THOUGHT

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

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Deep Thought: A Key to Extraordinary

"You can lose when you outscore somebody in a game. 
And you can win when you’re outscored.” (John Wooden)

Invest twenty minutes listening and learning from Coach Wooden's experience.



Some questions to ask: Are you purposely pursuing the best you can be?  How do you define winning? How do you define success? What is the perfect player?
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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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Saturday, June 16, 2012

DWADE VS FatherTime



DWADE VS FatherTime

A Lesson in the NOW for Student-Athletes

NBA Finals: GAME 1 DWYANE WADE: Post Game Press Conference


When probed by a sports journalist about his performance and any concern he might have about his ability to still seize opportunity, Wade replied, "One day it’ll happen,...Father Time will knock on the door and tap me on the shoulder. But, NOT right now!"


WORD!


Statement made. Wade abruptly ended the interview-Pushing himself up and away from the open mic, he  left the stage. His body language and attitude spoke volumes that he was "In the Now" and off to work with Game 2 and the 2012 Finals the mission in mind.


Though Father Time's clock is ticking, Wade's 'right now' is all about the end of a season. He is obviously a focused athlete - Embracing the challenge before him, 100% focus on Seizing the Opportunity of the NOW!


What about you? For most basketball players the Off-Season is the right now. And that "right now" is really what determines who gets to their personal FINALS. Because for every Student-Athlete, regardless of the sport you compete in, 'The Finals' is about you playing up too and beyond your potential next year.


A WORD to Student-Athletes/Class of 2013:  Like with DWADE, FatherTime may not walk up and knock on your door today, BUT, he is watching and his clock is ticking. So, what are you going to do with your opportunity to get better today?


The 2013 HS and college playoffs start in less than 249 days. For FatherTime and DWADE that is "RIGHT NOW"!  Press conference OVER. DWADE doing work. What about You?
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Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Mental Toughness and Reading

Mental Toughness and Reading  There is a proverb that says, "Those who do not read are no better off than those who can't." Reading is a mental exercise of the brain. Read a book about "mental toughness" and you will start to view the intangible parts of the game differently. Read a biography about Micheal Jordan and Pay Attention to references about his intangible qualities of toughness and maybe some of it rubs off and sticks in your mindset. Read and study the game. Read and study your favorite players. You will gain knowledge and wisdom in the process. Plus reading in and of itself develops toughness.
Think about this: Our culture is driven by imagery. Pictures floating everywhere; Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Lockerz apps. Then there is YouTube, ESPN, and Flipboard. Advertising teaches us that a picture paints a thousand words in our mindset and so a video must paint a million.
Here is the secret about reading. The words you read - Paint pictures in your mindset. And Mental Imagery is a huge component of mental toughness. So, it could be said "You are what you read." Or, "Those who do not read are no better off than those who can't." So, as NIKE says, "Just Do It" - Read something and improve your mental toughness.
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Monday, January 24, 2011

Just Extra: Pursuing More than Ordinariness

Consistent EXTRAORDINARY performances will normally require an approach to preparation



















that is UNCOMMON!
Student-Athletes who seek to pursue the specialness of the Next Level must set their Mindset toward the pursuit of Excellence and eliminate Mediocrity in their practice and performance preparations. But, how? Comparing Excellence and Mediocrity's characteristic can provide one with a starting point. By noting the defining characteristics of these two habits and mindsets you can begin a journey towards the Extraordinary. Preview the overall comparative illustrations in the presentation. Study the definitions of "E" and "M". Note the trigger words associated with each habit. View the video link associated with each trigger word.  You will see obvious illustrations of the performance models and imagery for each mindset. By investing your mental energy and personal reflection in this comparative and illustrative journey you can refocus work, pursue your goals and move towards the EXTRAORDINARY class of student-athletes. As NIKE says, Just Do It. Just Click on the "AVERAGE" link and view the video demonstrating an average level of preparation and performance. Then click on "UNCOMMON" to view an EXTRAORDINARY level of preparation and performance looks like. Then Just Click another set of trigger words to continue on Your Journey towards a Personal More than Ordinariness! Just Extra!
To view the presentation at slideshare Click Here
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Thursday, October 14, 2010

Pursuing Extraordinary Mental Toughness

Can you Imagine ESPN doing a story about your mental toughness on the court?  How would you feel?  What would you say if they ask you how you got so mentally tough?

We've all heard the saying, "When the going gets tough - the tough get going." You might have heard your parents or a coach say it, right?

What they are really saying is, "Are you tough enough? Are you, gonna get-going?

So, we've got to ask ourselves, "What is mental toughness? And, How do you train for it?

Listen to Lewis Pugh's story and what he says about the ingredients of toughness. Mental Toughness is a product of controlling your thoughts, facing your fears, getting focused and motivated, and committing yourself 100% to just doing it!

You CAN apply those simple lessons to your world of competition on the basketball court. If you apply Lewis Pugh's extraordinary mental toughness mindset to your dream, how would your story read? How would that feel?

Let's look further at how a veteran student-athlete views mental toughness on the basketball court and then consider how to train for it. Yes, I know he is a professional and a freak athlete! But, in many ways, he is just like you, and me, and Lewis Pugh.

Think about it?  How far are you willing to go? Are you willing to pursue extraordinary mental toughness? Extraordinary anything? It's your world. It's your story. And your family is going to love you anyway you go, whatever you do. But, will you?
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Thursday, September 30, 2010

An Extrordinary Mindset

Pursuing your goal with single-mindedness and determination can launch super natural Super Hero like performances!

Some performances go beyond anything anyone can refer to as talent. Some times extraordinary performances are referred to as super natural or in the zone. The world class athletes prepare. practice and train physically and mentally with determination and deliberate focus designed to help them perform in the Zone.

In fact, those competitors know the secret to their extraordinary performance is to discover what they will fight for - Tapping into emotional power and energy, they mentally prepare their emotional hot buttons, probing, and mindfully searching for what is known in performance circles as the white moment. That moment is an emotional high point that unleashes extraordinary focus, and possibilities.
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