop their shot. Great shooters become great in the off season.
Sharpen the stone. In other words, continue to develop your knowledge and personal development. Never stop learning. Read books, attend clinics, talk to other coaches, and gather ideas for the next season.
Shore up your coaching weaknesses by exploring other philosophies and teaching techniques. Expand your strengths by exploring additional areas that you can apply what you do well.

The summer months are a great time of the year for coaches.
This is the time you begin thinking about next season.
Experiment in summer league with new ideas. Decide what you can live with and what you can't. Try new offenses and defenses.
Evaluate how your team has improved and how the players have worked on their game. Let them play different positions, allow them to experiment and expand their game.
The summer workout program should be about 50% skills - 50% play. Don't overload your team with summer league games. Don't worry, they will get enough play. On the whole, players don't do enough skill work.

Once school starts again, you have entered the pre-season.
Put together your playbook. Decide what offenses and defense you think you can succeed with.
Build a master practice schedule when are you going to install each aspect of your program. Establish your teaching progressions.
Start your preseason program. Work should be about 25% skills, 75% play. Change your strength training program to one of endurance and maintenance.
Be sure that your players are doing their best in school. They should use this period to try to get ahead.

2 weeks before the season:
Start to taper off of your workouts.

1 week before the season:
Everybody takes off. Do some things with your family and friends. It might be months before you get to do it again.

Basketball Core Values

2009-03-10T11:39:00.002-04:00

Below is a list provided by Eric Musselman, of Herb Welling's list of "old school" basketball values.

1. We value the ball.
2. We take good shots.
3. We share the ball and make the extra pass.
4 . We sprint back on defense and we don't give up lay-ups.
5. We defend the ball and help our teammate guarding the ball.
6. We contest shots without fouling.
7. We box out.
8. We rebound and run the floor.
9. We dive for loose balls.
10. We take charges.
11. We respect the game, officials, coaches, opponents, and our teammates.
12. We have good body language.
13. We compete hard and we play with passion.
14. We have no excuses and we have "next play" mentality.
15. We listen with our eyes and our ears.
16. We only care about one stat -- the final score.
17. We are responsible and accountable to the team -- on and off the floor.
18. We play as a team -- the we is great than the me.

Leading in Uncertain Times

2009-03-10T11:30:00.002-04:00

Leadership used to be about certainty. Now it's about leading in uncertainty. Successful leaders stay ahead of the game by either shaping their world to suit themselves or quickly adapting to the world around them. Leading people through change is every leader's job. It's about taking people from where they are to where they need to be. And it's about the courage and commitment to drive and sustain change. The following are the five characteristics of today's successful leaders explained in the book Robert Rosen, "Just Enough Anxiety".

1. Successful leaders willingly travel into the unknown. They take uncertainty in stride. In fact, they enjoy the challenge that constant change provides.
2. Successful leaders set an evolving course through ambiguity, complexity, and change. They turn uncertainty and adversity into advantages. They are willing to change their minds and their course of action when necessary. They steer and support others through change after change with a sense of urgency. Simultaneously optimistic and realistic, they risk failure in pursuit of success.
3. Successful leaders inspire and challenge people to perform beyond their own expectations. They are relationship builders. They align people around a shared vision -- with honest and open dialogue -- and open hearts. Comfortable with conflict and disagreement, these leaders foster dynamic debate and constructive impatience. They get people involved by earning their confidence and trust. Their empathy and compassion for others allows them to stretch people into their discomfort zones, while igniting their passion to win. Their ability to motivate, coach, and develop leaders at all levels enables them to build a culture of accountability and execution.
4. Successful leaders learn and re-learn in real time. They are willing to reinvent themselves and their organizations to adapt to change. They see lifelong learning as a priority and themselves as teachers and learners. They see both success and failure as good teachers.
5. Successful leaders imagine possibilities, discover opportunities, and release creative energies inside their organizations. They refuse to accept the status quo. There's always a new goal to reach or a new opportunity to grab. These leaders are masterful at accessing and channeling energy, in themselves and others. They push boundaries. They create excitement.

Coachisms...

2009-03-10T11:10:00.003-04:00

Thanks to Eric Musselman for providing a few of these quotes from players speaking about quotes they remembered from their coaches.

"Nobody is going to outwork us, but nobody will have more fun either."
"If you are not doing it the right way, why are you doing it. Learn how to do it the right way and practice it the right way."
"Toughness is a skill."
"If you want to be a champ, you have to surround yourself with champs."
"Let them have the excuses for losing. Let us offer the reasons for winning."
"The season is a marathon not a sprint. What matters is that our team gets better with each game."
"Don't leave the court on a miss. Always finish with the result you want."
"You have to go hard on every play because it could be the difference in the game."
"The game doesn't teach character, it reveals it."
"Concentrate on effort; the results will take care of themselves."
"Life is about relationships."
"Effort is good, but intelligent effort is what we want."
"It's not the quantity of practice, it's the quality."
"You only go as far as your seniors take you."
"No negative body language."
"Forget about the last play. Think about the next play."
"The game starts in the layup line."
"If you have a passion for something, then do it as hard as you can -- and as well as you can
"Confidence and success go hand in hand." -- every time."
"In 10, 15, 20 years, we won't remember the scores but the times we had."
"A silent defense is a flat defense."
"The more players you can play the more successful the team will be."
"The best offense is fueled by defense."
"The lower man wins."
"Rebounding is an attitude."

"You're Talk'n 'bout Practice!"

2009-03-10T11:02:00.002-04:00

The famous quote made famous by Allen Iverson during his interview tangent..."you're talkin' 'bout practice?...practice?...you're talkin' bout practice!" Iverson was expressing his frustration after being called out by Larry Brown on his lack of effort during practice. The article below will show why Larry Brown is such a successful coach.

This article was posted on Eric Musselman's blog, a scholarly paper by Jefrey Frost (http://www.thesportjournal.org/article/characteristics-contributing-success-sports-coach at) the U.S. Sports Academy titled "Characteristics Contributing to the Success of a Sports Coach."In his research, Frost found that "in all kinds of sports, there are characteristics that successful coaches share," including "(1) the quality of practices, (2) communicating with athletes, (3) motivating athletes, (4) developing athletes’ sports skills, and (5) possessing strong knowledge of the sport."Of those five characteristics, Frost's research determined that "the ability to ensure the high quality of practice... is a successful coach’s most important characteristic."

The Teacher-Coach

2009-02-24T09:24:00.002-05:00

Below is a favorite poem of the legendary John Wooden, who coined the term "Teacher-Coach" and personally demonstrated the virtues and benefits of developing the whole player.

No spoken word, no written plea

Can teach your youthwhat they should be.

Nor all the books on all the shelves.

It's what the teachers are themselves.

A Teacher-Coach is someone who:
Understands that he or she leaves a lasting impact on the lives of athletes.
Sees sports as an opportunity to teach life lessons.
Refuses to sacrifice his or her honor, or an athlete's, for the sake of victory.
Cares about how athletes behave both on and off the court.
Teaches athletes how to be good basketball players and good people.

Kevin Eastman Shooting Drills

2009-02-23T11:32:00.001-05:00

Below are a few of the Boston Celtic's favorite shooting drills, compliments of Kevin Eastman:

IN A ROWS: We do this drill from inside the 3 and outside the 3; we shoot from 7 spots on the perimeter. Usually we do this drill with 2-3 players to make it even more competitive: player A shoots first and continues to shoot from the same spot until he misses a shot; at that point player B quickly takes his place and shoots until he misses. Then player A comes back on as each player gets 2 sets from each of the 7 spots. We shoot from 7 spots inside the 3 and then shoot from 7 spots outside the 3. Our best was 53 in a row from the left wing spot (that was from the NBA 3!)

CELTIC 40: We can do this drill inside the 3 and/or outside the 3. We shoot from four spots: left corner, left wing, right wing, right corner. Player shoots until he makes 10 shots from the left corner; coach keeps track of how many shots it takes to make the 10 baskets (example: it took player A 15 shots to make his 10). Execute the same from each of the four spots. Let’s say it took the player 15 shot attempts to make his 10 baskets; you add up the total number of shots attempted to make 10 in each spot and that gives the player a score. In this example, it took him 15 shots at each spot so the score is 60; in other words it took him 60 shots to make his 40 mandatory shots. Our best from inside the 3 is 47; from the NBA 3 it is 56.

3 and DONE: The drill stops when a player misses 3 in a row. Player starts in one of the corners. Coach passes him the ball and player shoots After shot he gradually keeps moving around the arc and shooting until he misses 3 in a row; coach keeps track of the makes. Our best is 93 NBA 3’s made before that player missed 3 in a row. Keep in mind that a player can miss 2 in a row and hit the next – he keeps going. Player keeps moving around the arc until 3 shots in a row are missed.

35 in 3: Player starts anywhere along the 3 point line with 3 minutes on the clock. Clock starts on the first made shot. There are 2 coaches rebounding and 2 balls. Player is only allowed 2 shots in a row from the same spot. He continues to move around the arc shooting the 3. Count total number of made 3’s in 3 minutes. Our best is 39 from the NBA 3. This drill can be done from any distance on the court.

Blogging the Journey: Against All Odds

2009-02-10T14:30:00.002-05:00

I loved our teams approach to our game on Saturday at Hilbert. While the game was won on Saturday, 100-95, we actually won the game in the two days of practice leading up to Saturday's game. We practiced with passion, we prepared and we disciplined ourselves to doing the little things that we needed to do to win the game. Despite being against all odds of winning that game...down two starters, long road trip, hot shooting opponent and foul trouble throughout...we continued to fight, stay poised and determined and found a way to win.

Give Hilbert credit for playing hard, too. We knew we were in for a battle when they came out and shot 6 of 6 from three point range to start the game. Luckily our own Joey Stevenson found himself hitting his first 3-point attempts and we managed to find ourselves with a 7 point lead mid-way through the first half. However, that did not last as we had a few untimely, but unforced turnovers against a good full-court press by Hilbert. We got great contributions from our bench and were able to stay close at half-time. In the second half, Hilbert continued to put on a three point shooting clinic, the finsished the game with 16 total. They were able to extend their lead to 11 at one point in the second half. We lost our leading scorer late in the game due to fouls. But we were determined to not let this game slip away. We have lost four games by six points or less this year so far due to untimely turnovers or lack of execution. But you had a sense that this was a different day. This day was going to be a turning point in our season. This day we were executing, we were getting stops, we were converting our turnovers, we were making the extra pass and we were stepping up at key moments. On this day, we were playing with toughness!

