Pat Summitt: A Gift to Love

The things Coach Summitt did for women's basketball and basketball as a whole will last a lifetime!

She carried this passage in her planner.  Great thoughts for everyone in leadership

You can love me, but only I can make me happy.
You can teach me, but only I can do the learning.
You can lead me, but only I can walk the path.
You can promote me, but I have to succeed.
You can coach me, but I have to win the game.
You can pity me, but I have to bear the sorrow.
For the Gift of Love is not a food that feeds me
It is the sunshine that nourished that which I must finally harvest for myself.
So if you love me don't just sing me your song
Teach me to sing, for when I am alone
I will need the melody.

Dan Baker

Basketball: The Don Meyer Way

Got to give a shout out to Terry Fowler Head Womens Basketball Coach at the University of North Alabama.  I borrowed this DVD for him and gained more knowledge into the mind of Coach Don Meyer.  Coach Meyer did a unbelievable job building programs and developing great young men.  If you havent seen this DVD its worth taking the time to watch.  The following comes from the very end after a win Coach Meyer gave this handout to his team:

When victory is achieved, that feeling can be overwhelming.  Keep your common sense about you and be gracious.  Silence is often the best tactic after you win.  If you must talk, praise your opponent and praise your teammates.  Never praise yourself.

Why do so many athletes feel the need to tell everyone what happened-how they won, how well they performed?  If you win, if you are good, people will see it.  They will know without you telling them.  Your job is to perform, not report.

Self praise is for losers.  Be a winner.  Stand for something.  Always have class and be humble.

The most important thing to do after winning is to get right back to work.  Winning can actually become a negative if you become satisfied with yourself.  Even in victory be critical.  Look for mistakes you might have made.  Never be completely satisfied always search for ways to improve.

My biggest guard is against becoming to satisfied when we win.  There are many times when you have to put the joy of winning behind you and look ahead to what really is uncertainty.

John Madden

Making Tough Decisions

Just finished reading Talent is Never Enough by John Maxwell.  Great motivational book and causes you to evaluate yourself.  The following comes from the Chapter on Responsibility Strengthens Your Talent.

Most people have a tough decision in their jobs or personal lives that is waiting to be made.  They put if off ad put it off.  What's yours?  Why aren't you taking action?  Write the reasons so that you know without a doubt what they are.  Now write down the advantages of making the decision.  Are there any clear, concrete, and compelling reasons for putting off the decision?  If so, write them down.  At this point, you know in your heart what you should do.  Do it, and stand by it.

Muhammad Ali

To become one of the best at whatever you do you must be able to fight through adversity. Stick with your plan and keep striving to be the best day after day. Muhammad Ali, nicknamed "The Greatest" said, "Champions arent made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them-a desire, a dream, a vision."

Buzz Williams: Marquette Program Organization

Coach Williams has done a great job keeping the Marquette program on top. His story of working his way from a guy begging for a job to a high major D1 coach is well documented. He shows by working hard things work out in your favor.

Character Revealed

1. Life Lessons: Every player in the program meets on Sundays during the off season for 1 hour and 18 minutes and discusses life. Led by Coach Williams

2. Story Time: The night before every game Coach Williams tells the team a story. Helps to calm his nerves

3. Boot Camp: Takes place 15 days before the start of practice. This is a emotionally draining series of conditioning drills done without a basketball. Players choose teams each day so it is competitive and requires thinking and strategy. "This is when we become a team." Players who do not complete boot camp for whatever reason do not get practice gear until it is completed.

4. The words we use: A set of vocabulary words that becomes the language among those in the program. All players and coaches speak this language so everything is consistent and clear.

*If a blind man sat courtside at your practice What would he hear?

Don Meyer: Secrets to Building a Championship Basketball Program

When it comes to building a championship program and doing it the RIGHT way Don Meyer is the best in the business to study. He built his programs with fundamentals and hard work. Every opportunity I get to spend some time reviewing notes from his clinics or program I do so.

