A Coach's Diary

Success isn’t promised or given to anybody; especially not sustainable success. If you see somebody on top for an extended period of time, believe that they have put in the work to get to the top, and they have continued the work to stay on top. They have overcome challenges and adversity that we will never see or know about on their journey. They just never quit. That is what Michael Jordan’s former teammate B.J. Armstrong said about him. B.J. said that nothing was going to keep Michael from achieving what he wanted to achieve. He was too focused, competitive, and driven to let anything stop him. Early in his career, guys like Larry Bird and Isaiah Thomas, and teams like the Celtics and the Pistons did a good job of stopping him. But he took his losses, learned his lessons, and came back stronger and better each year until he was at the top of the mountain. There are a lot of 6’6 athletes in the NBA, but there aren’t nearly as many 6’6 athletes who were willing to put in the work that...

Think about how much better our teams, and the world could be, if we focused on loving each other and lifting each other up. Playing team sports helps us learn how to work with all types of people. Some of our teammates are easy to be around and play with, while some teammates are a little more difficult to get along with. The same can be said for coaches. Some coaches are easy to play for, and some coaches are more difficult to play for. As Chrisitians, we are called to love all teammates and all coaches. When Jesus was asked, “What is the greatest commandment,” he replied, “‘ Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments .’” The original Hebrew word for neighbor is plesion, and it means friend or any other person. Jesus said the two most important things that we are called to d...

What can I learn today? How can I be better tomorrow? Baseball manager Earl Weaver said, "It's what you learn after you know it all that counts." Legendary football coach Knute Rockne said, "Build your weaknesses until they become strengths." By asking yourself, "What can I learn today," and, "How can I be better tomorrow," you are starting the process of learning, growing, and getting better by learning how to learn (Mind Gym). Your mind is like a parachute. It only works when it is open. Be open to teaching and constructive criticism. Be self-aware of your strengths and weaknesses. Know what you are good at, and know what you need to work on. Baseball Hall of Famer Randy Johnson, known as The Big Unit, said, "You never stop learning in this game. If you ever think you know everything, it will jump up and bite you. Hard." Michael Jordan said that every summer, he wanted to add something to his game. When you stop working and adding...

Do you love it? Do you love practicing? Do you love playing? Do you love dribbling the ball while you are watching TV? Having grit and a growth mindset are very important, but passion and love has to come first. Being successful in sports is hard. You have to push yourself beyond your limits, and you have to be willing to get out of your comfort zone. It takes grit to do that, but it also takes love and passion. It is hard to go through hard things if you don’t love what you do. Fall in love with the game. Fall in love with practicing. Fall in love with working on your game on your own. When you are in the gym, at the court, on the field by yourself, pause and say to yourself, “This is my favorite thing to do.” Michael Jordan had a ‘Love in the Game’ clause put in his first contract. He loved playing the game so much, he put in his contract that he had the ability anytime, anytime. He said, “It’s about playing with your heart and with passion. You play the game for the love of the game...

When you hear many of the best professional athletes speak about their role models and how they became great athletes, many of them talk about their fathers' role in their lives. Michael Jordan said that his father was his best friend. Steph and Seth Curry talk about how their father used to bring them to the stadium before his NBA games and helped them fall in the love with the game of basketball. Kyrie Irving's dad raised him as a single father after his mother passed away when he was just 4. Before he was drafted, Irving said, "I can't even explain in words how much he means to me." Shaquille O'Neal grew up with his mother and step-father, and he even wrote songs about the relationship that he had with his step-father and his impact on his life. Lebron James talks about how not having his father in his life made him want to be an even better father for his three kids. The role of the father is important in all families. Unfortunately, that role is not fulfi...

Have you ever wondered why some athletes pay attention in practice and games, and why others don't? Or why some athletes improve, and others don't? Or why some athletes reach their full potential, and others don't? Yvette Jackson, a master teacher, says that we have to do three things to get the most out of our athletes: 1 - Affirm - Build on their strengths 2 - Inspire - Inspire and challenge them 3 - Motivate - Motivate them so that they believe in their ability to do anything AIM - Affirm, Inspire, Motivate One of our opportunities as coaches is that we have the ability to 'gift our athletes.' We have the opportunity to gift them with the ability to transform themselves so that they can transform their teams and the world. It starts with having a fearless belief that  our athletes have an enormous pool of potential bubbling inside of them, and we as parents and coaches have the ability to inspire and bring that out of them. If your athletes aren't motivated, ...