As all odds were against us and all indications leading to another "L" in the column, we did what tough teams do...we found a way to win!

Blogging the Journey: Greatness and Potential

2009-02-03T15:05:00.002-05:00

Greatness is more than Potential. It is the execution of that potential, beyond the raw talent. You need the appropriate discipline. You need passion. You need hunger. You need the drive!

Defining Toughness

2009-01-30T15:51:00.004-05:00

Hands down...this is the BEST article of all time! This article should be read and shared by coaches, players, parents and fans at ALL levels of basketball! Thanks to Jay Bilas of ESPN for contributing this article.

Defining toughness in college hoops
By Jay Bilas ESPN.com
I have heard the word "toughness" thrown around a lot lately. Reporters on television, radio and in print have opined about a team or player's "toughness" or quoted a coach talking about his team having to be "tougher" to win.
Then, in almost coordinated fashion, I would watch games and see player upon player thumping his chest after a routine play, angrily taunting an opponent after a blocked shot, getting into a shouting match with an opposing player, or squaring up nose-to-nose as if a fight might ensue. I see players jawing at each other, trying to "intimidate" other players. What a waste of time. That is nothing more than fake toughness, and it has no real value.
I often wonder: Do people really understand what coaches and experienced players mean when they emphasize "toughness" in basketball? Or is it just some buzzword that is thrown around haphazardly without clear definition or understanding? I thought it was the latter, and I wrote a short blog item about it a couple of weeks ago.
The response I received was overwhelming. Dozens of college basketball coaches called to tell me that they had put the article up in the locker room, put it in each player's locker, or had gone over it in detail with their teams.
Memphis coach John Calipari called to say that he had his players post the definition of toughness over their beds because he believed that true "toughness" was the one thing that his team needed to develop to reach its potential. I received messages from high school coaches who wanted to relay the definition of toughness to their players and wanted to talk about it further.
Well, I got the message that I should expound upon what I consider toughness to be. It may not be what you think.
Toughness is something I had to learn the hard way, and something I had no real idea of until I played college basketball. When I played my first game in college, I thought that toughness was physical and based on how much punishment I could dish out and how much I could take. I thought I was tough.
I found out pretty quickly that I wasn't, but I toughened up over time, and I got a pretty good understanding of toughness through playing in the ACC, for USA Basketball, in NBA training camps, and as a professional basketball player in Europe. I left my playing career a heck of a lot tougher than I started it, and my only regret is that I didn't truly "get it" much earlier in my playing career.
When I faced a tough opponent, I wasn't worried that I would get hit -- I was concerned that I would get sealed on ball reversal by a tough post man, or that I would get boxed out on every play, or that my assignment would sprint the floor on every possession and get something easy on me. The toughest guys I had to guard were the ones who made it tough on me.
Toughness has nothing to do with size, physical strength or athleticism. Some players may be born tough, but I believe that toughness is a skill, and it is a skill that can be developed and improved. Michigan State coach Tom Izzo always says, "Players play, but tough players win." He is right. Here are some of the ways true toughness is exhibited in basketball:

Set a good screen: The toughest players to guard are the players who set good screens. When you set a good screen, you are improving the chances for a teammate to get open, and you are greatly improving your chances of getting open. A good screen can force the defense to make a mistake. A lazy or bad screen is a waste of everyone's time and energy. To be a tough player, you need to be a "screener/scorer," a player who screens hard and immediately looks for an opportunity on offense. On the 1984 U.S. Olympic Team, Bob Knight made Michael Jordan set a screen before he could get a shot. If it is good enough for Jordan, arguably the toughest player ever, it is good enough for you.

Set up your cut: The toughest players make hard cuts, and set up their cuts. Basketball is about deception. Take your defender one way, and then plant the foot opposite of the direction you want to go and cut hard. A hard cut may get you a basket, but it may also get a teammate a basket. If you do not make a hard cut, you will not get anyone open. Setting up your cut, making the proper read of the defense, and making a hard cut require alertness, good conditioning and good concentration. Davidson's Stephen Curry is hardly a physical muscle-man, but he is a tough player because he is in constant motion, he changes speeds, he sets up his cuts, and he cuts hard. Curry is hard to guard, and he is a tough player.

Talk on defense: The toughest players talk on defense, and communicate with their teammates. It is almost impossible to talk on defense and not be in a stance, down and ready, with a vision of man and ball. If you talk, you let your teammates know you are there, and make them and yourself better defenders. It also lets your opponent know that you are fully engaged.
Jump to the ball: When on defense, the tough defenders move as the ball moves. The toughest players move on the flight of the ball, not when it gets to its destination. And the toughest players jump to the ball and take away the ball side of the cut. Tough players don't let cutters cut across their face -- they make the cutter change his path.

Don't get screened: No coach can give a player the proper footwork to get through every screen. Tough players have a sense of urgency not to get screened and to get through screens so that the cutter cannot catch the ball where he wants to. A tough player makes the catch difficult.
Get your hands up: A pass discouraged is just as good as a pass denied. Tough players play with their hands up to take away vision, get deflections and to discourage a pass in order to allow a teammate to cover up. Cutters and post players will get open, if only for a count. If your hands are up, you can keep the passer from seeing a momentary opening.
Play the ball, see your man: Most defenders see the ball and hug their man, because they are afraid to get beat. A tough defender plays the ball and sees his man. There is a difference.
Get on the floor: In my first road game as a freshman, there was a loose ball that I thought I could pick up and take the other way for an easy one. While I was bending over at the waist, one of my opponents dived on the floor and got possession of the ball. My coach was livid. We lost possession of the ball because I wasn't tough enough to get on the floor for it. I tried like hell never to get out-toughed like that again.

Close out under control: It is too easy to fly at a shooter and think you are a tough defender. A tough defender closes out under control, takes away a straight line drive and takes away the shot. A tough player has a sense of urgency but has the discipline to do it the right way.
Post your man, not a spot: Most post players just blindly run to the low block and get into a shoving match for a spot on the floor. The toughest post players are posting their defensive man. A tough post player is always open, and working to get the ball to the proper angle to get a post feed. Tough post players seal on ball reversal and call for the ball, and they continue to post strong even if their teammates miss them.

Run the floor: Tough players sprint the floor, which drags the defense and opens up things for others. Tough players run hard and get "easy" baskets, even though there is nothing easy about them. Easy baskets are hard to get. Tough players don't take tough shots -- they work hard to make them easy.

Play so hard, your coach has to take you out: I was a really hard worker in high school and college. But I worked and trained exceptionally hard to make playing easier. I was wrong. I once read that Bob Knight had criticized a player of his by saying, "You just want to be comfortable out there!" Well, that was me, and when I read that, it clicked with me. I needed to work to increase my capacity for work, not to make it easier to play. I needed to work in order to be more productive in my time on the floor. Tough players play so hard that their coaches have to take them out to get rest so they can put them back in. The toughest players don't pace themselves.

Get to your teammate first: When your teammate lays his body on the line to dive on the floor or take a charge, the tough players get to him first to help him back up. If your teammate misses a free throw, tough players get to him right away. Tough players are also great teammates.

Take responsibility for your teammates: Tough players expect a lot from their teammates, but they also put them first. When the bus leaves at 9 a.m., tough players not only get themselves there, but they also make sure their teammates are up and get there, too. Tough players take responsibility for others in addition to themselves. They make sure their teammates eat first, and they give credit to their teammates before taking it themselves.
Take a charge: Tough players are in a stance, playing the ball, and alert in coming over from the weak side and taking a charge. Tough players understand the difference between being in the right spot and being in the right spot with the intention of stopping somebody. Some players will look puzzled and say, "But I was in the right spot." Tough players know that they have to get to the right spot with the sense of urgency to stop someone.

Get in a stance: Tough players don't play straight up and down and put themselves in the position of having to get ready to get ready. Tough players are down in a stance on both ends of the floor, with feet staggered and ready to move. Tough players are the aggressor, and the aggressor is in a stance.

Finish plays: Tough players don't just get fouled, they get fouled and complete the play. They don't give up on a play or assume that a teammate will do it. A tough player plays through to the end of the play and works to finish every play.
Work on your pass: A tough player doesn't have his passes deflected. A tough player gets down, pivots, pass-fakes, and works to get the proper angle to pass away from the defense and deliver the ball.

Throw yourself into your team's defense: A tough player fills his tank on the defensive end, not on offense. A tough player is not deterred by a missed shot. A tough player values his performance first by how well he defended.

Take and give criticism the right way: Tough players can take criticism without feeling the need to answer back or give excuses. They are open to getting better and expect to be challenged and hear tough things. You will never again in your life have the opportunity you have now at the college level: a coaching staff that is totally and completely dedicated to making you and your team better. Tough players listen and are not afraid to say what other teammates may not want to hear, but need to hear.

Show strength in your body language: Tough players project confidence and security with their body language. They do not hang their heads, do not react negatively to a mistake of a teammate, and do not whine and complain to officials. Tough players project strength, and do not cause their teammates to worry about them. Tough players do their jobs, and their body language communicates that to their teammates -- and to their opponents.

Catch and face: Teams that press and trap are banking on the receiver's falling apart and making a mistake. When pressed, tough players set up their cuts, cut hard to an open area and present themselves as a receiver to the passer. Tough players catch, face the defense, and make the right read and play, and they do it with poise. Tough players do not just catch and dribble; they catch and face.

Don't get split: If you trap, a tough player gets shoulder-to-shoulder with his teammate and does not allow the handler to split the trap and gain an advantage on the back side of the trap.

