THE WARRIORS CULTURE AND HOW ITS DRIVEN BY STEPH CURRY

As a young assistant on the men's staff at LSU, I journeyed to Nashville in the fall of 1994 for my first Coach Don Meyer Free Clinic.  It was amazing!  So many things Coach Meyer shared with us that weekend resonated with me including this concept:

"If your best player is also your hardest worker,

 you have a chance to a good team."

I can think back to every team I've been involved with and the ones where our best players were the most committed, we had outstanding success.  On those teams where our best players gave less than their best, our team fell short of achieving the level of potential possible.

Look at some of the best NBA teams and equate work ethic with their best player.  Boston Celtics and Larry Bird.  Los Angeles Lakers with Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant.  Miami/Cleveland and LeBron James.

And the Golden State Warriors and Steph Curry.

In an article for ESPN.com Baxter Holmes wrote of the culture of the Golden State Warriors and the "Curry effect."

Practice ended hours ago at the Warriors' Oakland facility, and Klay Thompson is heading toward the door, the last Warrior to leave. It's May 11, a few days before the Warriors open their much-anticipated conference finals series against the Rockets, but Thompson pauses before exiting. He looks across the empty court, at a far basket -- the one Curry shoots on every day. "He works as if he's still a rookie, [as if] he's still trying to make his way in this league," Thompson says of his Splash Brother, a teammate for seven seasons. "We all see that, and it makes us go to our hoops and put [in] work. No one wants to be off the floor before him, because this man is the one."

Indeed, before practices, Curry and Fraser choose from a menu of more than two dozen items, depending on which aspects of Curry's game need sharpening. Maybe shooting off-the-dribble jumpers or shooting after high-ball screens or ballhandling drills. Repetitions vary, but Curry always ends his sweat-soaked workout with 100 3-point attempts, often making in the mid- to high-80s -- and frequently into the 90s. After all his makes, Curry will sit beneath the basket, his back against the stanchion, his chest heaving up and down, a bottle of water between his legs. By this point in the day, he's often one of the few Warriors on the court, if not the last. It has been this way for years.

Coach Steve Kerr and Curry’s teammates also talk about the “energy” he brings to the team and how it is contagious.

Ask Curry's teammates to describe his impact, and more than pace or space, they'll cite an on-court energy when he's among them -- one that spreads throughout the crowd. "There's a different feel in the arena," Kerr says. "Similar to Michael [Jordan], there is just this awe factor from opposing crowds, and every crowd is sprinkled with Steph jerseys no matter where we are, and there's a palpable excitement when he gets going. In Oracle, it's the tidal wave. And on the road it's like, 'Oh, my god, I can't believe what I'm watching.'"

Another word that teammates and coaches use to describe Curry is humility.

"There's a humility about [Curry] that you can't really be taught at this point," Thompson says. "And he's just easy to joke with. He'll joke with our video interns, he'll joke with our owners, he'll joke with our equipment guys. When you see your best player being loose and disciplined -- like, it's a fine line, but when you can walk both lines, it just makes for such a nice work atmosphere."

Assistant coach Ron Adams, who just turned 70, is the Warriors' sage, imparting wisdom from nearly three decades in the NBA. "I think every day he realizes how lucky he is," Adams says. "He also realizes the joy that he can bring to people's lives -- not only his teammates, but I just think in general.

"He pulls that off better than any pro athlete I think I've been around."

THE VALUE OF "GLUE GUYS"

The following is a few excerpts from an article on ESPN.com about "glue guys" and how they can have such a huge impact on a team. The story, written by Jackie McMullen spends some time on Channing Frye and the Cleveland Cavaliers but also speaks to other glue guys.  The entire article can be found here and is worth the read.  It will be something we'll share with our team but here are a few of my take aways:

The Cavaliers group text chain is aptly named BORED. Channing Frye's nimble mind requires constant stimulation, so he instituted BORED shortly after he joined Cleveland in February 2016, contacting the entire roster and encouraging all of his new teammates to share random thoughts.