Bad point guards don't get their teammates involved AND they can't get their numbers. Good point guards can EITHER get their teammates involved or get big numbers. The best point guards can make the people around them better AND get their numbers. Great point guards are born AND made. They are born to play the position and they are made to be point guards. They understand the dynamic of getting their teammates involved because they are asked to do that their whole life. Finishers are told to finish plays. They are taught and told to make sure the team hits a certain number of points. The same can be said for leaders. Bad leaders don't help or inspire others AND they can't do what they are supposed to do. Good leaders can EITHER help and inspire others or do what they need to do consistently. Great leaders can inspire others and do what they need to do consistently at a high level. If you can't see the video above, you can click here:  Point Guard Play and Leadership

To be great at anything, you need to be willing to learn and willing to receive feedback. You have to allow yourself to be coached and corrected so that you can learn and grow. And you have to allow yourself to be pushed. Michael Jordan told his college coach, Roy Williams, that he was going to be the best player to ever play at North Carolina. Michael Jordan said, "I'm going to show you. Nobody will ever work as hard as I'll work." Coach Williams said that Michael Jordan was the only play that could ever turn it on and off, and he never turned it off. He said, "When I think of Michael Jordan, I think of 3 years of watching that youngster get BETTER and BETTER and Better." While scrimmaging in practice, I heard that Michael's coaches would have him play on the team with the guys coming off the bench to make it tougher on him. If his team was winning, his coaches would have him switch to the losing team and he would have to lead them back. This is an exam...

Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven (Matthew 5:16). Great teammates are the light of the team. They are like the stars that light up the sky at night. They are like a lamp that lights the way. They bring much-needed energy, enthusiasm, and passion, and many of them do so from the bench while cheering their teammates on. Every great team needs great teammates to bring people together, especially when times get tough. Simon Sinek once said, "In a weak culture, people will hunker down and take care of themselves. In a strong culture, people will rise up and take care of each other." In 2nd Corinthians chapter 4, Paul says that we now have a light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves (2nd Corinthians 4:6-7). In Matthew, Jesus said, "You are the light of the w...

We build great teams and experiences so that our athletes never forget that they are capable of greatness. Coach James was taking over for the basketball program at New Hope High School, but the first time he visited the gym he realized that the team and program needed a lot of new hope because there wasn't a lot of hope there. He saw an old, unkept gym and a team full of players who looked uninspired and discouraged. As he watched his team scrimmage, he saw athletes not competing, pointing fingers and giving excuses, blaming others, and dragging their feet with their heads down after each mistake. Coach James thought to himself, "Why do they think it is okay to not compete, not to play through mistakes, and not be great teammates?" Coach James realized that the athletes were just living up to the expectations set by the adults who were in charge before he got there.  New Hope was far from a basketball powerhouse, and most coaches ended up leaving the school after a year ...

When I was playing basketball in high school and college, I would get nervous before my games. Some gamedays, I would wake up nervous, and that nervousness wouldn't go away until the game started. One thing that helped me was visualization. I would go to a quite place, close my eyes, and visualize myself playing in the game. I would start with hearing the announcer call out my name during the player introductions. I would follow myself as I went from the introductions, to the huddle, to the opening tip, and through the first few possessions of the game. This made me feel more confident because I could see and dictate what was going to happen. When the game came, I felt more comfortable because I felt like I had already been there before. It made me feel better when I found out that even Michael Jordan got nervous before games. When he was asked if he got scared before games, Michael said that he is never scared to do things on the basketball court, but he gets nervous because of th...

If you have ever gone through anything devastating like a serious injury, then you know how scary, painful, and hard it can be to deal with. The video below is a story that ESPN did of Azzi Fudd and how she tore her knee and her road to recovery. Azzi Fudd is one of the best basketball players in the country and she will be a freshman for the UConn basketball team in 2021-2022. Azzi was the first sophomore to ever win the Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year award in 2019, when she averaged 26 points per game for St. Johns High School in Washington D.C. She was considered the best high school player in the country and a generational talent, and then she tore her ACL and her MCL the summer after her sophomore year while attending. She was driving to the basket during the USA Basketball 3 on 3 National Championships when she tore them. Azzi's mother said that she could see the fear in her eyes when it happened. Azzi said that she had never had an injury like that...

If you look in the transfer portal, you can see that there is a need, now more than ever, to take a deeper look at the human side of coaching and sports, and a need to build winning cultures that put people first and that people want to join and stay a part of. Workhuman is an organization that helps build winning cultures. Their research says that we can increase performance by 32% by creating a culture of thanks and recognition. We can build better athletes and better teams by giving and receiving thanks and by valuing what they bring to the team. When we make our people our 1st priority, success will follow. Shawn Anchor, a happiness researcher, and bestselling author wrote, "Each and every person has the right to lead a happy life at work." As coaches, we can change that to say, "Each and every teammate has the right to lead a happy life on our team." This doesn't mean that everything will be easy. We can and should still have high expectations and hold them...

Mike Malone is having a lot of success as the head coach of the Utah Jazz. He was Isaiah Thomas's coach in Sacramento, and on the All The Smoke Podcast , Matt Barnes asked Isaiah what it was like playing for Malone (34:35 time mark). Isaiah said that Malone was a player's coach. Isaiah said that everybody was in his ear about trying to be a pass-first point guard, but that wasn't who he was - he was a scoring guard who makes plays. Isaiah said that Malone pulled him aside and told him that he would never be John Stockton. Malone told him to be Isaiah Thomas. Isaiah said he took that confidence that Malone instilled in him and ran with it. Isaiah said that the NBA is about opportunity and situations. Everybody can play, but if you are in the right situation where there is confidence poured in you, 9 times out of 10 you are going to succeed. The coach can be the best defender for most players. He can be first-team all defense. You have to figure out ways to get past it, but i...