Be alert: Tough players are not "cool." Tough players are alert and active, and tough players communicate with teammates so that they are alert, too. Tough players echo commands until everyone is on the same page. They understand the best teams play five as one. Tough players are alert in transition and get back to protect the basket and the 3-point line. Tough players don't just run back to find their man, they run back to stop the ball and protect the basket.
Concentrate, and encourage your teammates to concentrate: Concentration is a skill, and tough players work hard to concentrate on every play. Tough players go as hard as they can for as long as they can. No team can be great defensively without communication and concentration.

It's not your shot; it's our shot: Tough players don't take bad shots, and they certainly don't worry about getting "my" shots. Tough players work for good shots and understand that it is not "my" shot, it is "our" shot. Tough players celebrate when "we" score.

Box out and go to the glass every time: Tough players are disciplined enough to lay a body on someone. They make first contact and go after the ball. And tough players do it on every possession, not just when they feel like it. They understand defense is not complete until they secure the ball.

Take responsibility for your actions: Tough players make no excuses. They take responsibility for their actions. Take James Johnson for example. With 17 seconds to go in Wake's game against Duke on Wednesday, Jon Scheyer missed a 3-pointer that bounced right to Johnson. But instead of aggressively pursuing the ball with a sense of urgency, Johnson stood there and waited for the ball to come to him. It never did. Scheyer grabbed it, called a timeout and the Blue Devils hit a game-tying shot on a possession they never should've had. Going after the loose ball is toughness -- and Johnson didn't show it on that play. But what happened next? He re-focused, slipped a screen for the winning basket, and after the game -- when he could've been basking only in the glow of victory -- manned up to the mistake that could've cost his team the win. "That was my responsibility -- I should have had that," Johnson said of the goof. No excuses. Shouldering the responsibility. That's toughness.

Look your coaches and teammates in the eye: Tough players never drop their heads. They always look coaches and teammates in the eye, because if they are talking, it is important to them and to you.

Move on to the next play: Tough players don't waste time celebrating a good play or lamenting a bad one. They understand that basketball is too fast a game to waste time and opportunities with celebratory gestures or angry reactions. Tough players move on to the next play. They know that the most important play in any game is the next one.
Be hard to play against, and easy to play with: Tough players make their teammates' jobs easier, and their opponents' jobs tougher.

Make every game important: Tough players don't categorize opponents and games. They know that if they are playing, it is important. Tough players understand that if they want to play in championship games, they must treat every game as a championship game.

Make getting better every day your goal: Tough players come to work every day to get better, and keep their horizons short. They meet victory and defeat the same way: They get up the next day and go to work to be better than they were the day before. Tough players hate losing but are not shaken or deterred by a loss. Tough players enjoy winning but are never satisfied. For tough players, a championship or a trophy is not a goal; it is a destination. The goal is to get better every day.
When I was playing, the players I respected most were not the best or most talented players. The players I respected most were the toughest players. I don't remember anything about the players who talked a good game or blocked a shot and acted like a fool. I remember the players who were tough to play against.
Anybody can talk. Not anybody can be tough.

"If You Build It...They Will Come!"

2009-01-22T15:25:00.008-05:00

Make it fun, make it exciting, make it a learning opportunity for all involved!

"When people feel extraordinary, you get extraordinaryresults. When people
feel ordinary, you get ordinaryresults." - Rick Pitino, Louisville Head
Coach

Implement a student-athlete leadership program
Get involved in the community... do communtiy service activities

Get involved in the school... do a reading program at your schools elementary school

Get your families involved... hold open practice sessions for family, faculty and community members

Have a team newsletter and/or website for parents, fans and your feeder program

Have "Hoops Du Jor" nights where kids can come to the gym and play...no strings attached, just fun!

Honor teachers & staff from the school with "Honorary Coaches" night

Honor past championship teams at half-time

Hold an "Alumni Night" with a dinner before or after the game...this allows your current players and staff to network with past players and staff

Hold a youth coaches clinic for local youth leagues...youth coaches are typically parents, who are always interested in learning more about the fundamentals of the game, plus it's a good way for teams to start practicing your system!

Host free youth clinics before certain games

Invite local youth teams to play during your half-time at your games...to a young athlete, there's nothing better than playing on the "big stage"!

Combine a boys and girls game where the girls play first and the boys follow.

Offer free popcorn, pizza or hotdogs at all home games

Make Senior Night a big deal!

Cutting Down the Nets!

2009-01-20T13:59:00.004-05:00

It's what every player dreams of doing at the completion of their season, its a staple in basketball at the college and high school levels, it's what every team strives for, it's the explamation point after a championship title run...it's cutting down the nets! Below is an article posted on Eric Musselman's website (found here...http://www.emuss.blogspot.com/), that talks about a motivational tactic that Digger Phelps used prior to his Notre Dame team doing the unimaginable and beating John Wooden's UCLA Bruin team, which ended their 88 game winning streak.

