Q & A WITH KEVIN EASTMAN

Those that know me or follow our blog know of our great respect for Kevin Eastman and the responsibility he has assumed in helping us become better coaches.  Last year we brought Kevin in to speak to our team and he had an amazing impact on our Aggies.  His message is dynamic and tailored to your team.  I highly recommend you look into bringing Kevin to your campus -- regardless of what sport you coach.

Now Kevin has a new venture -- Elite Training Camp -- designed again to help coaches reach another level.  If you've attended any of the Coaching U Clinics you can only imagine the level of instruction that you will receive at this event.

Yet another example of Kevin looking to help us?  This 30 minute video "Q's for Coach."  I've watched it twice -- taking notes the second time.

DON MEYER EVERYDAY WISDOM

A few years ago, we had Abby Jump write a guest blog post for us on the lessons she had learned on the recovery process of a seven-month rehab due to a severe injury.  It was an amazing post you can go back and look at here.

She recently reached back out to us and wanted to share her notes from a talk that Coach Don Meyer had gave to her team about eight months before he passed.  They are excellent Abby -- thanks for sharing!

DON MEYER EVERYDAY WISDOM

I was fortunate enough to meet Coach Don Meyer eight months before he passed prior to my junior season at Wright State University. Our team quietly sat for hours listening to Coach Meyer talk about characteristics of great players and teams, things he had learned through winning and losing, and life lessons. Before meeting Coach Meyer, I knew I wanted to be a college basketball coach and I was encouraged to write down everything he had to say. All that came out of his mouth was so golden to me as a player and future coach that I couldn’t move my pen fast enough. I ended up writing seven pages filled of notes and probably could’ve written more if my hand wouldn’t have went numb! To this day, I refer back to these notes daily in helping me become a successful assistant coach, mentor, colleague and friend. I find myself flipping through a composition notebook nearly five years old in times of success, tragedy, stress and when I just have a ‘what would Don Meyer say?’ moment.

I had only one chance to speak to him and wish I could’ve had more because these seven pages have drastically helped me in my life and in my coaching career. Below are some notes I had taken as a young and eager player who dreamed of being as impactful as Don Meyer:

IF YOU AIN’T SERVIN’, YOU AIN’T LEADIN’

Every morning I have a 6-pack. Not what you’re thinking! A 6-pack of goals for the day. It allows me to stay committed and productive.

Process/Product à How you do something is most important

Cause/Self à Successful teams, players, and people put the cause over themselves everyday

There are two types of ENERGY PEOPLE: Energy givers and energy suckers

Have a fox hole list of trustworthy players who you would want beside you in the hole of distress.

Sooner or later TEAM PLAYERS win out

NEVER have to say “I wish I would’ve lived the life I wanted to live instead of the life everybody else wanted to list.”

Your example is not the main thing in influencing others, it is the only thing!

Don’t make decisions because they’re easy, popular or convenient. Make them because they’re right. 

The hardest decision to make is the right one.

Kindness is the language the deaf can hear and the blind can see.

Plan, Prepare, Practice like you lost your last game

Three rules of life:

1. What is your talent that is unique? Find it.

2. Develop that gift to the fullest because people don’t pay for average

3. Give your gift away every day.

Give back, there won’t be a UHaul behind your hearse

Be what you is, because if you aren’t what you are, you ain’t what you is. (He said this was written inside a bathroom stall in Mexico)

Success can knock you to your knees faster than losing – HUMBLENESS

Have adrenaline for your job every day! Some coaches aren’t nearly as affective at the end of their career because they can’t handle the additional stress. They don’t have the energy that they h ad in the beginning of their career.

You have to be sick for coaching – Love every second. You have to love what you do every single day.

You can tell a lot about a person how they treat someone who can’t help them

Be a lifelong learner!

WHAT BILL BELICHICK LEARNED FROM HIS FATHER

The following came from an ESPN article on the most important lessons learn by Bill Belichick from his father:

"Keep your head down, work hard, keep your mouth shut. Actions speak louder than words. That's basically what he did. Do what you can to help the team. The team is bigger than you."

