THOUGHT

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” ~Aristotle

Monday, September 10, 2012

JUST THINK

Friday, a colleague in the basketball profession sent me a note and ask, "I'm curious, from your years of being a basketball coach - in addition to experience - what have you found to be a good resource to help you in your coaching? Is there a website you like, book you found helpful, etc? That's a great question, I thought. And thought. And I am still thinking as I write this post.

Initially, my mind swirled through a personal library of books. Then, memories of teams, players, coaches, napkins, chalk talks, camps, phones calls, tweets, dvd's, team playbook, videos, scouting reports, binders, notes, files, interviews, websites, blogs, and my personal experience. Are you kidding me? It's a simple question? But, my mind swells with possibilities for a simple answer. Talk about a great open ended question: This one causes me great pause, reflection, and consideration. Their curiosity, I wonder, what is their motive? Or, is there a motive? If so, maybe I should refer my friend to the book DRIVE by Daniel Pink?

When you are passionate and intrinsically motivated, questions sometimes provoke deep thought. When that happens, I write: It might be a tweet, an email, a letter, and/or occasionally, just as happened during the NBA playoffs when reporters questioned DWade about Fathertime, I BLOG. So, this BLOG post is for you: Players, coaches, administrators - Anyone that might be looking for a resource to help you in your journey to Build a Championship Program.

 In the introduction of his book, WOODEN ON LEADERSHIP,  "Coach" includes in the subtitle a section called "REMEMBER YOUR ROOTS" and writes the following: "I believe leadership itself is largely learned...Whatever coaching and leadership skills I possess were learned through listening, observation, study, and then trial and error...This comes most from what I was taught from my dad...The principles and values I learned back there stuck with me and became the compass that I've followed--or tried to follow--for more than 90 years." 

 On that note, I frequently pause to reflect - Remember the Lessons of my Roots. Following are a few to consider. 
LIFE LESSONS

  • God's Lesson: If I had kept my priorities in line and lived accordingly life and time spent will be more efficient. "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God..."
  • Dad's Lessons: Navigate life using God's moral compass and seeking God's Will; Believe, Pray, Forgive, Trust, Seek, Give, and Serve. If you want to be good at something, GO PRACTICE!
  • Mom's Lessons: You can do all things through Christ. Everything Matters. If Better is Possible, Do Better! Never Quit.
  • Grandpa's Lessons: Do What You Love. Work Hard. Mind to Your Own Business. Stay Planted to Reach Your Potential. Everything has a Season. Good Things Take Time. The Ordinary can Produce the Extraordinary. And, Have Fun.
  • Grandma's Lessons: There is a recipe for success. All the ingredients matter. Respect Everybody. Fear No One! Oh Well, Accidents Happen.
  • Coach Roberts (PeeWee Coach) Lessons: Prepare Early to Be Great. Take Responsibility. Fundamentals, Situations and Reps are the Ordinary ingredients of Extraordinary performance.
  • Coach Marquardt's (My HS coach) Lesson:  Listen. Be ready. You don't know when your number will be called. Role Players are important.
  • Sheryl Howery's (My 1st coaching gig) Lessons: Read eyes. Stat and Evaluate the Pecking Order Data in as many relevant categories as possible.
  • Dan Hayes (My 1st Camp Job-Head Coach, OCU) Lessons: Use a systematic mechanical approach to teaching and developing fundamentals. Mullen's Drills!
  • Sherri Coale (Student Staff, Camps, +, Head Coach, OU) Lessons: Repetition, Everything Matters, Details, Pt. Differential, Find your voice, and More+.
These are the priceless resources. If one is willing to invest the time, 
the lessons can be learned and shared.

BOOKS

My personal library of books is significant and diverse. I believe reading and writing is paramount to developing one's potential in any profession. Below you will find 31 books, that in my opinion, are some of the best reading resources a player, coach, administrator or any sports professional can trust as a valuable resource.


