A Coach's Diary

Many people say that Michael Jordan is the best basketball player of all time, and he only made 49.7% of his shots. Lebron James only makes 50% of his shots. The best players in the NBA the last 30 years have missed half of their shots! I just read that Tiger Woods has the greatest golf winning percentage in golf of all time. He has won a record 22.8% of the matches that he has been in. The great Tiger Woods has lost over 3 out of 4 tournaments that he has played in. Being perfect should not be the goal. Nobody is perfect. When something negative happens, we get the opportunity to show how to deal with and respond to adversity. We are all going to have adversity in our lives. Be a beacon of hope on how to appropriately handle adversity. Your self-talk has to be strong to handle adversity; this is really important. You have to be able to bounce back from mistakes as quick as a ball bounces back off the floor or a tennis racket. Roger Federer, one of the best tennis players ever, only wi...

Week 13 | OVERCOME "I have told you these things so in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome this world." King David was a young shepherd who became famous for  OVERCOMING challenges and  killing the giant Goliath with only a sling and a stone from a riverbed. David was named the next king of Israel as a teenager, but instead of ascending to the throne, he spent years on the run from King Saul.  Before  OVERCOMING  and  defeating the giant Goliath, David became Saul's armor-bearer because his harp was so soothing that Saul called for David whenever he was vexed by an 'evil spirit' sent by God (I Samuel 9:16). After  OVERCOMING  Goliath and prompting the Philistines to flee, the people, including King Saul, praised and loved David. David married Saul's daughter Michal and became a close friend of Saul's son Jonathan. But King Saul became jealous and upset with David, and Saul tried to kill him....

Research supports that expectations might be the most important key to success. When you believe in yourself, you do better, and when coaches believe in their athletes, they do better. Years ago, a study was done that showed something remarkable about a teacher's belief in students. Researchers told teachers that some of the students in their class could be expected to be 'growth spurters,' based on the students' recent test results. The test never happened, but at the end of the year, the students' scores on IQ tests matched the teacher's false beliefs. This study shows that our expectations and beliefs about our athletes matter in how we teach and coach them and in how they perform. In a more recent study , hundreds of students were involved in a study where they wrote essays and received critical feedback from their teachers. Half the students received an extra sentence at the bottom of the feedback. The students who received the extra sentence earned higher...

  WEEK 12 | OBEDIENCE “God’s ways never end up disappointing us.” Beating a press in basketball is a team effort. We have to have a plan, we have to know the plan, and we have to have the skills and will to execute the plan. When everybody moves and works together, beating a press and finishing with a lay-up is one of the most beautiful things in basketball. But when everybody isn’t on the same page, the press can quickly break a team down. OBEDIENCE is key, and what makes it even tougher is that you have to have OBEDIENCE in the middle of a storm when you are facing a press. OBEDIENCE is when someone listens well to authority, and when you do what you are told and instructed to do. OBEDIENCE to God can be similar. OBEDIENCE to God always brings blessing. The Lord’s simple requests often serve as stepping-stones to life’s most wonderful blessings. WE have to be willing and able to listen and follow his instructions. In Luke Chapter 5, a large crowd pressed around Jesus while He pre...

I have a friend who has a son who is a top 25 basketball player in the country. I first started watching his son play in travel tournaments in the 4th grade, and now he is nearing the end of his high school journey, and his game and stock continue to rise. We talk often about "the process" and what steps he took along the way. The one thing that he tells me the most is to make sure your kids keep developing and keep getting better. That is it. He said that parents get caught up in who is the best 4th, 5th, or 6th grader, but that nobody outside of that kid's family really cares. What matters is that they are having fun and getting better every year because the minute they stop getting better, they get passed up and people stop watching. Two goals he said to have for youth athletes are: 1 - For your kids to be varsity ready by the time you are in 9th grade 2 - For your kids to still enjoy and love the game in the 9th grade He also said that he and his son know and talk abo...

