Quote of the Day:

The noblest search is the search for excellence – Lyndon B. Johnson

You don't "have to"; you "get to".

Here is a link to a great post written by Michael Hyatt entitled "How a Shift in Your Vocabulary Can Instantly Change Your Attitude"- click here.

Quote of the Day:

You need to be aware of what others are doing, applaud their efforts, acknowledge their successes, and encourage them in their pursuits. When we all help one another, everybody wins. – Jim Stovall

3 Ways to Build Team Trust

Another great blog post by Stephanie Zonars (www.LifeBeyondSport.com)!!

As I gathered with a team for a Building Trust workshop last weekend, the assistant coach roamed around the room with a small box collecting cell phones. I’ve heard about coaches doing this, but it hadn’t happened at one of my workshops yet. Got me thinking about the impact of technology on relationships.


We’ve experienced the upside. Facebook has connected us with long lost friends and family. Texting makes it easy to communicate basic information quickly. Twitter even saved some lives in the Haiti earthquake.
 
But for all the benefits, electronic communication alone will not result in strong, healthy, trusting relationships. The youngest of Generation Y (born after 1990 and referred to by Tim Elmore as Generation iY) seem to lack patience as well as listening and conflict resolution skills—all of which are required to build relational trust.

I’ve noticed, however, that when given the opportunity to connect face-to-face, young people do engage. In fact, the high school and college teams I work with share with courage and vulnerability. Seems that it’s less a function of willingness and more a response to environment.

Our world is moving so fast, we must proactively work to slow it down and create an atmosphere for the individuals on our teams to feel comfortable sharing. Three practical ways you can do this on your team:

Model the behavior you want. If you want your team to put their phones away and talk to one another, show them how. Refuse to check your phone when you are in the middle of an in-person conversation. Answer it when your athlete or co-worker is in the midst of a heartfelt disclosure and you can bet they won’t readily open up to you again.

Institute tech-free zones. Make team functions tech-free zones. Meals together, game nights, bus rides—make some of these tech-free times and opportunities to interact face-to-face. Keep it playful and your team may not even notice the absence of their tech toys.

Ask questions. Your team members want to know that you care about more than just their performance. Take time to ask them about their families, dreams and experiences. People like to talk about themselves, and you’ll be amazed at what you’ll learn! Can’t think of what to ask? Check out these great questions.

Building trusting relationships isn’t hard, but it takes time. If you want a trusting team it’s going to take intentional time, effort and creativity.

Coach K's Most Important Ingredient for Success

-Post written by Stephanie Zonars (www.LifeBeyondSport.com)

Coach Mike Krzyzewski won his 903rd game a week ago, surpassing Bobby Knight as the winningest coach in men’s collegiate basketball. (Basketball super-fans know that Pat Summitt holds the overall coaching record with 1,071 and counting).

Amazing accomplishment for Coach K! He’s built the strong, winning tradition of Duke basketball through qualities like dedication, hard work and perseverance. Yet, when asked after the win for the single most important characteristic for a coach to have in order to achieve success, Coach K said “trustworthiness.”

With the myriad of answers he could have given, he says trustworthiness? Yes. And I couldn’t agree more.

Trust to a team is like the foundation of a house. If you build a house on a foundation that’s been poured correctly, when the storms come up against that house it will still stand. But if your foundation has cracks and fissures, the rain and wind will tear your house apart.

Same is true for your team. If you create strong team trust, your team will stand in the face of adversity like injuries, losses or other drama. But if your team trust has cracks and fissures, the tough times will tear it apart.

3 ways to build Team Trust: http://lifebeyondsport.com/2011/02/3-ways-to-build-team-trust/

Quote of the Day:

In the business world, everyone is paid in two coins: cash and experience. Take the experience first; the cash will come later. – Harold Geneen

Recruiting: Horse Race or Beauty Pageant?

GREAT article from Dan Tudor (www.DanTudor.com):

Your Recruiting Strategy: Horse Race or Beauty Pageant?

One of our clients alled a couple of weeks ago, and she was worried.
A couple of her new recruits hadn’t responded to her first two emails and was wondering if we needed to highlight more of the things her Division I college had to offer their students and athletes.
“I’m worried if we don’t out-shine a couple of our other competitors soon, we won’t be able to get her on campus this Spring”, said the coach.
What I told her is what I want to tell you:
Recruiting isn’t a beauty pageant, it’s a horse race.
Here’s what I mean:
A beauty pageant is all about picking who looks the best, and who presents themselves the most convincingly to the judges.  Now I’ll admit, there are some recruits who fall into this category…they’ll pick a program using the most basic criteria:  How new your facility is, how big of a conference you play in, or strictly based upon something that they want for themselves.
The beauty pageant prospect is the toughest to land because they are making choices based on assumptions and stories that they’ve already defined for themselves:  The decision that they “deserve” to play in the best facility…what your conference will say to their friends and teammates back home…or some other off-the-wall criteria that they usually don’t reveal until they’ve already made their decision.
In short, if you’re recruiting a prospect like you’re judging a beauty pageant – which many coaches choose to do – then you’ll going to experience a tough road when it comes to recruiting great athletes for your program:  Your results will be random, and while you will experience some incredible highs when your prospect decides your program is the most “beautiful” in their eyes, there will also be far more soul-crushing defeats when they decide they don’t like the way you look.
If you’re interested in another way to approach recruiting, you should think about recruiting as a horse race.
Why a “horse race”?  Because the more I observe recruiting at different levels, the coaches that take a horse racing approach usually have more consistent, more reliable results.
Here’s why successful recruiting resembles a horse race:

• Everyone starts evenly right out of the gate.
• There are always two or three horses that jump out into the lead right away, and take a position along the rail.  If you’re one of those top three, great.  If you aren’t, don’t panic.  Find your spot and settle in for the race (remember, it just started a few seconds ago!)
• This is where things get interesting: Before they field makes the first turn, horses start dropping out.  Usually that’s because those “horses” don’t hear back from their recruits right away.  They haven’t filled-out their questionaire, or returned the first email.  Due to that lack of interest, they drop out of the race for that prospect.  My recommendation to you is to not be one of those drop-outs!
• The longer you stay up with the leaders, the more you’ll be viewed as a serious consideration by your recruit.  As you enter the halfway point in your recruiting efforts, stay consistent and understand that there’s still a long way to go in the mind of your recruit.
• What gets it done “down the stretch”?   Outlining the differences between your program and the others still in the race.  The more radical and unique the differences, the better your chances of jumping out into the lead.
• Want to make sure you win at the finish line?  Stay connected and talk with your prospect regularly.  It is extremely important, Coach.  The worst thing we see a coach do is step back and leave the prospect alone to make their final decision.  Guide them down the stretch…that’s what they want.

