A Coach's Diary

The game really comes down to, 'Can you make that 1 play?'  Whether you are struggling or playing great, can you make that one play?  The next play? ⚽️  Can you get that one goal or the one stop? 🏀  Can you get that one basket, or that one steal or rebound? ⚾️  Can you get that one hit or that one out? 🏈  Can you get that one touchdown or that one tackle? 🏐  Can you get that one ace or dig? 🎾  Can you get a down the line or crosscourt shot? 🎳Can you get that one strike or spare? That's what we are practicing for -  to make that one play when we really need it.  We practice MORE to make MORE of those one plays.  If we practice enough, we will make that one play over and over again, and that is where greatness comes from.   That is when we become something different.  But it takes a different behavior, a different level of focus, a different level of work ethic, a different level of want,...

While watching one of my kids playing in one of their soccer games, my father-in-law mention this interview that Jason Garrett recently did at his alma mater, Princeton Unversity.  He said that Jason Garrett talked about how hard on him some of his former coaches were.  He talked about how much he hated coaches that allowed him to be mediocre - coaches that just tell you that you are doing great all of the time.  Garrett said that coaches can change lives by holding their athletes to high standards and by teaching them what excellence is and teaching them how to strive for it each and everyday.    Be relentless and shape and mold them everyday.    Don’t let them be ‘okay.’    Do everything that you can to make them the best that they can be.    Believe in them enough to hold them to the highest standard everyday. Garrett talks more in the interview about football, faith, leadership, and his personal sermon - be your be...

Trust is the glue of life.  It's the most essential ingredient in effective communication.  It's the foundational principle that holds all relationships. - Stephen Covey I am currently reading  Hacking Leadership   by Joe Sanfelippo and Tony Sinanis.  These notes were taken from Hack 3 of their book,  Build Relationships. The best coaches are great at being deliberate and intentional when it comes to building relationships with their athletes, their families, the school, the community and everybody associated with the program.   When a new coach comes in, there is usually a honeymoon period.  The new voice is exciting and refreshing and everybody works to find favor with the new coach.  Great coaches use this time to build a solid foundation of where the program is going to go and they do that by starting with relationships.  It's easy for the new coach to build momentum, but it is much harder to sustain it.  To sustain...

If you get the culture right, most of the other stuff will just happen naturally on its own. - Tony Hsieh I am currently reading Hacking Leadership by Joe Sanfelippo and Tony Sinanis.  These notes were taken from Hack 2 of their book, Culture. Coaches must understand their impact on the culture of the team and the impact that culture has on the performance of each individual, the performance of the team and the impact it has on each person's experience.  The leader sets the tone for what happens and how it happens.  What the coach values and emphasizes will eventually permeate the entire team and gym and program.  When the coach values the athlete, their experience and their growth, the focus is exactly where it should be.   Culture is a reflection of the character of the team and the feelings and perceptions of everybody involved with the team - athletes, parents, school members, potential athletes, etc.  Confident, informed and compassionate...

Every good team has to have COALITION BUILDERS; guys who can build bridges and bring people together and who have the respect of everybody.   That’s what Steph represents for us.

Every great team needs to have one or two athletes on the court that everybody can rally around.  They don't have to be the best on the team, but they are the athletes who keep everybody going through the ups and the downs of the season. Each season is a long marathon where you are constantly pushing and being pushed to be the best that you can be.  Somedays are great, some are hard, some are long.  You are doing the same drills over and over again in trying to perfect it.  Aside from talent, the biggest separators in teams are culture and who can last the longest. On those long, boring, tough days, the team has two options:  1)  Give in to your thoughts and slack off or  2)  Find the energy and enthusiasm to push through with your best effort.   Giving in will get you beat, and pushing through takes one or two teammates to bring it themselves and bring it out of everybody in the gym or on the field. Find ways to bring ene...

"Example is not the main thing in influencing others, it is the only thing." -  Albert Schweitzer Chapter 1 of Hacking Leadership is all about getting administrators to understand the importance of being present and engaged, visible and approachable at school.  It talks about the shift from principals being bosses managing the school from their office to being transformational leaders who are fully present in the school, building relationships with students, staff, families and the community. School leaders today must work on building relationships with all members of the school community that are rooted in trust and respect and compassion.  Strong relationships in a school, led and modeled by the principal, can take a nice school and make it an extraordinary space where excitement and passion become palpable.   Things that we can do tomorrow to become more engaged and present at school: -  Just Listen -  Ask Questions -  Make Time For ...

"Locate a resilient kid and you will also find a caring adult - or several- who has guided him." -  Invincible Kids, U.S. News & World Report The key to achievement for students from poverty is in creating relationships.  Teachers and administration have always known that relationships, often referred to as 'politics,' make a great deal of difference - sometimes all of the difference - in what could or could not happen in a building.  In schools, we focus so much on achievement and effective teaching strategies, yet the most important part of learning seems to be related to the relationship. When a low performing student is asked how they made the journey, the answer 9 times out of 10 has to do with a relationship with someone who made a suggestion or took an interest in them as individuals. Covey uses the idea of an emotional bank account.  He indicates that in all relationships one makes deposits to and withdrawals from the other person i...