A Coach's Diary

Kwity Paye was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts with the 21st pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. After being drafted, Kwity told his mother, live on camera, that she was done working and that she was retired. This is a special moment and chapter in the extraordinary career and life of Kwity and his family.  Kwity was born in a refugee camp after his family fled Liberia, and his mother, Agnes, brought him and his brother Komotay Koffie to Providence to escape the war-torn country. As they grew older, Agnes signed her boys up for football at the Boys & Girls Club, and it became an obsession for both. After middle school, Paye was accepted to Bishop Hendricken, but his mother couldn't afford the tuition to send him there. Kwity told his mother if she let him go, she wouldn’t have to pay for college. Agnes worked nearly 24-hour days putting Paye through high school, and Kwity understood the sacrifice and did his best to work as hard on and off the field as his mother did to pay for schoo...

We have a saying that everybody is great and happy when the shots are falling or when the bats are hitting, but who can we count on when the storm comes and we have to navigate through and around adversity? When the storm comes in a game and the coach has to call a timeout, it's interesting to see how the huddle, the players, and the coaches react and respond in the heat of the moment. Wins and losses aren't determined by our mistakes; they are determined by how we respond to mistakes. An important word and concept to learn and live by is the concept of de-escalation. Deescalation is calming someone (or yourself) down so that they can respond appropriately instead of reacting emotionally. Something happened - it could have been a made or missed shot, a turnover, an injury, or anything else, and responding with empathy, even in the moment, will help respond in a way that shows empathy in order to get to the heart of the matter. Dr. Bruce Perry  is a researcher, clinician, and te...

Have you ever been on a team where a leader needed to step up or have you ever wanted to be a leader but you felt like you didn't have the voice to lead? When Michael Jordan joined the Bulls as a rookie, they were a struggling team and a struggling franchise. They needed a jolt of energy and leadership, and Michael became that jolt and provided that leadership. The culture of the team at the time wasn't what it needed to be and felt like Jordan needed to do something about it because he wasn't used to losing. The Bulls didn't handle adversity well, and they would put their heads down and give up when they faced challenges or got down in a game, but Jordan's character wouldn't allow that to continue. His teammates quickly learned that Jordan wouldn't let them lose. Within the first couple of weeks, MJ proved to his teammates that he was the best player on the team and a leader worth following. Michael Jordan said, "My mentality was - whoever was the tea...

WEEK 17 DEVOTIONAL | BELIEVE "All things work together for those who believe." After feeding the 5,000 thousand people using five small barley loaves and two small fish, and walking on water to catch the disciples in their boat on the lake, Jesus was asked, "What must we do to do to the work God requires?" Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to BELIEVE in the one he has sent (John 6)." I always tell my team that it is easy to BELIEVE when everything is going great, but who can we count on when things aren't going great? When we are in a slump, or when our energy is low, or when things are starting to fall apart, who can we count on to help turn things around? It is important to know that there is nothing that can happen to us that God will not work out of our good, one way or the other, as long as we keep BELIEVING (Romans 8:28). As long as you keep BELIEVING, God keeps working. We can't let the devil take away our BELIEVING, and we can't...

A 9th-grade basketball coach was struggling with team chemistry and the relationships on his team. The athletes had formed cliques, and some felt excluded and bullied on the team. The coach tried running the athletes, talking to the athletes, and even threatened the athletes' spots on the team, but nothing made a difference. A coaching mentor, Coach Josh, was brought in to help. He arranged the athletes in a circle. The coaches were also present. Coach Josh started with a quote from Pat Summitt: "A champion is someone who is willing to be uncomfortable, but teammwork is what makes common people capable of uncommon results." Coach Josh gave every person in the circle a pen and two notecards. He said, "Think about the best teammate that you ever had. What is one or two words to describe that teammate."  Coach Josh gave them a few minutes to think and write, then he said, "I want to get to know a little more about you all. I have in my hand a talking stick. It...

Have you ever had teammate who had all the tools to be great, but they couldn't, didn't or wouldn't take that next step? Below 32 degrees, water is solid. Above 32, water is liquid. At 211 degrees, water is hot. At 212 degrees, water boils, it turns to steam, and steam can power a train. One extra degree can change the state of water. One extra degree of effort can be the thing to take you to the next level. One extra degree, in sports and life, can separate the good from the great. One degree can change your life.  Consider the ABC's of change: Attitude Everything starts with your attitude. When you turn up the heat, water starts the process of turning into steam. A small change in your attitude can have a positive impact on your behavior. When you have a positive, growth mindset, gritty attitude, your behavior improves. When you believe you can do something, you attack it with more force. Approach everything with the right attitude. Behavior Growth and improvement hap...

