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COACH MEYER: "Build program attitude each day of each year -- never assume it's done. You must teach attitude every day. The day you don't it will get you nailed."Another thing that Coach always teaches is that a program must have an overriding purpose. What is the one thing that your program will stand for. In Coach's program it's obvious -- attitude. Why? Because the attitude (whether good or bad) effects each and every phase of your program. You need centering principles to build your program around and nothing gets the ball rolling in the right direction like proper team attitude.
The absolute key however, is that it must be constantly developed as Coach has said. Each day we get up as coaches and develop a practice plan. We are want to be a good rebounding team so we make sure there are some rebounding drills in the plan. Shooting the basketball is important so we make sure that we have some shooting drills as well. So if we all believe that team attitude is important then how are we working on developing it today? Make it a part of your organizational time to think about team attitude.
How do we go about this? First and foremost, make sure your team knows that it is a top priority for the success of the program. At LSU we stress Team Attitude by plastering it everywhere. It is one our team notebooks, our workout t-shirts and in various places in our locker room complex. It is a constant reminder. Another lesson from Coach Meyer is not always what you teach but what you emphasize. That's one of the most important maxim's I've got from Coach over the years. Stressing Team and Attitude has to be done at every possible moment. It is just as important to point out good team attitude as it is bad team attitude.
Discipline areas can also emphasize Team Attitude. As I also learned from Coach when it comes down to a player or the team, the player needs to know that decision was made long time ago -- the team always come first. That is the coach walking the walk.
One of our more important things is that we constantly have a former players speak to our team. It helps bring home the power of another important word in our program: LEGACY. Because Team Attitude has been a staple of our program and because we have drove home it's importance over the past decade it is always part of what the alumni address. We also bring in certain people from outside our program specifically to talk about Team Attitude. We have motivational passouts and watch video that speak to the subject of Team Attitude. It is a never ending process that brings great benefits -- but as Coach says, you must make it a priority of your philosophy.