BEING PART OF A TEAM

About 7 or 8 years ago, while coaching at LSU, I received a great opportunity to leave and join an organization outside of coaching that would allow me to work camps, speak at clinics and do individual training.  The offer was incredibly gracious -- enough for me to deeply consider it.  As it would happened, Coach Don Meyer was staying at my home a few days after I received the offer and as I did in those days, I asked him for his advice.  And I'll never forget what he said.

He told me I would enjoy many parts of the new job -- especially the teaching.  He told me he thought I'd be good at it.  But then he said, "Bob, just make sure you never forget, there's nothing like having a team...being part of a team...growing a team. When you don't have a team there will be a hole in your soul that you won't be able to fill."

I was thinking about the advice that Coach Meyer gave me when I read an article last week where someone asked Alabama football coach Nick Saban if he was at the point where he considered retirement.

He responded he had not and then said:

"I've said this before: I've been a part of a team since I was nine years old. It scares me to death to figure what it's going to be like when I'm not a part of a team.”

So for those of us that rise this morning as part of a team, let's be thankful.

TIM JANKOVICH CLINIC NOTES

We need to be in the business of being great for kids.

Are you creating a culture you’d want your child to be in?

Yelling and screaming are overrated. Must be a tool and not out of frustration. Don’t act like a coach. Be a coach.

Have gave tons of thought to exactly what you want to stand for.

Treat our players as if they are out family.

Question: “Would I do that to my own child?”

Coaches: Do more biting than barking.

You don’t want your team counting down the days until the season is over.

Coach Jankovich: “The games comes down to how good are my shots compared to yours and can I get more.”

More about who than what.

How do I beat the best 3 teams in my league.

Good action = how are we going to guard that? If I have to ask that question about an action it’s a good one.

Spends time thinking about where the game is going to be 10 years from now.

BUZZ WILLIAMS TABC CLINIC NOTES (Part III)

How do you move up the path?

1. Create a vision

2. Give ownership of that vision way everyday

3. Keep them connected to the vision (hardest thing)

    They have to believe that the vision is what’s best for them.

4. They will have ownership

    If I couldn’t see what works would I be able to hear it at your practice?

What is your language specific to your program?

We are over the top with our terminology being consistent

Coach Williams ask recruits to explain their practice/game to get an idea of their basketball IQ

Only BCS coach without an agent

Has 10 staff members that report directly to him.

Coach Williams is big into researching “I need to score right now plays.”

Reads newspapers of every team on their schedule and certain college football programs where I know the coach.

“Don’t be the coach that says ‘It’s hard to coach this generation of players.’”

Adaption to how you teach...like of maturation not to adapt.

“Teams in the post season that succeed are engaged.”

Must measure to have consequences.

Don’t burn your emotional tank on things that aren’t measured.

Not into destination with relation to our path.

“How do you keep your team engaged?”

Chart: Stop-Scores

When ball is penetrated to baseline something should happen.

   Drift

   Fill (Crack)

   One More (Pro)

   Seal/Space (I Cut)

Coaching is figuring out your why.

Not enough truth tellers.

BELICHICK ON THE IMPORTANCE OF PAYING ATTENTION

The following are a few take aways I took from CoachingSearch.com on a post about Bill Belichick written by Chris Vinnini:

THE IMPORTANCE OF PAYING ATTENTION

“Paying attention to details, being coachable, understanding the material you’re given, and then working at it,” he said. “My experience has been any athlete, coach, businessperson that pays attention to the material, listens to the coaching points, understands what they need to do to get better, if they go work hard, they’ll improve.

“If they don’t listen to the coaching and go out and work but do it their way — it’s work, but not productive work — then the improvement is pretty marginal. The person that understands the things I need to do, but they don’t actively work to improve won’t improve either. My experience has been, regardless of the talent level, if they’re attentive, they listen and work hard, then you’re going to see improvement.”

KNOW YOURSELF AND YOUR PHILOSOPHY

“If you’re trying to be someone else, it doesn’t go far,” he said. “… As I think of the coaches I watched, they were different, but what worked for them worked for them. You can only do what you can do. This might be a great idea and work for somebody else and it might be a great play, but if you can’t execute it, it’s not a good one.

Here is a link to the entire post.

