A Coach's Diary

"If you go and you trace coaches, you'll see that even some of the best in the world struggle their first few years.  It takes time to establish yourself.  Very few people are lucky enough to come in and have instance success.  It takes time to evolve who you are as a person and your coaching style, personality, and philosophy." From:  Coaching U Podcast:  Coach Brendan Suhr, Recapping the 2018 Final Fours by Coaching U Podcast with Coach Brendan Suhr https://player.fm/1qGhUU?t=920

One of my favorite quotes about hard work was said by one of the greatest coaches of all time, John Wooden. He said, "Nothing will work unless you do." In other words, you can have the best plans, the most perfect offensive and defensive schemes, and even a great amount of talent. But if you and your team are not willing to put in hard work, your plans will never be realized. Another quote I often share with my players was by NBA legend Jerry West. He said, "You don’t get much done if you only work on the days that you feel good." Hard work cannot be sporadic. It cannot take place only on the sunny days. If you want your best to become a habit, you must engage in intensive, intelligent, and persistent practice. I believe you play like you practice, so when you practice hard every day, playing hard will seem natural when the game is on the line. A final quote about work that I share with my team is Roger Staubach’s: "Spectacular achievements are a...

Below are a couple of quotes about Coach K and Steve Lavin before their teams, Duke and UCLA, faced off in 1997: "I'd see those Duke teams play and I think we were both--and especially Steve--enamored of just the quality of his team's execution, how his teams played so hard, and how positive he was toward his players," said UCLA assistant Jim Saia, a close friend of Lavin's from college. "He could not have done too much of a better job in transition," Krzyzewski said. "It appears that his team has adapted well to him. They're as talented a team as we can play, and I think they're playing so well together and they seem to be enjoying it. And to me, that's good coaching if you can do that." Full article here:  http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/stjo/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2014-15/misc_non_event/newscliparchive.pdf

Coach K is coming off of his 5th National Championship, and if he hasn't done so already, he is really starting to create and even larger gap between his legacy and those of even his most successful peers, and he's done so in large part because of his willingness to buy-into adapting to his players and the changes in the sport in general Bucky Gleason at  Buckyandsully.buffalonews.com wrote a great article on Coach K's ability to adapt, and even recived some words from two of college basketball's all-time greats, Christian Laettner and Bobby Hurley to comment on just how much Coach K has evolved. I have listed some key takeaways that I have found useful below.  You can read the full article here . Christian Laettner On Coach K Evolution Over the past quarter-century, Laettner has realized that Coach K didn’t compromise his ideals when it came to Hurley. Krzyzewski was evolving into the greatest coach in the past 40 years. Laettner came away with even more res...

The following post was borrowed from Sanyin Siang at Forbes.com via Bob Starkey. Coach K combines discipline and a consistent approach to the skills and fundamentals of winning along with leveraging the most important asset in his organization - his people.   All good coaches do a great job of teaching the fundamentals and teaching the game itself.  The great coaches understand the importance, and unpredictability, of managing your people.   Coach K still uses many of the same drills he used as the head coach at West Point years ago, but he also knows how to adapt, not only to his people's technical capabilities, but also to their range of talents, passions, how they can grow, and how they relate to one another. Simply put, Coach K understands that just as much, if not more important than the 'basketball' is the importance on understanding that each person is different, with different personalities, learning styles, and agendas for playing b...

A Lesson In Changing/Establishing Culture "When it's time to change the culture of a team, your players have to hear it, see it and understand what you're trying to do," said Krzyzewski, the coach of the U.S. national team since 2005. "But to really make change stick"—and when he describes this, he drags out the word really—"they have to feel it. "To do that," he said, "you have to create moments." "We knew we had ask our players for a new level of commitment than was expected previously and we had to get them to realize we weren't going to win international competitions doing things as we had," said USA Basketball national team managing director Jerry Colangelo. "We needed them to see themselves not as basketball players but as representatives of our country, doing our service, our piece. We had to get them to feel patriotism and selfless service." "I think we've helped our players become b...

Getting guys from all different walks of like to buy-in to one common theme is what makes him a genius of the game. During a broadcast of the USA Basketball Men's National Team's practice, Grant Hill was asked where the 'greatness' of Coach K comes from. Grant says that, along with his great mind and understanding of the game, his ability to connect and build relationships with the guys allows him to build a trust and get a buy-in from the guys.   Grant says that Coach K has a way of selling himself and making you feel special within that relationship. We can have all the knowledge in the world, but if we can't get a group of guys to buy-in to a common theme and come together as one, we will struggle to find success.  Use your relationships to do so.

Post taken from MensBasketballHoopScoop.BlogSpot.Com http://hoopthoughts.blogspot.com/2014/02/hows-your-bench-chemistry.html Watch what Duke basketball does.  In specific, watch the end of Duke's bench...all game long.  Preseason, early season, midseason, it doesn't matter' you'd think they were playing in a world championship.  They're on the edge of their seats.  They're high-fiving and hollering.  And they look exactly like the players at the starters' end of the bench.  There's a no difference between #1 and #12 on the depth chart.  When a player comes off the court, every single guy stands up, claps the player off, and pats him on the back.  They're all totally engaged; they're all prepared to go in the game.  The best way to describe it: they  love  being there. 
From   "Help The Helper"  by Kevin Pritchard and John Eliot