Steve Kerr, Warriors Tapped Into Pete Carroll's Fun

This is a great article talking about the importance of knowing who you are as a coach and a leader, finding your voice, and knowing what you want to get out of your team.  Steve Kerr, upon taking over as the head coach of the Golden State Warriors, watched the Seattle Seahawks and met with their head coach Pete Carroll.  He admired their energetic style and the way that they mixed having fun with making competition part of everything that they do.

Below are some of the highlights and takeaways.  You can find the article in its entirety here.

As The Article States, Only 20% Is X's And O's.  80% Is Relationship, Atmosphere And Culture.

PLAY HARD | HAVE FUN

BELOW ARE HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE ARTICLE:

Find Your Own Style

It's no secret around Seattle, and the NFL for that matter, that Pete Carroll's coaching style is unique in a lot of ways. Music plays over the loudspeakers at practice, there's a basketball free-throw competition amongst players and coaches every day, and Carroll encourages his players to not only work hard on every snap they take, but to enjoy doing it. Carroll tried to do things a traditional way early on in his career, but, as Peter King put it last year:

"Ultimately he formulated a blueprint that was heavy on fun and competition and taking advantage of the uniqueness of each individual."

Somehow, in his first year as a head coach, Kerr has managed to construct a coaching staff and an environment that's just about the most fun anyone involved has ever been around. And yet when they need to be serious, they can flip the switch instantly.

Be Loose, Be Gunslingers, But Be Disciplined.

"Guys are getting hit in the head with the basketball. It's a complete circus. And then it's right down to business. It really is. Kerr's always telling us, 'Be loose, be gunslingers, but be disciplined.'"

Fast, Loose, And Disciplined All At Once
"The reason I went up there is because I want my team to play like the Seahawks," Kerr says. "They're fast and loose and disciplined all at once. I wanted to know how you achieve that."

Everything Is A Competition

One thing he noticed is that Carroll turned everything into a competition. So you don't just swap basketballs for footballs and tell the guys to mess around, you turn it into a passing competition. You don't just cancel practice and go bowling, you turn it into a tournament as the Warriors did before a February game in Minnesota.

Fun, Entertaining, and Energetic

"I always loved Pete Carroll," Kerr said recently. "Hated USC (Carroll's former coaching stop) but loved Pete Carroll. And loved the way his teams played. "They just won the Super Bowl. They play this fun, entertaining, energetic style. That's exactly how I want my teams to play."

80% Relationship and Atmosphere | 20% X’s and O’s
"To me the X's and O's... they're an important part of coaching but a relatively small part. Eighty percent of it is just relationships and atmosphere, what your daily routine and culture is.

"Are players engaged, are they enjoying themselves, are they competing? All those principals he talked about and we talked about different ideas of ways to make those things come to life. To me that's his gift."

Find Your Own Voice

"It made sense to Steve on some levels," Carroll said of the Seahawks style. "And I was mostly just supporting him to be himself, find his voice and be the way he felt strongest and most confident, and that would be his best way. So whatever he's done, it's working out great."

How This Will Help Me Tomorrow:

Work - Mike Krzyzewski

One of my favorite quotes about hard work was said by one of the greatest coaches of all time, John Wooden. He said, "Nothing will work unless you do." In other words, you can have the best plans, the most perfect offensive and defensive schemes, and even a great amount of talent. But if you and your team are not willing to put in hard work, your plans will never be realized.

Another quote I often share with my players was by NBA legend Jerry West. He said, "You don’t get much done if you only work on the days that you feel good." Hard work cannot be sporadic. It cannot take place only on the sunny days. If you want your best to become a habit, you must engage in intensive, intelligent, and persistent practice. I believe you play like you practice, so when you practice hard every day, playing hard will seem natural when the game is on the line.

A final quote about work that I share with my team is Roger Staubach’s: "Spectacular achievements are always preceded by unspectacular preparation." Hard work is not pretty, or glamorous, or even fun. But, as I learned from my coach Bob Knight, winners prepare to win. Of course, everybody would like to win. But real winners put forth the time and effort to make it happen. And, in fact, by putting in the work, you make yourself worthy of winning. And I truly believe that you will not win consistently unless you are worthy.

