THE BEST ARE CONTINUAL LEARNERS

As coaches, how hard do we work to continually improve?  It never ceases to amaze me how when I attend coaching clinics, it is the best coaches that I see in attendance.  A quick thought might be that the best coaches don't need to waste their time at clinics -- they already have a philosophy and a proven system of play.  But the best are never satisfied.  They are looking for something to improve themselves as coaches as well as their players and program.  There are some coaches that talk about how they don't have enough time.  How can you not have enough time to improve?

One example would be Felicia Allen Hall's incredible Assistant Coaching Symposium held each summer.  It is refreshing to see so many young assistants in attendance working to learn their craft.  But I am impressed with so veteran assistant coaches that are there as well -- looking to improve their craft.

The perfect example was this past summer at Coach U Live on our own campus at the University of Central Florida, the large numbers of NBA coaches that were in attendance and taking notes with a fury -- and not just NBA assistant coaches but NBA head coaches.

Quite simply, the best are continual learners and I think the following passage from John Maxwell points out why it is necessary:

"The best way to keep from becoming satisfied with your current achievements is to make yourself a continual learner.  That kind of commitment may be rarer than you realize.  For example, a study performed by the University of Michigan several years ago found that one-third of all physicians in the United States are so busy working that they're two years behind the breakthroughs in their own fields."

From "Self-Improvement 101" by John Maxwell