Try to get all the good ideas you can, understand you cannot use all the good ideas.

Write everything down that you can and then decide what will fit your program, personality, you personnel, your state, your religion, and your league.

3 Requirements:

1) Everybody takes notes. The richest 500 people in the US shared the fact they take great notes.
2) Everybody is courteous. Must say thank you, please, yes sir, no sir. When you are courteous it pays and when you are discourteous you pay. Every person that is part of an organization that comes into contact with the public is a salesman. Every person in your program is a salesman and you have to teach everyone in your program to be courteous. If everyone is not courteous your program is going to pay.
3) Everyone picks up trash. You leave the locker room cleaner than you found it. On the great teams, everyone does the dirty jobs. Everyone has to do the dirty jobs on great teams starting with the coaches.

Wooden: "You can always do it better." You can never be satisfied. Never let the players or coaches become satisfied becase you can always do it better.

Keeping a Personal Edge as a Coach
You have to have time by yourself to have that edge. You got to have solitude. You got family, you got coaching, and you got that third place where nobody can get to you. This place is where you can study, think, or pray. You pray first for others then yourself.

The beginning of wisdom is to know that you are not so smart. Humilit comes before honor.

Wise people are humble.

You can never retire. You have to find something to occupy yourself for entire life. The saddest day of your life is when you are no longer productive. You have got to keep an edge.

If you do not have leadership at the top, your program is in terrible shape. We know what leadership is by the absence of it.

Talent always rises to the top. Having a team, always stay at the top. A man bent on revenge must first dig two graves.

It pays to be a winner.

Coach Wooden would bring in his leaders of his team and say three things:
1) You have to be our hardest workers.
2) You have to take care of stuff off the floor.
3) Leave everything else to the coaches.

If your best player is not your hardest worker it will be a miserable year even if you win it all.

You need to know on your team who your players would put in a foxhole with them. You do not put someone in your foxhole you do not really trust.

Jimmy Dykes: Thoughts

Here are a few notes I complied from ESPN basketball analyst Jimmy Dykes.

1. Coaches want "Everyday" Players. Play hard every possession. Go to class every day. Do the right thing all of the time.

2. Coaches must look at themselves first after game. What did I not get done to prepare?

3. If you are not tough, you will not win consistently! Get loose balls. Refuse to get screened. Don't let one mistake compound.

4. If you can't talk it-You can't execute it.

5. You must score consistently from 3 areas: Free throw line. Around the basket Open shots

6. Quality of our shots vs. quality of our opponent's shots determines W's and L's

7. Cut with a purpose. Cut like you are going to get the ball!

8. Must shoot 30% or better from the 3 point line.

9. It's not the number of plays you run, it's how well you run them that matters. Execution is everything.

10. Great players embrace contact and get through it. They make plays regardless.

11. Protect against straight line drives to the basket. Guard your yard.

12. Contain the ball in the middle third of the floor.

13. Communicate on all ball screens

14. Any form of selfishness must leave. It can't be tolerated! On Court. Off court

15. Substitutions. Trust their effort. Trust their memory. Trust their talent.

16. Emphasize who you are every practice and every game. Create and maintain an identity

17. Everything in your program is either taught or it's allowed.

18. Fix problems immediately. Don't let something small turn into something big.

19. Work them as hard as you are willing to love them.

20. Hold everyone in your program accountable for everything they do. Yourself. Staff. Players

I have learned that faith means trusting in advance, what only makes sense in reverse.

Michael Jordan on Leading by Example

It comes down to a very simple saying: There is a right way and a wrong way to do things. You can practice shooting 8 hours a day, but if your technique is wrong, then all you become is very good at shooting the wrong way.

If you dont back it up with performance and hard work, talking doesnt mean a thing.

I've always tried to lead by example. That is just my personality. I never led vocally. I never really tried to motivate by talking because I dont think words ever mean as much as actions.

They always say a picture carries a thousand words. So I tried to paint a picture of hard work and discipline.

