A Coach's Diary

“What you are thinking, what shape your mind is in, is what makes the biggest difference of all.” - Willie Mays When is your mind at its best? When is it at its worst? The most important factor in the quality of your life is your thoughts and mindset. Your mind can be the fuel that keeps you going through the ups and downs, or the ultimate barrier keeping you from doing what you want or need to do. Learn how to train your mind so it helps you by spending more time thinking about what you can do than what you can’t do. If you spend 10 minutes thinking about what you can’t do, then you need to find time and ways to spend 20 minutes thinking about what you can do. One of your most important jobs is to find the strength to push yourself out of negative patterns of thinking. Develop a plan of action and ongoing strategy that includes listening to speeches that inspire you, reading books that strengthen your thoughts, and watching videos and movies that motivate you. You will have low moment...

“Being positive won’t guarantee you’ll succeed, but being negative will guarantee you won’t.” - Jon Gordon Does negative energy ever slow you down or stop you from doing what you know you can? When a Division 1 coach was asked what he looked for in potential recruits, he said things like energy, demeanor, and the ability to do the little things are what stand out most, and he won’t recruit players who are too cool and don’t have the right mindset and attitude, no matter how talented they might be. He didn’t say anything about how many points they score, but how they play and how they impact their teammates and winning. Having positive energy is a difference maker. Author and speaker Jon Gordon talks to teams, coaches, and athletes about the power of positivity. He says, “Being positive won’t guarantee you’ll succeed, but being negative will guarantee you won’t, and being optimistic and positive as a team gives you the best chance to succeed.” Leading and responding with positivity can ...

“If you care about the people you work with, then you work harder.” - Kristine Lilly What kind of teammate are you? Are you a selfish teammate who only cares about your success, or are you a selfless teammate who cares for others and wants to see them be successful too? Kristine Lilly is one of the greatest players in the history of women’s soccer. She played in four different decades and played more international games than anyone in the world. How do you play at a high level for so long? Part of it is the love of the game, but part of it is also being a great teammate. Lilly once said, “If you care about the people you work with, then you work harder.” That is why the people around you are so important. I try to find good people with similar goals to spend most of my time with, and when we are connected and care about each other, great things can happen. When you care about the people around you, you will work harder because you don’t want to let them down. After winning the 2025 wom...

“There is always going to be a reason why you can’t do something; your job is to constantly look for the reasons why you can achieve your dreams.” Shannon Miller When you struggle to find a reason to keep going, what do you do? The journey towards becoming your best self is hard for a reason - not everyone can be great, and not everyone can be a hero. The journey and the tests you face along the way separate the good from the great and the heroes from the villains and victims. When you find yourself stuck in the pit because of what is happening to you and around you, how do you keep going? Shannon Miller is a 7-time Olympic gymnast. She was talented at a young age, travelling the world for training and competition, but like every great athlete, she faced a lot of adversity on her journey, including injuries and less-than-perfect performances. Instead of letting perfection get in the way of growth and greatness, something that tends to plague individual performers more than most, she ke...

“The things that made you viable in the past aren’t going to be the things that make you viable moving forward. You better be continually getting better.” - Mike Tomlin The sports world is full of athletes who were great when they were young who leveled off by the time they got to high school or college. Think about it - how many great 8 or 9 year-olds or talented 12-13 year-olds have you seen stop progressing? When I was a kid, my cousin said to me, “You don’t want to look up in high school and everyone says, ‘Remember when he was the best when we were kids? What happened to him?’ You want people to say, ‘He has ALWAYS been one of the best.’” How do you make this happen? You have to continue to adapt your mindset, your habits, and your training. Talent and a head start gets you noticed early, but by the time you get to high school, everyone will start to catch up because everyone starts working harder and smarter. Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin once told his team, “The thi...

“Most people in life quit before the turn. They’re not ready to handle or endure the length of a trial, or the length of a struggle, or the length of losing. So they stop before it was just about to turn.” - Kara Lawson How do you know when to slow down, stop, or push harder? We all have those moments where we doubt ourselves, our journey, and the people around us. When that happens, do you quit or keep going? Duke women’s basketball coach Kara Lawson said, “Most people in life quit before the turn. They’re not ready to handle or endure the length of a trial, or the length of a struggle, or the length of losing. So they stop before it was just about to turn. The one thing we will never do in our program is stop believing, and stop pushing, and stop trying to make something turn. You don’t sit back and wait for something to turn, you have to go make it happen.” What is your struggle or trial? What is trying to get you to stop? How do you keep going? For me, it comes down to three things...

“They say discipline and dedication and respect are the key factors, but patience is a virtue that is absolutely essential!” - Ria Ramnarine Are you patient enough to do what you have to do and go through what you have to go through to be great at what you want to be great at? Everyone has a dream, but few are willing to do what it takes and be patient enough to make their dreams a reality. We live in a microwave society full of people who want what they want right now, when true success takes time as much as work. Ria Ramnarine is a former world champion boxer from Trinidad and Tobago.  She once said, “They say discipline and dedication and respect are the key factors, but patience is a virtue that is absolutely essential!” Ria is the first ever female from Trinidad and Tobago to become a boxing world champion, but she grew up in a non-sports family, and her dad would not let her play sports because he thought it might distract her from school. While discipline and dedication are ...