A Coach's Diary

“Kids must buy into YOU and what you do in order to be successful.” - Former NBA Coach Hubie Brown This is especially true in today’s world where kids seem to ask, “Why?” after every instruction. When I was a kid, asking why was a health hazard, but it is so common today that if you don’t have legit answers, you risk not being effective enough to engage your student-athletes to drive performance. So how do you get them to buy into you and what you do? Spend some time getting real with them and let them know who you are and why they should buy what you are selling. A simple way to do that is get in a Circle, ask 1-3 get-to-know you questions, and start the relationship building process. The Circle is an effective relationship building tool because everyone is equal and included in the Circle, and everyone has the opportunity to listen and share in the Circle. Try asking these three ‘favorite’ questions to get the party started: 1 - What’s your favorite thing to eat (or what is your favo...

On the first day of practice, every season, a middle school and high school coach that I know asks his athletes to Circle-Up. In the circle, the coach asks every athlete to say their name, who their favorite basketball player is, and why. The coach encourages the players by telling them to value, accept and appreciate everybody's choice, whether they agree with it or not, without judgment. He tells his team, "Our team is a safe space and a judge-free zone. We have to learn how to express ourselves, talk to each other, and how to listen without judgment. We want our teammates to feel safe and free to tell each other how we feel." At the end of the first practice, the coach asks every athlete to say one thing that they are excited about for the season and one thing that they want to get better at.  On day one, the coach has learned something about everyone on the team, and the teammates start to learn something about each other. One question a lot of coaches ask is, "H...