THOUGHTS ON EXTENDING YOUR CAREER

Last night I was talking to a colleague about our profession.  At times it can certainly seem like a roller coaster.  He wanted to know what the key was for having an extended career in coaching.  I was reminded off a presentation I gave a few years back at the A Step Up Assistant Coaching Symposium.  The topic given to me by Felicia Hall Allen was "The Art of Extending Your Career."

I opened with this:

THE GOAL IS NOT THE GOAL

"While I am assigned to talk to you about extending your career, I'm going to go a different direction saying that extending your career should not be the goal.  The goal is to become the best assistant coach you can become on a daily basis and an extended career will follow."

I think the first thing we need to decide in coaching is what is our "Why."  We must have an overriding purpose for coaching -- it has to be the centerpiece of our culture and what we stand for.  For me, the growth of the student-athlete has to be #1 on the priority list.  

"It doesn't matter where you coach,

it matters why you coach."
-Don Meyer

I spoke about studying Nick Saban and the philosophy he has in regard to the process.  The process is keeping focused on the task at hand -- executing as well as you can with what directly lies in fornt you at that very moment.   Coach Saban does not want his players looking at the scoreboard.  His belief is that the time and score have absolutely nothing to with the intensity and concentration you need to utilize on the very next play. 

I believe the same is true with our careers.  If we are getting up in the morning thinking about extending our career or looking ahead at that next job than we are taking away energy that we need to utilizing on what is really important -- today!  The absolute best way to move of the ladder as well as extend are career is to own and master that which has been given to us at this very moment.

One of the areas that I spoke about was Professionalism.  I firmly believe that ethical choices are a full-time job.  It must be character over victory.  Don't let a short-term gain for a win be overshadowed by a poor choice you made to try and get an edge.  

THE TRUE IMPORTANCE OF WINNING

Of course, our biggest obstacle is winning.  We are expected to win immediately and constantly.  And don't get me wrong, winning is important as the following thought from Vince Lombardi points out:

"No leader, however great, can long continue 

unless he wins battles.  The battle decides all."

-Vince Lombardi

It's true.  If we want to continue to impact young people through coaching...if we want to have a positive contribution to our communities -- we have to win -- to keep our jobs.

I gave the example of a coach being hired at a BCS program and having a record of 38-47 after his first three years.  The last home game of his third season, he lost to his rival by 24 points.  He then went to his conference tournament and lost by 43!

I asked the coaches at the clinic "What do you think the athletic director did the next week?"

Of course, the all answered "Fire the coach."

They were stunned when I told them the AD gave the coach an extension.  I then told them the AD was Duke's Tom Butters and the coach was Mike Krzyzewski.

Those days are over.  The days when an administrator can see through the losses to see that a coach is doing the right things and building something.  I've heard Coach K speak at clinics and he even admits that if he were hired today and got off to the same start that he'd never see his fourth year.

Still, we can't let winning be a conflict of interested.  We can't be overly consumed or blinded so much in trying to win that we turn our head to discipline and our culture.  The best coaches are willing fight for the culture even if it might cost them a victory.

That's not to say winning isn't important.  Certainly we have to teach winning to our teams.  As a young student at Marshall University, the basketball coach at the time, the late Stu Aberdeen spoke about the importance of winning.  As he explained, when we are on the operating table fighting for our life, we better hope that the doctors and nurses have a strong desire to win.  Coach Aberdeen explained that should we ever be falsely accused in a court of law, that we better hope our attorney has driven to win.

As I mentioned earlier, ethical choices are a full time job -- and I do believe there is a right way to win and a wrong way to win.  If you are a principled person that means a great deal.  I posed the question to the coaches at the symposium -- "are you willing to lose your job?"  Do you believe so much in the principles of integrity that you would walk away from a job that did not share in your beliefs?

BE A CONTINUAL LEARNER

The second part of the process of staying in this business is becoming a continual learner.  There must be a fire within to constantly be searing knowledge to help you grow as a person and a teacher. 

My suggestion to the coaches in the audience was to become an expert at something in the game: post play, shooting, zone defense, etc.  Pick something and learn it at the highest level.  I think it is always important to be a good recruiter but don't be labeled as such because you don't excel in other areas.

