A Coach's Diary

Passion, energy, and enthusiasm are powerful forces. In fact, Carmine Gallo writes that the most popular TED TALK speakers share something in common - a passion, an obsession they must share with others. Successful speakers can't wait to share their ideas, and they have a charisma that is directly associated with their passion and joy for what they do. I would argue that the best coaches and teachers share the same passion, joy, and obsession for what they do. A school administrator that I respect once told me, "I hire for energy, and I train for skill. The best teachers that I have been around aren't always the most skilled teachers, but they have the best energy. They have an energy that is contagious. They are like magnets that people - students, parents, and other teachers - are drawn to." I recently started reading Gallo's book called  Talk Like Ted  thinking that I was going to learn more about public speaking, but instead, I learned about the importance of ...

I once asked an athlete, "Why do you play so hard for this coach, but not for other coaches?" Her response was, "I don't know; he just makes me feel like I can do anything." In his book Uncommon Leadership, Ben Newman writes: One of the foundation keys to effective leadership is motivating your people. If you can't inspire others, the only other way is to lead by force. Is leading by motivating and inspiring more effective than leading by force, and how do we do this? Today, I had the pleasure of listening to Mike Moses, a former commissioner of the Texas Education Agency and former superintendent of Dallas ISD speak to a group of educators about leadership and the type of leaders he hires. He says that we are in the 'people improvement business,' and when hiring leaders, he looks for the 3 E's: 1 - Energy 2 - Enthusiasm 3 - Excitement When we have energy, enthusiasm, and excitement, and when we help our students and athletes find a direct connec...

Kemba Walker, the point guard for the Boston Celtics, is known for his crazy crossovers and his positive energy and positive spirit. In a recent playoff game, NBA announcers talk about his positive energy and his positive effect on the team: They talk about his smile. They talk about how he goes out of his way to say hello and ask how people are doing when they walk into the gym. They talk about how even the most cantankerous and competitive coaches find it impossible for them to stay mad when Kemba Walker walks into their office with a smile on his face. They talk about how contagious he is. He is the guy that everybody wants to play with, whether it is a practice scrimmage or a drill. What do your teammates say about you? How do you impact the locker room? How do you make people feel? Do you maintain a positive spirit through the ups and the downs?

I was on a Zoom meeting, and the superintendent in our district asked the group, 'Why is energy important?' I am a big believer in bringing energy and enthusiasm to everything that I do.  My coach in college always preached about the importance of bringing your own energy to practice and games and that your energy is contagious. Everything is really just made up of vibrating energy.  We are energy.  " Energy powers machines and moves our bodies. It is exchanged in every interaction. Energy is the unseen force necessary for growth, development, and change."  Energy is what we are made of and it makes us go.  The more energy that you have, the farther you can go.  The more POSITIVE energy that you have, the farther you can go in the right direction. Energy powers your thoughts, your emotions, and your actions, so it is important to have the 'right' energy.  Having the right energy at practice leads to a more productive workout where teams are wo...

I ran across the following article from here as I was doing research for core values for our program.  It’s an article about Shaka Smart’s initial impact on the UT men’s basketball program.  It was written before the start of the basketball season, and you can see the change of ‘energy’ in the program immediately after Smart taking over. The first 5 paragraphs below with the red font are the first few paragraphs of the article which quickly highlight the immediate impact of Smart and his staff on the UT program.  I then bulleted key takeaways that I saw from the article.  You can read the article in full after the jump. New coach has put the fun back in the game for his players. When Smart was introduced, Isaiah Taylor was so fed up with Texas basketball that he couldn’t wait to pack up and leave. The way March ended, could you blame him? Get me outta here. Javan Felix, Demarcus Holland, Connor Lammert … go right on down the list. Basketball, at Texas...

So I just received an interesting message from a friend asking me to, in a short phrase (sentence or two), explain the type of coach that I am.  While I know exactly who I am as a coach, at least at this point in my career, being able to express it in a sentence or two was very difficult.  Here is what I cam up with: ENERGY and ENTHUSIASM are the two things I try to bring every day to the court – I get guys going and get them to see how fun the game is and how lucky we are to be a part of it.  I’m also a TEACHER – I want guys to know HOW to play the right way and I teach guys the fundamentals needed to execute consistently at a high level and I teach them how to see the game, not just play.   I’m also a big RELATIONSHIP guy – I think that is the thing that I do the best.   One of my favorite quotes is: “The leader sees things through the eyes of his followers; he puts himself in their shoes and helps them make their dreams come true.”   I try to see what ...

The following post is taken from Pete Carroll's book, Win Forever.  Coach Carroll was asked by the NFL to critique a young program that they were conducting, and I observed two different youth football practices one afternoon.  He said that the first practice was well organized and disciplined with appropriate drills setup.  He excepted to see the same at the next practice, but got a little surprise.  The following paragraphs are what he observed at the second practice. We parked out of view of the field where the second practice was taking place, but from the moment I got out of the car, I could hear  it: whistles, kids, and coaches, all sounding somewhat unlike the practice I'd come from.   Here there was something very different - it was the energy .  As i hurried around the corner and saw the levels of activity and emotion  unfolding, I was able to see the energy  and enthusiasm  that I live for as a coach.  Despite the fa...

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