Beauty pageants are random, and produce subjective results that rarely make anyone but the winner happy.
Horse races are about preparation, strategy and strength down the stretch.
My main point: You can choose the strategy that fits you best, but what I see working most consistently with programs around the country is a strategy based on a long term approach that doesn’t necessitate immediate interest from high profile prospects, but instead relies upon a consistent, compelling and creative message that forces them to take serious look at you and your program.

Quote of the Day:

It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change. – Charles Darwin

Making & Breaking Habits

 The hard must become habit.  The habit must become easy.  The easy must become beautiful.  ~Doug Henning

We are all creatures of habit; basketball players are no different.

Using the left hand on the left side of the backboard...applying ball pressure...sprinting the lanes...boxing out. All of these are habits that can be established or demolished.

Coaches get frustrated when players continuously do the same (wrong) thing over and over again. How do you break the chain?

The answer is simple but the time and focus on the process of forming a new habit is the challenging piece. First, I have a basic philosophy that I cannot hold players accountable for something that I have not taught and drilled. For example- boxing out. Sure, you can preach boxing out for 3 hours every day at practice and discipline the team if they fail to box out. What kind of results will this get you if you do not actively practice boxing out and follow through with reminders? Not what you are looking for I bet.

To truly form new habits for players, you must drill boxing out every day AND make it a point of emphasis during scrimmages, positional work, etc. I'm in favor of having a visual cue at practice with 6 or 7 "priorities" for play on the court that you and the players can constantly glance over at to remind everyone of what is expected (ie, ball pressure, boxing out, communication, etc.).

So, if you want better close outs- drill close outs everyday for 3 or 5 minutes. If you want better ball pressure, then drill ball pressure every day.

EVERY DAY.

I read this story in one of John Wooden's books: members of the media attended UCLA's open practice at the NCAA Championship game. They were surprised to see that 25% of the practice was dedicated to really basic fundamentals: catching and shooting without a basketball, slow and steady defensive slides, ball handling and basic transition drills. The reporters asked Coach Wooden why his team was practicing such elementary drills and his reply indicated that one of the reasons his team was in the Championship game was by perfecting the basic fundamentals of the game by practicing them every day.

EVERY DAY.

Quote of the Day:

Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve. Thoughts are things! And powerful things at that, when mixed with definiteness of purpose, and burning desire, can be translated into riches. – Napoleon Hill

Quote of the Day:

"We first make our habits, then our habits make us.  Habits, good or bad, begin as innocent companions.  Later they become our masters."

"Everybody works hard when the feel like it, but only the best do it when they don't feel like it."

- Peter Vidmar, 2-time olympic gold medalist, gymnastics.

Quote of the Day:

Winning is not a sometime thing; it’s an all time thing. You don’t win once in a while, you don’t do things right once in a while, you do them right all the time. Winning is habit. Unfortunately, so is losing. – Vince Lombardi

Quote of the Day:

To think is easy. To act is difficult. To act as one thinks is the most difficult. – Johann Wolfgang Von Goeth

Quote of the Day:

Leadership is a potent combination of strategy and character. But if you must be without one, be without the strategy. – Norman Schwarzkopf

Quote of the Day:

The critical ingredient is getting off your butt and doing something. It’s as simple as that. A lot of people have ideas, but there are few who decide to do something about them now. Not tomorrow. Not next week. But today. The true entrepreneur is a doer, not a dreamer. – Nolan Bushnell

Culture beats strategy...All day long!

How Do You Weigh Strategy, Execution, and Culture in an Organization's Success? -Article from Harvard Business School by Jim Heskett

Strategy, execution, and culture: Do we have our priorities right? 

"An outstanding strategy weakly executed will always be trumped by a weak strategy with outstanding execution.

What if you had a plan to be president of the USA? You could have a perfect plan. A brilliant one! One, that if put on practice, it would give you a 100% chance of being the next president of the USA.

There is a catch. It's extremely hard to accomplish and you can't do it alone. Actually, you need the best people available, you all have to be believe you can do it and above all, you have to learn how to work together.

Other than that, the plan is perfect.

It's all about people. It's all about making ideas become reality.

Reality is made of people, doing small things, every day. It's not about abstract ideas that in the realm of imagination look good.

Is strategy good? Of course it is. It gives us a goal, direction, things to care about, helps us to work together.

But it's not everything. And actually, it's not even a must.

You can win without a strategy. You could be lucky. You could have other people who care about you and help you in your objectives. Your competitors could make the wrong choices.

There are an infinitude of variables that just makes every good strategy a good guess.

Strategy gives you an edge, but it's nothing without people (culture).

Quote of the Day:

"Culture beats strategy all day long."-Apple

(Creating a positive culture) is the most important thing a leader can do because culture drives behavior, behavior drives habits and habits create the future.

CyberMonday: Patagonia says "Don't buy (our) jacket!"

A post that is much more important the athletics: the impact of consumerism on the environment.

