A Coach's Diary

Kobe Bryant was hungry to learn, and he was always looking for people from which he could learn. Here is what he said about his relationship with NBA legend Bill Russell: “I knew there was a reason Bill Russell had more rings than fingers. Years ago, then, I picked up an autobiography of his and devoured it. There were a lot of valuable lessons in there. There’s one anecdote Bill shared that stuck with me. He recounts how people always said he wasn’t a good ball handler, just didn’t know how to handle and shoot the ball. He said sure, he could do all of those things, but why would he lead the fastbreak when Bob Cousy was playing with him? Why would he shoot jumpers when Sam Jones was on his wing? The message was that if you want to win championships, you have to let people focus on what they do best while you focus on what you do best. For him, that was rebounding, running the floor, and blocking shots. I thought that teaching was simple, yet profound. It was an insight I had never hea...

NBA legend Bill Russell wrote a book talking about his relationship with head coach Red Auerbach. He wrote: "From the first, Red's method of coaching me was by observation, listening, and conversation." Russell said that he was a private person and a man of few words. Red realized that and respected it. He used that information to coach Russell. Russell further wrote: "His attitude was: 'How can we do this together?' He approached it by asking himself, 'Russell is a good ballplayer. What can I do to help him win games?' That would have been sufficient. But he went further: 'This is a man I like and respect." Coaching, teaching, and leadership are about a transfer of information. The best way to transfer that information is by connecting with your athletes, getting to know them and their personalities, how they learn best, and how they receive information best.  This is done by listening first. Listening first is how we get more i...

"It has become more apparent how important it is to promote teammates and teams; more than ever.  It has always been a team game for us and our sports, but more than ever, the awareness of our guys to be great teammates is more valuable and more important than it ever has been in my coaching. If you are a great teammate, then you are concerned for others, and the great Bill Russell was in our meeting rooms a couple of years back and out of nowhere he said: "You know what it takes to be a great teammate?   You have to wake up every morning thinking about how you can help one of your teammates be better." That kind of mentality doesn't have to only be on our teams.  Why can't that type of mentality be what it feels like to be an American?  That I am part of a team and what can I do to help the people around me? Why would that not be as important as ever instead of 'lookout for what I got' or 'protect your own' or 'save me.' ...

In this excerpt from the book Red and Me, by former basketball great Bill Russell, Bill talks about the psychology that legendary coach Red Auerbach used to get the best out of his players for the betterment of the team. Red would talk to a guy by mainly listening.  That was how he got more information about his players and their agendas.  I saw him do that so often that when he was talking to me, I always knew what he was doing.  He wasn't assessing my needs - they didn't come into play.  He wasn't asking himself, "What's this person all about?"  He was asking, "How can I help his guy contribute to the team?"  I picked this up very early.  What he was doing was listening, motivating, and enabling us to play our best, which ultimately enhanced our careers. Every player in an organization, whether its a team, a school, or a business, has their own agenda for being part of the organization.  A leader, instead of throwing his/her weight around ...