A Coach's Diary

"Just keep stacking days. As long as you keep stacking days, I promise you will see the change.” - Chris Paul Do you want to know how to get better or find success? Stack days. Consistency is either the thing that pushes athletes past walls, obstacles, or barriers, or the thing that keeps them stuck. Despite not being very tall at all, Chris Paul is one of the best point guards to ever play basketball. He once said, “Just keep stacking days. As long as you keep stacking days, I promise you will see the change.” I see too many athletes — too many people — quit too soon because things don’t go their way immediately. I’ve also seen athletes who were the worst on the team become the best because they consistently worked on their games. Like Paul said, they kept stacking days and change came. He also said one of his coaches told him, “Everything you want is on the other side of hard,” and, “Reps remove doubt.” Getting better and having confidence is simple: Find somethi...

"When the game is over I just want to look at myself in the mirror, win or lose, and know I gave it everything I had.” - Joe Montana When you look at yourself at the end of the workout or game, what do you think? Joe Montana was a Hall of Fame quarterback who is famous for orchestrating incredible game-winning drives, including “The Catch” in the 1981 NFC Championship, and is often cited as a model of leadership, precision, and calmness in high-pressure moments. He once said, “When the game is over I just want to look at myself in the mirror, win or lose, and know I gave it everything I had.” Joe Montana’s nickname was Joe Cool because of his composure in high-pressure moments and his ability to come through in the clutch. It was also about his mindset and mental toughness. He didn’t let nerves, fear, or pressure affect his focus or decision-making. When you are prepared and give everything you have in practice and throughout the game, you earn the privilege to be cool, calm, and ...

"You can be driven. But be driven in a way that you can enjoy the journey.” - Cheryl Miller Do you ever put so much pressure on yourself that you stop enjoying the journey? To be great at anything you have to be driven. Being driven means having an inner push or determination that keeps you moving toward your goals, even when things get hard. It’s more than just wanting something—it’s the discipline and motivation to keep working for it. Cheryl Miller is considered by many to be the best female basketball players of all time. She once said, “You can be driven. But be driven in a way that you can enjoy the journey.” It’s good to have high standards, big goals, and strong motivation. Drive is what pushes you forward, but ambition shouldn’t make you miserable. If you’re so focused on success that you never stop to appreciate the progress, relationships, or experiences along the way, you’ll burn out. Pursue greatness without losing your joy. Cheryl also said, “I wasn’t the greatest at...

“I don’t care who gets the credit. I care about creating the best possible work.” - Shane Parrish Would you rather be right or get it right? Have you ever known you were wrong, but your ego prevented you from admitting it? When I was an assistant college basketball coach, my success was tied to the 18-year-olds I helped evaluate, recruit, sign, and develop. If I was the guy who signed and developed an All-American, it could help me move into a bigger and better opportunity, so we would fight to sign our kid. The challenge was there were a limited number of scholarships you can offer, so if you miss on a kid, you are stuck with that bad decision for an entire year. This forces you to put outcomes over ego, because the last thing you want is to have a bad year because you signed a kid who wasn’t good enough and stuck with him just so you could be right. Author Shane Parrish says we can make better decisions that lead to more success when we put outcomes over egos. He said, “One big mist...

"Every day, someone realizes a dream. I believe dreams help light our darkness and give us the push we need to move across the rink of life." - Kristi Yamaguchi Hope is the expectation that something good is going to happen to you and through you. When you have hope, you can have optimism, motivation, and inspiration no matter what is going on around you. When you don’t, it’s hard to find that same spark. Kristi Yamaguchi was an Olympic figure skater who had to overcome many challenges, including being born with a clubfoot, on her way to becoming a gold medalist. In her book, Always Dream, Kristi wrote, "Every day, someone realizes a dream. I believe dreams help light our darkness and give us the push we need to move across the rink of life." If your dreams, goals, and aspirations are big enough, they can guide through any challenge. For Yamaguchi, a dream isn't just a distant hope; it's a powerful source of motivation that can help you overcome obstacles. S...

"When I started swimming again two years ago, it felt like I was starting from scratch. My mindset was that every time I swam, it was going to get easier—and it did. When you're working toward a fitness goal, you just need to start. It's not going to be pretty; your body is going to scream at you, but each time you'll get better." - Janet Evans How hard is it for you to get back in shape or come back from a break? Janet Evans is a former American competitive swimmer and one of the most decorated distance swimmers in history. She won four Olympic gold medals and one silver across the 1988, 1992, and 1996 Games, specializing in the 400m, 800m, and 1500m freestyle. She is remembered for her grit, consistency, and determination—qualities that made her a role model for athletes worldwide. Evans retired after the 1996 Olympics, and tried to make a comeback for the 2012 Olympics, but didn’t make it. While preparing for her comeback, Evans said, "When I started swimm...

“That's a part that's always a challenge for athletes: trying to keep the passion alive while knowing it's still your job.” - Landon Donovan How do you keep your love and passion for something while sacrificing and working as hard as it takes to be great at it? Success requires a lot. It requires a lot of time, energy, and effort. It requires so much, that the task of becoming great can steal the love and joy you have for it. Think about it. You usually start doing something because you enjoy it. Then you want to do it more because you start to really like it. Then, you get good at it, and want to go from good to great. But that transition is when it stops being fun for a lot of people and becomes a job. Landon Donovan has scored as many goals as any man who has played soccer for our US Men’s National team. He once said, “That's a part that's always a challenge for athletes: trying to keep the passion alive while knowing it's still your job.” How do you keep the...