ND was down by 11 with three and a half minutes left, but went on a 12-0 run, holding the Bruins scoreless in that span.In his book "Tales from the Notre Dame Hardwood," Irish coach Digger Phelps describes his team's preparation the week leading up to the game.
~~~~~~~~~~~I always felt the mental part of preparation for a big game was more important than the physical. I even used to have one of my assistants in charge of pre-game motivation, some gimmick that would give the players that little extra from a psychological standpoint.Even though we were 9-0 and had outscored every opponent by 26.4 points per game coming into the UCLA game, I thought it was important to put this team in a positive mindset.We had lost four straight to UCLA by a total of 128 points, so I had to change the mindset. One of the things I did was show the team film of the first 10 minutes of the two games the previous year when we'd played well and we were in the game. This way they could see themselves playing against Walton and Wilkes and the others, holding their own for a long period of time.On Wednesday, it hit me. Why not practice cutting down the nets? So that's what we did at the end of practice that day. That's right, still three days prior to the game.We had a drill where the blue team (subs) was pressing the gold team, which had a 10-point lead with three minutes left. Ironically, the game situation the following Saturday would be the opposite situation.At the end of that drill, I brought the team together and said, "OK, you know what happens now? Shumate, you go to one basket and Goose (Gary Novak), you go to the other. The rest of you split up and lift them up so they can cut down the nets, because that is what we're going to do after we win on Saturday. Someday you will tell your grandchildren about this.Some of them looked at me like I was crazy, but they did it. We repeated it after Friday's practice. Every time Gary Brokaw talks about that game, he talks about cutting down the nets at practice leading into the game. He always said it gave the team confidence.

Blogging the Journey: Gotta Have a PhD!

2009-01-19T10:19:00.002-05:00

It has been a while since my last "Blogging the Journey" post. We have hit the meat of our schedule and are wrapped in a tight race for first place during conference play. It's talked about all the time..."you don't want to be playing your best basketball early in the season." That statement could not be any more accurate. We experienced some adversity early on in the season, going through a culture change with more focus on getting stops at the defensive end, the aches and pains of coming together and gelling as a team. We have over come those to win the last five out of six games.

We had a nice trip to D.C. just after the New Year that helped us come together as a team. It could not have come at a better time! We lost a tough game to Marymount University, a game that we could have easily won. Unfortunatley, they out executed us on both ends to win 74-62. However, we bounced back nicely in the consolation game with a 65-63 win over Mt. Saint Mary's (NY). Congrats to Joey Stevenson for the well deserved honor of reaching the tournament's all-tourney team.
Since that win, we have won four in a row to climb to second place in the AMC Conference standings. This includes wins over Hilbert, Franciscan and most recently, over the weekend, LaRoche. LaRoche was a huge win for us, probably our biggest win thus far. They are tied for the lead in the conference and it was an important and well deserved road win for us. To win on the road you must prepare, execute and stay poised, which we did all 3. We are finally buying in to the concept of team play and getting stops and converts! If we want to accomplish our goal of reaching the playoffs, we must win all of our remaining home games and steal as many road victories as we can! Up next...Penn State Altoona, another leader in the conference, but more importantly a backyard rival.

My wife, or "Santa Claus" for all who still believe, got me the new Rick Pitino book, "Rebound Rules 2.0" for Christmas. It was the only thing I asked for and I highly recommend it to anybody who has ever been faced with adversity, which is everyone! I mean, come on...if you have not faced adversity in you life, you have not lived, you have not challenged yourself! Anyhow, the book is great and Pitino provides his personal philosophy for dealing with adverse situations and the importance of reflecting on those situations to help allow yourself to grow from them and move forward in a positive direction. In Chapter 3, Pitino talks about his players having a "PhD". No, he does not recruit kids who plan to go forward for their Ph D, following graduation, he is talking about having Passion, Hunger and Drive. He learned this from a friend who works on Wall-Street, who he asked one time how he recruits people to come work for his firm in NYC. Pitino imagined that they be recruited from Havard Business School, Princeton, etc. But, to much of his suprise, his friend told him that he recruits people that have a "Ph D" - people who are poor, hungry and driven. Pitino changed the P from poor to passionate, but it still has the same meaning. I started thinking about the idea of having a "Ph D" and how it relates to our team and the way we have been playing lately. I honestly believe that we have a group of kids who are passionate for the game of basketball, who have committed themselves to working hard, playing together and buying into the philosophy of Coach Loya. Then you have hunger...if you want to be successful at achieving your goals, you must be hungry for success. Often times, success or wins can be taken forgranted because you are so used to it...victory becomes the norm and when something becomes normal, it tends to loose its "taste". That's why you must always be humble in victory and appreciate the effort that is put forth to achieve that success, while understanding that it is never garaunteed and never the norm. Having humilty in victory or success, will keep you hungry and I think right now we are hungry for success. We have "tasted" the fruits of hardwork and committment through some of the recent success that we have had. Finally, in order to achieve success or reach maximum potential, you must be driven. This drive starts with head coach, Lance Loya, who does a great job of instilling drive into our players on a daily basis by way of energy and enthusiasm, preparation and reminding everyone of our vision and what we need to do to make our dreams a reality...having a Ph D for success!

Stay humble, stay hungry and stay driven and let's make it 6 out of 7!

Go Mounties!

When Your Team is Down...Cheer Harder!

2009-01-19T09:24:00.004-05:00

We see it all the time...a team gets down by 20 late in the second half, their shots are not falling, the opponent is shooting the lights out, it's just one of those games. During those times coaches keep coaching, teams keep fighting, keep playing hard, keep trying to chip away at that defecit. Fans expect their teams to continue to play hard and fight until the very end.

However, why is it different when it's the other way around? When a team struggles to win some games, why is it that the players are expected to continue to be positive and play harder, but the fans give up? In these cases, the fans should be expected to cheer even harder, just like the players are expected to play even harder!

With a new coach, a new system, a new program philosophy and basically all new players, the Indiana Hoosiers basketball team is struggling through their Big Ten Conference schedule. They lost at home over the weekend for the first time ever against a very good Penn State team. However, the Hoosier fans are continuing to show their support and their belief for their team. They're doing it the right way from all aspects of their program and the administration is fully supporting their efforts. Tom Crean is the perfect man for the Indiana job. He is a great coach with great committment and a high level of enthusiasm. He understands the tradition of Indiana Hoosier basketball and the importance of using its strong tradition, former players, alumni and administration to buy into and support the efforts of the Indiana program. Their V.P. and Director of Athletics, Fred Glass is leading this effort and pushing for continued support from their fan base. "I love how hard our team plays and how hard Coach Crean coaches," added Glass. They never quit and I want to encourage Hoosier Nation not to quit on them. Fan support in Assembly Hall has been tremendous. We just want to encourage more people to be there." According to the article, among ideas that Glass hopes will catch on with the Hoosier faithful are honorary game captains; allowing youngsters to shoot layups on Assembly hall's court following weekend home games; encouraging the crowd to be more engaged in and around the game; and posting spirit signs in dorms, greek houses, and local businesses to hang up prior to home games.

During adverse times, teams need positive energy from administration, parents, fans, community members, alumni, and former players. So remember, when your team is down, do what you would expect them to do...cheer harder, show more pride, keep fighting and don't give up on them!

Committing to the Small Things

2009-01-12T08:29:00.002-05:00

Greenberg Lays Down Law for Team
Tech's men's basketball coach has his players sign a contract committing to a list of "core beliefs."
By Mark Berman
Associated Press
Find the full artilce here: http://www.roanoke.com/sports/vtbasketball/wb/190491

Virginia's Tech coach Seth Greenberg (right) shown with Hokies reserve Terrance Vinson, did not see much that he liked in the Hokies' 25-point loss to Duke last Sunday at Cameron Indoor Stadium. For the second straight year, a lopsided Virginia Tech loss on Tobacco Road has been followed by contract talk.
No, Hokies coach Seth Greenberg hasn't been given another extension. It's his players who signed a contract this week.
Adopting a tactic he used last season, Greenberg has asked his players to commit to his "core beliefs." The move came in the wake of Sunday's 69-44 loss at Duke -- a defeat in which the Hokies mustered just 13 second-half points. Tech forward Jeff Allen has said that Duke played harder than the Hokies in the second half, and that his team "gave up."
Greenberg said Thursday he didn't like the team's "competitive spirit" in the second half at Duke.

He said the contract reminds the players "of the essence of the culture of the program" and makes sure they don't "compromise" that culture.

"I've done a contract almost every single year I've been here at different times," he said. "I'm taking measures to help us get better."
Greenberg also used the contract approach after last February's 92-53 loss at North Carolina. Point guard Malcolm Delaney said after that game that the Hokies "gave up." The Hokies won four straight after signing the contract.
Players said this year's version of the contract covers everything from playing hard and playing up to one's potential in games to not talking back to coaches in practice to not using cellphones during team dinners.
"It's just stuff on and off the court, the stuff that we [were] kind of letting go, and it was kind of affecting the team," Delaney said. "He won't tolerate some of the small stuff he was tolerating.
"A lot of the contract is ... [about] effort in practice."
The Hokies plan to display better effort in Saturday's home game with Virginia.
"We need to take our anger out on somebody," Delaney said. "We didn't play hard [at Duke]. I just feel as though everybody is looking forward to another game where we can come out and play hard."
Greenberg has run practice differently this week. The regulars have been squaring off against each other instead of the walk-ons, and there has been more full-court play.
"Coach is starting to see what people he can count on," Delaney said. "Instead of having to play everybody in the rotation, he wants to play whoever would play the hardest. Everybody's just competing more for spots."

Re-energizing a Program with Loyalty and Excellence

2009-01-06T13:33:00.002-05:00

Loyalty Paying Off for Harris and His Tourney-starved Wolverines
By Dana O'NeilESPN.com

John Beilein had been on the job just a handful of days when he sat down for his most important meeting.
Across from the newly minted Michigan coach sat a teenager who had no idea who this earnest man was. Manny Harris was a fan of playing the game, not watching the game. He spent his time on the Detroit playgrounds or in the gym, not parked in front of the television. Never really paid much attention to Kevin Pittsnogle, not real savvy about Mike Gansey, didn't know the history lesson on resurgent West Virginia hoops under Beilein.
All Harris knew was that Tommy Amaker recruited him to Michigan, had him sign a letter of intent to play for the Wolverines, and now Amaker was gone and this guy he'd never met was supposed to be his coach.
Second-year coach John Beilein has Michigan on a fast track to its first NCAA tourney trip in 11 years. In those early whirlwind days, Beilein's to-do list was lengthy, but instead of wooing alums, meeting with the media or glad-handing fans, he made Harris his priority.
Saddled with a program that still fancied itself a Cadillac but more resembled a Pinto, Beilein had watched film of the talented shooting guard, saw the way the Michigan Mr. Basketball could score, and knew Harris was the kind of player who could be used as a cornerstone in an epic rebuilding project.
He also knew that Harris wasn't sure he was still coming to Michigan.
