Newtown - Pat Kelsey

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/8761964/pat-kelsey-winthrop-eagles-men-basketball-coach-calls-social-change-wake-newtown-ct-shootings

Check out this 2 minute video from Pat Kelsey's post game speech.  Pat Kelsey is Winthrop's head coach and used his platform after playing Ohio State to get his message out. 

Intensity

What if every opponent thought this:

"I do NOT want to play against

his effort & intensity for 40 minutes!

The above statement was tweeted by Kevin Eastman and 2 players immediately came to mind when I read this.  The first was Kevin Garnett and the second I'm proud to say was a player I currently coach.  One of the things we've always tried to preach as a coaching staff is it doesn't matter how talented you are, you can do 2 things for us 1.) Communicate 2.) Maximum effort on each possession.  These are the only two things we place a value on the in the summer and pre-season with the hope it will carry over when the season arrives and execution becomes a focus. 

Before I read this tweet we had a junior varsity game and there's 4 players on our jv who are also on varsity and want more varsity minutes, but don't seem to want to earn them.  After a poor effort by our jv our entire staff blasted especially the players who would be dressing varsity that night.  The final message was when you play as hard as you possibly can on each possession I won't be able to take you off the varsity floor either, just watch (I won't use the players name) tonight and watch how hard he competes.  Everything he has to give he will leave on the floor tonight. He'll be the first to tell you he's not more talented than even the players sitting on our bench while he plays, but he plays so hard I can't take him off the floor.

At half time this player was hugging the trash can.  I asked if he needed a minute to start the 2nd half, his response no coach I'm good.  I said yea you need a minute and I called for a player off our bench, he responded by pulling his head out of the trash can and saying no really coach I'm good and sprinted onto the floor with his teammates.  One minute into the 2nd half this player looks awful and is visibly struggling so we sub him out.  When he's subbed out he immediately runs not to the bench but back to the nearest trash can sick from playing so hard and a minute later he's walking back to the bench saying I'm good coach I can play as soon as you need me. 

Why can't everyone play as hard as they can on every possession?  

Snowflakes

Although I am definitely not a fan of cold weather I find snowflakes fascinating.  It has been written that no two snowflakes are alike and its also true that individually a single snowflake has little chance of keeping its form and shape on contact with most anything it could land on. However, when snowflakes accumulate together they can become a formidable obstacle for anyone or thing trying to negotiate through its path.

Basketball is similar, individually no matter how talented will only take you so far.  When 5 players come together for a common purpose greater success is obtainable and your team becomes a much more formidable opponent to eliminate during tournament time.

Jerry Rice

"Today I will do what other won't, so tomorrow I can accomplish what others can't" - Jerry Rice

Jerry Rice's work ethic is almost legendary at this point.  Its one of the reasons he was able to come back from a torn acl in record breaking time and also why his career lasted as long as it did.

I'm amazed at the sense of entitlement some kids have these days.  We've all had the situation come up where there's a position battle between a more talented kid and a harder worker.  Personally, I'm playing the harder worker every time.  I don't want to feed the ego of the talented kid and let them see by my actions (who plays more) that their talent trumps everything I'm preaching about work ethic and toughness.  I also believe the kid trying to get by on talent alone will never maximize their potential and always let you down when it matters the most in postseason play.  The hard worker is going to give you everything they've got and always maximize whatever potential they have.  Also I believe its best for your team and the player to sit the more talented kid early and make them give effort. 

Foul Trouble

What is your philosophy on managing fouls?  If a player gets 2 fouls in the first half are they sitting the rest of the half?  Sitting unless you get an offense late in the first half? Start subbing offense for defense throughout the first half?  Do you let them play as long as they don't pick up a 3rd foul?

Your answer may be similar to mine...it depends.  Game situations and the player influences my decision.  Are we up?  Can we afford to wait until the 2nd half to play this kid?  Does the player have a history of foul trouble?

I tend to lean towards the Jeff Van Gundy school of thinking.  We're not in foul trouble until the player cannot go back in the game.  I'm not extreme enough that I will let a player foul out in the first half of a game, but at some point there's going to be a game I feel like we can't win without our best players on the floor and I don't want that to be the first game I leave players in the game in the first half after they've picked up a 2nd foul.  I'm also with JVG in wondering why its so much worse to pick up a 3rd foul with 1 min remaining in the first half as opposed to 1 min into the 2nd half.  If we look at a game in its entirety and lets use college for example with 40 total minutes.  We should protect a player from picking up a foul 19 minutes in the the game but at minute 21 its ok.  Doesn't seem like a huge difference in when they pick up their 3rd foul. 

