A Coach's Diary

“No one ever loses at anything as long as you don’t quit.” - Kevin Sampson When you fall behind, what do you do? Do you quit or keep going? In a Final Four game against Duke, Houston had less than a 10% chance of winning the game with less than 5 minutes left. In this situation, a lot of people would just go through the motions until the final buzzer, but Houston didn’t. They never quit, and they ended up winning. When asked to describe the resiliency of his team down the stretch, Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said, “No one ever loses at anything as long as you don’t quit.” But how? How do you keep going and pushing when it doesn’t look like you are going to win? Coach Sampson said it’s all about the work they put in and the trust they have with each other. He said, “They trust their work, and they trust their teammates.” If you put in the right work with the right people, you will always have a chance. Every day, you are either making deposits or withdrawals. Deposits are the w...

“Focus on the things you have control over, like what kind of competitor you are going to be.” Former New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh says there are four types of competitors, and the four levels represent a mindset that we all have complete control over. The four types of competitors are: Survivors, Contenders, Competitors, and Commanders. Survivors are at the bottom. They are the athletes who do just enough to get by and love taking the easy way out. They are the ones who never go first, who never go as hard as they can go, and who cut corners every chance they get. The worst part about survivors is that they will do everything they can to pull other people down and back with them. Contenders are the athletes who do well and work hard when they think they can win or get something out of it. They are front runners who are motivated by external factors, but they won’t push past their comfort zone unless they are sure they can win. Competitors show up and compete to the best of ...

“Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.” Do your habits match your goals? There are few things worse than seeing athletes with big-time goals and small-time habits. You don’t rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your habits and behaviors. Don Meyer was a legendary basketball coach who said there are three types of players based on 2 things: talent and mindset.  Talent is your natural ability that includes skill, size, and athleticism. Mindset is your attitude, how hard you work, how coachable you are, and how well you can learn and pay attention to detail. Talent is what you can do, and mindset is how you do it. Here are his three types of athletes: 1 - Players with A-Level Talent and A-Level Mindset: These are the best of the best. They are the best, most talented athletes in the gym who also have the best work ethic, are competitive, are coachable, and pay attention to detail. 2 - Players with A-Level Talent and a B-Level Mindset: They have al...

“The more difficult the victory, the greater the happiness in winning."  - Pelé  Have you ever had a challenge you felt like you couldn’t overcome, a skill you couldn’t master, or an opponent you couldn’t beat? When I was growing up, there was one person in our city who was better than everybody, whom nobody could catch or beat. They made people quit because people couldn’t compete with them. Instead of climbing the mountain and trying to catch them, some people switched sports altogether. As a coach, I see this happen in other ways, like when learning new skills. I often see people who fail to go through the steps required to master something difficult and just quit instead. They think it’s supposed to be easy, and when it’s not, they want no part of it. Pelé is one of the best soccer players of all time and came from very humble beginnings. He first mastered his soccer skills by kicking a rolled-up sock stuffed with rags around the streets because his family didn’t have a lo...

"I’m fascinated with coaches that can perform in the storm without losing the big picture. It seems like the only way that happens is to have a game plan.” - Chris Petersen When the storms hit and the boat starts rocking, how do you stay on the boat? Storms are a key part of everyone’s life. They test your strengths and commitment, and they expose your weaknesses and gaps. When the storms hit and the boat starts rocking, you will see four types of people: People throwing themselves off. People throwing other people off. People settling down and waiting for the storm to pass. People saving people from being thrown off and helping bring people back in. Former college football coach Chris Petersen once said, “I’m fascinated with coaches that can perform in the storm without losing the big picture. It seems like the only way that happens is to have a game plan.” Having emotional stability is the foundation for that game plan. Emotional stability is the ability to maintain a balanced a...