Patagonia sent me this email today (with the subject "Don't buy this jacket"):

Today is Cyber Monday. It will likely be the biggest online shopping day ever. Cyber Monday was created by the National Retail Federation in 2005 to focus media and public attention on online shopping. But Cyber Monday, and the culture of consumption it reflects, puts the economy of natural systems that support all life firmly in the red. We're now using the resources of one-and-a-half planets on our one and only planet.
Because Patagonia wants to be in business for a good long time – and leave a world inhabitable for our kids – we want to do the opposite of every other business today. We ask you to buy less and to reflect before you spend a dime on this jacket or anything else.
Environmental bankruptcy, as with corporate bankruptcy, can happen very slowly, then all of a sudden. This is what we face unless we slow down, then reverse the damage. We're running short on fresh water, topsoil, fisheries, wetlands – all our planet's natural systems and resources that support business, and life, including our own.
The environmental cost of everything we make is astonishing. Consider the R2® Jacket shown, one of our best sellers. To make it required 135 liters of water, enough to meet the daily needs (three glasses a day) of 45 people. Its journey from its origin as 60% recycled polyester to our Reno warehouse generated nearly 20 pounds of carbon dioxide, 24 times the weight of the finished product. This jacket left behind, on its way to Reno, two-thirds its weight in waste.
And this is a 60% recycled polyester jacket, knit and sewn to a high standard; it is exceptionally durable, so you won't have to replace it as often. And when it comes to the end of its useful life we'll take it back to recycle into a product of equal value. But, as is true of all the things we can make and you can buy, this jacket comes with an environmental cost higher than its price.
There is much to be done and plenty for us all to do. Don't buy what you don't need.

Book Giveaway!

To enter, simply RETWEET, REPOST, SHARE on Facebook or  FOLLOW OvertimeHoops.com blog.

This book has been on my "to-read" list for quite some time. By mistake I received 2 copies...so, what better time for another book giveaway?

Review:

From Stephen R. Covey's eldest son comes a revolutionary new path towards productivity and satisfaction. Trust, says Stephen M.R. Covey, is the very basis of the new global economy, and he shows how trust—and the speed at which it is established with clients, employees and constituents—is the essential ingredient for any high–performance, successful organization.

For business leaders and public figures in any arena, The Speed of Trust offers an unprecedented and eminently practical look at exactly how trust functions in our every transaction and relationship—from the most personal to the broadest, most indirect interaction—and how to establish trust immediately so that you and your organization can forego the time–killing, bureaucratic check–and–balance processes so often deployed in lieu of actual trust.

Quote of the Day:

"Don't be afraid to fail. The greatest failure of all is failure to act when action is needed. Use the information that you've acquired in the past through the experiences you've had and act with self-control; but act". -John Wooden

"Toughness" Drill

Quote of the Day:

Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat. " -Mother Teresa

Sport Nutrition Quick Hitters

Here are some "quick hitter" notes that I took down when Lesli Bonci spoke to the athletic department while I was working at Roger Williams University:

-After practice or competition, eat a snack within 15min! "Eat to Replete". Trail mix, nuts, bars, fruit.

-Gulp fluids, don't sip (quicker hydration).

-5hr energy/Redbull/Monster energy drinks are stimulation, NOT energy.

-If you drink 1 light beer after practice or competition, the effect will be a 24hr delay in body repair.

-"Performance Plate of Food" is 1/3 meat protein, 1/3 carbs (rice, bread, pasta), 1/3 fruit and veggies and chocolate milk for some extra protein and healthy fats.

-If you are cramping, if your sweat stings your eyes or you notice white rings on your clothing when your sweat dries, that is most likely a result of sodium (salt) deficiency. Eat soup or ramen noodles several hours before the game, pretzels and G2 before the game.

-Eat something to aid in recovery/energy boost during half time of your competition! Goo's, oranges or sugar cubes will work great.

Quote of the Day:

"The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing". -Anonymous

Quote of the Day:

"There are those who work all day. Those who dream all day. And those who spend an hour dreaming before setting to work to fulfill those dreams. Go into the third category because there's virtually no competition." -Steven J. Ross

My relationship with Kurt Budke

Terrible news this morning: Oklahoma St. women's basketball Head Coach Kurt Budke and Assistant Coach Miranda Serna were killed in a single-engine plane crash last night coming home from a recruiting trip.

I first met Kurt at the Final Four in St. Louis 2009. He was part of the "Male Coaches of Women's Basketball" presenter panel along side Tom Collins (head coach at Arkansas) and others. I took a copious amount of notes from Kurt's talk, which outlined his path in women's basketball- starting as a volunteer coach sleeping on his friends couch and painting houses for money.

That presentation really struck a chord in me and helped reinforce the words dedication, sacrifice and commitment.

I spoke with Kurt after the presentation and thanked him for his insight. We kept in touch, and I saw him again in November of 2010 as the University of Rhode Island played Oklahoma St. at the New Mexico tournament. I scouted OK St. and spent about 15-20 hours studying their plays, personnel and coaching style. It was great to see Kurt again in person and see his calm, methodical coaching style first hand.

Our paths crossed again at the Final Four in Indianapolis 2011. We saw each other several times throughout the weekend, always stopping to chat. It was one of those things where you go "geez, we keep running into each other- stop following me!". As fate has it, in the giant arena for the first 2 games of the Final Four, where is my seat assigned- right next to Kurt Budke!

I thoroughly enjoyed knowing Kurt- he was calm, intelligent and so grateful to be a head coach in a highly successful program. What I will miss most is his eagerness to help guide and mentor young coaches. His conversation was genuine; his demeanor gentle; his enthusiasm for women's basketball contagious. 

He will be missed.

Aspects of Peak Performance- Sport Psychology

My wife Christine has shared many great articles with me as she was getting her Master's Degree in Sport Psychology. Here's a great one:

Although peak performance at times may seem illusive, there are universal aspects of performing well. Loehr et al. (1995) found from research that athletes performing at peak levels are physically relaxed, mentally calm, and exhibit focused and flexible concentration, high energy, consistent motivation, and positive self-talk.

You might have experienced this yourself when you have been at your best. Sometimes it is referred to as "Flow" or "The Zone". Whatever term you use, when performing well in sports you most likely consistently develop the aspects mentioned above.