Today there are so many ways to improve.  We had just came off of a Final Four season at LSU and one summer I went to Oklahoma to watch Sherri Coale and her Sooners practice for three days in preparation to go overseas.  The next year we again made it to the Final Four and I headed to Duke to watch Gail Goestenkors to again observe several practices before she took her team overseas.  

Today there are so many clinics to attend: Coaching U, Nike, PGC/Glazier.  There are tons of great blogs and Youtube loaded with information.  Have you attended an NBA or WNBA practice session? If not, you are missing out on some of the game's best teachers.

One other factor in being a continual learner today is the not just accept but to embrace technology.  Whether it's social media, apps for our phones and iPads or every improving methods of watching and breaking down video -- it's all there in front of us to help us improve.

FIND BALANCE

The next part of extending a career is to find balance.  I spend a great deal of time in my office -- always have and always will.  But I find a way to incorporate my wife with our program.  She has always been a big part of our culture.  Whether it's having the team over to decorate our Christmas tree, throwing a Mardi Gras parting in February or just having them over for an occasional home cooked meal, Sherie has always been active in helping us serve our student-athletes.

It's also important to plan family time.  Schedule time for your spouse and children though out the season -- an honor those commitments.  I learned most of this the hard way.  I once coached eight consecutive summers without a vacation.  I stayed up all night in the office two nights a week during the season watching video and getting scouting reports ready.  Then my wife was diagnosed with breast cancer!  It was an amazing paradigm shift for me and give me instant perspective.

Coach Don Meyer also talking about having "your time," where it is just you.  It can be a time of meditation or reflection.  For me, I like to do it early in the morning while everyone is still asleep.  I can catch up on some reading or spend some time writing in my journal.

Yet another example of helping you with balance is creating a circle of influence.  A handful of people that your believe in and trust.  Most importantly, these people need to be someone that love you enough to tell you the truth. Someone that can tell you your full of crap when you are.  Some can be coaches but it's always good to have some non-coaches in your circle.

TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR FINANCES

Part 4 of an extended career is the handling of your finances.  I shared with the coaches, and especially tried to get through to the younger ones that my biggest regret in coaching wasn't a decision on the floor but it was not getting involved with a financial planner early in my career.  I have had one the past 20 years and the results (and security) are amazing!  Many young coaches don't think they make enough money to work with a planner -- that's actually all the more reason you do.  One of the first things that Kay Martin of Ameriprise was talk to me about short-term and long-term goals.  Part of that process was to create an emergency fund that would pay into gradually to where we would have three months worth of salary to live on should anything happen.  Well, we have far more than three months now and its a great feeling to have that type of security -- not just for me but for my family.

I also have a special tax accountant that understands my profession and helps to keep that organized and more importantly, helps me maximize all of the possible exemptions and write offs available to me.

"You must gain control of your money

or the lack of it will forever control you."

-Dave Ramsey

BE FLEXIBLE

Next on the list of theories for having a long career is your ability to be flexibility.  It is a game, no a world, that is constantly evolving and changing. As assistant coaches we have to adjust to changes on our staff...we tend to change jobs a couple of times we must adjust to head coaches...we must adjust to administration...we must adjust to the times.  The best way to adjust is to stay open minded -- be a good communicator (which means a lot of listening as an assistant coach).

We must also adjust to the players.  This does not mean give in and allow the players to dictate policy.  But I firmly believe every player has a story and it is our job as coaches to learn that story.  Our ability to know them at a deeper level is critical for us to help them.  At UCF, we utilized Bill Rogers (who worked with Pat Summitt's Lady Vols along with some professional teams) in order to learn about their personalities.  What was their leadership potential? What were the primary motivators for each individual?  How did they best learn -- were they audio, visual or physical learners?  And then we adjust how we teach to meet them in the middle, where they can best be taught.

BE A PROBLEM SOLVER

Whether at clinics, via email or phone conversations, I often get the question "what are the attributes for being a successful coach?"  There are several in my opinion, most of them are obvious.  But one that is critically important is that you must be a problem solver.  Coaching is about solving problems.  

Not enough resources? Solve it.
Not enough post players or shooters? Solve it.
Lacking in facilities? Solve it.
Team chemistry problems? Solve it.