I love hard work. It is a staple of all that I do and all that I ask of my teams. A lot of people hear the words “hard work” and say, “Oh, no. I don’t want to do that.” I want to coach kids who hear that they are going to have to work hard and then get excited about how much they will improve as a result.

I grew up in an environment of hard work. My father was an elevator operator in Chicago and my mother scrubbed floors at night at the Chicago Athletic Club. Even if they were sick or tired, they always went to work and worked hard. They truly believed that there was dignity in their work. I attended Catholic schools my whole life, and then West Point, where the lesson was reinforced by my teachers and coaches.

Detroit Pistons Training Camp

The following notes are from the Detroit Pistons Training Camp, taken and shared by Steve Finamore.

Tuesday September 29, 2015
10:00 A.M. – 12:30 P.M.

Notes by Steve Finamore
Boys Head Varsity Basketball Coach
East Lansing High School

- Huge sign on the wall at the Pistons practice facility behind basket:

- “BE IMPACTFUL!”

- Championship and division banners hang from the rafters.

- Pistons team and coaching staff walk onto court together at 10AM.
(Many players were at practice facility at 8 A.M. getting in extra shooting with coaches)

                                                       

Coaching staff:
Stan Van Gundy, Brendan Malone, Bob Beyer, Malik Allen, Tim Hardaway, Charles Klask.

- Coach Van Gundy has said in the past that attending a clinic should not change your overall philosophy. Beyond clinics, SVG suggested to go out and watch people practice. I agree. In the past I have found attending practices has helped me so much as a coach.

- This morning there are a few college coaches observing practice. Pistons give out three handouts. One handout is a card asking for any feedback we would like to share about practice.  SVG values anything you can share with him regarding practice. One thing I came away with is that SVG cares about the game and its coaches.

- Pistons start with a walk-through on transition defense.

- “Getting back on defense” is emphasized the entire time.  Reaction time is key. Get back to middle of floor. Point and talk.  “Getting back” is something you can control states SVG.

- Coach Van Gundy is one of the best I have ever seen teach the game. He makes it so simple to understand. He’s teaching pro’s why it’s so important to get back on defense.

Detroit Pistons Defensive Musts:

1-Get Back
2-Protect the Paint
3-Close and contest
4-Pressure the ball
5-Defend without fouling
6-Block out and rebound

- Pistons work on running their offense. After they score, Van Gundy emphasizes getting back to half-court. He wants them getting back to the center circle. Assistant coaches on sidelines shouting to get back to all five players.

“GET BACK! GET BACK! GET BACK!”

What are your rules on getting back on defense?

-1 and 2 are back on the release of the shot. Dead sprint to the other end of the floor.

-4 and 5 go to the boards unless they are above the free throw line.

-3 makes a decision to crash or sprint back.

Match up when you get back. You don’t have a man in transition.

- Pistons worked on their four-man shell drill for :24 seconds.

“Twenty-four seconds of work!” –SVG

- Lots of energy. Lots of talking. Everyone was involved and engaged and encouraging each

“Be active off the ball. You can’t relax.” –SVG

- SVG with lots of emphasizes on the importance of having hands up on defense.

- Lots of work on technique.

“You got to want to get a stop!” –SVG

- Ersan Ilyasova draws two charges in scrimmage. Knocks down jump shots and plays hard.

- Assistant coach Brendan Malone stopped the action and shouted, “When you catch the ball, look at the rim.”

- SVG then said, “Catch the ball, look at the rim and look in the post.”

- Pistons coaching Andre Drummond up to run the floor hard and get to the rim.

Detroit Pistons Offensive Musts:

1-Take care of the ball

2-Push the pace

3-Attack from inside-out

4-Play unselfishly

5-Make quick decisions

6-Take good shots

- The “3” man takes it out on made free throws.

- Tons of teaching during scrimmage.

“Don’t be in such a hurry. Mistakes being made are because you go too fast.” -SVG

“Run hard, but don’t be in such a hurry.”