Csikszentmihalyi (1994) and Jackson and Csikszentmihalyi (1999) also state that peak performance is an altered state of consciousness where we experience performing without over analyzing. We just "flow" and react without getting caught between our ears. Because, in sports, often when we think we are then a second behind.

Csikszentmihalyi (1994) also found that peak peformance will contain aspects of playfulness, a feeling of being in control, concentration and highly focused attention, mental enjoyment of the activity for its own sake, a distorted sense of time, and a match between the challenge at hand and one's skills or confidence.

Peak performance in sports and other aspects of life has been actively researched for four to five decades. From this research we have the knowledge to enhance one's experiences throgh maximizing one's strengths and identifing one's weaknesses. We all can learn skills that allow us to be physically relaxed and mentally prepared even when competition and life get difficult.

Quote of the Day:

"Hard work spotlights the character of people. Some turn up their sleeves. Some turn up their noses, and some don't turn up at all." -Sam Ewing

13 Key Habits to Help You "Seize the Day" Part 2/2

From Success Magazine, Paul J. Meyer, 2009.

Part 2/2

7. Be a giver!


8. Be positive: Being positive has the potential to turn the worst situations into victories.


9. Smile a lot and laugh at life: Adversity is a stepping-stone, not a road block. Why not laugh in the midst of challenges?


10. Live life with enthusiasm: Why not give it your all?


11. Enjoy life!


12. Find a hobby you enjoy: Balance your work and with "personal" time spent with friends, family, or a hobby.


13. Look for people to help: Being a helper is so rewarding!

13 Key Habits to Help You "Seize the Day" Part 1/2

From Success Magazine, Paul J. Meyer, 2009.

Part 1/2

1. Be an inverted paranoid: Believe that the whole world is conspiring to do good things to you.

2. Be a quick forgiver: We don't have time to waste in unforgiveness.

3. Be optimistic: Believing the best of people and circumstances is a sure way to find the best.

4. Be thankful: Always give thanks for the blessings in our lives.

5. Be an encourager: Encouragers make you feel better, stronger and more capable of accomplishing something. Be that for someone.

6. Be spontaneous: Have a sense of urgency and a do-it-now attitude

Quote of the Day:

"Remember this your lifetime through,

tomorrow there will be more to do,

and failure waits for all who stay

with some success made yesterday.

Tomorrow you must try once more,

and even harder

than before."

-John Wooden

Quote of the Day:

from "InsideOut Coaching: How Sports Can Transform Lives" by Joe Ehrmann -->

"An InsideOut coach's answers are radically different from the responses our contemporary sports cultre expects, or rather, demands. An InsideOut coach resists the transactional impulses and asserts that the right way, indeed the only way, to coach young people is to seek to transform their sense of their own worth, talents, and value. An InsideOut coach sees a younger, developing version of himself or herself in every athlete and bases lesson plans, communication, and the very structure of the program on the obligation to transform the many young athletes who need connection, empathy, and guidance."

There is no magic forumla for success...

Success is determined hard work:

"In 1948, I began coaching basketball at UCLA. Each hour of practice we worked very hard. Each day we worked very hard. Each week we worked very hard. Each season we worked very hard. Four fourteen years we worked very hard and didn't win a national championship. However, a national championship was won in the fifteenth year. Another in the sixteenth. And eight more in the following ten years."

Quote of the Day:

“The best way to predict the future is to create it.” -Peter F. Drucke

Quote of the Day:

"Be more concerns with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others things you are". -John Wooden

Quote of the Day:

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit". -Aristotle

Quote of the Day:

-Loyalty-

"If you work for someone, in heavens name work for them: speak well of them and stand by the institution they represent. Remember, an ounce of loyalty is worth a pound of cleverness. If you must growl, condemn and eternally find fault, resign your position and when you are on the outside, damn to your heart's content....but as long as you are a part of the institution do not condemn it- if you do, the first high wind that comes along will blow you away, and probably you will never know why." -Elbert Hubbard

Communication: Do they know what to say?

A thought occurred to me last night after watching a great, high energy practice: we preach communication, and there was a lot of 'talk' during our practice, but do the kids know what to say?

For example, when moving from one drill to the next, there was a lot of “Let’s Go” or “Keep it up ladies”. That’s talk....and talk is better than silence...but is an even better communication something like “Here we go- fly drill- run wide ladies” or “ADVANTAGE basketball, let’s get lay-ups. Remember to v-cut” or “34 seconds, get it the first time, TOUCH THE PAINT!”?

That type of “pro-active” communication probably comes easier with natural leaders on the floor, but think of how effective communication between drills can set-up a higher awareness and inter-player accountability for the drills. 

If they don't know what to say, teach them what you want them to say.  

Quote of the Day:

"When you can't be on time, be early" -Unknown

10 Proven Teaching Methods for Coaches (Part 2 of 2)

 from Winning Hoops March/April 207

6. Effective Motivation
Find something positive to say ti every athlete at every practice. This satisfies the athlete's need for attention, recognition and appreciation. Be specific with your praise- specific praise is used to reinforce the "WHY" of pracitce. Always attempt to find more positives than negatives while constantly praising effort.

7. The Hoopla of Success
 When an athlete or team finally masters a skill or concept, don't hesitate to stop practice momentarily to recognize the achievment. Praise their effort and remind your players why master of the skill is so critical.

8. Model What You Preach
Most coaches talk to players about certain values and characteristics they hope to see in them. Coaches really are the best positive role models for these values. When stressing good sportsmanship, coach with honor, respect for the game, officials, etc. When stress tenacity, never give up on yourself with your athletes. And, when stressing organization, conduct practices that are structured. Players look to you for guidance, so don't say one thing and do the opposite.

9. Encourage Cross-Over Sports (for high school)
Coaches who are overzealous sometimes encourage their athletes to play only basketball on a year-round basis. This possibly leads to overuse injuries and burnout. Participating in other sports improves the way your athletes play basketball. The movements and skills required for many sports are similar. Consider the footwork necessary for soccer and basketball are almost identical.