I'm not sure that there is not at least one minor problem per day in coaching -- but you have to solve it.  Solving problems to me begins with attitude.  Working for Coach Dale Brown I learned that we were not to use the word "problem" but we were to use the word "opportunity."  Coach Brown would tell us not to come in his office with a problem unless we were ready to offer a solution.  When people ask me what made Coach Brown so successful, again there are several reasons.  But one was he was a solution-oriented person when it came to problems.  He would amaze me with his attitude -- almost excited that a problem has arose because he loves the challenge of defeating it.

HAVE A SYSTEM OF ORGANIZATION

The final area I touched on was to become organized and primarily I was talking about improving your ability to document everything.  All conversations I have I follow up with the person I was speaking to with a short email of bullet points.  I do this with my players as well.  If I meet with a player to go over video, we both take notes and I email them to her.  Of course discussions of behavior -- both positive and negative -- are followed up with an email.

I'm a big believer in writing handwritten notes -- even with all the technology today.  I love to write a handwritten note to a player and stick it in her locker.  I also screen shot text messages -- positive and negative with players for my files.  I want as complete a written file on dealings with players, coaches, administrators, media and anyone else on the professional level.

We live in a time where you need to have your bases covered.

The final suggestion for extending your career?  Enjoy the ride! Embrace the grind -- even the problem solving.  The best coaches I've been around get a rise our of solving a problem.  You must be passionate about what you do but you still need a plan -- the role of an assistant coach is never easy but it is important.  Accept that role and challenge yourself to be the very best your can be.

LESSONS LEARNED FROM LOSING AND WINNING

"I've never bought the idea that you learned much from losing.  In my experience, you learn far more from winning, which also makes your players more receptive to criticism.  All losing does is reinforce the things that cause you to lose, and I already know what they are.  When you're out-prepared, out-coached, out-motivated, out-conditioned, outsmarted -- can you tell me something positive you can get out of that?"

From "Finding A Way To Win" by Bill Parcells

QUOTES FROM DON YAEGER'S "GREAT TEAMS"

Here are just a few great quotes from Don Yaeger's book "Great Teams:"


"Motivation is short, but inspiration lasts a lifetime."
-Ganon Baker

"Great competitors focus on daily improvement, with the mind-set to win each and every day."
-Bruce Bowen

"I think every leader must have a heart of service."
-Aja Brown

"I believe in winning the day and looking for small victories for my players, whether a great play in practice, a passing grade on an exam, or a personal best in the weight room.  I use these opportunities to reinforce behavior that was consistent with the culture I wanted to build."
-Jim Calhoun

"Promising something like playing time, is setting up disappointment and a breakdown of trust."
-Jim Calipari

"How your team complements each other is just as important as their individual skill sets."
-Jerry Colangelo

"When communication breaks down, mistrust and bad attitudes begin to develop.  I remain in constant communication with my players and staff to ensure they are all on the same page."
-Tom Crean

"Great teams know how to listen in a meeting and understand when feedback is required."
-Randy Cross

"My practices are called the 'competitive cauldron' because of my focus on competition and punishing pace."
-Anson Dorrance

"A shared culture will quickly show the new team member how he is expected to act...Personal agendas are not tolerated within the standards of a strong organization."
-Kevin Eastman

"A talented team will gie its best work every day, no matter what."
-China Gorman

TRAITS OF A GREAT COACH

Last week there was a lengthy article written on Bill Belichick by David Fleming of ESPN The Magazine.  You can read it in its entirety here -- and it's well worth it.  In the meantime, here are some takeaways about him from the piece that I think should resonate with good coaching:

Taking Away What Your Opponent Does Best

Bill Parcells: "With the Giants, we were trying to take away an opponent's best players and not let them beat us. Bill has followed suit on that pretty much his whole career."

Rick Venturi:  "Everybody in football wants to take away what you do best. The difference is Bill would go to an extreme to make you play left-handed. That's Belichick's absolute genius: pragmatism. When other coaches say it's important that we take away an opponent's best receiver, only Bill would commit four defenders on a receiver and play the rest of his defense with the other seven."