“Game tempo.” –SVG

- A joy to watch seven year vet Cartier Martin teaching and helping rookie Eric Griffin a few things on the defensive end of the floor.

- D-League coaches of the Grand Rapids Drive, Otis Smith and Dion Glover involved in practice learning Pistons philosophy.

Pistons Support Staff

Doug Ash, Tom Barasi, Robert Werdan, Al Walker, Jeff Nix, Art Luptowski.

- Pistons shooting coach Dave Hopla on sidelines throughout practice taking notes in a composition notebook. He stands by Andre Drummond during free throws.

- Interesting observation at end of practice. Three teams during scrimmage. Blue team wins, two other teams had to run sprints for losing. Marcus Morris, Reggie Jackson and Stanley Johnson, all on the winning team decide to run with the losers. (Extra work).

- SVG admitted to the team that they were putting a lot of stuff in:

“I know that was a lot...”

Practice

Practice

By: Greg Tuchek, Pro Shot Trainer, Venice Beach Basketball Hall of Fame Player 

I don't get these guys nowadays. Don't get me wrong, I hated running... But, I looked forward to competing. My goal was to take your spot, or keep mine. I looked forward to getting better every day! I wanted to win every sprint or at least come in the top three. My speed developed so much running sprints. At Long Beach City, Red was the first team. White was the second. I was on white my whole freshman year. I was new to organized basketball and just happy to be a part of the team. I wasn't tainted by the "superstar" mentality. I played hard EVERY possession. I would get the red team so mad! I would sneak in for an offensive rebound and coach would go ballistic. I just thought that is how you were supposed to play. Like a "Rudy," but with more talent. 

I was a good teammate and we could be cool after, but, you had what I wanted. I tell my kids and players, "try to be a part of every play." For example, every free throw, I try different things when we are shooting. If I am up against a big dude, I try to sneak around him and get to the ball. Or, I will try to time it and tap it out. On "D" my hands were always active. Got my hand on so many balls. My son is just like me. He is the deflection king! I tried to get every rebound. I followed my teammates on easy layups. I got so many follow up baskets like that. I was hoping they would miss! Play every play!!! 

I recieved this story from the UW Women's Basketball Newsletter newsletter via Coach Mike Neighbors.  To recieve the weekly newsletter, email him at nabes22@uw.edu.

What Coaches Make

I recieved this story from the UW Women's Basketball Newsletter newsletter via Coach Mike Neighbors.  To recieve the weekly newsletter, email him at nabes22@uw.edu.

WHAT COACHES MAKE 

The dinner guests were sitting around the table discussing life. One man, a CEO, tried to explain the problem with college athletics. He argued, “What’s a kid going to learn from someone who decided his best option in life was to be a coach?” 

He reminded the other dinner guests what they say about coaches: “Those who can’t play, are those who coach.” To stress his point he said to another guest, “You’re a coach, be honest. What do you make?”

Having a reputation for honesty and frankness, the guest replied, (At this moment Coach Ridder was FIRED up and getting after it!) “You want to know what I make? I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could. I make a C+ feel like a winner of the Congressional Medal of Honor. I make kids run through 90 minutes of practice and sweat. I make kids turn dreams into reality.” 

“You want to know what I make?” 
I make kids wonder. 
I make them question. 
I make them criticize. 
I make them apologize and mean it. 
I make them cooperate. 
I make them competitive and respectful. 

I make them show all their work in front of hostile crowds and perfect their acts of sportsmanship. I make them understand that if you have the will to follow your dreams, should anybody try to judge you by a mistake you made you must pay no attention because you tried and gave it your all.”

“I make teams from individuals who work together to build success.” 

He paused and continued. “You want to know what I make?” I MAKE A DIFFERENCE, I MAKE LEADERS, I MAKE OTHER PROFESSIONS POSSIBLE.” Then he asked the CEO, “What do you make?”

Why Students Aren’t Graduating Career Ready

The following article is from the first video of a 3 part series presented by Tim Elmore where he tackles the missing piece to career readiness among our Generation iY population.  

Generation iY is the second half of the millenials, and are those born after 1990.

In this first video, he talks about the state of students today and why they are unready.