"You get so close with a recruit because of how early it starts now, so I tried to let him know I understood," Beilein said. "But I also told him no matter where you go, you're going to be in a similar situation -- that it won't be the coach you wanted to play for. So I told him, why not give it a try? If it doesn't work, it doesn't work. I knew he wanted to turn around Michigan basketball and I wanted to turn around Michigan basketball, so I said let's see if we can do that."
The ribbon-tied trite sentence begs to be written here. The Wolverines (10-2) have knocked out UCLA and Duke, beating two top-five teams in one season for the first time in 21 years, are ranked 24th in the latest ESPN/USA Today poll and head into Wednesday's Big Ten opener against Wisconsin (2 p.m., ESPN2) as one of the early surprises of the college basketball season.
Go ahead. Try to be trite. Try to say that the turnaround Harris and Beilein craved has happened, that the Wolverines have crested the mountain and order is restored in Ann Arbor.
Fans will agree wholeheartedly. Desperate for something in maize and blue worth celebrating after a football season for the record books of ignominy, they are no longer asking whether Michigan will make the NCAA tournament. They want to know how deep the Wolverines, who haven't been dancing in a decade, can go.
They clogged players' Facebook and MySpace pages after the UCLA win, stormed the court after the 81-73 win over the Blue Devils, and have bull-rushed drinking the Kool-Aid in favor of an all-out kegger on the stuff.
But just try to run that hackneyed nonsense by Beilein and his Merry Band of Realists.
Beilein is so underwhelmed that he likens sophomore coaching seasons to the bout of vertigo that sidelined him against Eastern Michigan earlier this month.
"It's that same dizziness," he said. "Second years are a roller coaster. Just when you think you're getting better and you've made it, watch out, and when you think you're never going to get better, you play great.
"We haven't turned the corner yet. We can see the corner up there, but we haven't turned it."
Beilein's temperance is the drink of choice for his players.
Says Harris: "To me, it feels like we're just getting started. We're only beginning to become what a good program is."
Says DeShawn Sims: "I think we're still climbing the hill. We've developed so much in terms of our team chemistry, so we're steadily moving up the hill, but we're not there yet."
They can poor-mouth it all they want, but the Wolverines are a lot closer to the summit a lot faster than anyone could have dreamed -- already matching last season's win total.
If football coach Rich Rodriguez is looking for hope, he needs only to check in with his former West Virginia co-worker. A year ago, Beilein was Rodriguez, his hoops team matching this year's pigskin crew in futility. The Wolverines finished 10-22, setting a record for losses in a single season -- and, most embarrassing, took an 11-point loss on the chin from Harvard, with Amaker leading the Crimson.
Beilein insisted he was encouraged, saying after the regular season-ending loss to Purdue, "I've seen great progress and I hope you have."

DeShawn Sims has blossomed from a role player to a star for the surprising Wolverines.
What he viewed through the prism of his rose-colored glasses was clear to him if no one else: Sims, a little-used rookie under Amaker, started every game and earned honorable mention All-Big Ten honors as he nearly quadrupled his productivity, going from 3.4 points to 12.3 per game; and Harris, a rookie who also started every game, scored in double figures in 28 of 32 games and became only the fourth Michigan freshman to score more than 500 points.
The losses were hard to swallow, but to Beilein, the experience was worth the pain. The pair, along with guard Kelvin Grady and forward Zack Gibson, learned the rigors of college ball as well as the demands of Beilein ball.
Beilein dislikes the word system, saying he merely teaches players things high school coaches don't have the time to teach. Things like transition defense. Whatever he wants to call it, the way he coaches involves a learning curve. Players aren't used to reading defenses as he demands they do, nor frankly are they used to the steady green light he offers. The Wolverines take around 26 3-pointers per game, despite making only 8.8 of them on average.
"It's almost like a football playbook, there are so many plays," Harris said. "He has his own vocabulary and it's hard to get down. The other thing is, it's not that you step outside of the system, but you have to be able to create. The system puts you in the position to be open. It's up to you to create and finish."
While outsiders cringed at the hefty buyout to West Virginia required to bring Beilein to town and wondered if athletic director Bill Martin was getting his money's worth that first year, the Wolverines became instant converts.

They liked the way Beilein demanded excellence that had nothing to do with
winning but everything to do with how they played. They liked the confidence he
had in them, even when -- or especially when -- their shots didn't fall.

And they liked him.

"There is zero tolerance for negativity with him. Zero," Sims said. "There's a
standard for everything you do, and you gain so much confidence through him. You
feel like you can do anything."

With Beilein's help, Sims has blossomed from a role player under Amaker into the Wolverines' version of Pittsnogle. The 6-foot-8 forward is averaging 17.2 points and 9.2 rebounds per game and has become the sort of outside shooter required of a big man in Beilein's system, er, style. As a rookie, Sims took seven 3-pointers and missed them all. As a sophomore he took 142 and hit 43. This year, he's 10-for-29.
As for Harris, he is averaging a Big Ten-leading 19.8 points per game, but made his coach smile widest when he wasn't the leading scorer. Against Oakland, Harris had 15 points to Sims' 20 but dished out 13 assists to zero turnovers in 36 minutes.
It's the sort of game, the kind of stat line, that brings Harris back to his April 2007 meeting with Beilein. He admits at the time he was teetering on the fence, not sure if he should stay with Michigan or go elsewhere.
Two things, Harris said, convinced him to stay.
"Definitely, one was my love for Michigan," he said, "but the other was the way coach kept everything so real. He didn't come in and lie to me and say that this would be my team. He told me we were going to have a lot of work to do and have to work hard. But he also promised he would make me a better player and we could make Michigan better."
Meeting adjourned.

Changing Culture with Leadership

2008-12-30T13:47:00.001-05:00

Nittany Lions seniors were a breath of fresh air

By Ivan MaiselESPN.com(Archive)
December 30, 2008

LOS ANGELES -- A coach's greatest fear about losing is the way it lingers, like cigarette smoke. When the coach walks into a recruit's living room, the smell of losing comes in the door with him.

Derrick Williams was the highest-rated recruit of the bunch to sign with Penn State.When this year's seniors signed in February 2005, Penn State had finished with losing records in four of the previous five seasons. The cumulative record over those five years: 26-33. Joe Paterno had just turned 78 years old. Brian Cushing, a prep All-American linebacker from New Jersey, Paterno's recruiting backyard for decades, signed with USC.
"I wasn't sure what he was going to do," Cushing said Monday. "That was definitely a concern of mine. I didn't know exactly what was going to happen."
Cushing went elsewhere. So did a lot of blue-chippers. You couldn't blame them. Penn State had just gone 4-7. But from those seeds of doubt has grown something to behold. Penn State started winning again.
Eleven fourth-year players who signed that February, and seven fifth-year players who had come a year earlier, will be in the starting lineup Thursday when No. 8 Penn State plays No. 5 USC in the Rose Bowl.
In 2005, as freshmen learning from leaders such as quarterback Michael Robinson and linebacker Paul Posluszny, they helped Penn State go 11-1 and win the Big Ten championship. Over the past four years, the Nittany Lions are 40-10. They will play in their second BCS bowl in their four seasons. Nearly all of this year's seniors have earned their degrees, and there lies among them a bond that comes from achieving a common goal through hard work.

We had faith in the program at that time. We felt like we helped make a
difference.
-- Penn State WR Deon Butler

The most prominent player in the signing class of 2005, all-purpose star Derrick Williams, will finish his Penn State career as the most dangerous player in a Nittany Lions uniform. Williams stood out from the moment he signed to play for Paterno. Williams stood out not only because of his talent, but because of how much he differed from the rest of the class. Many of the stars of this senior class did not go to Penn State burdened by high expectations. Paterno and his staff found them and signed them anyway.
Fourth-year junior quarterback Daryll Clark came after Pennsylvania prep star Chad Henne decommitted and declared his allegiance to Michigan. Quarterback coach Jay Paterno had noticed Clark, from Youngstown, Ohio, while watching video of a tight end. Clark acceded to Joe Paterno's demand that he spend a year in prep school to shore up his academics. His grades had scared away many schools.
"He said to my parents, 'Grades don't show what kind of person he is. We want him to play quarterback,'" Clark said.
Clark sat for three years, waiting for his turn. When the time came this past spring, he seized the starting job by the throat.
"We definitely have developed a friendship and a bond, especially with guys like Daryll," Williams said. "I can remember when Daryll first came in, you could definitely see the guys who were going to make an impact on the team. He was one of those guys."
Senior wide receiver Jordan Norwood, whose father, Brian, had been Penn State's safeties coach until leaving this season for the defensive coordinator job at Baylor, thinks he might have ended up at Houston or Tulsa had Paterno not offered him a scholarship. Penn State offensive coordinator Galen Hall said Paterno didn't throw Norwood a bone because he was already part of the Penn State family.

Daryll Clark had to bide his time but now is the director of the HD spread offense."Joe saw him play basketball," Hall said, "and said, 'This is a player I want.'"
Norwood started one up on classmate and fellow wideout Deon Butler, who walked on to play at Penn State.
"People missed on him. We missed on him," Hall said. "Thank God we found him."
Butler had some interest from Wake Forest, but he went to Penn State, check in hand.
"We had faith in the program at that time," Butler said of himself and his classmates. "We felt like we helped make a difference. We've been through so much. We've been through more off-the-field incidents and how much publicity they got. That helped us bond together."
There have been arrests and court cases. They have seen classmates Chris Baker, a blue-chip recruit and a budding star on the defensive line, and defensive back Willie Harriott get thrown off the team for not staying out of trouble with the law. They have closed ranks, learned what not to do and learned how to lean on each other.
"Anytime you get good players that can stay four or five years, you should be pretty good," Hall said. "They came when they could have gone other places. They saw Penn State for what it is."
They came together barely out of high school, and now they have one game left to play as a team.
"I think the only time it really hit us was on Senior Day [Nov. 22 versus Michigan State], when we were introduced before the game," fifth-year senior safety Mark Rubin said. "Some guys were crying, and everybody was emotional. The five years went by so fast, and sometimes it feels like forever ago. We are the first class in Penn State history to win two Big Ten titles. From where we were to where we are seems forever ago."

A fresh wind blew through Penn State. The smell of losing is gone.

Blogging the Journey: "Another Step Up the Ladder"

2008-12-30T11:16:00.003-05:00

At 1-4 we desperately needed something positive to happen before the semester break. To this point we have lost a few games that we really should have won, not playing to our potential. However, we were making progress and you just knew that it was only a matter of time until we started to pull it all together. We had a great week of preparation and practice leading up to Pitt-Greensburg, Mackey, our best player, was getting healthier and starting to show glimpses of reaching his full potential. Our defense was improving with each game, as was our rebounding. Unfortunately, there was a 6-7, 250 lb. "linebacker" in our way! Pitt-Greensburg's best player was averaging 28 points and 14 rebounds per game! This should be suiting up for the Pittsburgh Steelers, not Pitt-Greensburg! Obviously, the key was to keep them off the boards. Despite Daniel Wajjid's impressive 34 points and 19 rebounds, we were able to come up with a key road victory at Pitt-Greensburg, 79-78. It was one of the best games I have ever been apart of. It came down to rebounding, execution and the law of averages! We executed better than they did down the stretch, if you want to call Joe Balog's 3 pointer from beyond NBA range with less than a minute to play...execution? None the less, it was a big time play from a big time player! And, not to mention defined the saying "shooters keep shooting!" Joe was "0 for" up until that point, but maintained that shooters mentality and came through when needed. As for the law of averages...you would never imagine a 46% FT shooter going 6 for 6, but it happened when Wajjid stepped to the line and made all six of his Free Throws. Fortunately for us, the law of averages caught up with them and their 83% FT shooter went 1-2 with only 2 seconds to play to give us a well deserved and hard fought victory. To Pitt-Bradford's credit, they also played a great game. They were the most physical team that we have played so far.