WEEK 16 DEVOTIONAL | HATERS Charli Collier was a star at the University of Texas, and she recently became the number one pick in the WNBA draft. At games this year, fans of opposing teams would chant 'overrated' at her, and she didn't let it get to her. Charli was asked how and why she has such an intrinsic belief in herself that will not be shaken. She said that the same people who were saying those things are the same people watching her on TV being drafted number one. Charli said, "I was never one to listen to naysayers or listen to the noise. I am very good at blocking it out and just remaining focused and confident at what I do. I am confident and know that my work is paying off. I grind for this every day." In 1st Peter 2, Peter wrote, "So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander." He also wrote, "For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might...

CROWN | Week 15 Devotional Many people say that Steph Curry is the greatest shooter of all time, but as easy as he makes the game look, his road to greatness has not been as smooth as you might imagine. While we know Steph as a back-to-back MVP and an NBA champion, there was a time when being an NBA All-Star was a long shot for him. Steph's dad said that no one could envision what he is now able to do on the basketball court. He said that Steph always had the work ethic, drive, and dedication, but you never know how things are going to work out, especially when you were almost completely unrecruited in high school. The only major program to recruit him was his dad's alma-mater Virginia Tech, and they told him that he would have to walk on. He used that as motivation to work harder, and he kept the faith that the right college would come. Steph ended up starring at Davidson, a small liberal arts school close to home, but his college career started with adversity. In Steph's ...

If you want your team to perform better, create an inclusive culture and climate. Research shows that when team members develop a shared understanding of the team's goals and align each team members' contributions to the shared goals, those teams outperform teams that don't. Research also shows that when all team members feel like they belong and when they feel valued for the uniqueness that they bring to the team, and when they feel safe, the team members are work harder, smarter, and more together. When a team has the right climate and culture, it can outperform other teams. How do you know if you have the right culture, what do you do if your culture needs to improve, and what do you do if you already have a strong and inclusive culture? Assess Your Current Climate The first step to shaping an inclusive culture and climate is to assess the current levels of inclusiveness of your climate. Observe your team so that you can plan your strategy for how you can communicate inc...

"Hard things come before good things." Over the weekend, I watched a really good Netflix movie called, Concrete Cowboys . A black kid named Cole from Detroit was expelled from his high school, and his mom sent him to live with his dad, Harp, in Philadelphia. In his dad's inner-city home was a horse, and the kid quickly realized that he was living in a different place at a seemingly different time. Harp lived in a neighborhood where they still bred, took care of, and rode horses. Around a fire one night, the elders in the neighborhood told stories about how they created the neighborhood generations ago, and while most of the country transitioned from horses to cars, they held onto their love of horses. Harp lived in a community of Black horse riders at the Fletcher Street stables, where he helped maintain and care for the horses. The stables are the foundation and bedrock of the neighborhood, and they provide a safe haven from the challenges the people face in their ever...

Michael Jordan said that when he first came into the NBA, his leadership came from action; all action. He said he couldn't be a vocal leader at the beginning. He was afraid to speak to veteran guys because they had a level of envy towards him to start with. He had to pick his friends very carefully because he was starting to steal some shine from the older guys on the team. But he also said that he was earning respect and the right to lead with effort and work, and he wasn't asking for anyone to give him anything. His practice habits were great and he forced the other guys to improve their practice habits by how hard he worked. MJ challenged his teammates with his play in practice because his coach challenged him. At the end of each practice, they would scrimmage, and the losers had to run. They would be killing the second team, and his coach would stop practice and put MJ in the second team and the second team, with MJ, would still come back to win. There are a lot of ways to ...

Out of you shall flow rivers of living water. Have you ever been around somebody that makes you feel better about yourself, feel better about life, feel more confident? I had a teammate in college who brought energy and enthusiasm to practice almost every day. Our coach used to teach, preach and emphasize the importance of us bringing our own energy every day to practice, and Dee did that for us all. Whenever we were down, tired, or negative, he was the guy that picked us up with his positive energy. When we faced challenges, obstacles, and adversity, he was the guy that helped push us through. He was always talking, always encouraging, and always looking to give someone an energy-boosting fist bump. Dee had good energy FLOWING through him, and he shared that energy with everybody on the team. In Isaiah 44:3, God said, “I will pour out water on the thirsty land and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring, and My blessing on your descendant.” Jesus later ...