10. Summary
Productive coaching is highly dependent on the coach's ability to teach basketball. Teaching isn't just blowing a whistle, barking out orders and heading home after a couple of hours. Being a good teacher takes time, effort, practice, patience and a passion to make a difference in the lives of your players.

Yesterday....

Quote of the Day:

"Remember this your lifetime through, 

tomorrow there will be more to do,

and failure waits for all who stay

with some success made yesterday,

tomorrow you must try once more,

and even harder

than before."

-John Wooden

10 Proven Teaching Methods for Coaches (Part 1 of 2)

"Productive coaches spend 75% of their time teaching the sport to their players and the other 25% of the time coaching."

1. Understand Your Passion For Basketball...First.
Before jumping into coaching, coaches first must understand their passion for the game. Having a high level of passion for basketball tremendously influences your energy, creativity and ability to motivate players. Passion is contagious. If one player, one assistant coach or you come to practice excited and fired up, that emotion and passion easily is passed onto every other member of the team.

2. Setting The Stage For Teaching.
Prior to the first practice, meet with your athletes and explain your role as a coach and teacher of basketball. Let them know your purpose is to help improve their athletic skills. Impress upon them that you care about them as people and that you are concerned about their lives even beyond athletics. Feeling cared about makes a player more coachable- effort and concentration increase. If you care enough about them, they'll walk through walls for you. Part of you caring is to work through players' mistakes. Tell them mistakes are part of the learning process and the only true mistakes are ones of lack of effort or concentration- both of which are easily corrected.

3. The Importance Of "WHY"!
Don't assume players know why you are asking them to practice a certain technique or to perform a skill drill. Explain how everything has a positive effect on their ability to play. Be as detailed as possible.

4. Fundamentals First, Then Complex.
Know the fundamentals of the sport you teach. This enables you to design practice for your players' appropriate skill level. It also becomes easier to assist an athlete who cannot perform a certain skill. After grasping the fundamentals, players move on to practice drills focusing on more than one skill at a time. Don't expect to each complex basketball skills to players that have not mastered the basics. 

5. Use The WHOLE-PART-WHOLE Method.
In anything you do- offense, defense, showing film or diagramming plays- this method is priceless. It is often necessary to teach skills in parts or steps. Once again, in-depth knowledge of fundamentals gives you an advantage. Teaching a skill in part keeps the player motivated because he or she is forming a mental checklist for performing the skill correctly (educators refer to this as "task-analysis"). Moving from one step to the next puts the focus on process and progress, which allows you to praise the player for grasping a skill and working with the player in areas that need more practice. A good barometer to know if a player is mastering a certain skill is to see if that player is teaching the skill to another teammate. 

Quote of the Day:

“Believe that the loose ball that you are chasing has your name on it.” -Coach K

Quote of the Day:

 "Spectacular achievement is always preceded by unspectacular preparation."

4 "MUST HAVES" in Your Drill Work

1. Weak Hand Development

2. Footwork and balance emphasis

3. Playing through contact

4. Contesting shots

-Kevin Eastman

The Theory of Two

It takes 2 minutes to show you a new skill.

It takes 2 weeks of practicing the skill before you are comfortable.

It takes 2 months of consistent practice and execution before it is "game ready".

Quote of the Day:

"Leadership is inspiring others to action"

Book Giveaway!

Remember to FOLLOW this blog by entering your email address in the box below the "Overtime" banner at the top of the page to enter to win Vince Lombardi's "WHAT IT TAKES TO BE #1".

Winner will be announced Friday.

9 Important Teaching Points for Your Drills

The following are notes from Morgan Wootten's Basketball Camp around 2005...these were given to Joe Wootten from Kevin Eastman (Boston Celtics Assistant Coach) and passed on to the camp staff:

1) Basketball is a game of inches (John Stockton; slow, but sure)- Attack ankles/Attack hips, etc.

2) Pound dribble for better handle on the basketball

3) Play the game low to high (on screens: cutter's shoulders should be at screener's hips. Quite a bit happens away from the ball so shooters, be ready on the catch to go up into your shot without hesitation)

4) It's a shoulders game (Posting up and defense)

5) Shoulder- Hip through contact

6) Feet first, ball second (go by- not around)

7) Find your feet on shots (if you have to look down to find yourself on the floor, don't shoot it!)

8) Use your eyes more: when setting screens, see back of defense's head, "eye" the game in setting yourself up in a scoring position)

9) Be ready for the next play

Quote of the Day:

"I am a great believer in LUCK: the harder I work, the more I have."

Quote of the Day:

"I can check the level of your honesty and commitment by the quality of your effort on the court.  You cannot separate sports from your life, no matter how hard you try.  Your personality shows up on the court.  Greed, indifference, whatever, it all shows up.  You cannot hide it. -Pete Carill

Steve Jobs on time & dreams

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary."

A Rebounder's Mentality

"It's not what you teach that's important; it's what you emphasize that counts".

That phrase rings true for me in many situations.

In the game of basketball, there is a ton of focus (and rightly so) on technique. We want our players to execute skills in the most efficient manner possible. Is there a point when this emphasis on technique becomes overbearing and the ?

I love this one simple rule of rebounding... "Rebound as if you were going to be rewarded $5,000 for every ball you track down".

Quote of the Day:

“Believe that the loose ball that you are chasing has your name on it.” -Coach K

Quote of the Day:

“Confrontation simply means meeting the truth head-on.” -Coach K

Quote of the Day:

"Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle" -Abraham Lincoln

Quote of the Day:

"Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be" -John Wooden

Sideline OOB Play for 3

Courtesy of FastModel and Maryland's Video Coordinator Mike Bowden (http://www.fastmodelsports.com/playoftheday/?article_id=277)

Book Giveaway!

I'm giving away "WHAT IT TAKES TO BE #1: Vince Lombardi on Leadership". To enter, simply subscribe to my blog by entering your email address in the box at the top of the page below the "Overtime" banner. Winner will be announced next Friday, 11/4.

