A Coach's Diary

“You have to focus on what you can control. There are so many things that are out of your control, there are so many things that are going to come at you, and what you have to do is you have to focus on that, focus on the relationships in the building, and what matters.” - Ryan Day How do you handle success? Before their first game of the season after winning the national championship the year before, Ohio State coach Ryan Day was asked how to sustain success and stay at the top of the mountain. Coach Day said, “The thing you have to do is you have to focus on what you can control.” He said, “There are so many things that are out of your control, there are so many things that are going to come at you, and what you have to do is you have to focus on that, focus on the relationships in the building, and what matters.” The key to either sustaining success or stopping losing streaks is focusing on the right things—how you show up, your attitude, your energy, and how hard you work an...

“Things are never as good as you think they are or ever as bad as you think they are.” - Troy Aikman How do you maintain the right perspective through the ups and downs of sports and life? Perspective is the way you see, interpret, and make sense of a situation, shaped by your experiences, mindset, and point of view. Keeping the right perspective means not getting too high when things go well or too low when challenges come—staying steady helps you make better decisions, bounce back faster, and appreciate the bigger picture. Troy Aikman was a championship quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys. He once said, “Things are never as good as you think they are or ever as bad as you think they are.” In both success and struggle, our emotions can exaggerate reality—good moments often aren’t as perfect as they seem, and tough moments usually aren’t as hopeless as they feel—so keeping the right perspective helps us stay balanced and steady. My coaches growing up always said, “The film doesn’t lie. ...

“The thing I learned is that you can have all the talent in the world, but you have to work hard, stay focused, and be mentally tough to achieve at the highest level.” - Pete Sampras What does it take to be the best? Pete Sampras was one of the greatest tennis players of all time. He knew what it took to be the best, but more importantly, he did what it took. He once said, “I always wanted to be the best, I wasn’t just out there to be one of the guys. I was out there to be the best, and that took everything I had.” Then, “The thing I learned is that you can have all the talent in the world, but you have to work hard, stay focused, and be mentally tough to achieve at the highest level.” Finally, “When you’re playing against the best, you have to bring your best — mentally and physically. That’s what separates champions from everyone else.” You have to make a decision that you want to try to be the best you can be. Then, you have to work hard at it while staying focused and eliminating a...

“You have to train your mind just as much as you train your body.” - Tara Lipinski How often do you train your mind vs your body? Success in sports isn’t only about physical strength, skill, or practice. Mental training prepares your focus, confidence, resilience, and ability to handle pressure. Tara Lipinski was one of the youngest Olympic champions ever—she won the 1998 Olympic gold medal in Nagano, Japan at just 15 years old. Tara once said, “You have to train your mind just as much as you train your body.” She knew that talent and practice weren’t enough — she also had to strengthen her mindset to handle the pressure of the biggest stage. Your mind is like a muscle. If you don’t train it with focus, discipline, and positive habits, your physical training won’t reach its full potential. Here are 6 mental training exercises: 1. Visualization (Mental Rehearsal) Athletes close their eyes and imagine performing their routine or play perfectly — feeling the movement, hearing...

"Just keep stacking days. As long as you keep stacking days, I promise you will see the change.” - Chris Paul Do you want to know how to get better or find success? Stack days. Consistency is either the thing that pushes athletes past walls, obstacles, or barriers, or the thing that keeps them stuck. Despite not being very tall at all, Chris Paul is one of the best point guards to ever play basketball. He once said, “Just keep stacking days. As long as you keep stacking days, I promise you will see the change.” I see too many athletes — too many people — quit too soon because things don’t go their way immediately. I’ve also seen athletes who were the worst on the team become the best because they consistently worked on their games. Like Paul said, they kept stacking days and change came. He also said one of his coaches told him, “Everything you want is on the other side of hard,” and, “Reps remove doubt.” Getting better and having confidence is simple: Find somethi...

"When the game is over I just want to look at myself in the mirror, win or lose, and know I gave it everything I had.” - Joe Montana When you look at yourself at the end of the workout or game, what do you think? Joe Montana was a Hall of Fame quarterback who is famous for orchestrating incredible game-winning drives, including “The Catch” in the 1981 NFC Championship, and is often cited as a model of leadership, precision, and calmness in high-pressure moments. He once said, “When the game is over I just want to look at myself in the mirror, win or lose, and know I gave it everything I had.” Joe Montana’s nickname was Joe Cool because of his composure in high-pressure moments and his ability to come through in the clutch. It was also about his mindset and mental toughness. He didn’t let nerves, fear, or pressure affect his focus or decision-making. When you are prepared and give everything you have in practice and throughout the game, you earn the privilege to be cool, calm, and ...

"You can be driven. But be driven in a way that you can enjoy the journey.” - Cheryl Miller Do you ever put so much pressure on yourself that you stop enjoying the journey? To be great at anything you have to be driven. Being driven means having an inner push or determination that keeps you moving toward your goals, even when things get hard. It’s more than just wanting something—it’s the discipline and motivation to keep working for it. Cheryl Miller is considered by many to be the best female basketball players of all time. She once said, “You can be driven. But be driven in a way that you can enjoy the journey.” It’s good to have high standards, big goals, and strong motivation. Drive is what pushes you forward, but ambition shouldn’t make you miserable. If you’re so focused on success that you never stop to appreciate the progress, relationships, or experiences along the way, you’ll burn out. Pursue greatness without losing your joy. Cheryl also said, “I wasn’t the greatest at...