Regardless of your thoughts its important to have a philosophy and stick with it.  If you're going to sit players for the entire 1st half when they pick up 2 fouls during the regular season, your team will not react well if you decide to play that particular player in the postseason with 2 fouls.  When you break set philosophies it can come across as desperate to your team.

Assistant Coaches

Assistant coaches can be a vital part of your program or they can be glorified cheerleaders and yes just having some positive energy around and someone who is always on the players' side is beneficial, but most assistant coaches want and are capable of more.  They are making a significant investment with their time and love the game too.

Assistants can't be shy about sharing ideas and can't be discouraged when their ideas aren't used. Head coaches can help the process by asking for input on a regular basis.  You will be amazed at some of their ideas and if one turns out to be useful then it was worth the investment. 

Lady Vols

http://espn.go.com/womens-college-basketball/story/_/id/8712604/life-lady-volunteer

Great Article on Tennessee's Women's Basketball Program.  The program is in transition as Coach Summitt steps away from the leadership position of head coach.  Some traditions are embraced and some new traditions are being defined.

Routine is important: Coach Summitt implemented routines after visiting with a sports psychologist.  The team huddles in a circle with everyone's feet touching.  What routines do you implement?

Conditioning:  The conditioning test is changing from 5 sprints in 5 minutes to 20 sprints in 20 minutes. What is your conditioning philosophy?  What test will players pass to prove to you and themselves they are in shape for the upcoming season?

Cell phone policy:  Can players take cell phones on the bus?  Only use after the game?  Must be silenced or turned off during team meetings?  Social media and cell phones are such a big part of this generation that you must have a plan.

How do you dress on the road?  At home?

John Maxwell on Failure

JOHN MAXWELL: HOW TO PROFIT FROM FAILURE

1. Change Your Attitude
Business staffing pioneer Robert Half observed, “Laziness is a secret ingredient that goes into failure. But it’s only kept a secret from the person who fails.” People who success develop an attitude of tenacity. They refuse to quit, and they are determined not to let failure defeat them. If you desire to fulfill your dreams, achieve your goals, and live life to the fullest, that’s the kind of attitude you need to cultivate.

2. Change Your Vocabulary
A noted psychiatrist once remarked that the two saddest words in the human vocabulary are “if only.”

Failure isn’t failure if you do better the next time. In Leaders on Leadership, Warren Bennis interviewed seventy of the nation’s top performers in numerous fields. None of them used the word failure to describe their mistakes. Instead they referred to learning experiences, tuition paid, detours, or opportunities for growth. You may think that’s a small difference, but that small difference can make a big difference. The way you think determines how you act.

3. Pay Little Attention to the Odds
Every person who has ever achieved something significant had to overcome the odds. The problem for most people isn’t the odds. It’s that they sell themselves too short. R. H. Headlee observed, “Most people think too small, aim too low, and quit too soon.”

When it comes to the thing you love to do, the things you were made to do, aim high. The odds matter little. Whether you fall down along the way matters little. You fell when learning to walk, didn’t you? Maxwell Maltz, developer of psycho-cybernetics, says, “You are champion in the art of living if you reach only 65 percent of your goals.” Remember, if at first you don’t succeed, then know that you’re running about average.

4. Let Failure Point You to Success

5. Hold on to Your Sense of Humor
One of the best things you can do for yourself when you fail is to learn to laugh.

6. Learn from Your Mistakes
Successful restauranteur and celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck said, “I learned more from the one restaurant that didn’t work than from all the ones that were successes.”

“Sometimes you win and sometimes you learn.” (Robert Kiyosaki, Rich Dad, Poor Dad) That’s the mark of a great attitude! You don’t lose—you learn.

7. Don’t Lose Your Perspective
Failure is just like success—it’s a day-to-day proves, not someplace you arrive one day. Failure is not a one-time event. It’s how you deal with life along the way.

8. Don’t Become too Familiar with Failure

9. Make Failure a Gauge for Growth
Successful people understand the role failure plays in achievement. That’s true in any life endeavor. Inventor Thomas Edison said, “I’m not discouraged because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward.” And gold-medal-winning gymnast Mary Lou Retton asserted, “Achieving that goal is a good feeling, but to get there you have to also get through the failures. You’ve got to be able to pick yourself up and continue.” The farther you go, the more failures you experience.

Psychologist Joyce Brothers observed, “The person interested in success has to learn to view failure as a healthy, inevitable part of the process of getting to the top.” As actor Mickey Rooney said, “You always pass failure on the way to success.”

10. Never Give Up
Author, lawyer, economist, and actor Ben Stein says, “The human spirit is never finished when it is defeated. It is finished when it surrenders.”

From "The Difference Maker" by John Maxwell