You pick up things along the road in coaching. Sometimes directly and sometimes indirectly. Probably one of the most powerful paradigms in coaching that I have come across has been to "focus on the process." Don't get caught up in winning and losing but focus on a day to day basis and improving. Coach John Wooden never spoke about winning or losing to his team. At LSU, Nick Saban was always speaking about the "process" and concentration on "dominating one play at a time."
Many coaches, when talking about the process will agree to it's importance but when the opportunity arises they will trade in a long-term decision for a short-term gain. As a young coach I can remember studying Bob Knight while at Indiana. He might take a starter out early in the game and not play him the rest of the game or even a play him at all. Even if it would put the game in jeopardy, Knight was thinking long-term in trying to motivate players to do what they were supposed to do, when they were supposed do it and do it as well as they were capable of doing it.
For players, it's even more difficult to understand process. They are all about winning games or getting awards and recognition. Coach Dale Brown referred to it as "instant gratification" syndrome. What can you do for me right now? What can I have right now? It's an "instant" society. Fast food. Microwaves. Internet. In life we are trying to bypass the process.
One player who understood the process was Michael Jordan. How ironic -- the great player in the game new it was a long term commitment.
As a big believer in the process, I love MJ's quote:“I don’t want to be on the team that wins seventy games and doesn’t win the championship. I’d rather be on a team that wins fifty and wins the championship.”
Many think Jordan was born a great player, blessed with special God-given attributes which is why this Nike commercial ranks as one of my all-time favorties -- it's a great message!