“I don’t care who gets the credit. I care about creating the best possible work.” - Shane Parrish Would you rather be right or get it right? Have you ever known you were wrong, but your ego prevented you from admitting it? When I was an assistant college basketball coach, my success was tied to the 18-year-olds I helped evaluate, recruit, sign, and develop. If I was the guy who signed and developed an All-American, it could help me move into a bigger and better opportunity, so we would fight to sign our kid. The challenge was there were a limited number of scholarships you can offer, so if you miss on a kid, you are stuck with that bad decision for an entire year. This forces you to put outcomes over ego, because the last thing you want is to have a bad year because you signed a kid who wasn’t good enough and stuck with him just so you could be right. Author Shane Parrish says we can make better decisions that lead to more success when we put outcomes over egos. He said, “One big mist...

"Every day, someone realizes a dream. I believe dreams help light our darkness and give us the push we need to move across the rink of life." - Kristi Yamaguchi Hope is the expectation that something good is going to happen to you and through you. When you have hope, you can have optimism, motivation, and inspiration no matter what is going on around you. When you don’t, it’s hard to find that same spark. Kristi Yamaguchi was an Olympic figure skater who had to overcome many challenges, including being born with a clubfoot, on her way to becoming a gold medalist. In her book, Always Dream, Kristi wrote, "Every day, someone realizes a dream. I believe dreams help light our darkness and give us the push we need to move across the rink of life." If your dreams, goals, and aspirations are big enough, they can guide through any challenge. For Yamaguchi, a dream isn't just a distant hope; it's a powerful source of motivation that can help you overcome obstacles. S...

"When I started swimming again two years ago, it felt like I was starting from scratch. My mindset was that every time I swam, it was going to get easier—and it did. When you're working toward a fitness goal, you just need to start. It's not going to be pretty; your body is going to scream at you, but each time you'll get better." - Janet Evans How hard is it for you to get back in shape or come back from a break? Janet Evans is a former American competitive swimmer and one of the most decorated distance swimmers in history. She won four Olympic gold medals and one silver across the 1988, 1992, and 1996 Games, specializing in the 400m, 800m, and 1500m freestyle. She is remembered for her grit, consistency, and determination—qualities that made her a role model for athletes worldwide. Evans retired after the 1996 Olympics, and tried to make a comeback for the 2012 Olympics, but didn’t make it. While preparing for her comeback, Evans said, "When I started swimm...

“That's a part that's always a challenge for athletes: trying to keep the passion alive while knowing it's still your job.” - Landon Donovan How do you keep your love and passion for something while sacrificing and working as hard as it takes to be great at it? Success requires a lot. It requires a lot of time, energy, and effort. It requires so much, that the task of becoming great can steal the love and joy you have for it. Think about it. You usually start doing something because you enjoy it. Then you want to do it more because you start to really like it. Then, you get good at it, and want to go from good to great. But that transition is when it stops being fun for a lot of people and becomes a job. Landon Donovan has scored as many goals as any man who has played soccer for our US Men’s National team. He once said, “That's a part that's always a challenge for athletes: trying to keep the passion alive while knowing it's still your job.” How do you keep the...

“I like the feeling of doing something you worked hard for and that you were really scared to do… I tell myself I got it. I picture landing the trick in my head. When you land a trick that you're really scared of, you feel like you can do anything.” - Sky Brown Have you ever heard, “If your goals don’t scare you, they aren’t big enough”? A powerful goal should make you feel a little fearful and comfortable. It signals a gap between who you are and who you want to become. But you have to have the courage to do what it takes to close the gap. Sky Brown is a British-Japanese professional skateboarder, surfer, and two-time Olympic bronze medalist who became the youngest ever Olympic medalist for Team GB, inspiring people worldwide with her fearless style, resilience, and “be brave, be strong, have fun” mantra. She once said, “I like the feeling of doing something you worked hard for and that you were really scared to do… I tell myself I got it. I picture landing the trick in my head. W...

“You have to have faith in yourself, even when nobody else does.” - Elena Delle Donne How do you have belief and faith in yourself when no one else does? If you want to be great at anything, you have to believe in yourself because self-belief is the foundation of high achievement — before anyone else can believe in you, you have to trust your own ability, vision, and potential. Elena Delle Donne was one of the most dominant female basketball players of all time. She once said, "You have to have faith in yourself, even when nobody else does.” Faith is confidence or trust in something. When you have it, you’re willing to work harder and longer, you are more likely to keep going when setbacks happen because you believe they are temporary in your ability to overcome them, and you inspire others to believe in you too. When you don’t have it, you’re more likely to hesitate or quit when challenges come, you might hold back from taking risks or pushing yourself to your limits, and the dou...