Rick Venturi: "Early in the week, before the X's and O's, you meet for hours upon hours as a staff breaking down personnel to come up with a game plan. Once Bill decided what to focus on taking away, he always ended that meeting with the same saying: 'And I don't want to have this discussion on Sunday.' Basically, he was saying, 'This week, not letting their No. 1 receiver catch any balls is one of our Ten Commandments, and no one better break it.'"

Work Ethic

Phil Savage: "Saban might be the greatest college coach ever, and I can honestly say in the last eight years at Alabama I have never once seen him tired. But in Cleveland, under Bill, he'd go slump down against a wall and stutter, "I gotta get out of here, I can't function anymore." Bill could outwork all of us."

Bob Quinn: "I'd get to the office somewhere between 6 and 6:30 every morning and he was always there. In 15 years I could probably count on both hands the number of times I pulled into the parking lot and he wasn't there. When the leader of the organization does that, it's really easy for everyone else to kind of take that mentality too and say, 'If he's doing it, we all should do it.'"

Rick Venturi: "His philosophy from the beginning was 'No stone left unturned' and 'No envelope unpushed in order to win.' And the result of that was you worked to exhaustion. But he never asked you to do anything he wasn't doing. I look back on that first season as the greatest year in my coaching life."

Caring For Those You Work With

Jon Robinson: "After my daughter was diagnosed at 6 with Type 1 diabetes, a week later on my desk there was a little teddy bear, with a Belichick hoodie on it. And he had written a little note: 'I know this doesn't cure it, but just something for Taylor to know we are thinking about her and praying for her.' She knew it was from Coach. She named her bear Hoodie."

John Harbaugh: "Bill called our owner at like 3 in the morning to recommend me for the Ravens job. I was just really grateful and I couldn't believe it. I called Bill up and thanked him right away. He just said, 'Ah, don't worry about it, you should've had the job three days ago.'"

Jim Schwartz: "He did a great job of coaching coaches. It wasn't just the players. He coached the coaches."

The Importance of Details

Jim Schwartz: "Probably the biggest thing I learned from Bill is that there isn't anything that is not important. Anything that touches the team is important. That philosophy of 'Don't sweat the small stuff'? Yeah, that was never his philosophy."

Phil Savage: "He proceeds to go through all these little intricacies on the game film ... and it's 20 minutes on one play. Twenty minutes! In my immature mind I'm sitting there in the dark doing the math: Three games to break down on each side of the ball, 60 plays in each game, 20 minutes a play means I can get through three plays in an hour. My god, I'll never sleep again. And I didn't."

The Culture of Teaching

Phil Savage: "Most coaches specialize on one side of the ball. But he's one of the few out there who have a global perspective of the entire game and all 22 positions. He's a true coach of all 22 positions plus every specialist. That's a rarity. He's one of the few coaches out there who, if you dropped him on the staff at Drake University and said, 'Hey, be the tight ends coach,' he could absolutely coach those tight ends to the nth degree."

Adam Vinatieri: He knew what was going on in the building at all times. He controlled which doors we went out of. The way in and out of our locker room to our cars was right by his office. I think when they built it, there was probably planning involved."

Rosevelt Colvin: "The dude's a walking football encyclopedia. He can give you the history of the spread formation or the single wing. I tell people all the time, if you ever had a conversation with him about football it would be one of the greatest conversations you ever had in your whole life."

Kevin Faulk: "We prepared for everything. Not saying we perfected it, but we prepared for everything. There's no second-guessing or hesitation when you play for Bill. When you have to think on the field, it slows you down. When you know exactly what you're doing and how to do it and why you're doing it, that allows you to play faster, and your talent flows freely. It's like being in class. They hand you a test, you open it up, look at the questions and go, 'Wow, I know all the answers already.'"

Don Jones (Patriots Safety, 2014): "Tuesday they would give us the scouting report, and on Wednesday morning Bill would go around the whole room -- from Tom Brady down to the bottom man on the roster -- and ask everybody about the person they were going against. You really didn't want to be the one not to know."

Heath Evans: "Those Q&A's could get really, really stressful because he could ask you anything and you'd better know it. [Former Patriots tackle] Matt Light always sat right behind me, so any time Bill did ask me a question early on, Matt would be whispering in my ear all the wrong answers."

