A Coach's Diary

How do you build confidence in players? Be demanding and teach them how to do things that they didn't know they could do. Assistant Men's basketball coach at SMU, Mike Hatch, was asked, "How do you build confidence in players?" He said that you have to do two things: you have to be demanding, and you have to get them to do things that they didn't know they could do. Once you get your athletes to do something that they didn't know they could do, then they will trust you and they will do anything you want. At this point, you can really push them and get them to go at a higher level. That is the art of coaching. The art of coaching is getting your athletes out of their comfort zone and doing things that they didn't know they could do. At that point, their confidence will start to skyrocket and they will run through walls for you. Successful people aren't always the most talented. If you can teach an athlete how to do things the right way, to try to do the...

Mike Hatch, an assistant coach at SMU, says that culture drives performance. It is the number one thing in your program. It is bigger than Xs and Os. It is how you will be defined, and it is how your team is going to be looked at by every other coach, fan, and spectator. Culture is who you are, it is what you do, it is how you do it, and it is why you do it. Culture is what you believe in and how you behave. Culture is your thoughts, your actions, and your words. Culture is something that you have to stick to and stick with - even though and especially because there are a lot of reasons not to. We often go into the seasons with great plans and great ideas, but we all know that each season will test us and our ability to stick with the culture that we planned on having. You can't let up on your culture. You have to hold everybody accountable to the same standard - from the best player to the manager. If you are going to have a successful team, you have to hold everybody to the same ...