PREPARED | WEEK 11 DEVOTIONAL “I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.” Genesis 12:2 Dana Evans has been one of the best college basketball players in the country the last few years. She is the star point guard for the University of Louisville. She is an All-American and was the ACC Player of the Year last year. She has helped lead the Cardinals to heights they have never reached before. What makes her story unique is that though she was a high school All-American, she didn't start for U of L her first two years in college. Most high school All-Americans are starters their first or second year, and if they don't, they usually transfer to a place where they can start. Instead of transferring, Dana bought into her role coming off the bench, she worked hard in practice, believed in her coaches, and learned from her older teammates. She said herself that coming off the bench was hard because she was used to starting, but coming off the bench P...

While the coach and the leaders of a team share most of the responsibility in creating the right culture and climate, everybody on the team is a co-creator of the team's culture and climate. That responsibility is not just on the coaches and best players but on everybody. Everybody impacts culture - good or bad - by the way we act and interact with each other. Ask yourself, "Am I a culture-builder?" Ask yourself, "Is my team's culture better because I am on it?" The best teams have cultures where everybody feels like they belong and valued for the uniqueness that they bring to the team. When everybody has that sense of belonging, research says that teams work harder, smart, and more together, and they outperform teams that don't have that same sense of belonging. Having the right culture can and will lead to more success and wins. How can you impact culture? We all impact our teams' culture by the way we act and interact with each other. It starts wi...

Our culture is everything that makes us who we are. It is what we do, it is how we do it, and it is why we do it. Culture influences what we talk about, how we talk about it, and what we think about it. Our team's climate is how behave and how we interact with each other. When we have the right culture and climate, our players and teams play and perform better. The right climate and culture can lead to an increase in learning, teamwork, well-being, and performance. Having the right culture is a game-changer and a difference-maker. As a leader, you have the power to shape the team's climate and culture for better or worse. You communicate and affect climate and culture by what you pay attention to, what you permit, and what you promote. You communicate and affect climate and culture by the things that you notice, comment on, measure, control, ignore and reward. Casual, random moments and conversations can be just as effective as rules because actions communicate what is importan...

Michael Jordan said that he came into the NBA with no expectations. While he was the 3rd player drafted in the NBA, nobody expected him to become as great as he did. He said that the only pressure he felt was to prove that he deserved to play on that level. Jordan said that proving himself was an easy, step-by-step process. It was about playing hard every day in practice, competing against his teammates, especially the best ones, until he earned a starting role. He said that after his first year, the expectations came, but by that time, he already had the positive habits that he needed and he had built a solid foundation for his game. He understood that the expectations and attention he was getting were because of the work that he had put in up to that point. If you want success, you have to put in the work. You have to have the right habits and foundation. You have to be willing to learn and compete, every day. Your effort has to match your goals. Approach every practice with the inte...

  JOY The joy of the Lord is my strength. Being a great athlete and teammate can be tough because there are so many things that can easily discourage us, but God has given us tools in and through His word to help us overcome discouragement and so that we can live with peace and joy. Our joy starts with Jesus. Even when He faced death, He possessed a deep joy beyond anything the world can offer. Just before He faced the cross, He spoke to His disciples and said, "These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete and overflowing." (John 15:11). The thief comes to kill, steal and destroy, but I came so that you may enjoy your life."  (John 10:10). Joy does not mean that you don't or won't have problems. We will miss more shots than we make, and that is okay. We won't naturally get along with all of our teammates, we will lose games, and we will get yelled at and corrected by our coaches. When Jesus says that He wan...

Teams have a better chance of winning when they get more shots than the other team. You can score more when you shoot more, and you get more shots when you create more opportunities. Tailor was the best rebounder on her team. She was good at boxing out, but even better at finding, going after, and grabbing the ball on every shot. Tailor said that she was so good at rebounding because when she was growing up, she played with older kids who wouldn't pass her the ball. She wanted to shoot and score, and the only way that she could do that was to go get the ball. She got good at getting rebounds and getting loose balls. She saw that most people on the court waited for the ball to come to her; she made a decision to go get the ball. When the ball is bouncing free or when shots go up, look at the faces and eyes of most people on the court. They usually take at least a second or two to watch the ball before reacting. Don't stop and wait; go get the ball. It will create more opportunit...