You can see the video in its entirety here.

Students have shown that they can master the classroom, but still aren't prepared for the work-room.

They often come out of school with a high IQ but a low EQ, and they are often not prepraed for the level of responsibility or the workload.

Artificial Maturity
A big reason for students lack of success after school is due to what Tim calls 'artificial maturity.'  The students grow up, make it successfully through school, and think that they are prepared for the work-world when they really aren't.

Students are savy enough to make it through school, but aren't ready for the professionalism that the work-force requires.
- Some applicants have actually texted during interviews
- 1 in 8 applicants bring their parents to interviews

Content Without Context
They have content without context.  They have a lot of data, but know context to work within and to tie the content to.  It can be a struggle transitioning and applying what they have learned in school to the real-world.

Context without Consequences
We have removed a lot of the consequences from the students and the choices that they make.  A lot of the time, their choices aren't tied to consequences.  In the name of self-esteem and safety, we tend to over-praise our kids, and it does not prepare them for the real-world when you don't get a cookie for just showing up.

-  The unreadiness of the new generation of graduates are contributing to our economic struggles.

-  Students are struggling to merge the skills that they used to find success in the classroom with the skills needed to find success in the workforce.

Series Of Skills That Their Fast-Paced World Has Not Presented
Emotional intelligence
Good communication
Teammwork
Collaboration
Problem Solving
Looking your supervisor in the eye and shaking their hand

Number 1 statement that K-12 educators hear is, 'This is too hard.'

The Three Reasons
Theory vs. Practice
Most graduate from high school without having a real job.  Sports and activities are great, but it doesn't substitute for having actual job experience.

Classroom Subjects
We push our students to master core subjects, but students struggle in translating the skills need to master core subjects into skills needed to master on job performance.
Google has found through research that they see no correlation between GPA and academic success.
- Success in schools is 75% IQ and 25% EQ, while success on the job might be the opposite.

A New Parent Model
Having a job early will provide responsibility, work-ethic, and people skills.  We tend to look to keep our kids busy with activities, but we need to provide real, work experience.

Tech Skills Vs Employability Skills
We do a great job of preparing them for specific job hard skills that they need, but we are missing the soft skills that employees are begging for.  The skills needed to find success as a professional.

We need to do a better job of preparing our students to become professionals by teaching them not only th technical skills needed to be successful on the job, but teaching them the soft, professional and employable skills needed to be successful.  We also need to provide them with responsibility and accountability now so that they are not given a false sense of security that will blow up in their face when they face adversity in the real world.

The San Antonio Spurs - "The Beautiful Game"

via For The Win

Loving the Spurs has become a cyclical thing for NBA fans. You love them for a while, but then you forget about them, because they don’t have a huge marketable star and they play in San Antonio and they’ve never really gone after media coverage. Then the playoffs come around again and you remember everything you loved about them.

The Spurs are awesome. This video, which is basically the YouTube equivalent of a giant ice cream sundae for NBA fans, shows highlights from the past few seasons of the Spurs. You get ball movement, you get extra passes, you get interior passes, you get cuts to the hoop, you get more passing. You get so much passing!

The music is epic and the voiceovers, from Magic Johnson and Gregg Popovich among others, is perfect. The moment where Tony Parker gets instructions from Pop, then runs over to the bench as the team huddles around him, gave me goosebumps.

1986 Boston Celtics Tribute - The Beautiful Game

via For The Win

Colin Stanton has edited NBA videos before — his six-minute tribute to the San Antonio Spurs is a must-watch for fans of the NBA.

Stanton’s newest video follows a similar formula. It has stirring classical music and edited footage of basketball stars playing the game beautifully. This time his focus on the 1986 Boston Celtics, one of the greatest NBA teams ever assembled. Larry Bird was in his prime, as were Robert Parrish and Kevin McHale, and the Celtics that year also added Bill Walton, one of the better passing big men who have ever played the game.

The highlights are magical, and you get a glimpse of just how good a passing team those Celtics were. The Larry Bird segment especially. Good lord.

Aggie Defense Part 1

The following post comes from Bob Starkey at hoopthoughts.blogspot.com.  He is an assistant coach at Texas A&M University.