Last week's BORED text chain, on the eve of the NBA Finals, tackled the burning question of which muscle man is the most iconic.

"The Rock or Arnold Schwarzenegger?" Frye texted. "I'll take The Rock."

The rebukes were fast and furious. LeBron James and Kevin Love, fervent Schwarzenegger backers, immediately fired back with a slew of insults directed at Frye.

"They were killing me," Frye said, grinning. "So let them have a little fun at my expense. It gives them common ground.

"And that's good."

Just days before the NBA trade deadline in February 2016, James got word that the Cavaliers planned to swap one of his favorite teammates, Anderson Varejao, to acquire Frye. Though Varejao had played sparingly that season, James had concerns about losing such a positive locker room presence.

"Hey, RJ," James asked Jefferson. "What about Channing Frye? How's he going to fit with us?"

"Man, you are gonna love him," Jefferson said. "He will bring us all closer. You'll see."

"That," James says now, "was all I needed to hear."

McMullen makes an excellent point on the variety of glue guys:

Glue guys take on many forms. Sometimes they are the best players, redoubtable both in performance and preparation (see: Tim Duncan). Sometimes, more than one player cements team chemistry. The 2015 Warriors, for instance, relied on the whimsical lightness of Leandro Barbosa to infuse the team with energy and play the role of the Draymond Green whisperer. Golden State also leaned on the experience of Andre Iguodala, who, when situations called for a little more gravity, exhibited an invaluable edge.

More often, though, glue guys are the veterans who have been there and done that, imparting their wisdom, toughness or positivity to a team.

James Posey cemented his status as the glue guy of the 2008 Celtics when, during the team's preseason trip to Rome, the players were scrimmaging in a tiny gym and the second unit scored a string of baskets. Kevin Garnett, Posey says, cheated the second-teamers out of a point and declared the starting five the winners. Posey called him out and wound up chest to chest with Garnett. "I don't care how good you are," Posey growled, "you have to be accountable like the rest of us."

"It was the moment," says former Celtics coach Doc Rivers, "that set the tone for the entire season."

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.

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

GREAT TEAMS: 16 THINGS HIGH-PERFOMING ORGANIZATIONS DO DIFFERENTLY

I got to know Don Yaeger while working for Dale Brown at LSU.  Don spent an entire year around our program and the best thing I can say about him is that he gets it.  He has a great understanding of the human element as it equates to athletics and he understands what goes into successful programs.  It's why I am always anticipating his next book.  This summer he may have topped himself with "Great Teams: 16 Things High-Performing Organizations Do Differently."

I'm going to share a few highlights from the book but if you are involved with any group that you are trying to force as a team, to help an organization achieve it's maximum potential, you're going to want to get a copy of this book!

Chapter 1
Great Teams Understand Their "Why"
"You can try to tell people why what they do matters.  You can try to show them.  But people get what it means when they can feel it."
-Mike Krzyzewski.

"Culture must be reminded everyday. The history gives us a starting point to learn from the past, produce in the present and prepare for the future."
-Kevin Eastman

Chapter 2
Great Teams Have And Develop Great Leaders
"Part of being a leader is getting to know your players."
-Anson Doorance

Chapter 3
Great Teams Allow Culture To Shape Recruiting
"Leadership gets what it emphasizes.  When the recruits arrive to campus, there's so much hype in the facilities and the winning.  But we tell them that all of the hype will not be their happiness.  Instead, their happiness will be in the coaches we surround them with and how we treat them in the locker room.  Culture will determine their happiness."
-Chris Peterson

Chapter 4
Great Teams Create And Maintain Depth
"If you don't have someone on your team that's a capable replacement, then you're going to have a hole in the picture of your puzzle."
-Jerry West

Chapter 5
Great Teams Have A Road Map
As a former Alabama offensive coordinator Jim McElwain explained during an ESPN radio interview, Saban "has a vision.  He has a plan.  And yet, I think the thing that keeps him consistent and ahead of the curve, not just football-wise, but everything within the organization -- there's a follow-up, as far as 'What can we do better? What is new out there?  What can we do, you know, to move things forward whether it is offensive, defense, special teams, recruiting, academics, training room," it doesn't matter...What he does is set the vision and then gets great people around him and lets them be creative.

