A Coach's Diary

Kat Cole, COO, and president of FOCUS Brands told a story about how doing humanitarian work in eastern Africa helped her better understand the importance of having clear priorities. She was working with a village in Ethiopia and her team asked the leaders in the village, "What are your priorities? How can we help you?" One of the village leaders said, "Well, our number one priority is water. We need it to get to the places it needs to go to water our farms and vegetation, and we need to sanitize it so we can drink it and have proper nutrition and hygiene." They wrote down water, and then they asked, "What are some other things you are focused on? What's your second, third, and fourth priority?" Kat said, "Their response needed no translation because it was laughter." They said, "Our number two priority is water. Our number three priority is water, and our number four priority is water. You can build us a school if you want, but if we...

In the past few months, we have seen 3 of the world's best athletes have to miss some of the biggest events in their sports because of mental health issues. Sha'carri Richardson, Naomi Osaka, and Simone Biles have all missed major events in their sports because of mental health issues.  Sha'carri Richardson used marijuana to deal with the pain of losing her mother during the Olympic trials. Richardson said that she smoked marijuana as a coping mechanism after a reporter - who she described as a complete stranger - told her that her biological mother had died. Naomi Osaka said that she needed to miss French Open press conferences to take care of herself mentally and to exercise self-care and preservation of her mental health. She received a world of backlash, and support, for her decision. Simone Biles is considered to be the greatest gymnast of all time, and she made the stunning decision to withdraw from the Olympics, acknowledging the tremendous pressure she had been faci...

TESTS  do not start or stop in school.  TESTS  are a part of sports and a part of life, and they come in many different forms. I was at a basketball tournament last weekend, and I saw a 4th-grade girl get fouled with her team down by 2 with 5 seconds left. She had 3 free throws and the chance to win the game for her team, but the pressure was more than she could handle. The gym was packed, and everybody was watching. She missed all 3 free throws. That was a big  TEST  for such a young girl, and most people would say that she failed because she missed those shots and her team lost, but I would say that her ability to pass or fail that  TEST  was not decided by her making or missing those shots. I would say that her ability to pass or fail that  TEST  would be decided on how she bounced back the next day. I saw her walk in the gym the next day, and she had her head up, she was smiling, and she had a bounce to her step. I thought to myself, “She...

“Work hard.” “Bring energy and enthusiasm.” “Talk, talk, talk.” Coach Story was getting tired of repeating the same motivational slogans every day with little results. Coach Story was the new head girls’ basketball coach at Desoto High School. Desoto was once a state powerhouse, but they were now struggling to make the playoffs and have had 5 straight losing seasons. Coach Story was hoping to change the culture in her program, and after leading her team to their first playoff berth in 5 years and being only 2 games away from the state tournament in her first season, she thought she was going into the off-season with a lot of positive momentum, but she was frustrated with the effort and attendance of her athletes. Coach Story was explaining her situation to Coach Mills, one of her trusted coaching friends. Coach Mills told her, “You need to create a shared purpose or vision statement for your team.” Coach Story asked, “What is that?” Coach Mills replied, “We spend so much time t...

When Michael Jordan came into the NBA, the Bulls were not a very good team or organization. They didn't know how to win, and they did not have a winning attitude, a winning work ethic, or winning habits. It took a lot of hard work and determination for them to climb to the top of the NBA mountain. They needed leadership, and Michael Jordan had to grow into his role as a leader. IF YOU WANT TO WIN, YOU HAVE TO PAY THE PRICE--IT'S NOT THAT COMPLICATED Before Jordan was comfortable being a vocal leader, he first had to prove himself and earn the respect of his older teammates. Jordan said that he led by example when he was younger, but he found his voice when he became one of the older and more experienced players on the team. Jordan said,  "I guess you could say I became a tyrant, or at least that's how some people chose to interpret those actions. That is not how I viewed it. I knew what it took to come from where we were in 1984. I had put in the time, and I had earned...

Andre Iguodala says that Steph Curry, more than anyone else, lives clutter-free. He has tapped into something mentally where he has such a short-term memory that he can quickly move on to the next play, make or miss, and he flows in that zone at all times. When many of us miss a shot in a workout or a game, it completely throws us off; but not Steph. He just moves on to the next one. Iggy said that Klay Thompson is worse. Klay can be 0 for 10 and he thinks that the next 10 shots are going in. They can PRESS ON no matter what is going on. They don't hold on to dead weight, and they don’t live in the past.   In Philippians 3:10-14, Paul wrote: I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of th...

Andre Iguodala went to 6 NBA Finals in a row and was the 2013 NBA Finals MVP, so he knows what it takes to be a great team. On his podcast, JJ Reddick asked Andre Iguodala, “Aside from talent, what do the great teams have in common?” Iggy said, “On the really great teams, everyone is happy for everyone’s success.” He said that it is important to teach the game the right way, to play the game the right way, and to focus on a winning style of play. GREAT TEAMMATES ARE WILLING TO SACRIFICE SOME INDIVIDUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR TEAM SUCCESS To be happy for someone’s success and to do what it takes to win requires some level of sacrifice. It can’t be, “I want to do what it takes to win as long as it is on my own terms.” On great teams, you really can’t do that. To be a part of a great team, you have to be willing to sacrifice some individual success for team success, and we can’t get in each other's way. DON'T GET IN THE WAY OF YOUR TEAMMATE'S SUCCESS. HELP AND EMPOWER YOUR TEAMMATE...

