A Coach's Diary

Knowing what we know about Michael Jordan's competitiveness and work ethic, it is hard to believe that when he was growing up, his father said that Michael was mischievous and the laziest kid he had. Michael grew up the 4th out of 5 kids in Wilmington, North Carolina. Jordan's mother said, "You had to discipline him. He would test you to the limit. Michael was always getting into things." In The Last Dance, Michael said that when he was in the 9th grade, he got suspended three times in one year. He said that his father pulled him aside that summer and said, "You don't look like you are heading in the right direction. If you want to do all of this mischievous stuff, you can forget sports." Michael said that was all he needed to hear, and from then on he had tunnel vision and never got in trouble in school again, and that his father was a friend and a voice of reason who always drove and challenged him. We all need people in our lives like that. People who...

To be great at anything, you need to be willing to learn and willing to receive feedback. You have to allow yourself to be coached and corrected so that you can learn and grow. And you have to allow yourself to be pushed. Michael Jordan told his college coach, Roy Williams, that he was going to be the best player to ever play at North Carolina. Michael Jordan said, "I'm going to show you. Nobody will ever work as hard as I'll work." Coach Williams said that Michael Jordan was the only play that could ever turn it on and off, and he never turned it off. He said, "When I think of Michael Jordan, I think of 3 years of watching that youngster get BETTER and BETTER and Better." While scrimmaging in practice, I heard that Michael's coaches would have him play on the team with the guys coming off the bench to make it tougher on him. If his team was winning, his coaches would have him switch to the losing team and he would have to lead them back. This is an exam...