Aggie Defense Part 1

Over the next few weeks, we will take a look at some the thoughts, principles, and guidelines for our defense.  We'll start with some basic concepts (our why) that guide what and how we do what we do:

WE WANT TO TAKE AWAY THE PAINT AT ALL TIMES

When the ball gets to the paint it creates easy shot opportunities in the paint

When the ball gets to the paint it creates easy perimeter shots

When the ball gets to the paint it creates help and recover situations

When the ball gets to the paint it creates closeout situations

When the ball gets to the paint it creates fouling situations

...taking away the paint starts with transition defense

...stance, head, eyes and footwork are critically important

…team defense — having the ability to help early — is a necessity

WE WANT A HAND ON THE BALL

When the ball handler has the ball and has not dribbled…

...we want to have a hand on the ball — constantly mirroring the ball!

When the ball handler is dribbling…

...we want the defender to have a hand on the ball as it is dribbled!

When the ball handler is attempting to pass…

...we want a hand on the ball as it is passed with the goal of deflecting it!

When the ball handler is attempting to shoot…

...we want a hand on the ball to block or alter the shot!

WE WANT TO TAKE AWAY THE OPPONENT’S STRENGTH

This will come from scouting and game preparation

WE WANT TO HAVE A COMMUNICATIVE DEFENSE

We want to be constantly talking at all times

This will increase out concentration and execution

WE WANT TO DO ALL THE ABOVE WITHOUT FOULING

Do not give your opponent’s easy scores and free throws are easy scores

Don’t bail out bad shots or bad plays

Make our opponent’s make plays

WE WANT TO FINISH WITH A BLOCKOUT AND A REBOUND

Grabbing the rebound is like picking up your paycheck at the end of the work week.

The Secret of Jordan Spieth | Performing Under Pressure

The following interview was conducted by ESPN's Scott Van Pelt.  Van Pelt met with pro golfer Jordan Spieth as he tries to become only the 3rd golfer to win 3 majors in one year.  They touch on playing under pressure and staying calm.

SVP: You seem to have your very best when your very best is required. What exactly do you attribute that to?


JS: It seems like whenever the moment gets bigger and my heart is beating faster, I go away from mechanics and I turn to, "How do I calm my heart rate down?" And the way that I do that is by trying to zero in on a target -- to aim small, miss small. For me, that actually helps my swing. It helps my putting stroke. It helps everything in my game. It's easier for me to think less about mechanics and more about the mental side, controlling my emotions and really picking a specific target instead of worrying about how my swing looks.

SVP: You talk very much in "we" terms -- with your caddie, Michael Greller, being the other part of your team. Does he help you to find calm on the course and to tune out the noise?

JS: Yeah, I think so. After the 17th hole at the U.S. Open is a good example. I had just made double bogey to essentially go from winning the tournament to having a chance to lose. I did a good job of calming myself down, but Michael was behind me saying, "It's OK. It's OK. We still have a lead. You're gonna hit two solid shots up there and have a putt for eagle." And, you know, that kind of voice really helps me stay focused on the goal at hand, which is the next shot.

SVP: What did you learn about yourself through the process of winning at Chambers Bay? The Masters was more comfortable, but the U.S. Open was a bit more like a bar fight.

JS: I learned that the winning formula I thought I had at Augusta is actually a winning formula for all majors. It's the preparation that goes into it and then the mental strategy on the weekend. I try to avoid big numbers and seem to do that well. I think it's based on just understanding the golf course, mapping it out ahead of time and knowing where you can miss. That extra patience level that I didn't have until this year can help close the deal.

SVP: What did you learn about yourself through the process of winning at Chambers Bay? The Masters was more comfortable, but the U.S. Open was a bit more like a bar fight.

JS: I learned that the winning formula I thought I had at Augusta is actually a winning formula for all majors. It's the preparation that goes into it and then the mental strategy on the weekend. I try to avoid big numbers and seem to do that well. I think it's based on just understanding the golf course, mapping it out ahead of time and knowing where you can miss. That extra patience level that I didn't have until this year can help close the deal.