A Coach's Diary

To be great at anything, you need to be willing to learn and willing to receive feedback. You have to allow yourself to be coached and corrected so that you can learn and grow. And you have to allow yourself to be pushed. Michael Jordan told his college coach, Roy Williams, that he was going to be the best player to ever play at North Carolina. Michael Jordan said, "I'm going to show you. Nobody will ever work as hard as I'll work." Coach Williams said that Michael Jordan was the only play that could ever turn it on and off, and he never turned it off. He said, "When I think of Michael Jordan, I think of 3 years of watching that youngster get BETTER and BETTER and Better." While scrimmaging in practice, I heard that Michael's coaches would have him play on the team with the guys coming off the bench to make it tougher on him. If his team was winning, his coaches would have him switch to the losing team and he would have to lead them back. This is an exam...

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 ...