A Coach's Diary

Former NBA champion Joe Dumars once said, "On good teams, coaches hold players accountable; on great teams, players hold players accountable." Accountability is an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility for your actions. Accountable teammates know what is expected of them, and they are empowered to do their best work, while teammates without accountability lack the motivation and discipline needed to achieve their goals. A lack of accountability is one of the biggest problems that can hold teams back. When nobody wants to be at fault or take responsibility for their mistakes, there can be a lot of finger-pointing and blame within the team. Doing the little things right, every day, like showing up on time, touching the line, and doing your job can be the difference between a winning season and a losing season. Great teams can't just rely on great coaching to hold teammates accountable; teammates have to be able to do that for each other, and teammates have to b...

Don't let the mountain of SELF-PITY destroy your career or destroy your life. You can be PITIFUL or you can be POWERFUL, but you can't be both. Cut pity out of your life.  Don't waste your time feeling sorry for yourself and making excuses.  Don't let self-pity destroy you. Don't let it keep you down.  Don't sit around and feel sorry for yourself any more. If things aren't going right for you on the field, on the court, and in life, it is your responsibility to fix it. Change your behaviors, change your habits, chsnge yout mindset, chsnge yout work ethic, and then your results will change. .... Don't let the mountain of blame destroy your life. Take accountability for your actions.  Tell yourself "I know what I did was wrong, and there is no excuse and I am not going to blame it on anybody else because I am responsible for my behavior." If things aren't going right for you on the field, on the court, and...

... and not how to make mistakes and excuses. The importance of holding yourself accountable, now as an athlete, and in the future as an adult and a professional.  Right now, showing up late, or missing an assignment, or not blocking out does not mean the end of the world.  However, at some point, coming in late or turning in an assignment late at work could cost you your job.  When the stakes get higher, it is important to know that you have spent your career learning how to make mistakes and how to make excuses.