JIM JABIR: BUILDING YOUR CULTURE

We were blessed this weekend to have Jim Jabir as our guest speaker at the Gary Blair Coaching Academy. Coach Jabir had two sessions with our coaches, one on Building Your Culture and the other on The Phoenix Transition Offense.  Here are a few notes from his lecture on culture.

Goals vs. Process

Goals can cause you to lose sight on what you need to be doing at that moment.

It's like climbing a mountain.  If you are constantly looking at the top of the mountain as you climb, you're going to misstep and fall.  They key is to keep your eye on each single step and step by step you'll arrive to the top of the mountain.

What do people see when they see your team?

You must have a philosophy/program of substance -- it must be bigger than the game.

Coach Jabir wants his program to represent unselfishness, intelligence and playing hard.

Important to control what you can control.

Greatest compliment he's received as a coach was at a recruiting event.  He was on another court when someone came up to him and told him there was a "Dayton player" over on court 1 -- meaning there was a player that displayed the characteristics that this person related to being a Dayton player.  When Coach Jabir went to the court to check the player out, it turned out to be one that had committed to him earlier.

First thing he did when getting hired at Dayton was write "FAMILY" on the board and then outline all that it meant.

"Greatness comes from being consistent in your belief system."

Coach Jabir wants kids that love each other and will win because they want to win for each other.

It's a game of trust.  You can't love someone you don't trust.

We talk about "what" but we don't talk about "why" enough.

Great leaders inspire action.

It's not enough to give a kid a role -- you have to help them understand it and it's importance.

Has had the opportunity to observe Geno and the big thing with him is that he challenges them every day.

You can't be good at everything...what's your team equipped to do?  Work on that.

Are you "complaint" or are you "compelled."

Everyone says they want to play fast but do they want to do all that it takes to successfully play fast...painful work...discipline.

Archie Miller sign in locker room "Do Your Job" (Patriots)

Don't hype your opponent -- be factual.

Advancing in the post season is believing in what we do.

Coach Jabir doesn't use conditional statements -- doesn't say "if."

You need a certain level of stress to succeed.  Create stress levels in practice but reward them when they get it right.

Be in the present!

Can't be afraid of making a mistake.

Great players aren't great by coincident. 

DEAN LOCKWOOD CLINIC NOTES (PART I)

Spending some time the past few weeks reviewing clinic notes and this morning it was from my friend Dean Lockwood of the University of Tennessee.  This particular set of notes came from a PGC/Glazier Clinic in Chicago a few years ago that we spoke at:

You have to have a philosophy

On motivation via Louis L'Amour: "The water doesn't run till you turn the faucet on."

On improving via Max DePree: "We can't become what we need to be by remaining what are."

Needs assessment:
     What you want
     What it is
     Gap

Evaluate Your Program
1. Do a needs assessment
2. Define profile of competition you want.
3. Level of conditioning...this is where...
     ...Competitiveness starts
     ...Creates confidence
4. Coach controls environment

Teach...Emphasize...Reinforce...Support.....Measure

Be precise, clear and specific

Drills: time and score...don't stop competitive drills

Readiness and Preparation

Recognize and reward high achievers
     Starve the turkeys
     Feed the eagles

Know you boss and know how you boss defines success.

Competitive Skill Work
1. Shooting Skill -- time and score...chart
2. Team Drills -- 4/4/4 Cut Throat -- only score on defense
3. Consequences
4. Practice must be harder than games

URBAN MEYER ON CULTURE (PART II)

This is the second of three parts about the philosophy of culture as it is taught by Ohio State's Urban Meyer.  The following comes from his book "Above The Line" which I feel strongly needs to be on every coaches library shelf:

Building a culture is a three-part process.

Believe It

First you have  to think deeply about the guiding principles and core values that you want at the heart of your organization.  What behaviors are essential to execute your strategy, and waht beliefs are essential to drive those behaviors?  Identify the behaviors that are necessary to execute your strategy.  Identify the beliefs that are necessary to drive and sustain those behaviors.

Second, examine yourself.  Be honest and courageous.  Do you believe in those core values and does your behavior reflect that belief?