Chapter 6
Great Teams Promote Camaraderie And A Sense Of Collective Direction
St. Louis Cardinals' chairman Bill DeWitt and his management team send a sixty-eight-page book to all new recruits.  The book is packed with historical relevancies, general expectations for a Cardinal player, and specific instructions tailored to that particular player's position.  The information is helpful, but it is the book itself that carries the meaning of "now you're one of us."

Chapter 7
Great Teams Manage Dysfunction, Friction, And Strong Personalities
Great teams understand the reason behind conflict and find ways to rise above it; however, conflict resolution is a skill that must be exercises to be effective.

Chapter 8
Great Teams Build A Mentoring Culture
"In the SEAL teams we figured out very, very early on that specific mentorship of connecting a senior officer to a junior officer has a tremendous value.  It's a fundamental thing that SEAL development looks at.  The minute you stop learning and stop seeking out growth opportunities, you'll begin to rot pretty quickly."
-Rorke Denver

Chapter 9
Great Teams Adjust Quickly To Leadership Transitions
"Change is almost uncomfortable and exhausting.  You are asking your organization to do something in a new way -- every day -- until it's a habit.  The 'old' habits may have taken years to form and were likely linked to rewards to it's normal for individuals and teams to reverse to what's comfortable when difficulties or confusions arise."
-Sharon Price John

Chapter 10
Great Teams Adapt And Embrace Change
"It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive, but those who can best manage change."
-Charles Darwin

"The younger players see the world differently.  And it's up to you as the communicator to know who you are addressing.  Adjustment is hard, but is a lot easier if you, as a leader, are a willing learner."
-Mike Krzyzewski

Chapter 11
Great Teams Run Successful Huddles
Bill Walsh analyzed and even recorded meetings to spot potential lulls and weaknesses in their process.  He wanted to make sure his assistant coaches -- who would sometimes change from year to year -- were teaching his team in a consistent fashion.

Chapter 12
Great Teams Improve Through Scouting
"I think you have to study yourself a lot.  It's important as a quarterback to study yourself, your opponent and be sure you're doing the fundamentals and mechanics right."
-Peyton Manning

Chapter 13
Great Teams See Values Others Miss
Great teams never answer the "why" question with, "Because we've always done it this way."  Instead, they regularly evaluate each situation and seek unique opportunities for improvement.

Chapter 14
Great Teams Win In Critical Situations
Many companies mistake movement for momentum.  By paying employees to work harder, organizations also create an incentive bias when trying to motivate a strong finish.  Paying someone to do more gets movement but not always true motivation.  And teams with higher motivation will always beat teams that only get movement.

Chapter 15
Great Teams Speak A Different Language
Steve Kerr on observing Pete Carroll of the Seattle Seahawks:  "There's no yelling and screaming...there's teaching.  It was liberating to see and had a great influence on me."

"As a leader it is so important to be precise with your language."
-Pete Carroll

Chapter 16
Great Teams Avoid The Pitfalls Of Success
The great John Wooden, whom I have mentioned several times in this book, often said, "Winning takes talent; to repeat takes character."

