How We Respond

I mess this up, a lot. I messed this up last night. At basketball practice, my daughter would not see and pass the ball ahead to the open girl. After telling her twice, I stopped practice and had to say it again in front of everybody.

The next play, she forced a bad pass to a covered girl across the court, it led to a turnover, and my reaction was terrible. It was one of those moments that keeps me up at night. I can't sleep because I am thinking about how I could have, and should have, responded better.

I am not an old-school yeller, but I have high expectations for my athletes, and I try to hold them to it. But, I try to do so in a way that builds them up while holding them accountable. My two biggest fears as a coach are causing them to lose love for the game and causing them to be afraid to take risks.

Those two things, love, and courage, are two of the biggest reasons I coach. I want kids to love sports like I learned to love them by having fun and having success, and I want my kids to learn to face their fears with courage.

When you love something, you will work harder and longer at it.

When you have courage, you will be willing to take the chances that you must take to get to the next level. Nobody has become great at facing their fear with courage.

Knowing that these are my goals and objectives, I have to manage my responses to mistakes. The beauty of life is, we can fix our mistakes. I can fix my mistake.

I have to be better. We have to be better.