If you don't believe it, no one else will believe it.

Sell It

Once your culture is clearly defined, communicate it to your players and staff with clarity and consistency, explaining why it is essential to the success of the program.  This is not a deviate.  This is you as the leader standing before your team and building the foundation necessary for success.  Your culture message but be exceptionally clear: no confusion, no uncertainty, no excuses.

Demand It

When you determine what the culture is and communicate it with exceptional clarity, it is imperative that you hold people accountable to it.  Let people know that adherence to the culture isn't merely an expectation, it is a requirement.  The culture is the only acceptable standard of performance.  One of the biggest mistakes leaders make is failing to hold people accountable for behavior that is inconsistent with the culture.  Remember this: if you permit, you promote it.

The leadership challenge is to build a culture that generates and sustains winning behavior.

URBAN MEYER ON CULTURE (PART I)

I fully believe that success leaves clues.  One of the best place to look for clues is in reading -- especially books by those that have demonstrated consistent success.  One of the better books I've read in the past couple of years is "Above The Line" by Ohio State football coach Urban Meyer.  Coach Meyer opens up his program and shares his philosophy and some of the things he did in building a Championship Program.  The entire book is a great read but Chapter 3: Creating a Culture is worth the price of the book alone.  Here are just a few of my take aways from this section.

Leaders create culture.  Culture drives behavior.  Behavior produces results.

Leadership isn't a difference maker, it is the difference maker.

Performance cannot be declared.  It must be lead.  Great results are initiated and sustained by great leadership.  Not just leaders at the top, but leaders at every level.  Leadership is the triggering factor in the Performance Pathway.

Behavior reinforces the culture that creates it.

Ironically, some coaches are so preocupied with pushing for results that they fail to build a culture that sustains the behavior that produces results.  But winning behavior will not thrive in a culture that does not support it.

As a leader, you are responsible for creating a winning culture that drives behavior and produces winning results.  It's not someone else's job.  It's your job!

Exceptional leaders create a culture that engages hearts and minds, energizes action, and executes with discipline.  When that happens, the numbers and wins follow.

Culture eats strategy for lunch.  Talent, schemes, tactics and plans cannot replace a strong culture.  A great culture can make even a mediocre strategy successful, but weak culture will undermine even the best strategy.  The foundation of culture is core beliefs.  Not platitudes or quotes.  Core beliefs.  The beliefs that are the heart of the team.

10 WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR COACHING

The following comes from a passout via Coach Mike Dunlap: 

The evolution of a master teacher takes years of skill development. The outstanding coach is an exceptional teacher. We believe that there are fundamental steps that should be considered when teaching your team:

1) Know the five laws of learning
• Explain what you want
• Demonstrate for the learner
• Player demonstrates
• Correct demonstration
• Repetition is lord and master

2) Know how players learn
• Visual
• Auditory
• Kinetic
• Writing/Drawing
• Player as coach
• Cooperative versus competitive technique
• Whole, part, whole versus part whole method
• Feedback system – negative versus positive

3) Teaching techniques
• Universal teaching technique (i.e. find the problem and fix it)
• Praise, prompt, and leave (i.e. find positive, correction, and next step, leave)
• Relay teach – the cooperative method
• Create your own language (e.g. anachronisms)
• Use your voice as a tool
• Speak in word pictures, analogies, and metaphors
• Overload to get conditioned response (i.e. consistently give the student the advantage when they are demonstrating as early success breeds confidence)
• Progression – teach in sequence and then reverse it (i.e. inductive & deductive)

4) Use the four steps of shaping
• Set the stage
• Modeling
• Prompt
• Forms of feedback (i.e. ask questions, make observations, reinforce the correct response)

5) Talk less, do more
• We need to reduce out verbal instruction

6) Recognize the power of observation, listening, and gathering information
• Behavior patterns
• Myers/ Briggs psychological exam, self-aggression evaluation, and the “I am sheet”

7) Role declaration is paramount to a coaches’ success

8) Know your audience, circumstance, and be ready to adapt or change course

9) Competition means time, score, and personal records (e.g. individual/group)

10) Apologize
• We will make mistakes. We humanize ourselves when we go public and our players will accept us more readily.