"How you respond to a mistake is more important than the mistake itself."
-Tim Walton

The appendix in Don's book is 33 pages long with outstanding quotes and concepts from the best in the business and this section alone is worth the cost of the books.  It includes Ganon Baker, Colonel Bernie Banks, Bobby Bowden, Bruce Bowen, Aja Brown, Dale Brown, Jim Calhoun, John Calipari, Pete Carroll, Jack Clark, Jerry Colangelo, Barry Collier, Tom Crean, Randy Cross, Commander Rorke Denver, Bill Dewitt, Jr., Billy Donovan, Anson Dorrance, Kevin Eastman, P. J. Fleck, Willie Gault, China Gorman, G. J. Hart, Sylvia Hatchell, Tom Izzo, Jimmie Johnson, Michael Jordan, Greg Kampe, Steve Kerr, Mike Krzyzewski, Jenn Lim, Archie Manning, Eli Manning, Dan Marino, Mike Martin, Misty May-Treanor, Bill McCermott, Derin McMains, Dayton Moore, Jamie Moyer, Tom Osborne, Chack Pagano, Bob Reinheimer, Jerry Rice, Russ Rose, David Ross, Nolan Ryan, Simon Sinek, Jerry Sloan, Tubby Smith, Bill Snyder, Brendan Suhr, Stan Van Gundy, Bill Walton, Jerry West, John Wooden, Steve Young.

IT STARTS AND ENDS WITH RELATIONSHIPS

There was an interesting article on The Bleacher Report by one of their SEC beat writers, Barrett Sallee.  The writer interviewed former Georgia head football coach Jim Donnan.  Sallee asked Donnan who still lives in Athens if he gave new coach Kirby Smart any advice.  Here is his response.

"The one thing that I told him was that the biggest mistake that I made my first year was that I spent way too much time with the alumni clubs speaking and trying to promote the program rather than being with the players. I felt like I spent enough time with the players, but still, looking at the relationships the first year compared to the second year was night and day."

 It appears Smart took Donnan's advice to heart.

 As Marc Weiszer of the Athens Banner-Herald pointed out in March, Smart scaled back his alumni club speaking events from where the schedule sent former head coach Mark Richt. That's not a slight against the alumni who helped and continue to help build the program. It's a matter of putting the current team first while also balancing the responsibilities that head coaches have to ensure a bright future.

 "I think I went to 57 of them my first year—either civic clubs or booster clubs or all of that," Donnan said. "You cut that in half or a fourth, and you can spend that much more time with your players. That's the real key. Not only the players, but the families. I think it's great that he invited some players' families over to a couple of the scrimmages this year early because you have to get to know them, too."

Simply doesn’t matter what sport or what level, it starts and ends with relationships.

INSIDE MOTIVATION FOR THE CAVS...WHAT ARE YOU DOING FOR YOUR TEAM

Motivation can come in a variety of ways.  Certainly self-motivation ranks as the highest form.  But there is something to say for any form of motivation that can unify a team...something that everyone feels a part of and can rally around.

The Cleveland Cavaliers came ups with just that -- inspiration that the entire team shared during their historic playoff run.  

As reported by Brian Windhorst of ESPN, the Cavs James Jones created a concept of a  a puzzle with 16 pieces, one for each win needed to take the title. When put together, it would form the trophy.

As Windhorst wrote:

The golden puzzle was kept quiet by players and coaches, revealed only after the Cavs completed the greatest comeback in Finals history with their93-89, Game 7 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Sunday night.

The trophy puzzle was kept in a case hidden from outsiders and traveled with the Cavs as they made their way through the postseason. Different players who contributed in different ways would place a symbolic piece after every playoff win. For example,Kevin Love was selected when the Cavs won Game 3 of the Finals without him as he frustratingly missed the game with a concussion.

The final piece was in the shape of the state of Ohio and was placed by coach Tyronn Lue as the Cavs poured champagne over one another in the Oracle Arena's visitors locker room.

"Together, that's how you win a championship," Jones said. "Individually we are all just a piece. Everyone had to have their role. Everyone has to have their piece."

