A Coach's Diary

So I just received an interesting message from a friend asking me to, in a short phrase (sentence or two), explain the type of coach that I am.  While I know exactly who I am as a coach, at least at this point in my career, being able to express it in a sentence or two was very difficult.  Here is what I cam up with: ENERGY and ENTHUSIASM are the two things I try to bring every day to the court – I get guys going and get them to see how fun the game is and how lucky we are to be a part of it.  I’m also a TEACHER – I want guys to know HOW to play the right way and I teach guys the fundamentals needed to execute consistently at a high level and I teach them how to see the game, not just play.   I’m also a big RELATIONSHIP guy – I think that is the thing that I do the best.   One of my favorite quotes is: “The leader sees things through the eyes of his followers; he puts himself in their shoes and helps them make their dreams come true.”   I try to see what ...

In coaching and in education, we hear so much about 'these kids these days' and how they lack respect, work ethic, motivation, etc.  We here about how 'back in our day,' kids worked hard, were respectful, did what they were expected to do, etc. Instead of dwelling on the problem, how can we be part of the solution? The work of philosopher Socrates, who was born in 469 BC, shows us that maybe the youth hasn't changed as much as we would like to think.  He lamented even during his days that the future generations would be in shambles because kids do not respect elders and that they were not motivated.  He was concerned for their love of luxury and their lack of manners.  He said that they showed little respect for the law, and that they had decaying morals.  He saw no hope for the future because of the recklessness, lack of respect, and lack of restraint and discretion by the youth of the times. Are our kids perfect?  No, but they are kids, a...

When asked how long it would take to win: "We'll be good when we're good.  My goal is to win right now." "Talk is cheap right now - we have to get to work.  My teams are going to play hard, they're going to play with enthusiasm, they're going to play with great intensity."  We competed in everything we did, from practice to teaching to showing up early.  We worked to gain confidence and erase fear by practicing for every contingency.  And we stayed constantly focused on maximizing the potential of everyone in the organization.  We applied ourselves and our philosophy diligently, and we started to win. http://www.amazon.com/Win-Forever-Live-Work-Champion/dp/1591844169 Carroll, Pete.  (2011).   Win Forever.   New York: The Penguin Group.

This excerpt is from the book by Pete Carroll title "Win Forever."  In these two paragraphs, he talks about the importance of everybody in the organization being unified and on the same page. I left the NFL knowing that wherever I ended up next, my job would be to coach every part of the organization and be sure that we all had one heartbeat, one voice.  I now understand that different cultures could exist in the front and back offices, but to succeed, these elements need to be in sync.  A head coach should be able to hire his own coaching staff if he wants a cohesive unit and also have a strong hand in selecting players.  Confidence and trust are vital to a successful organization, and leadership must be supported unconditionally - to the bitter end, if necessary. Ultimately, I learned that success in the NFL depends on all parts of the organization working together to field a championship team.  The competition is so intense and the level of expertise so...

This article was borrowed from Education Week Teacher at http://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2014/05/27/ctq_barile_motivating.html?cmp=ENL-TU-NEWS1 By Nancy Barile One of my favorite things about Facebook is that it allows me to connect with my former students. However, I was surprised when one student in particular—Eddie Scofield—friend-ed me three years ago. Eddie and I had a fairly contentious relationship when he was my student in senior English class in 2008. There were 35 students in that class, most of whom had a mix of behavioral and academic issues. Eddie distinguished himself almost immediately as the trouble making ringleader. On any given day he could be argumentative, sarcastic, oppositional, sometimes lazy, and definitely mischievous. After the first couple of weeks with Eddie, I was pulling my hair out. I was thinking of ways to get him switched out of my class. But a couple of effective strategies changed our relationship—and I did...

The Five Year Fantasy All great leaders have vision and know what they want out of their work, their family, and their life.  You are what you think about, so we have to create a vision for our lives that will help us keep our thoughts and focus on our success. The first step to success is taking the time to sit down think about exactly what you want to be and what your life will look like and feel like if everything worked out perfectly. L ong-Time Perspective Long-time perspective is the ability to look into our future while making decisions in the present.  We will use long-time perspective to plan out our next five years.   The Acton Plan Over the next few days to a week, we will plan out our five year plan for our career, our finances, our family life, our health and fitness, and our impact on our community and the world. This is the blueprint that can change your life.    5 years from now, you can look back on th...