Austin Reaves is a 6-foot-6 guard for the Oklahoma Sooners who is preparing for the NBA draft. He says that he has a story that is going to be different from the others. Austin grew up on a farm in a small town called Newark, Arkansas. He didn't have any notoriety coming out of high school and he has had to literally work for everything. He knew nothing about AAU basketball, and when he would play, nobody was there to watch him. He grew up playing baseball, and in the 7th grade, he made the decision to play basketball full-time. Despite putting up 'crazy numbers' in high school through hard work, determination, and after a 6-inch growth sport, he was a no-star recruit who chose Wichita State over 4 other D-1 offers. He stayed at Wichita State for two years where he earned the nickname 'Hillbilly Kobe,' or, "HBK" for short, before transferring and starting at OU. FIGURE OUT THINGS YOU CAN DO TO STAY ON THE COURT When he was asked about transitioning to big-...

If you want to be successful, don’t expect things to be easy. You have to toughen up and be willing to do and go through whatever you need to do and go through so that you can have what you say you want to have and do. A lot of people want what successful people have, but they aren't willing to do what successful people do, and they aren't willing to go through what successful people go through. There is some luck to success, but you reap what you sow and you have to be ready and prepared when your opportunity comes. Put in the work. Walk the talk. It won't be easy, but it will be worth it. There are two paths we can take in life. We can take the wide and easy path, or we can take the narrow and hard path. The wide path is easy to travel, but it leads to destruction and unfulfilled dreams. If you are on the wide path, you will never be lonely because there are a lot of people on the wide path. The path to success is a narrow path and not a lot of people are willing to take ...

Luka Garza has been one of the top basketball players in the country for the last couple of years. The 6-foot-10 post for the Iowa Hawkeyes was the national player of the year this past season and he became the first player since Michael Jordan to win back-to-back Sporting News Player of the year. But it hasn't always been easy for Luka. Many people questioned whether he could be a high-major basketball player, and now people are questioning whether he can survive and thrive in the NBA. When asked how being an underdog has fueled him, Luka said, " People who criticize me give me a to-do list of stuff to work on. It’s positive for me. I’m used to it. It definitely helps and adds fuel to the fire." He added,  " It’s not new to me. I’ve had it every level and every step of the way. It’s always followed me in terms of people doubting my ability to translate to the next level, whether it’s been high school or going to college. In high school, they asked, is he a high-majo...

Michael Jordan and the Bulls used to get bullied and beaten up by the bigger, stronger, and tougher Detroit Pistons. What did MJ and the Bulls do to overcome them to become champions? They hit the weight room. Before his battles with the Pistons, MJ didn’t take lifting weights seriously, but he learned that if he wanted to become a champion, he was going to have to get in the weight room and get stronger. Michael said that he was tired of getting brutally beaten up, and he wanted to start fighting back and give some pain himself. He needed to get physically strong enough to go against Detroit, and he got to the point where he said. “Instead of them dishing it to me, I am going to dish it back to them.” He did that by hitting the weight room. His trainer Tim Grover had a plan for adding size and strength to MJ’s body. MJ started weight training at 200 pounds, and they added 5 pounds at a time until he hit 215. Tim said, “I would give him a certain amount of reps to do, and he would neve...

Supplement your faith with moral excellence, moral excellence with knowledge, knowledge with self-control, self-control with PATIENT endurance, PATIENT endurance with godliness, godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for every one (2 Peter 1:5-7). Chris Paul is one of the greatest point guards of all time, but it has taken him 16 years to make it to his first NBA Finals. He has had to overcome a lot of adversity and difficult situations, including injury, health issues, and bad luck, but he has endured, and he now has a chance to cement his Hall of Fame career with an NBA championship. When I think of PATIENCE, I think of Chris Paul. PATIENCE in the Bible is defined as the power or capacity to endure something difficult without complaint. I am not saying that Chris Paul has not had his share of complaints, but he has endured, he has kept going, and he is on the brink of his first NBA championship. James was the half-brother of Jesus. He wrote the book of ...

You can start to change your team and culture almost immediately by creating a culture of gratitude through social recognition.  According to the book, Making Human Work , social recognition  is recognizing and rewarding the people you work with. It is the foundation for creating a powerful, inclusive culture because it reinforces the things that are important and valued, and it gives everybody purpose and meaning through gratitude. When we thank each other, praise each other, or show gratitude, it teaches and/or reinforces good behavior and/or performance. It also brings us closer together and makes us a more connected team. What we talk about, recognize, and celebrate, we get more of. Social recognition leads to more. It leads to more good feelings, more gratitude, more optimism, more energy and enthusiasm, and more visibility into what ‘good’ looks like. What we talk about, recognize, and celebrate communicates what is important to us. Talk about, recognize, and celebrate t...