A Coach's Diary

“I go to sleep every single night thinking I'm not good enough. I really do. I don't know if that's healthy or not. But I really do have a fear of not being good, and I don't like that.” - Diana Taurasi Do you ever doubt yourself? Do you ever think you aren’t good enough? What if I told you some of the best of the best of the best also doubt themselves? Diana Taurasi is often called the Goat of women’s basketball. When she walks on the court, she seems like she is the most confident person in the arena, so I was surprised to learn she often thinks she isn’t good enough. Taurasi once said, “I go to sleep every single night thinking I'm not good enough. I really do. I don't know if that's healthy or not. But I really do have a fear of not being good, and I don't like that.” But she didn’t let her doubt stop her. Taurasi also said, “Every training, I want to prove myself, every practice,” and, “The one thing I've learned from other great players is that...

Legendary coaches Geno Auriemma and Anson Dorrance talk about two of the most competitive and complete players that they have coached and some of the secret sauce that made them great.  Both athletes could be pushed as hard as they need to be pushed and they both wanted to be told 'there is another level.' Not everybody can be pushed as hard as Diana Taurasi and Michelle Akers; not everybody wants to be 'that' great.  But as coaches and as leaders, it is our job to find that line for each team and each individual and push our athletes past that line.  As Anson Dorrance said in closing, ' Usually if they don't achieve their potential, you were too soft on them.'    There's a big price to be paid if you want to play with the best Playing at Connecticut is nice, but there's a lot more that goes into it than just showing up in Storrs, putting your uniform on, and then running out of the tunnel in front of 16,000 people.  There is a big pric...