There are a million different ways to win a basketball game. There are countless offensive systems and defensive systems. What's the best method?
In my opinion, the power of your belief in a system is more important than the system you run.
I found this great quote from a recent Urban Meyer interview: "What's special about Chip Kelly is not that he runs an up-tempo, no huddle offense, its that he has every single person in that organization from the top down believing that's the best way to win a football game.""
John Wooden, famous coach of the UCLA men's basketball team, would tell his teams that they are the BEST conditioned basketball team in the country. Later, in interviews, he would admit that he wasn't sure if this was true; however, he trained his athletes (mentally and physically) to believe that was true. And you know what? They believed their coach. At the end of close games they would muster extra strength drawn from their belief that they were in better shape than their opponent.
I can convince a player that getting up at 6am to do a workout is better than doing a workout at 3pm because I strongly believe that is true. On one hand, someone may say that a workout is a workout- doesn't matter what time you start and the content will be the same. I look at it like this: it's 6am on the East Coast so that means it's 3am in California. How many people do you think are up right now working on their game? Maybe a few, probably not many. I would also sell the aspect of discipline, work ethic, extra time in the gym, commitment and a display of passion when running 6am workouts with someone. I think I can get a player to believe they are better when they work out at 6am as opposed to 3pm because that's what I believe....and I believe in that strongly.
A good salesman believes in their product with 100% mind, body and spirit. A great coach must find a system of play that fits their team's personnel, but equally as important, matches the coach's fundamental beliefs and values.
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