  1. THE BIBLE: Proverbs 1:5 Listen: A Wise Coach will HEAR & LEARN. 24:30 STUDY Failure - Learn lessons from what you see. Habakkuk 2:2 Write the vision
  2. COACH WOODEN: Leadership Game Plan For Success
  3. COACH WOODEN: On Leadership
  4. COACH WOODEN: One on One
  5. COACH WOODEN: The Essential
  6. MINDGAMES: Strategy (Phil Jackson)
  7. DRIVEN FROM WITHIN: Motivation (Jordan)
  8. TRIPLE POST OFFENSE: (Tex) Offensive Sys Spacing, Angles, Reads, Options, Counters
  9. TRIAL BY BASKETBALL: (TexWinters) The System/Experience
  10. CHARACTER DRIVEN: Priorities (Derek Fisher)
  11. LEADING FROM THE HEART: Passion/Caring (Coach K)
  12. BEYOND BASKETBALL (Coach K)
  13. SWING YOUR SWORD: Fight/Nature/Outside the Box (Mike Leach)
  14. DRIVE: What makes people tick. (Daniel Pink)
  15. TALENT IS OVERRATED: Deliberate Practice (Geoff Colvin)
  16. SUCCESS IS A CHOICE: Deserve it (Pitino)
  17. THE WINNER WITHIN: Teambuilding (Pat Riley)
  18. SUN TZU FOR EXECUTION: Principles of Execution/Discipline
  19. SUN TZU FOR SUCCESS
  20. SUN TZU's THE ART OF WAR
  21. THE INNER ATHLETE: Mental Mindset
  22. TRAIN TOUGH THE ARMY WAY: Toughness Training
  23. COURT SENSE: Dev Basketball IQ
  24. THE NEW TOUGHNESS TRAINING IN SPORT: Mental Recovery
  25. WHAT THE DOG SAW: Perception
  26. THE TIPPING POINT: Timing Awareness
  27. THINK LIKE A CHAMPION: Basketball IQ Parables
  28. LINCOLN ON LEADERSHIP
  29. SMART TAKE FROM THE STRONG (Pete Carril)
  30. THE ART OF BEING AN ASSISTANT COACH (Bob Starkey)
  31. MY OKLAHOMA SWEET 16 PLAYBOOK

BLOGS AND WEBSITES

Below are some of the best websites I subscribe to and/or frequently visit to
read, research, stimulate thought and grab ideas.

Championship Coaches Network

HOOPTHOUGHTS

The Coaching Toolbox

Play The Right Way
http://hoopscoach.wordpress.com/

BasketballHQ

Alan Stein

SmarterTeam Training

The Academy For Sports Leadership Cory Dobbs

Janssen Peak Performance

The Tribe: Better Basketball

Kevin Eastman Basketball

Coach Like a Pro

Dr. Cohn's SportsPsychology Blog

SOSI Science of Strategy Institute


BBALLBREAKDOWN

Coach Czeslawski

Coach Don Meyer

http://www.northern.edu/about/Documents/ur/Meyer%20leadership%20tour.pdf

TRAINING AIDS
Technology is a very important part of coaching today. We live in a visual world where athletes are native users and producers of technological resources. Below are some of the best resources I have found and used.

IPAD APP: COACHS EYE

SOFTWARE: Intelligym

Training Systems: 94Fifty

PGC Basketball

NBA TV

iHOOPS


FAVORITE COACHES
To Study!
  1. Phil Jackson
  2. Scott Brooks
  3. Sherri Coale
  4. Dan Hays
  5. Bill Self
  6. Coach K
  7. Vince Lombardi
  8. Mike Leach

FAVORITE MOVIES AND SHOWS

To Splice and Cut into tape.
  1. Hoosiers
  2. Remember The Titans
  3. Rocky
  4. Saving Private Ryan
  5. KNIGHT School
  6. The Apprentice
  7. XFactor
  8. American Idol

THE EXCELLENCE PROCESS


There are a tremendous amount of resources available to coaches and programs today. Still the secret in my opinion is to Plan the Work and Work the Plan.























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