After a day of activity, our team joins all the other athletes at LSU for the annual CHAMPS Back to School Bash. It is sponsor by the CHAMPS/Life Skills program at LSU. Director Mike Mallet, assisted by Jade Jenkins put together a tremendous amount of activities for the student-athletes ranging from health issues, to job fairs, to resume writing and a great deal more. What I like the most about CHAMPS is that it
is sponsored by one of my former players, Shaquille O'Neal. Mike deserves all the credit for getting Shaq on board whom we should nickname "The Big Giver" for how much he does to help LSU. But while most of the issues that CHAMPS delves in are serious in nature, tonight is about starting off the school year with a lot of fun and camaraderie.Now make no mistake about it -- while this function is a blast -- it also serves an important function. We firmly believe that to have a successful team, you must do things off the court as well as on the court. It helps that Mike used to be a successful basketball coach before coming to LSU and he has an understanding of that principle. Our administration also realizes this principle and supports the back to school bash as well.
As a coach, you need to look for these type of moments to build your team. If they aren't built in through your school, develop some on your own.
Check here for more on our CHAMPS Program:
