A Coach's Diary

Have you ever been on a team where one athlete's bad attitude affected everyone in the group? There is a saying that, "One bad apple spoils the bunch." The phrase is used to describe a situation in which one person's negative attitude can negatively affect the entire group, causing them to have a similar negative attitude. I'm not sure how or where this phrase began, but it does have some basis in science. When apples begin to decay, they emit gasses. If the rotting apple is mixed in with other apples, the good apples can absorb the gasses and begin to rot as well. It is important to keep good apples away from bad apples. I've had similar experiences on teams. I have had teams become torn apart because the negative attitudes and behaviors of one teammate went unchecked. I have also had similar experiences with individual athletes. They allow one bad apple, one negative influence, or one correctable character flaw to negatively affect who they are, and it kills...

Competition can bring out the best in people and the worst in people. Everyone loves a good rivalry because it's intense and exciting.  Great opponents bring the best out of us. They push us harder and farther than we can push ourselves. They force us to rise to the occasion. It is important to appreciate and respect our opponents because they push us to be the best that we can be. And it's important to remember that even in the middle of the toughest battles if you are a follower of Jesus, and to do as Jesus did. You can be the fiercest competitor and still be a good person. BE A GOOD PERSON AND DO GOOD THINGS Goodness is defined as the quality of being morally good or virtuous, but goodness  is more than being a nice, kind, and polite model citizen. Goodness is an excellence of character that actively and intentionally works from the inside out and is seen and felt by everyone that you come in contact with. Goodness is about being a good person, but it is also about being a ...

Set your athletes (and their families) up for success with a great and effective onboarding experience. Onboarding is an HR term referring to the process of introducing a newly hired employee into the organization (BambooHR). In sports, onboarding would be the first practice of a new season or when you have a new team member joining the team. Onboarding can set the tone for a new athlete's experience and can impact how well they perform and how long they decide to stay. Harvard reports that a quality onboarding experience creates 54% greater new hire productivity (Kierstead). How does this affect how we coach and run our teams? If we create a positive experience when new athletes join or when the new season starts, we can set our athletes up for success and for a great experience. Use the onboarding process to clearly define roles, responsibilities, and expectations for your athletes and their families. Clearly define team goals and individual expectations. Help your athletes and t...

Teams that have a great culture where everyone is engaged, energized, passionate, and on the same page tend to beat teams that don't have great cultures. Think about it - if you have a connected team where everybody feels like they belong, valued, and are safe competing against a team with athletes who aren't engaged, energized, passionate, and together, of course you have a better chance of winning. This is something that author and HR visionary Eric Mosley has written about and created great teams around, and this is something that can help your team maximize its potential. When talking to  researcher, author, and professor  Brene Brown, Eric said that great teams do three things great - they talk, they give thanks, and they celebrate each other. Great Teams Talk Eric said that Harvard did a study about the efficacy of regular check-ins and reported that these check-ins helped teams and team members perform better. He said that it didn't matter what they talked about - h...

Great teams, families, classrooms, schools, and organizations share a lot of the same principles and have similar values.           "Link:  Jon Gordon joins MTTS to talk about motivating athletes" Great groups have a shared   vision and  purpose , they stay positive through challenges, they don't allow negativity to sabotage the group, and they work to build great relationships so that they have stronger connections and a stronger team.   Great groups have grit .  They have consistency .  They have mental toughness . Great groups are like craftsmen - people who pursue excellence in their craft.   Great groups put ' we before me .'  They serve their teammates.  When you serve your team, they get better and you get better.  When you help them improve, you improve. It's important to learn how to get through the tough moments and how to perform at your high...