A Coach's Diary

The January 2015 edition of the Texas High School Coaches Association magazine had an absolute gem regarding developing a winning culture in your program. Coach Angela Beck wrote a two page spread on her philosophy on how to create and sustain a success program.  I think it is very important to know what your vision and philosophy is, and it is equally important to be able to clearly communicate that when called upon. Creating A Winning Attitude And Culture You must be able to produce a 'winning attitude' - a culture of winning that will continue to bread success.  This attitude is how your team acts, plays, and lives.  It is a lifestyle that everybody in your program must buy-into and live by.  This culture and attitude is how you treat the people around you.  You must strive to treat everyone and everything with respect and you must try to leave each situation a better place than how you found it. How To Inspire Your Team To Compete She had a good quot...

Here are some notes that I took from Kobe Bryant's NBA TV interview.  Here is talking about his idea of what leadership is. The real challenge of all leadership is how to get a group of guys and bring them with you.   If they don’t come along, sometimes you have to drag them along.   Leadership is lonely, but that is part of the sacrifice.   You can’t be afraid of confrontation in getting guys where they need to go.   There is a big misconception that in order to win, everybody has to have a great time, and put your arms around people and pat them on the back when they mess up.    I n reality, if you are going to be a leader, you are not going to please everybody.   You have to hold people accountable, even if you have to go through that moment of being uncomfortable.   Leadership is not personal; its about getting everybody in the group where they need to go.   Its not about the person, its about the actio...

This is a great video on how you have to adapt as a leader in terms of how you drive performance.   As a coach, you want to drive your kids as hard as you can to get the most out of them everyday and to help them reach their full potential as athletes and people.   The trip is trying to get to know and understand your players as individuals, learning what they are capable of handling, and learning the best ways to affect their performance.   Every person is built different, every person has a different threshold, and every person can handle different levels and pressure.   You have to know how much a player can handle and what is the best way to get the most out of that player, which sometimes isn’t driving them as hard as you would like.   Sometimes that means meeting them halfway so that you can keep them motivated growing. He takes Brianna Stewart for example: if he meets her halfway, she might become half the player she is capable of.   Howev...

I ran across a really cool article at Business Insider about an NFL prospect out of UCONN who less that 2 years ago was interning in Connecticut political offices and just recently had one of the best NFL combines of the year. Byron Jones, a cornerback out of UCONN,  was a normal college kid positioning himself for life after graduation.  He worked for a Connecticut state representative as a college sophomore during Spring Break, and he parlayed that into a summer internship with another Connecticut congressman a few months later.   While he was preparing more for a career in politics than a career in the NFL, Jones had a work ethic and leadership skills that are marketable in any career field.  State representative Joe Aresimowicz, whom Jones worked for during his sophomore year Spring Break, had this to say about Jones: "He has this incredible work ethic. He also has this grasp of how to get people to work together, that was on display almost immediately....

Here is an excerpt from a really good article on   Russell Wilson   at   Inc.com .  I have read several articles lately on Russell Wilson, and many have a central theme that mentions his professionalism and work ethic when it comes to his craft.  Here, one of his trainers gives three examples of how Russell Wilson grows himself and stays sharp at all times.   You can find the article in its entirety here:  http://www.inc.com/ilan-mochari/russell-wilson-trainer.html 1. He practices the art of getting out of his comfort zone.  "I was amazed by how quickly he adapts to the different environments that he's put into," says Brooks. Though Wilson's powers of acclimation impressed Brooks, the trainer points out that adapting to new environments is a skill Wilson works on actively. 2. He challenges himself and others to be at their best, even though it is technically off-season training.  "He prepped for every day as...

“It’s about the program, the process.  It’s about putting a group together that believes in each other.” Pop on the Hawks

My job as a coach is to help everyone in my program have a great experience with me and help them become the best version of themselves.  To do that, I have created 13 characteristics that will help myself and the people I lead in my program become the best versions of themselves.  I will have a value based system where these characteristics drive our growth as people and basketball players. Diligence Doing your job expeditiously, on time, to the highest standards possible, regardless of what is demanded or expected. Preparation Being prepared for whatever comes your way gives you the ultimate confidence and peace of mind when the time comes for you to do your job to the best of your ability. Sacrifice What are you willing to give up to be successful? Service Always seek ways to make the world better than how you found it. Fight You have to either be willing to fight for what you want or deal with what the world gives you. Energy and Enthusiasm Not...

Here, Bill Self says that 'losing' is his biggest motivation.  Not winning, but the threat of losing is what drives him to succeed. He also tells a story about how Jerry Tarkanian contributed much of his success to practice.  Tark told Self one day that he felt that a major reason why his teams were better than a lot of other teams was that they practiced more than everybody else.  Self's response was that Tark had better players.  Tark then said that his players weren't always better, but that they practiced more.

Here, The Grantland guys talk about the value of the 'camaraderie' the Golden State Warriors have and its role in their early season success.  Bill Simmons goes on to talk about their unselfishness, how they pull for each other, and how the bench stands to celebrate their success. It is important to find ways to build camaraderie and togetherness in your team's culture.  Of course, everybody is not going to always 'like' each other.  But if you can get guys to truly celebrate the successes of their teammates and enjoy the process of growing, building, and winning together, it can be just one more competitive advantage that will greatly help your guys out.

Former player Rebecca Lobo on some of the things that make Geno Auriemma great as a a coach. He demands excellence from everybody in his program at all times. He holds every play and person to a high standard everyday in practice.  He also knows how to motivate his players and the different personalities on his team to get them to perform at their highest level everyday.