SETTING A HIGHER STANDARD

From Get Motivated magazine, Lou Holtz shares how changing your attitude can improve your game

A Winning Attitude: I think attitude is the most important thin in this world. Attitude is something you control. You were given a lot of wonderful powers. You have the power to think, to love, to create, to imagine, to plan. The greatest power you have id the power to choose. Wherever you are today, you’re there because you chose to be there.

A Positive Self-Image: We need to have a faith and a belief in what we are doing. You cannot be a parent, a manager, a leader, a teacher or a coach and be effective if you don’t have a good self-image. Do what’s right and avoid what’s wrong. It’s that simple. Sometimes we blame everybody and everything around us to the point where it gets ridiculous. We have to remember that we are in charge of our own lives by the choices we make.

Set a Higher Standard: Whatever you do, do it to the best of your ability. The higher you set the standard for yourself, the higher the self-image. The worst disservice we can do as a coach, as a parent, as a leader, is to say to those around us, “I don’t think you are capable of doing very much-so, I’m going to lower the standard. There are only two types of leaders: those who believe in themselves and lift others up and those with a poor self-image who pull everybody down.

TOM IZZO REBOUNDING DRILL

Special thanks to Coach Eric Musselman for passing this one to me:

1. Put 5 defenders in line right under the rim facing half court.

2. Place 5 offensive players on the perimeter. Put a player in each corner, each wing, and one at the point.

3. The coach shoots the ball from different spots on the floor.

4. When the shot is taken the defenders rush out to block out the offensive players. If they get the defensive rebound the get 1 POINT and pass the ball to the coach and go back to their original positions.

5. If the offense gets a rebound they get 1 Point and must put the shot right back up and if they make the shot they get another point. They have to put the ball right back up they cannot take it back up top. Every time the offense gets a rebound they get a point.

6. You play to the first team getting 10 points. Losers run! (You can have either an offensive or defensive winner.)

GREAT THOUGHTS FROM GREAT COACHING MINDS

Some great thoughts from some great coaching minds...special thanks to Coach Duane Silver for these!

“In close games, when the pressure intensifies and the margin between who wins and who loses can be as thin as an eggshell, we believe that all our hard work, all the long hours, and all the perspiration will enable us to come out on top. Why? Because we deserve it. We deserve our victory!”

- Coach Rick Pitino

“If we’re playing hard in practice, under game like conditions, then we’re just naturally going to play smarter and better during a game. That’s why all our practice drills are as game like as possible.”

- Coach Mike Krzyzewski

“Once practice starts, we work hard, and that’s the best conditioning there is. Everything counts. Every little thing counts. Run hard, play hard, go after the ball hard, guard hard. If you play soft, you won’t ever get into shape.”

- Coach Pete Carril

“I continually stress to my players that all I expect from them at practice and in the games is their maximum effort.”

- Coach John Wooden

“Prepare for every practice like you just lost your last game.”
- Coach Don Meyer

“Practice structure determines success.”
- Coach Bobby Knight

“My passion is to coach and do things to the best of my ability. I want our team to get better every day at practice. If we can do that, the other stuff will take care of itself.”
- Coach Mike Krzyzewski

“No one is bigger than the team. You’re going to be on time, you’re going to play hard, you’re going to know your job and you’re going to know when to pass and shoot. If you can’t do those four things you’re not getting time here and we don’t care who you are.”
- Coach Hubie Brown

“False Hustle = cheap fouls, lunging, reaching, will get you beat etc!”
- Coach Billy Donovan

CREATING PRESSURE SHOTS IN PRACTICE

"Anyone can develop the proper shot mechanics, given just minimal amount of athletic ability. The key to shooting, however is not just the mechanics, but being able to utilize proper shot mechanics under pressure. One fo the most important things that a coach can do is develop situations where pressure exists in all shooting work. The atmosphere surrounding a game producdes its own pressures and tension for all of the players involved. We as coaches have to devise substitute pressures in practice for our players to be able to perform at maximum efficiency under the pressures of game play. In no area is this factor more important than in the development of good shooting."

From "Basketball According to Knight and Newell"

By Bob Knight and Pete Newell

TEACHERS THAT COACH AND COACHES THAT TEACH

"In 1994 I wrote a book titled Coaching in the Classroom. The premise of that book was simple. The best coaches are teachers, and the best teachers are coached. Through the years I have always been fascinated by the ability of coached and teachers to communicate their subject matter to their students or athletes. So I asked everyone I met from all walks of life to describe the best teacher they ever had. The descriptions were similar—a teacher who cared, knew the subject matter, expanded on it, kept a disciplined classroom, and taught self-motivation."

-Grant Teaff
From "The Football Coaching Bible"

CONSISTENCY IN YOUR LEADERSHIP

Consistency does not mean behaving the same way all the time. It actually means behaving the same way under similar circumstances. I believe in praising people, but I also know that if you praise them when they are performing well and also when they are performing poorly, you are sending them an inconsistent message. Good performance should always be treated differently than poor performance.

Many leaders make the mistake of letting their mood determine how they respond to their people. If they’re feeling great, they wander around praising everyone. If they’re feeling lousy, they wander around pointing out what everyone is doing wrong.

