A Coach's Diary

“Average players want to be left alone. Good players want to be coached. Great players want to be told the truth.” - Doc Rivers Do you like being coached and receiving feedback, or do you run from it? Tony Robbins is one of the most successful motivational speakers in the world. He gets paid millions and millions of dollars to motivate people. I met a person who had a relationship with him, and he said one of the things that makes Tony great is that he DEMANDS feedback. He said some people want feedback, but the best of the best demand it. How? After every speech, Tony asks two questions: What is one thing I did well? What is one thing I could’ve done better or differently? NBA coach Doc Rivers once said, “Average players want to be left alone. Good players want to be coached. Great players want to be told the truth.” If you want to be the best you can be, you can’t just ask for feedback; you have to demand it. Every person needs to have a truth-teller in their life whom they can trust...

Have you ever been in the middle of the storm when your team needs you to lead? - The other team is going on a big run and you don't see a stop in sight. - Your leading scorer gets hurt. Then your second-leading scorer gets hurt. Then your third-leading scorer fails a class. Your fourth-leading scorer has to miss practice for tutorials. - They keep adding classes to your teaching load. Storms and adversity are part of life. We tell our athletes this all of the time, but it is important for us to remember this as well. Each obstacle is just a test. It is an opportunity for us to get better and rise up. One thing to always think about is the message that you are sending through your words and your body language. One great quote to remember is,  "The culture of the team is seen on the face of the coach."  If someone looked at you today, would they see positivity, hope, and grit? Would they see victory or defeat? A big part of being a leader is making other people believe tha...

Netflix has a new sports documentary called The Playbook . It is a docu-series covering different athletes-turned-coaches and the lessons that they have learned. The first interview was about Doc Rivers. The interview started with Doc telling what he tells his team every year, to start the year: "Every time I walk into the locker room for the first time, I tell my players every year, and I have told them for 21 years, "I'm Doc Rivers, and I'm human, and I am going to make mistakes. Having said that, every decision that I make will be good for the team. That may not be what's good for you, or for me. But if it's good for the team, it's good." He went on to talk about his daily routine of push-ups and sit-ups every morning. He said he has a 30-minute routine, from alarm clock to car, and then he is off to practice. But he doesn't like calling it practice: "When I was young, I practiced every day, but I never called it practice. I hate that. Whe...

Doc Rivers is a professional basketball coach for the LA Clippers. In a recent podcast, he talked about leadership and how he is keeping his team ready for when the NBA resumes.  When asked how he is keeping his team ready, he said: "I am telling my team that when it all starts back, it's not going to be the same, and it may not even be fair. You have to be okay with that. It's not going to be fair, but we are still going to win. It's not going to be fair, but we aren't going to use that as an excuse. It's not going to be fair, but its very fair because everybody is doing the same thing. Let's not let this be the reason that we don't win. Right now we have to make the most of it and find a way forward." He went on to talk about a conversation that he had with a high school graduate about how to keep this year in proper perspective and how we all should look at everything that has happened in the year 2020: I was talking to a high scho...

"The biggest thing that I have learned  is PATIENCE. Early on I was a pretty impatient coach. I wanted it now, I wanted them to be able to do it now, and I didn't understand if they didn't see what I saw. Now, from trial and error, I have become much better at that."  - Doc Rivers   I am a dad, a coach, and I coach my own kids, so I have learned through trial and error the importance of balancing pushing our athletes with patience.  Having a sense of urgency in the way that you work is important to growing and getting better, but patience is the thing that I have sought and prayed for more as much as anything. As parents and coaches, we see so many things, small and large, that our athletes could do to grow and change their game, and sometimes it blows my mind when my athletes won't listen and apply those changes. But I am learning that this is their journey.  I am learning that I am here to love and support them.  I am learning how to find a balanc...

I coach my kids.  I love coaching my kids.  It's one of the most enjoyable things that I do.  My oldest is pretty committed to being the best that she can be.  She allows me to push her more than the average kid, but sometimes she doesn't want to hear what I have to say. That's natural for kids, its natural for athletes, so with time and prayer, I have learned to have the patience to respond appropriately and without anger (a lot of time and a lot of prayer). I simply remind her of what her goals are (shared vision) and remind her of the work, effort, and sacrifice that it will take to accomplish those goals. I also remind her that coaches will pour into you as much as you allow, and the best players find a way to allow their coaches to pour into them as much as they need. I remind her that her best skills need to be her ability to listen, learn, and apply, along with the grit and courage to try something new and stick with it until she mast...

Doc Rivers talks about when one of his sons complained about playing time: No coach wants to lose.  If you do the right thing, minutes go up. Kids need to learn how to fight for it and need to hear the truth father than hearing you bash the coach.   "I support you and I know you can play.  But, you have to keep working and earning your spot [while respecting the coach and your teammates and while being a great friend and teammate].

"Do you want to choose winning over standing out? It's a choice every player on every championship team has to do" - Doc Rivers