A Coach's Diary

“Winning isn't everything, but wanting to win is.” - Vince Lombardi You can’t always control whether you win or not. Sometimes, your opponent is too big, strong, experienced, and good to overcome. But that should never impact how you show up, do your job, add value, and compete. Legendary Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi once said, “Winning isn’t everything, but wanting to win is.” Coach Lombardi was known for his demanding coaching style and relentless pursuit of excellence. This quote says that the pursuit of greatness and excellence is just as important as the result. Your will is a strong intention or desire to do something. When your will is strong enough, you will wake up or show up early, you will do your job with integrity and excellence, and you will find ways to add value. My favorite athlete of all time is Michael Jordan. He was blessed with a lot of talent and world-class athleticism, but he was also blessed with an intense will to compete and get better. When Jor...

"If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.” - Michael Jordan When Michael Jordan was a sophomore in high school, he tried out for the varsity basketball team but was cut. Jordan said he went home demoralized, felt like the coach didn’t like him, and didn’t want to play sports anymore. His mom said they cried together, but instead of complaining to the coach or principal or allowing him to make excuses, she told him, “If you really want it, you work hard over the summer,” and he did.  That summer, he focused and practiced all day. His mom said the basketball never left his hand, and the next year, he not only made the team but eventually became the best player in the state and one of the best in the country. Jordan’s father said, “If you want to bring out the best in Michael, tell him he can’t do something, or he can’t do it as good as somebody else.” He said Jordan would take it as a personal challenge ...

Being a leader is hard. You have to hold yourself accountable, and you have to hold the people around you accountable. To effectively hold others accountable, you have to be willing to do everything you are asking, or demanding, them to do. The leader has to establish what we are going to do and how we are going to do it. Then, they have to make sure that we are all living up to the expectations that they set while also making sure that others do the same. This can lead to conflict and confrontation, and that isn't always easy. Kobe Bryant has a good quote about leadership and conflict : Leadership is lonely. I’m not going to be afraid of confrontation to get us where we need to go. There's a big misconception where people think that winning and success comes from everybody putting their arms around each other and singing kumbaya and patting them on the back when they mess up, and that’s just not reality. If you are going to be a leader, you’re not going to please everybody. Yo...

I have a friend who has a son who is a top 25 basketball player in the country. I first started watching his son play in travel tournaments in the 4th grade, and now he is nearing the end of his high school journey, and his game and stock continue to rise. We talk often about "the process" and what steps he took along the way. The one thing that he tells me the most is to make sure your kids keep developing and keep getting better. That is it. He said that parents get caught up in who is the best 4th, 5th, or 6th grader, but that nobody outside of that kid's family really cares. What matters is that they are having fun and getting better every year because the minute they stop getting better, they get passed up and people stop watching. Two goals he said to have for youth athletes are: 1 - For your kids to be varsity ready by the time you are in 9th grade 2 - For your kids to still enjoy and love the game in the 9th grade He also said that he and his son know and talk abo...

Don't ever be too afraid to take the shot.  Take the shot! It is okay to feel fear, but do it anyways. Do it afraid if you have to, but do it. When I was about 10 or 11, I had the chance to take the game winning shot. Instead of shooting, I passed and my teammate missed completely. When we got home, my dad (who was our coach) asked me why I didn't take the last shot.  Instead of telling him the truth - that I was too afraid - I told him that I didn't know. He told me something that stuck with me. He said to always be ready to take the last shot. Its okay to be scared, but do it anyway. He said look what happened - my teammate took a terrible shot, missed, and we lost. I couldn't have done any worse than he did. I have never been too afraid to take the final shot since that conversation. I have made some game winning shots, and I have missed some. But I am willing to take it and live with the consequences. Take the shot. Somebody has to, so i...

Writer Jackie MacMillan is a writer who has covered the NBA for years. She was a young reporter when Michael Jordan came into the league, and she got a courtside view of his growth into one of the greatest athletes who ever lived. One of Jordan's most famous moments was the shot that he hit against the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1989 in the 5th and deciding game of their playoff series. She said that before that game, she was able to talk to MJ. It was a big game for the Bulls and for his career. She remembers him talking about how nervous he was leading up to the game, and how he was handling the nerves: "He was nervous Don't think that Michael Jordan wasn't ever nervous. All the great ones are. Now, once the game starts, those nerves disappear immediately. But in the days leading up to it, talk to all of the greats - Jerry West, Bird, Russell, Magic - all of them will tell you that nerves are normal and managing those nerves and transforming them into...

In "The Last Dance" documentary about Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, they had some great footage and interviews about his time in college at North Carolina. Coaches Dean Smith and Roy Williams both talked about how competitive and hard working he was from day one. Coach Smith said that he was very inconsistent as a freshman, but he was one of the most competitive  ones that they had in their drills.  He  said that MJ WANTED to get better, and he had the abiity to get better. Its not about where you start, but how hard that you work, how willing you are to learn, and how much you are willing to compete. Coach Williams had a couple of great quotes about his work ethic.  Williams said, "When I think of Michael Jordan, I think of 3 years of watching that youngster get BETTER and BETTER and BETTER.  Michael Jordan was the only player who could ever turn it on and off.  And he NEVER turned it off." Coach Williams also told a story about ...

Cool story on how Sonny Vaccaro helped Nike sign Michael Jordan out of college.  Imagine a world where Adidas made Air Jordan's.  Crazy how Nike giving him his own shoe (and Adidas supposed reluctance to sign and feature a non-7 footer) helped Nike become what they are today.

The following quote is from Michael Jordan's NBA TV One-on-One at 50 interview.  "The greatest thing about the game of basketball, to me, is the passion, the love that I have for it. Because when you have live for anything, you'll go to the extreme to maintain that love. That's what love does; love drives you to do everything you need to do to maintain that connection. If I didn't have that love for the game of basketball, all of the things that have panned out in my career would have never been achievable. It was truly my love for the game that kept me pushing to be the best basketball player that I can be. To be the best, at anything, you gotta have a certain love for that to overcome all of the obstacles that's going to be thrown in your way. That's what the game of basketball has been for me."