A Coach's Diary

Before the first NBA 3-Point Shooting Contest in 1986, Larry Bird walk in the locker room and said "Man, who's coming in second?" That is confidence! That is belief in yourself and your abilities. The days that I am most confident are the days where I know what is coming and when I am prepared for it. I feel the same about sports. When I have put in the work and I feel good about what I have done in practice, I feel more comfortable and confident in the game. In an interview, Michael Jordan was asked if fear of failure was a motivator. He said, "I never feared about my skills because I put in the work. Work ethic eliminates fear. If you put forth the work, then what are you fearing? You know what you are capable of and what you are not." What that quote tells me is confidence and success come from work. Sports psychologist Dr. Patrick Cohn defines self-confidence as how firmly athletes believe in their ability to execute a physical skill or perform a task. He sa...

I try to stress to my kids the importance of putting in the work. Malcolm Gladwell wrote a book where he said that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to master something. While the over/under on that varies from athlete to athlete, the mindset behind the idea is powerful. You can't be great over night. It just takes time and consistency. To put in the time, consistently, it takes an extreme amount of focus. It takes focus on your goals, focus on the work in practice, focus on the details, and focus on doing the work the right way. One of the things that people said that made Michael Jordan great was his ability stay focused and present in the moment. Work ethic and focus leads to sustained success and greatness.

For Players When you are bored, what do you do?  Do you do something that gets you closer to your goals, or do you play with something that is a distraction?  Do you find ways to work on your game or do you have other outlets like your phone or your TV? The best players know how to fill their downtown appropriately.  A lot of times this means rest, relaxation, and getting away from the game.  A lot of other times, this means practicing on your own, watching film, doing skill work, stretching, conditioning, or watching YouTube videos that can help you get better. Someone is always working, even when you aren't.  A big difference between good players and great players is how much time and effort they put into getting better. For Coaches I used to worry about parent phone calls, parent meetings, and parent emails.  Then I realized that parents just want to do things:   1) What's best for their kid and  2) To be heard. O...