Flip Saunder's Defensive Rules

Thanks to Forrest McKinnis for sending me these great points:

General rules followed by Coach Flip Saunders of the NBA's Washington Wizards, critical for building any defensive foundation.

We give the players these simple, general rules:

Never leave the dribbler alone.
Never let the offense penetrate the defense, either with a dribble or a pass.
Sag towards the ball, forming triangles on the help position.
Cover the low post player, fronting him or in a ¾ stance.
Drop as deep as the ball on the back defensive line.
Move the ball to the corners or away from the basket.
On the shallow cuts or cuts in front of you, switch.
Contest every shot.
Pressure the ball at the top of the lane, in a ball defensive stance.
The inside hand is up to deny any passing lane.
The guards pick up their assigned players five feet from the top of the key.
Move on every pass and dribble.
Sag as much as the defensive rules let you.
Try and make cuts to the ball go behind you to "kick him off." That’s our terminology for following a cutter and then giving him to another defender. 

If you're interested in more "40" Defense from Flip Saunders visit http://shop.coachmac-basketball.com/

Get Connected

There aren't many secrets in coaching. I heard the following story: at a coaches clinic years ago, a very successful coach from a BCS school was giving a presentation about their offense. In the crowd were opposing coaches from the same conference who were frantically writing down every BLOB play and quick hitter. The presenter paused, looked around the room and said "Coaches, you can write down my plays all day. The fact is, you just don't know how well we are going to run them".

Point of the story is...get out there and share what you know! Better yet, learn from others and see a different side of things. Here are a few sites I really enjoy:

www.HoopCoach.org

http://hoopthoughts.blogspot.com/

www.CoachBobWalsh.com

Quote of the Day:

 "Spectacular achievement is always preceded by unspectacular preparation."

Quote of the Day:

"Leadership is inspiring others to action"

1/2 Marathon

Have you ever reset your car's odometer and really watched to see how long 13 miles is? Whether you're driving, walking or running:  69,168 feet is a long way to go.

I had the awesome pleasure of completing my first 1/2 Marathon on October 15 in Baltimore, Maryland. What made this race so special was not just the race itself, but what I was running for.

Let me be very clear: I HATED running. Always had. "I'm a basketball player, not a runner" is a phrase I would use often. To me, running was punishment. Unfortunately I haven't been able to play basketball in recent years because of my schedule and the liability of injuries.

For lack of anything else to do, I began to run. One week into my running one of my best friends invited me to compete in the Baltimore Running Festival's Half Marathon with her family to help raise awareness and funds for brain cancer (her brother was about to undergo his second surgery to remove a brain tumor). This was a terrific opportunity to make a training plan, set specific and measureable goals, get into shape, run for a cause and support people I really care about.

I learned one thing very quickly in my training: the mind is stronger than the body. There were days I didn't want to run; there were days that it hurt to run; there were days that I had to adjust my entire days' schedule so I could run; but I was running for a cause and a higher purpose with a clear goal/deadline in sight. Whenever I was sore or pushing myself through a tough run one thing went through my mind....there is no way in hell this is anywhere near as hard as fighting brain cancer. My yellow Livestrong bracelet symbolized the fight that millions of people engage in everyday.

RACE DAY. 

Running this 1/2 marathon was a completely different experience for me. Unlike a basketball season, which has 20+ games, you have 1 race. This was my thought at the starting line: "I hope the last 2.5 months of training prepared me for this....I hope I took the right amount of rest this week...I hope my pre-race nutrition was adequate...I hope my body holds up". 10 weeks of preparation would determine success or failure of the next 2.5 hours.

Happy to say, the Race was a success. I finished in 2 hours and 16 minutes, for an average pace of 10:26/mile- good enough to finish in the middle of the pack of 11,000 runners. The feeling of accomplishment was fantastic!

Even better than finishing the race was running with my wife Christine and our best friends and their family to show our support and fight against cancer while also achieving an individual milestone.

Quote of the Day:

“One who asks questions is a fool for 5 minutes; one who does not ask questions remains a fool forever.” -Chinese Proverb

Pat Summitt on "Goals"

Before each of the 34 seasons that Summitt has been a head coach of some of the most accomplished teams of all time, she and her captains have committed a set of goals to writing. 


“We always make sure,” Summitt says, “that our plans for the season can be achieved. Setting goals is incredibly important to success. But if you set a goal that seems impossible to achieve— if you go into a year saying your goal is to win the national championship—then you risk losing morale, self-discipline and chemistry if you falter early. 

“Set a goal that stretches you, requires exceptional effort, but one that you can reach,” says Summit, the bearer of more championship jewelry than any coach in women’s basketball history. “We might set a goal that we win 20 or so games, that we win a conference championship, that we make the NCAA tournament. If we do those things, the truth is we have a chance of winning the national championship. But I would never want that to be the only goal.”

Here's to the crazy ones...

A + B = C

A (event) + B (attitude) = C (outcome)

Good or bad, if something happens- it happens. It's done. In the books. We can't control it and shouldn't waste our time wishing it hadn't happened.

Our attitude, or reaction to the event, shapes the outcome. Many people get caught in the orbit of a negative event- possessing a pessimistic or victim-like attitude, and thus negatively affecting the outcome.

A motto in certain psychological models states "we think, we feel, we act". If we positively shape our thoughts, everything that follows will lean towards optimism.

Quote of the Day:

"I never see what has been done; I only see what remains to be done." -Buddha

10 Secrets of Successful Leaders (Part 2/2)

Part 2/2

6. Create a 'team charter.'
Too many new teams race down the road before they even figure out who they are, where they’re going, and what will guide their journey, says Ken Blanchard, co-author of The One-Minute Manager (William Morrow & Co., 1982) and founder of The Ken Blanchard Cos., a workplace- and leadership-training firm. Just calling together a team and giving them a clear charge does not mean the team will succeed.
“It’s important to create a set of agreements that clearly states what the team is to accomplish, why it is important and how the team will work together to achieve the desired results,” says Blanchard, who is based in Escondido, Calif. “The charter provides a record of common agreements and can be modified as the business grows and the team’s needs change.”