Over the River and Through the Woods...to Pitt-Bradford We Go!

2008-12-30T10:54:00.002-05:00

I never understood why our Men's and Women's coaches despised our annual trip to play Pitt-Bradford so much. Could it really be that bad? Then we went and it did not take me long to understand why. First, it was in the middle of the worst snow fall we have had so far this year. The inside temperature of our bus could only be controlled from the outside. The door to the bus flew open as we traveled down 22 west. Our route took us north on 219, which was a two lane road the majority of the way. Then we hit the lake effect snow! Our bus driver was passing cars in a white-out! Lesson learned...never sit in the first seat on a bus during a snow storm! Despite a 5 hour trip that should normally take 3 hours and 30 minutes, we arrived at the gym on time and all in one piece! The game itself, which was our first road game of the season, was pretty consistent to our trip...aggrevating! Despite Bradford jumping out to a 10-0 lead, we were able to battle back and make the game competitive to where we actually were within 5 points early in the second half. Unfortunately, our defense was like the weather outside...cold, and we were not able to take advantage of opportunities. When we were able to get a stop or create a turnover, we were unable to convert and often times turned it right back over again. With it being Thanksgiving, we did have a few things to be thankful for...we made it home safely and we don't have to go back until next year!

One week later we made the trip north again, this time to Penn State-Behrend. This trip, which unfortunately had the same outcome in the win-loss column, was a much better trip. The atmosphere at Behrend was great! The game was televised, the stands were full and there was energy in the air throughout their impressive facility.

Don't Take Shooting Ability For granted

2008-12-22T08:39:00.003-05:00

Scheyer's Extra Work Pays Huge Dividends for Duke

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The way Jon Scheyer figured it, he had two ways to look at his subpar shooting. He could do what most people tell great shooters to do -- forget about it, keep taking aim at the rim and have the confidence that eventually the ball will slip through the twine -- or he could do something about it.

Jon Scheyer tied a season high with 23 points in Duke's win over Xavier.Scheyer chose all of the above.
He kept shooting but he also slipped into the gym. With exams over and school out last week, he grabbed a spare 20 minutes whenever he could and concentrated on his stroke.
Scheyer always has been a shooter. He was the tallest kid on his youth team, but his coach, Scott Lidskin, didn't let that dictate where he should play. He put Scheyer at the point, slid him over to 2-guard and told him no matter his size, to keep his outside game alive.
Blessed now with one of the sweetest strokes in the college game, Scheyer wouldn't seem like a guy in need of any after-school lessons on shooting mechanics. But he was just 13-of-38 from beyond the arc through Duke's first 10 games and didn't think the ball was dropping for him like it ordinarily does.
So on Saturday against Xavier, when a Scheyer 3-pointer came up short, yet caught some sort of gravitational force to fall back into the net -- despite a wacky spin that defied all logic -- all the junior could do was smile.
"That felt great," he laughed. "Those are the kinds of shots I haven't been getting to drop."
Who knows? Maybe it was the ghost of Jimmy Hoffa giving a heavy breath to help the Blue Devils win yet another game in their favorite home outside of Cameron Indoor Stadium. Duke has played 19 games at the Meadowlands and won 18 of them.
But none quite like this. Scheyer's 3-pointer gave him 14 points. There were still 11 minutes to play against Xavier.
In the first half.
Duke put together what the players and coach Mike Krzyzewski agreed was its best game of the season, an offensive masterpiece and defensive beatdown, that left the No. 7 Musketeers tread-marked under a 22-3 deficit and ultimately, an 82-64 loss.
"We played great today," Krzyzewski said. "Not good. Crazy good."

Two games ago, Duke went to Michigan, home of this year's Final Four, and played the kind of uninspired and unsatisfactory game that has turned the Blue Devils into Barcalounger residents come the last weekend of the season. Duke took an eight-point loss to the Wolverines and with it, the knowing nods of critics everywhere who insist the Blue Devils can't win without a big man and with their slobbery love affair with the 3-point line.
Krzyzewski benched his starters the next game and the Blue Devils responded with a 44-point pasting of UNC-Asheville. But that was directional Carolina, not Carolina, and truth be told, Duke's second five should be able to beat Asheville's top five.
Xavier probably isn't the seventh-best team in the country. The Musketeers' top-10 berth hinged on a buzzer-beater against Virginia Tech and a win over a Memphis team that has spiraled downward from its top-15 mark since that game in Puerto Rico. They are relying on a rookie point guard in spurts and no true point guard for most of the game.
But Xavier also isn't the 16-side of a 1-versus-16 game and that's exactly what this game looked like. Sean Miller tried blistering tirades and every sort of lineup change he could muster. Musketeers fans even tried a shout-out to university president Father Michael Graham, but not even the Jesuit's pipeline to the man in charge could stop this freight train.
Because here's the thing about Duke: When they're good, they're very, very good. Against Xavier, the Blue Devils admit they were the best they've been.
"Absolutely our best game," said Gerald Henderson, who finished with 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting.

"We're at our best when we're using each other, there's no way around it. Everyone on this team knows that. When we do that, we're a very sharp team and
tough to beat." - Gerald Henderson, Duke

Duke opened with an 18-1 run and never looked back as the Blue Devils dominated Xavier in every facet of the game.Miller lamented the impossibility that is defending the Blue Devils when they're in that type of mood. With four guys who can drive and handle the ball, they are a pick-your-poison team.
Do you follow Henderson to the rim and leave Scheyer alone or do you jump out on Scheyer and leave Henderson to roam? What about Kyle Singler, who can do both, or sharpshooting Greg Paulus off the bench? And Brian Zoubek may not give Duke a star big man, but he does give the Blue Devils a big-man presence. In his most active game in front of his home state crowd, Zoubek had nine points, five rebounds and four blocks.
"I hope they said this is one of the best games they played," Miller said. "Because when they get Gerald and Scheyer going like that, they're in a whole new category as to how good they can be."
Scheyer knows just how critical his role is. A lethal sixth man last season, he is now an even more vital starter. With Paulus coming off the bench to make room for Nolan Smith, Scheyer is the guy who can best stretch a defense. He knocked down three 3-pointers plus scored off a turnover before the first TV timeout, pushing the Xavier defense about to midcourt. He finished with a season-high 23 points, shooting 5-of-7 from behind the 3-point line.
Against Michigan, Scheyer wasn't the problem, as he led the Devils with 16 points. But he was just 1-of-5 shooting 3s, making his teammates imminently more guardable.
And so while Krzyzewski sent his message by pointing the starters to the pine, Scheyer decided to deliver one to himself in a few lonely minutes in the gym.

"No, you can't take it for granted," Scheyer said of his shooting ability. "Even now, this is one game. I've still got to keep working on it." - Jon Scheyer, Duke

Where Have All the Gym Rats Gone?

2008-11-14T13:49:00.004-05:00

An interesting topic of discussion came about yesterday with a good friend of mine, somebody who I see as a coaching mentor. We started talking about kids being accountable and working on their game by themselves and it made me think back to when I was a young player. It used to be you could drive through town on any given day and see groups of kids, of all ages, playing ball. If it was not a group, it most commonly was an individual or just two or three kids shooting or working on their ball handling. I still remember the days after school, my good friend and teammate, Aaron Fuska and I spent at the Delaney Courts playing one on one, "around the world" and tapping the backboards to improve our vertical jumping until it was dark out. Or, somedays it was just six of us, playing 3 on 3 at Mike Grohal's house, on the court his dad put in for us next to their garage. Just about every friend of mine had a hoop, that we often debated over who had the best court to play on. Obviously, I always felt mine was the better court!

Developing my skills as a basketball player in my driveway was something that I enjoyed from the time that I got my first basketball hoop at the age of 8. I can remember it well, it had a bright orange Kent logo as the square, with a white plastic backboard, unlike the common glass backboard that I have in my driveway at my own house today. The driveway was unpaved, filled with rocks and dirt that turned to mud when it rained. It was years until my dad decided he would black top our driveway, probably because the rocks in the driveway had already unknowingly helped me develop my ball handling skills!

I can remember in 9th grade, a bunch of us sleeping over at a friend's house, playing basketball outside until it was early in the morning. It was over Christmas break and we had one of those unseasonably mild December days. So, we took advantage of it by playing 2 on 2 for hours that night, under the bright moonlight, then got up the next morning and went to basketball practice! As a real young kid, I will never forget going to the Community Building with my dad to watch him play in his men's volleyball league. During breaks in the action, I would scoot across the court and shoot a couple of shots before the next game started. Then my dad would always spend some time working with me and shooting around after their games were over and we would then go down to the local VFW for a soda and some chips. I remember those memories like it was yesterday.

As a kid growing up, my dad was in charge of organizing the Windber Rotary Basketball Tournament, held every year just after Christmas. Today, the Rotary Tournament is the longest standing boys high school basketball tournament in Pennsylvania. He always spent countless hours planning and organizing the event, it was important to him because it was the Rotary's biggest fundraiser, which put money back into the community. My favorite part about the tournament was when I would have the chance to shoot around on the court before the teams arrived as my dad worked to get everything set up. Not only did I get a chance to shoot on the court, but I was allowed to use the game ball, which as a young basketball player was a huge deal for me. That was the same ball and the same court that the players, who I often times admired, were going to be using.

Then of course, you always could count on the Friday night pick-up games with the older men at the Community Building. There was nothing better than having Kevin Charney (who was much younger and athletic at the time) blocking your shot or a John Fuschino stealing the ball off of you, which made you go home and work on your dribbling before bed to make yourself better and promised yourself to never let that happen again. A lot of times, the next morning we would get back up and head back to "the building" for Saturday morning pick-up with many of the same "older guys". We spent hours on Saturday morning just playing pick-up games and when it got close to lunch time, we took shots from half court to see where we were going to go and eat lunch. First person to make a half-court shot, got to choose the place we were going to eat at. My friends and I spent a lot of time growing up, playing at "the building". We would pay our two bucks at the front desk, have some change left over for some soda, take our ball and play all day, whether it was a Saturday afternoon following our youth league games or morning and afternoons over Christmas break, we would play, play and play some more. That gym used to be full of kids, any age, high school, junior high or elementary age kids, even college aged kids when they were home on break. The high school kids always ran pickup games on the good side of the gym, while us younger kids watched closely, those varsity players we pretended to be, run up and down the court.

Those are just a few memories I have of spending time with my friends in the gym, on the playground or on the driveway, doing what I love to do...play basketball! Did spending all this time get me to the NBA? No, in fact it didn't even get me the opportunity to play college basketball. But, what it did get me was the opportunity to compete as a team member in some great games against other great players in front of some big time crowds. It produced championships and most importantly helped me to continue the great winning tradition at Windber High School. It produced great memories! To reach greatness, as a team member and as an individual, you must first be willing to outwork your opponents.

Where has that gone? There are no longer Friday night and Saturday morning pick up games with the older guys. No more Kevin Charney's blocking shots or John Fuschino stealing passes. Very rarely do you see a group of kids or even a single kid shooting at the Delaney Court hoops. The West End School hoops are long gone and the East End school hoops have been replaced with a parking lot for the local library. You no longer see kids bouncing a basketball as they walk through town. Kids are now riding their bikes, grasping their handle bars with two hands! It used to be that you learned how to ride your bike with only one hand on the handlebar. The other hand was always used to hold your basketball!