When you respond to your people in the same way under similar circumstances, you give them a valuable gift—the gift of predictability. There are many ways to inspire good performance but what maintains and improves it is responding consistently.

From "The Heart of a Leader: Insights on the Art of Influence"
By Ken Blanchard

NEVER FORGET

President Eisenhower’s letter to Harvey V. Higley, Administrator of Veterans' Affairs, designating him Chairman, Veterans Day National Committee

The White House Office

October 8, 1954

Dear Mr. Higley:

I have today signed a proclamation calling upon all of our citizens to observe Thursday, November 11, 1954 as Veterans Day. It is my earnest hope that all veterans, their organizations, and the entire citizenry will join hands to insure proper and widespread observance of this day. With the thought that it will be most helpful to coordinate the planning, I am suggesting the formation of a Veterans Day National Committee. In view of your great personal interest as well as your official responsibilities, I have designated you to serve as Chairman. You may include in the Committee membership such other persons as you desire to select and I am requesting the heads of all departments and agencies of the Executive branch to assist the Committee in its work in every way possible. I have every confidence that our Nation will respond wholeheartedly in the appropriate observance of Veterans Day, 1954.

Sincerely,

DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER

MOTION OFFENSE CONCEPTS

Motion Concepts by Jim Boone, head men's basketball coach at Tusculum College.

Concepts are vague by their very nature, so it is important that they be simplified for our team and illustrated in a tangible way through the use of film, lecture sessions, and again, constantly emphasizing them during our drill work. Concepts are not rules or our guiding principles; they serve to shape our offense and the principles enable us to implement those concepts.

1. Quick and Easy Start
· Establish a quick pace through our transition game
· Make the easy play; do not attempt to hit the home run every time up
· Hit the first open man - Be available with the right cut at the right time

2. It’s Better to be Late, Rather Than Early, with our Offense
Use of the Two-Count Principle - Offensive Basketball has a Rhythm
· Catch & square-up
· Hold position
· Hold screen
· Occupy the post

3. Spacing - Spacing - Spacing
· Maintain spacing with cutting - Sprint for Space
· Good spacing sets-up cutting, driving, and post play
· Ability to remain spaced is the sign of good offense

4. Reverse the Basketball
· Side - Top - Side Approach
· Take the Ball to the Action
· Reverse to Two Players, Keep Two to the Top
· Play off of Reversal: the best drives, post feeds, etc. come off reversal

5. Develop a Four Pass Mentality
· We are not and will not hold the ball, we are working to score
· Side—Top—Side Mentality
· Must have patience in order to develop our movement
· Points Per Possession Evaluation (1.40 ppp)

6. Inside Action
· Establish through our cutting, driving, and posting
· Sets-up our perimeter game (Living on the Three is Fools Gold)
· Get to the Free Throw Line (1.40 ppp)

7. Be Decisive
· Must have a purpose to our offense, we cannot do everything, Less is More
· Establish Screeners & Cutters: Role Development
· Have a purpose and a strength in all cutting , screening, and passing
· Consistency in everything we do - it’s a SYSTEM of PLAY

KEYS TO NETWORKING

From Brian Tracy's book "Time Power" -- which is an absolute best for anyone in any field -- comes keys to networking with the top people in your business.

Trigger the Law of Reciprocity. The key to networking, and to building a wide range of contacts is called the Law of Reciprocity. This law says that people are always looking for opportunities to return favors to people who have done favors for them. Therefore, you should always be looking for ways to help or to do favors for people who can be helpful to you sometime in the future.

Here is a simple formula that you can use to save an enormous amount of time in achieving your career goals. It is simply this: T x R=P. In this formula, T stands for talent. These are the talents, abilities, skills, knowledge, and experience that you bring to your work. R stands for relationships. These are the number of people you know, and the number of people you can affect or influence in some way. P stands for productivity. Your productivity is the quality and quantity of your results, what you produce, and what you get paid for. Talent times relationships equals productivity.

THOUGHTS ON PRACTICE FROM COACH WOODEN

Establishing the fundamentals keeps practices shorter because they can be more concentrated. Don't stop a group to explain to an individual what he's doing wrong. Pull him aside and instruct him. Don't ever hold a team past the established end of practice because they aren't performing up to standard. I never had a practice that went over two hours, and very few ever went more than even an hour and a half. We started on time and we stopped on time. And yet I think we got as much done as teams that spend far more time in the gym.

A large part of using time efficiently is creating a clear sense of expectations. You have made sure players know the order of the drills and what to focus on with each one. It's essential for challenging them; players tend to work harder throughout practice when they know what is expected of them, because they know what they are supposed to be doing and what the reason is behind it. In this manner, organization can be a way to create not just efficiency but also motivation.

It also builds teamwork, because it helps the players learn to think as one. They know what's coming, they know the routine and that makes them feel a part of something bigger than themselves. The same is true in a classroom setting. The class feels a bond of experience because they all speak the same "language" of class routines and practices.

From "A Game Plan for Life"

By John Wooden and Don Yaeger