7. Believe in your people.
Entrepreneurial leaders must help their people develop confidence, especially during tough times. As Napoleon Bonaparte said, "Leaders are dealers in hope." That confidence comes in part from believing in your team, says Maxwell, who is based in West Palm Beach, Fla. “I think of my people as 10s, I treat them like 10s, and as a result, they try to perform like 10s,” he says. “But believing in people alone isn't enough. You have to help them win.”

8. Dole out credit.
Mackay says a good salesperson knows what the sweetest sound in the world is: The sound of their name on someone else's lips. But too many entrepreneurs think it's either the crinkle of freshly minted currency, or the dull thud of a competitor's body hitting the pavement.
“Many entrepreneurs are too in love with their own ideas and don't know how to distribute credit,” Mackay says. “A good quarterback always gives props to his offensive line.”

9. Keep your team engaged.
Great leaders give their teams challenges and get them excited about them, says leadership expert Stephen Covey, author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (Free Press, 1989). He pointed to the example of a small pizza shop in a moderate-sized town that was killing a big fast-food chain in sales. The big difference between the chain and the small pizza joint was the leader, he says.
Every week he gathered his teenage employees in a huddle and excitedly asked them: “What can we do this week that we’ve never done before?” The kids loved the challenge. They started texting all their friends whenever a pizza special was on. They took the credit-card machine to the curb so passing motorists could buy pizza right off the street. They loaded up a truck with hot pizzas and sold them at high-school games. The money poured in and the store owner never had problems with employee turnover, says Covey, who is based in Salt Lake City, Utah.

10. Stay calm.
An entrepreneur has to backstop the team from overreacting to short-term situations, says Mackay, who is based in Minneapolis. This is particularly important now, when news of the sour economic environment is everywhere.
“The media has been hanging black crepe paper since 2008,” he says. “But look at all the phenomenal companies and brands that were born in downturns, names like iPod, GE and Federal Express.”

Quote of the Day:

"Pressure can burst a pipe or pressure can create a diamond" -Robert Horry

10 Secrets of Successful Leaders (Part 1/2)

Part 1 of 2. 

Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “A good leader inspires people to have confidence in the leader, a great leader inspires people to have confidence in themselves.” But, becoming a great leader isn’t easy. Successfully maneuvering a team through the ups and downs of starting a new business (or a basketball season!) can be one of the greatest challenges a small-business owner faces.

Leadership is one of the areas that many entrepreneurs tend to overlook, according leadership coach John C. Maxwell, whose books include The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership (Thomas Nelson, 1998) and Developing the Leader Within You (Thomas Nelson, 1993).

“You work hard to develop your product or service. You fight to solve your financial issues. You go out and promote your business and sell your product. But you don't think enough about leading your own people and finding the best staff,” Maxwell says.

It turns out, the skills and talents necessary to guide your team in the right direction can be simple, and anyone with the determination can develop them. Here’s the first 5 tips drawn from the secrets of successful leaders.

1.     Assemble a dedicated team.
Your team needs to be committed to you and the business. Successful entrepreneurs have not only social and selling smarts, but also the know-how to hire effectively, says leadership trainer Harvey Mackay, who wrote Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive (Ivy Books, 1995). “A colossal business idea simply isn't enough. You have to be able to identify, attract and retain talent who can turn your concept into a register-ringing success,” he says.

Related: What's Your Leadership Style?

When putting your team together, look for people whose values are aligned with the purpose and mission of your company. Suzanne Bates, a Wellesley, Mass.-based leadership consultant and author of Speak Like a CEO (McGraw Hill, 2005), says her team members rallied around each other during the worst part of the recession because they all believed in what they were doing. “Having people on your team who have tenacity and a candid spirit is really important," she says.

2.     Overcommunicate.
This one’s a biggie. Even with a staff of only five or 10, it can be tough to know what’s going on with everyone. In an effort to overcommunicate, Bates compiles a weekly news update she calls a Friday Forecast, and emails it to her staff. “My team is always surprised at all the good news I send out each week,” Bates says. “It makes everyone feel like you really have a lot of momentum, even in difficult times.”

3.     Don’t assume.
When you run a small business, you might assume your team understands your goals and mission -- and they may. But, everybody needs to be reminded of where the company’s going and what things will look like when you get there. Your employees may ask, “What’s in it for me?” It’s important to paint that picture for your team. Take the time to really understand the people who are helping you build your business.

“Entrepreneurs have the vision, the energy, and they’re out there trying to make it happen. But, so often with their staff, they are assuming too much,” says Beverly Flaxington, founder of The Collaborative, a business-advising company in Medfield, Mass. “It’s almost like they think their enthusiasm by extension will be infectious -- but it’s not. You have to bring people into your world and communicate really proactively.”

      4. Be authentic.

Good leaders instill their personality and beliefs into the fabric of their organization, Flaxington says. If you be yourself, and not try to act like someone else, and surround yourself with people who are aligned with your values, your business is more likely to succeed, she says.

 “Every business is different and every entrepreneur has her own personality,” Flaxington says. “If you’re authentic, you attract the right people to your organization -- employees and customers.”

     5. Know your obstacles.
Most entrepreneurs are optimistic and certain that they’re driving toward their goals. But, Flaxington says, it’s a short-sighted leader who doesn’t take the time to understand his obstacles.

“You need to know what you’re up against and be able to plan around those things,” she says. “It’s folly to think that just because you’ve got this energy and enthusiasm that you’re going to be able to conquer all. It’s much smarter to take a step back and figure out what your obstacles are, so the plan that you’re putting into place takes that into account.”

Get to know Rhody

Get to know some of the Rhody Women's Basketball staff: http://www.gorhody.com/index-main.html

Quote of the Day:

"Imagination is more important than knowledge."-Albert Einstein

Think you're too small?