But a leader has to earn that title. You aren't the leader just because you're the best player on the team, the smartest person in the class, or the most popular. No one can give you that title either. You have to gain the respect of those around you by your actions. You have to be consistent in your approach whether it's basketball practice, a sales meeting, or dealing with your family.

A leader can't make any excuses. There has to be quality in everything you do. Off the court, on the court, in the classroom, on the playground, inside the meeting room, outside of work. You have to transfer those skills, that drive, to whatever environment you're in. And you have to be willing to sacrifice certain individual goals, if necessary, for the good of the team.

Tom Izzo: Success

Do you know what Michigan State Head Coach Tom Izzo had his team do at their first practice of the 1999-2000 season? No shooting drills. No ball handling drills. No defense, no rebounding, no passing, and no sprints. At the first practice he had his players practice cutting down the nets. That's right, they practiced cutting down the nets! It must have worked because less than 6 months later Coach Izzo and the Spartans did cut down the nets at the RCA Dome after they beat Florida for the national title. Success can be a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Anthony Davis Dad: Words of Wisdom

Neat Story:

The following comes from author and motivational speaker Don Yaegar: So as we were wrapping up the National Player of the Year presentation to Anthony Davis, a father and son approached Davis's parents and the father asked Mr. Davis if he could offer any advice that might help his 11 year old become as special as Anthony. Mr Davis said: "Listen to your father and appreciate that he's part of your life. Not enough young men like you have that. Let that give you an advantage." As they walked away, the father had a tear in his eye. Nothing better than those unscripted moments.

Muffet McGraw

Tonight Notre Dame tries to end Baylor's perfect season in the national title game. Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw has done a outstanding job this season knocking off UCONN three times. The following is her statement on chemistry: "It's difficult for me to respect anyone who tries to undermine the team, and, unfortunately, it only takes one player with a bad attitude to destroy team chemistry."

Bob Starkey: Getting Caught up on your Reading Materials

One of my daily readings is to check UCF assistant basketball coach Bob Starkey's website. His blog http://hoopthoughts.blogspot.com is a great resource. The website site is a great tool for everyone involved in leadership or motivational job. Check it out.

Today my blog is going to be a recent post Coach Starkey put out about catching up on your reading. He had the opportunity to learn from the former LSU coach Dale Brown.

In the busy world of coaching, it is sometimes difficult to keep up on my reading material. There are articles in magazines but even more importantly there is a ton of information on the internet. The question is when to read everything. An idea I got from Dale Brown, the most avid reader I've known, is to keep a file with everything you'd like to read and carry it with you on the road. Down time in a terminal, flight, bus ride or hotel stay can allow you to catch up on your reading. I keep a manilla folder in my desk drawer and when I come across a magazine article I tear it out and place it there. Same with internet articles print them and place them in the folder. Then when I hit the road I place it in my back pack and take advantage of travel time to get caught up on my reading. Of course highlighting and underlining important passages as Coach Brown also taught me.

George Raveling: Achieving Success

Its been a couple of weeks since my last blog post. Today I am going to share a few of my notes from Coach Raveling talk about Achieving Success. He spoke at this past summers Coaching U Live event. If you are not receiving their emailed newsletters check out their website.
*Make a way out of a no way.
*Its a partnership a shared responsibility.
*Never forget how you got to where you are.
*Take the road less traveled.
*Dare to be Great. Step outside the crowd.
*If not you WHO? If not now WHEN?
*Be a innovator. Do things differently.
*Never forget the importance of having friends in high places.
*Always plant a lot of flowers on the way up because you will have to pick them on the way down.
*The person who talks the most get the least information.
*Get your face in front of the right people at the right time.
*The best decisions in life are made from a balanced perspective. Dont build walls around yourself.
*The minute your bosses leave you better look to leave.
*The true test of a relationship is how you deal with the relationship in a time of crisis.
*The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow, but do good anyway.
*Honesty and frankness will make you vulnerable. But be honest anyway.
*What you spend years building can be destroyed over night, but build anyway.