Growing up as a kid, I was often reminded by my father that "there is always somebody else out there whose working harder than you.", he would say with his soft voice. It always frustrated me, it didn't matter how long I would shoot jumpers in my driveway, whether it was in the heat, in the rain or in the cold, snowy weather, he would always make that same, "Mr. Miogi" like remark to me and nothing more, he would just walk away as I stood there frustrated and puzzeled, just waiting for him to give some kind of positive acknowledgement! An "atta boy" or "nice job, son" was all I was ever looking for. I would constantly think to myself, "what's it gonna take to please him?" Then, the next day I would go a little longer and a little harder, forcing myself to make more free throws in a row before allowing myself to quit.

It was not long after my father passed away, that I realized what his intent was when making that comment. Although I did not understand it at the time, I have come to realize that he knew exactly what he was doing! I wish I could thank him today! His simple little, soft spoken quote was making a huge impact on me, not only as a young basketball player, not even as a basketball player...period. He was making me a better person, preparing me for life! He was helping me establish a good work ethic, helping me set goals for myself, helping me reach higher and not allowing me to settle for being average! He distintively taught me that when you want something in life, you must work hard for it. I still get chills thinking about it and only wish that he was here for me to thank him!

Some other thoughts on Gym Rats:

You want to be a great basketball player? Someone once said, "you become what you think about most of the time." Become a gym rat!

Kentucky Head Men's Basketball coach, Billy Gillispie on gym rats... "Gym rats help the team take another step. Basketball is a long hard season, and a year-long situation. If one or two players want to spend the majority of their time in the gym, then before you know it three or four guys will always be in the gym, then six or seven. When this happens everyone improves and becomes a much better player. No matter how much work you put on those guys, they want more. It sends the message of commitment to everyone on the team. The title of a gym rat is earned over time because it's an important title."

Memphis Head Men's basketball coach, John Calipari on gym rates...As much as the team can accomplish at practice, Calipari knows his players need to get into the gym on their own and work on their games.
“Some guys are getting the message, but that’s something everybody will need to pick up on eventually.” Because sometimes, the most important work for a team with title aspirations gets done when nobody — not even Calipari — is watching.

"There are some things that are common to all gym rats. They are tougher than nails. Gym rats get knocked down, but they always get up quickly; almost as if they're made of rubber. All gym rats play defense like it's a personal challenge of their manhood. They slap and scrap and claw like fighting birds at a cockfight."

Here is an article written by Randy Brown titled, "Where Have All the Gym Rats Gone?"

With the advent of technological advances in our world, our lives have become easier and more comfortable. Each year ushers in a new throng of new products and upgrades that advertising tells us we must have. Technology has impacted the sports world in hundreds of ways. Some would argue that these advances have both helped and hindered the sports we love. In this article I will focus on the dwindling interest our younger generation shows toward the greatest game on earth.
As I drive up and down the street in my neighborhood I see many basketball hoops on both sides of the street. Some are nailed to the garage or sunk in yards of concrete. Most are part of a fancy system that includes a goal, pole and base. Many of them can be adjusted by a 5 year old from 10 feet down to their preferred height. These units are easy to set up and available at almost any superstore or internet web site.
From the number of goals that line the streets of America's towns and suburbs, you would conclude that kids love playing basketball. Back yards are void of soccer goals, goal posts, or baseball fields. From what I see, basketball is the only game in town. Am I right or am I wrong?
For some reason these goals sit alone and unbothered in driveways up and down the street. There are very few kids hoisting shots toward the shiny orange rims. Not in the the fall, not in the winter, not in the summer. A few shots are taken in the spring when its easy to be outdoors in the fresh air. All of this leads me to ask the perplexing question, "Where are all the gym rats?"
Our world has made being a kid quite an undertaking. Electronics have taken over the lives of our youth. Cell phones, iPods and Playstation have captured the imagination of an entire segment of America. Is this bad news for our younger generation? Some would argue these worldly improvements are part of life. Those of us who love the game of basketball disagree.
Shooting hoops in the driveway always gave me a great sense of freedom. The ability to shoot for hours alone represented a lot of my time as a young player. With sadness, these days I rarely see this kind of expression of love and freedom. It hurts to know that kids are paralyzed in front of the LCD screen, computer flat panel, or Madden 2007. What happened to shooting the shot that wins the imaginary NCAA tournament, State Tournament, or NBA Title. Isn't it fashionable to dream anymore? Are we living out these experiences through a video game or other lifeless channel? What happened to the dreamers in our world?
Maybe it's my stubbornness or traditional approach to the game. Maybe it's because I dedicated my professional life to the game James Naismith invented. Or maybe it's because I see too many kids without this level of love for basketball. An empty heart has no love for anything. Whatever the reason, I find myself asking the same haunting question, "Where are all the gym rats?"

Blogging the Journey: Mountie Madness!

2008-11-12T15:46:00.002-05:00

Last evening our team took some time to showcase our men's and women's programs and their talents at Mountie Madness for the local community and the students. The evening was filled with contests, player introductions and scrimmages by the men and women. Also, a 3-pt contest and dunk contest were held for the fans, where the lucky fans had a chance to win a trip to NY city. It was a great evening, filled with excitement and enthusiasm from the players, fans and coaches.

It was a great evening, but now it's time to get focused for this weekend's Coaches vs. Cancer tournament, as we tip off with St. Joseph's from Brooklyn, New York. The anxiety and anticipation will build as we approach Saturday and try to finalize and improve upon some of the necessary details.

Blogging the Journey: Playing Above the Rim

2008-11-04T10:40:00.004-05:00

After beating up on ourselves for three weeks, we finally had the opportunity to play against somebody else! Saturday was our first scrimmage and my first taste of college level competition and there is no better way of measuring where you stand, as a coach and as a player, than against one of the top JUCO programs in the country! Our scrimmage was at Alleganey Community College...the home of Steve "the Franchise" Francis. Yes, the Steve Francis who became an all-american at Maryland and is now playing in the NBA. The environment was special, as you entered Kirk Gymnasium (named after their legendary coach, Bob Kirk), you couldn't help but admire the college and NBA jerseys that surrounded the hallways. Teams such as Texas, Kansas, Maryland, George Mason, Pitt, Georgetown and Virginia, all jerseys of players that once played for Alleganey before moving to the big time division I programs. Obviously, Steve Francis is the most well known player to come out of Alleganey, but others such as Eric Mobley from Pitt and Sterling Ledbetter from Maryland also have come out of the JUCO college.

As for the scrimmage itself, well it was a great measuring stick for where our strengths and weaknesses lie as we approach the start of the season. We struggled breaking pressure and had quite a few turnovers against their press. We need to do a better job of stepping to the basketball, weakside help positioning, stepping in on dribble penetration, bumping cutters and not trailing around screens. These are all things that we can certainly work on to get better at as we prepare for our second scrimmage this weekend against Garrett Community College. Believe it or not, there were a lot of positives as well that came out of the scrimmage. We got a lot of baskets in transition, our half-court offense was solid and allowed us a good amount of open looks at the basket, our press was effective and we shared the basketball, sometimes a little too much, passing up open looks. Most importantly, once we settled down and the nerves went away, we played with a lot of confidence and became much more competitive. It was a very promising outcome, except for the bus breaking down before we were ready to leave!

I must admit, I can get used to traveling in style with the chartered buses! The movie, Miracle, which was about the 1980 Olympic Hockey team was great...one of the better sports movies of all time in my opinion. As for my first college coaching experience, well let's just say we're not in the West Pac anymore! Somethings that you will probably not see in the West Pac this year:

Opponents with a front court of 6'6", 6'7" and 6'8"
4 dunks in a row!
Players who avoid charges by jumping over the defender and dunking on them!

I actually caught myself saying one time on a fast break..."play the miss, play the miss!" Well, trust me, at this level there are no misses on a fast break when you are playing above the rim!

This week it's back to daily grind of working on fundamentals and bettering ourselves and our teammates towards the common goal of making the playoffs!

Blogging the Journey: Practice #1

2008-10-16T09:00:00.006-04:00

"Baby steps", that's the best way I can describe the first official practice for the 2008-09 Mount Aloysius Men's basketball team. There are a lot of changes taking place from last year's team, different offense, experienced players, higher expectations, higher emphasis on defense and the opportunity to make the playoffs. With the culture change, for the better, our approach to the first week of practice is taking the time to teach more and fine tune the details with a focus on doing the little things fundamentally. Our first practice was filled with bad passes, missed shots and nervous energy, much of what is to be expected. However, the first practice was also filled with eagerness to improve, high energy and talent...all things that you cannot teach! Those are all good signs of what's to come. The passes will get better, the shots will fall and the confidence levels will increase with time and patience. A few eye openers for me, coaching for the first time at the college level, was certainly the amount of talent. As I walked into the gym and looked around and saw guys reaching a foot above the rim to snatch an alley oop pass for a dunk, I knew I would be working with a completely different level of competition. However, the most exciting thing for me was the number of players who are eager to improve and get better! What an exciting time!

Players Don't Care What You Know Until They Know You Care

2008-10-13T09:10:00.004-04:00

If there is one coach that defines the word passion, it would be Bruce Pearl. His passion and energy he brings to the Tennessee men's basketball program is unmatched. Below are some hightlights from an interview with Coach and Athletic Director Magazine with Bruce Pearl. Thanks to Eric Mussleman's blog for sharing this article. The full interview can be found here: http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3750364

On the impact coaches have had on his life:

"I can name every coach I ever played for growing up. I can tell you every little team, every youth basketball team, and every traveling team.The point I am trying to make is they make a difference. You know, their patience, and their abilities to teach and communicate, and to care and inspire. And command some discipline without living completely vicariously through the winning and losing of a child. Those coaches, in youth activities and, of course, all the way through high school, had a profound impact on my career."

On working for Dr. Tom Davis at Boston College, Stanford, and Iowa:

"I walked on the men’s basketball team at Boston College and shortly there after got cut. I wasn’t good enough because of my knee. But I stayed on in other capacities. I was the basketball manager and the director of student promotions.By the time I was a senior, I was a student assistant coach. I took on a lot of tasks for Dr. Tom Davis. And I was a part-time practice player on the road when we needed an extra body. I think the biggest thing about my experience at Boston College was — I did graduate cum laude, majoring in marketing and economics — if there is ever a time to be poor it’s when you’re young, and there is such thing as a starving student.I interned and volunteered and just got involved with so many things at BC, most of them involving athletes. I paid a lot of dues by the time I was 22. I encourage a lot of young people to do the same thing. When I graduated from BC in 1982, Tom Davis was leaving to take the job at Stanford and he took me with him."

