A Coach's Diary

People may forget what you said and they may forget what you did, but people won't forget how you made them feel. Derek Jeter is one of the best baseball players ever. He was a hall of fame captain and shortstop for the Yankees for 20 years and won 5 World Series. He was asked on a podcast , "Which coach had the most influence and impact on you and your game?" Without hesitation, Jeter answered, "Joe Torre." He said that Coach Torre was the best communicator he has ever known. Jeter also said that Coach Torre didn't treat everyone the same, but he treated everyone fairly. Everyone has a different personality, and we have to meet people where they are and give them what they need if we want to help them become successful. Jeter also said that Coach Torre had a calming influence that a young player needs. Young players are going to mess up, and when they do, the first thing that they look at is their coach. They want to see what their coach is doing and how he...

Jamal Murray was a recent guest on the Knuckleheads podcast. They talked about his growth from a youth star in Canada, to Kentucky, to the NBA. QRich asked him how he kept his edge and kept working hard and stayed hungry to stay at the top of his class when a lot of you phenoms get complacent and fall off. Quentin Richardson: The guys are the best at a young age don't always finish that way. You were already one of the best players and one of the most skilled kids on the team in high school, so what made you keep working and keep feeling like you had to prove yourself? Jamal Murray: I put a lot of work into my craft. I'm not out here just trying to get better - I am trying to be the best player every time I step on the court. I put the work in, and coming from Canada, it was the guys in the states with the hype and the mixtapes, and I know I am better than this kid, I just know that he has the cameras and the support behind him. It is just a matter of me going out there and pro...

So many players and parents look for resources on how to handle a lack of playing time and adversity. WNBA player Lexie Brown was recently interviewed on the Knuckle Heads podcast with her dad, former NBA player Dee Brown, and she had a great response on this topic. Lexie was asked how she handled not playing her first year and what she learned from that experience. Adversity is something that we all have to learn how to deal with. Lack of playing time is hard on everyone, especially when you are used to being one of the best players on your team. Her response was so on point! "You have to handle all situations with grace because you never know what is going to happen." Even if you know you aren't going to get the playing time that you want, remain one of the hardest workers on the team. Stay in the gym. Come early and stay late. We all have moments where we can handle situations better. But through it all, be a good teammate, bring energy on the bench. No m...

Trevor Ariza has been in the NBA since 2004.  He has played on a few different teams - some great teams and on some struggling teams.   On a recent podcast he was discussing his journey and the journeys that some athletes have during their careers and how some athletes don't get or receive the fame or recognition that they deserve.  He said this about his journey: "No two journeys are the same and everybody has to take their own path.  Timing always plays a factor in where you are and what you do. For me, my path was to TOUCH AS MANY PEOPLE as I could.  And I enjoy that." I thought that was a beautiful way to look at the impact that we can have on the people that we coach and the players that we play with. We can't always control how much talent we have, and we sure can't control all of the recognition that we recieve. But we can definitely control how we treat people.  If we all made it a goal to emphasize how we treat the pe...

The Knuckleheads Podcast is hosted by Quenton Richardson and Darrius Miles.  they invite special guests, high-profile athletes, musicians and entertainers to get brutally honest about everything from current events to untold stories from the golden era of sports and culture. Named for the on-court celebration they made wildly popular, this unfiltered, hilarious and surprising podcast is like playing NBA 2K with no fouls. They recently had Kobe Bryant on and it was a great interview, where he talked about everything from his first years in the league to his new book. On Coming To An Already Established Team It was good for me to come in and play with so many all-stars; iron sharpens iron.  I had to do a lot and I had to be perfect just to get on the floor. Every day at practice has got to be a war because I have to prove that I deserve to be here and that I deserve to play.  Every play matters. Superheros In your game, you have weapons.  I u...