Quote of the Day:

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself
Any direction you choose.

-Dr. Seuss

Be the best YOU that you can be

Bob Starkey, Assistant Coach at UCF, runs a tremendous blog and I find myself borrowing some of his quotes and stories from time to time. Here's a passage written by Steve Goodier that Bob posted on his blog recently:

Pablo Piccasso, the great Spanish painter and sculptor, once said this about his ability: 'My mother said to me, if you become a soldier, you'll be a general; if you become a monk, you'll end up as Pope. Instead, I became a painter and wound up as Picasso.' No lack of confidence here!

But he would have agreed with Abraham Lincoln. 'Whatever you are,' said Lincoln, 'be a good one.' He demonstrated the wisdom of that advice with his own life. And in this present age, which often seems to be contented with mediocrity, his words summon a yearning for improvement and growth.

I think it helps to remember that excellence is not a place at which we arrive so much as a way of traveling. To do and be our best is a habit among those who hear and understand Lincoln's admonition. Viennese-born composer Frederick Loewe, whom we remember from his musical scores that include - My Fair Lady, Gigi and Camelot, was not always famous.

He studied piano with the great masters of Europe and achieved huge success as a musician and composer in his early years. But when he immigrated to the United States, he failed as a piano virtuoso. For a while he tried other types of work including prospecting for gold and boxing. But he never gave up his dream and continued to play piano and write music.

During those lean years, he could not always afford to make payments on his piano. One day, bent over the keyboard, he heard nothing but the music that he played with such rare inspiration. When he finished and looked up, he was startled to find that he had an audience - three moving men who were seated on the floor.

They said nothing and made no movement toward the piano. Instead, they dug into their pockets, pooled together enough money for the payment, placed it on the piano and walked out, empty handed. Moved by the beauty of his music, these men recognized excellence and responded to it.

Whatever you are, be a good one. If what you do is worth doing, if you believe that who you are is of value, then you can't afford to be content with mediocrity. When you choose the path of excellence through this life, you will bring to it your best and receive the best it can offer in return. And you will know what it is to be satisfied.

Quote of the Day:

"Live out of your imagination, not your history." -Stephen Covey

Quote of the Day:

“I would tell players to relax and never think about what’s at stake. Just think about the basketball game. If you start to think about who is going to win the championship, you’ve lost your focus”. -Michael Jordan

"Passion" vs. "Pressure" in Recruiting

 

With thanks to @DanTudor for this great article from his  excellent newsletter...if you don't know Dan, you need to check out his website www.DanTudor.com and subscribe to his newsletter!



Passion vs. Pressure.
There’s a big, big difference.
And quite honestly, most college coaches get it wrong.

When you’re trying to close a recruit, and get them to commit to your program, one of the worst things to do is to give them the feeling that they are being “pressured”.  Pressure might lead to an initial commitment, but in the long run that athlete is going to be a strong candidate for transferring or talking negatively about the way he or she was recruited.

In my opinion, after interviewing hundreds of current college prospects on how they made their decision in committing to a program, pressuring an athlete is bad.

Passion, on the other hand, is good.  Very, very good.

If you demonstrate passion to your prospect, it’s very likely you’ll achieve the same effects as you would hope to achieve by pressuring them: Excitement about your program, a strong reason for committing to you and your college, and a faster commitment.

Very few college recruiters, unfortunately, don’t do the passion part very well.

To give you an idea of what I’m talking about, and to show you what a big difference there is between the two, let me give you a few contrasting examples of “passion” versus “pressure” when recruiting your athlete:

Passion is when you tell your recruit why you like him, and what value you see him having in your program.  Pressure is when you matter-of-factly tell your recruit who else you’re recruiting at his position, and what he’s going to lose if he doesn’t make a fast decision.

Passion is when you tell them that you’ve decided you want her to play for you, and they officially ask her if she’s ready to commit because you are really excited about her future in your program.  Pressure is when you give her a 48-hour deadline after her campus visit to make her decision, or else you’ll yank the offer and give it to the next girl on your list.

Passion is when you smile and sit forward in your chair when you’re talking to your prospect.  Pressure is when you lean back, look at your cell phone every two minutes, and seem like you’re ready to walk your prospect over to admissions so they can start their exciting two hour PowerPoint presentation with the assistant to the assistant Director of Financial Aid so you can get back to work.

Passion is an impromptu visit to the office of a coach of another sport on your campus to introduce you to your recruit on campus so that they see the opportunity is with an athletic department family, and not just their sport.  Pressure is sitting with your prospect cooped-up in your office talking only about your sport.

Passion is taking a blank sheet of paper, sitting next to your recruit, and explaining to her what you see as the plan for her after she commits, and what the next twelve months look like for her when she joins your program.  Pressure is you talking about how she’ll have to pay her dues and wait her turn if she decides she wants to play for you.  (Note: Yes, that might be an honest assessment of their chances in your program.  But most recruits want to hear about what they need to do to beat out that Senior returning starter…because most of them think they can, and they’d like to see that you’re on board with that dream, too).

Passion is getting him to spend time with the Freshmen and Sophomores on your team and letting them sell him on coming there.  Pressure is putting them with a 23-year old redshirt Senior who they have nothing in common with, and sending the two of them off to lunch together for two hours (true story example there…one of the more awkward observation sessions we did for one of our clients when we were on campus).

Passion is involving her parents in all aspects of the recruiting message, which is what most kids want according to our research.  Pressure is what she feels back at home when you don’t do that, and she wants to go to your program but doesn’t feel like she can because mom and dad never really got to know you as well as your conference rival that she’s going to settle on.

Passion is consistently keeping in touch with her, showing him that you are in it for the long haul and don’t take them for granted.  Pressure is what they feel when they try to figure out why you haven’t talked to them lately (they assume you might not be as interested in them as you once were, and begin to look for coaches who they think will be more interested).

That’s a short list, but an important list.

The big question now is: What are you going to do with this information, and how will it change the way you recruit this current class of prospects? (No pressure).