On his passion for coaching:

" When I was in high school I coached youth basketball and football. And I umpired and I refereed — and some people think I still referee. I was always involved in coaching during high school and even in college.It was never a thought of mine until Tom Davis offered me a job when I was 22-years old to go with him as an assistant coach at Stanford. I had never done anything in athletics to try to prepare myself to be a coach. I was doing it because I loved it. I never dreamed of being a coach. Yet my first job out of college was that job at Stanford and that’s all I have done since. So in a way, if you go back to when I was almost in middle school, I have been coaching my whole life."On former BC, Stanford, and Iowa coach Tom Davis: "He is my mentor. If you’re any good at anything chances are you had a good teacher. And I had one of the best teachers the game had to offer: Dr. Tom Davis .I learned so much. I learned a whole system of basketball. I also learned patience and how to motivate. You got better when you went to play with him. Tom didn’t always recruit the best talent but he recruited enough. He wasn’t afraid to take a guy who a lot of people said wasn’t athletic enough."

On the value he added as a young coach:

"I just think I brought a level of intensity to practice every single day. I had an expectation for the players that was beyond what they had for themselves. I had to make up for what I lacked in not being able to play the game at the high level.So I made up for it with my work ethic and my intensity. And I jumped in with both feet. I tried to complement what Tom needed. Tom wasn’t a yeller or a screamer. He was a teacher. There were a lot of times, as an assistant coach, that I was the bad guy."On taking ownership as an assistant: "Tom had a way of making me feel those were my teams also. I wasn’t working for him, I was working for myself. He gave me ownership. And I was held accountable when we lost games to teams I scouted or when I made mistakes in helping prepare the team. We won some games that we did a good job in as well. But I took the losses very hard and celebrated the wins just as hard. Tom had a great way of making everybody take ownership."

On why he left Southern Indiana after nine seasons as head coach:

"I finally left Southern Indiana because my whole deal is to encourage my players to be the best that they can be. And I realized at the end of my ninth season there that I was settling. That I wasn’t being the best I could be. I did not want to ever sit on my front porch from wherever I retire from this game and wonder if I could have done it at the highest level. That’s why I left, because I wasn’t living the life I was asking my players to try to live."

On taking over at a new job:

"When you come into a new program, you are being evaluated by your players. And my guys were well coached. They hadn’t had a winning season in two years but those kids were well coached. And so, I had to be at the top of my game to win them over. While [the previous coach] got them to be competitive, they still didn’t know how to win."

On how his assistants help develop young players:

"Tom Davis did not always get the best players but people knew that those guys got better. And I learned as an assistant coach that it took time in the gym and individual workouts. I have assistant coaches who know how to teach the game and they are not afraid to roll up their sleeves and get in there. [My assistant coaches] put a lot of time in the gym emphasized on individual workouts."

On Tennessee women's coach Pat Summitt:

"Pat is an amazing woman. She is the best mother to her son Tyler and she is the best mother, friend, and coach to her players. She’s got more people into college basketball coaching the women’s game. It’s countless the number of former players and managers and coaches.She is extremely organized, always prepared. And she stays on top the game because she listens and she asks questions and she brings in other minds. She studies international basketball and professional basketball. I have never met anybody as accomplished who is also as hungry. You’d think she had never won one championship, let alone eight."

On the difference between being liked and being respected:

"Billy Donovan’s dominated this league. I don’t think Billy Donovan is anybody’s favorite coach outside of Florida. He’s done it because he’s beaten everybody. You can’t find a better coach. Billy Donavon is at the head of our profession and I have tremendous respect for him. I think our fans have great respect for Billy Donovan. Whether they like him or not, it doesn’t matter — it doesn’t matter to Billy. And so that’s my point; I don’t care if they like me. I want my fans to like me. It would be great if they could respect what we’re doing."

On his coaching philosophy:

"I have been a head coach for 16 years or whatever it’s been. My teams have led the league in scoring for 15 out of 16 years, including three straight years in the SEC. It’s a system that’s very committed, up-tempo basketball. We create possessions with turning people over through our pressure defense, both in the full court and the drop-back.When you press and you attack, even if you are not the more talented team, the other team can’t sit back on their heels. I think kids like to play that way. I know I like to coach that way. And I think that fans like to watch that kind of game.Logic would dictate that when you have less talent — hold the ball, be patient, and be conservative — it sends your kids a big fat message that they are no good and that the other team is better. The key is being willing to run and press, and yet be able to mix in good patience, both offensively and defensively. Ball-control coaches at all levels are somehow deemed to be better coaches than your Jerry Tarkanians and your Paul Westheads."

On the keys to team success:

"It is defense and rebounding that wins championships. The Boston Celtics proved that. You look at the teams that got to the Final Four. Ultimately that’s a huge part. You look at where Kansas finished in the Big 12 in defense and you’ll see why they won a national championship.First of all, I am not a great defensive coach. But I will tell you the teams I had that won championships with made the decision to defend. Kids want to win. My philosophy defensively is not to be on the defensive. The word being defensive is to step back and react to the way the offense moves. I want to dictate. I want to take the stuff away that you like to do and make you beat me a different way."

On develop relationships with his players:

"Players don’t care what you know until they know how much you care. I think the only way you can demonstrate that is with your time and your tough love. I think if you do those things, kids are going to appreciate it and they are going to put up with you when you tell them this is what you got to do because it’s best for you. They will trust that I am doing this because it’s best for them."

His advice for assistant coaches:

"I think as an assistant, you want to have a certain dimension and bring something to the table that your head coach can utilize. Guys get hired out of jobs that are winning. Choose your head coach wisely, assistants. Don’t get in the game or don’t move within the game unless you think your guy is going to win because that is the only chance you’ll have with the opportunity to move."Assistant coaches, don’t try to be me. Be yourself. Allow your own personality to be brought to the court. Choose wisely what you’re teaching and how you’re teaching it.

"It’s not what you teach; it’s how you teach it." - Bruce Pearl

Make sure it’s a system that fits. Make sure it flows."

Using Passion and Enthusiasm to Turnaround Performance

2008-10-09T11:27:00.003-04:00

By Pat Forde
October 8, 2008
BOULDER, Colo. -- Texas had the game won, having beaten the hide off the Colorado Buffaloes. But on the way out of Folsom Field and on to the big game against Oklahoma in Dallas, the Longhorns' second-string defense surrendered a late touchdown that made the final score 38-14.
Will Muschamp has brought fire and passion to the Texas sideline.It was a meaningless touchdown. Unless you're Will Muschamp.
Headset pulled down around his neck and brown eyes smoldering, the Texas defensive coordinator was 5 yards onto the field and fuming.
"Jog off the field!" Muschamp bellowed at his defenders. "Jog your ass off the field, goddammit!"
Once the Horns jogged off the field, Muschamp lit them up even more.
"At that point, you would think as a coach he'd be very lenient," said first-team defensive end Brian Orakpo, who watched the scene unfold. "But he was still coaching. He was getting on them for not tackling."
Muschamp's simple explanation of his urgency: "Every opportunity on the field is an opportunity to stop people."
Every opportunity to coach defense is an opportunity for Will Muschamp to hug, holler, congratulate, castigate, slap hands, slap helmets, teach alignment and preach hustle. He is perpetual passion. Defensive coordinators tend to be among the most intense members of the football coaching profession, and Muschamp is at the far end of the intensity curve.
If you screw up, you're going to hear about it. Loudly.

Stats are for losers. I like winning games.
--Will Muschamp

If you make a big play, you're going to hear about it. Loudly.
"He is not allowing anyone to take a lazy step at any time," head coach Mack Brown said.
One thing is certain: The Longhorns never have to wonder where they stand with their first-year coordinator. They know he cares. He's constantly bathing them in animated feedback.
"We love him to death," Orakpo said. "He gets on us but he praises us, too. When we make a great play, he's out there chest-bumping us.
"Muschamp is the guy who carries the torch."
Through five games, Texas has been torching the offenses it has faced. Stealing Muschamp away from Auburn this past offseason ranks among the best personnel moves Brown has made in his accomplished career.
The Texas defense dwindled in effectiveness as last season went along. In the final five games, the Longhorns surrendered 25, 35, 43, 38 and 34 points. Unable to stop teams, the traditionally stout Horns were reduced to outscoring them.
That's why Brown reached out to snag Muschamp. The former Georgia player and coach at Auburn and LSU left his SEC roots for a new challenge in the Big 12.
He's been up to the challenge so far.

As quick as he is to yell at a mistake, Muschamp is right there with praise.Last year, the Longhorns were fourth in the league in sacks. This year, they lead the nation (3.8 per game) and have thrown opposing offenses for more lost yards (222) than anyone else. They've lived in the offensive backfield.
The Horns are third nationally in rushing defense (51.8 yards per game) and fourth in scoring defense (11.4 points per game). Texas has allowed 14 or fewer points in each of its first five games for the first time in 17 years, and has been particularly tough in the red zone. Opponents have scored on only eight of 15 possessions inside the Texas 20, the second-best defensive percentage in the nation.
None of which dazzles Muschamp.
"Stats are for losers," he said. "I like winning games."
He's won plenty over the years. Muschamp was Nick Saban's defensive coordinator when LSU won the national title in 2003 and followed Saban to the NFL with the Miami Dolphins. After one year there, he returned to the college game, where his pyrotechnic personality is a better fit.
"I like what I do," Muschamp said. "It's my job to get these guys to play well and play physical. I play through them. When they make plays, I make plays. When they make a mistake, I make a mistake."
Muschamp's job has been made much easier by the return to full health of Orakpo, who is having an All-America season so far. The 260-pound end has been a terror off the edge, racking up 5½ sacks, 8 tackles for loss and 6 quarterback hurries this season. He hobbled through the first half of last season after injuring a knee in the season opener.
"It's made all the difference in the world," Brown said. "We saw this in preseason last year. When he got chop-blocked against Arkansas State, it just killed us. Boy, is he bringing it now. In fact, they're having to hold him to slow him down."
For Orakpo and the rest of the Texas defense, there was an adjustment period in the spring and in August camp. Not just to their fourth coordinator in four years, but to the new coordinator's expulsive persona.
"They thought I was nuts," Muschamp said.
Orakpo took one look at the manic Muschamp and thought, "It's a new day and era."
Change is good. But now comes the hard part.

Healthy once again, Brian Orakpo has been a beast on Texas' defensive line.Beginning Saturday with Oklahoma's explosive offense, Texas will face four straight teams averaging at least 48 points per game -- Missouri, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech follow the Red River Rivalry. All four rank in the top five nationally in scoring.
If the Horns hold up through that gauntlet, they'll have more than just an impressive record. They'll have a hot head-coaching candidate in Muschamp.
You can already find Tennessee fans clamoring for regime change: www.muschampforut.wordpress.com. There assuredly will be other enamored fan bases, although perhaps not more Web sites devoted to his hiring.
But that's a long way off in football time, and Muschamp knows it.
"It's a week-to-week profession," he said. "You can be a real good coach one week and an idiot the next."
Hugs one week, heat the next. That mirrors the way Will Muschamp mingles with his defense on a play-by-play basis.
"He's just like one of us, but he's got the headset on," said linebacker Roddrick Muckelroy. "If you give him a helmet, I believe he'd run out there."