Doc Rivers speaks of the importance of the buy in.  What as a coach are you doing -- what are you creating to rally your team together?  And don't wait for the post season.  What can you do that can help center your team's energy during the off-season?  Could it be a well-thought out phrase that you have on t-shirts or wristbands?  What can you come up with symbolic that will inspire your team? 

OUR BEST BLOG POSTS ON COACH SABAN

In honor of Alabama's National Championship, here are a few of our favorite Nick Saban blog posts:

Coach Saban on the Illusion of Choice

Intelligence + Work Ethic = "A Good Combination"

Coach Saban on Building a Team's Identity in the Off-Season

Learning Your Role, Earning Your Time

Good Process Produces Good Results

Coach Saban on Team Chemistry and Practice Motivation

Thoughts on Player Discipline

The Secret of Nick Saban

Are You Impressing or Impacting

How Alabama Utilized Guest Speakers to Grow Their Team on and off the Field

Coach Saban on Trust and Communication

Coach Saban on Creating a Culture of Accountability

Coach Saban on Why the Mighty Fall

Coach Saban on Leadership, Complacency and Preparation

The Process of What it Takes to be Successful

THE PRICE OF TEAMWORK

As a follow up to the "The Price That Must Be Paid," here are some great thoughts from John Maxwell on "The Price of Teamwork."

Sacrifice:

There can be no success without sacrifice. James Allen observed, “He who would accomplish little must sacrifice little; he who would achieve much must sacrifice much.”

Time Commitment:

Teamwork does no come cheaply. It costs you time-that means you pay for it with your life. Teamwork can’t be developed in a microwave time. Teams grow strong in a Crock-Pot environment.

Personal Development:

Your team will reach its potential only if you reach your potential. That means today’s ability is not enough.  Or to put it the way leadership expert Max DePree did: “We cannot become what we need to be remaining what we are.”  UCLA’s John Wooden, a marvelous team leader and the greatest college basketball coach of all time, said, “It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.”

Unselfishness:

“When you give your best to the world, the world returns the favor.”

-H. Jackson Brown

And if you give your best to the team, it will return more to you than you give, and together you will achieve more than you can on your own.

IF THIS BUS COULD TALK

I'm going a little off the beaten path this morning.  Everyone that knows me knows I love music...its always on in my office...in my car...at my home -- even outside near my old blue chair.  And I love all genres of music.  While jazz remains my favorite I also enjoy R&B, country and rock.  Last night I was listening to a little Kenny Chesney, "If This Bus Could Talk."

It reminded me that a lot of the best memories we have with our teams won't always be on game nights.  More importantly, it is places, like buses where relationships can be developed and strengthened.

Recently I wrote about "my favorite team" -- the West Virginia State Yellow Jackets.  Those teams rode through the snow covered roads of West Virginia on the bald tires of school vans...and they were great times.  The rides to the game -- listening to the players talk about what needed to be done to win (we almost always drove up the day of a game). There was nothing better than the road trip back after a win.  The laughter, the stories, the camaraderie. 

It is said that a lot of games are won and lost in the locker room and this is true.  But the confined dwellings of a van or a bus can go a long way in growing a family.

There was a road trip when I was at Marshall that took us via bus to Cullowhee, North Carolina then on to Chattanooga, Tennessee before heading back to Huntington. After a win at Western Carolina, we had a couple of days in Chattanooga.  As I stayed back and watched video one night, the team took the bus to the mall.  Later that night, I get a knock on the door and standing there is our 6-2 post player Lollie Shipp holding a fairly large bus.

She said, "Coach, I have a problem and I need your help."

"What is it Lollie," I said.

At which she spill the box open on my bed only for me to see a rabbit come hopping out!  It seams that the team walked past a pet store and Lollie felt the need to liberate the rabbit.  After purchasing it, it finally occurred that we were not in Huntington but a long way from home.  After meeting with our head coach and bus driver, our new Lady Herd family member stayed in the bus for our game against UTC before romping up and down the aisle of the bus on our way home.  We actually beat UTC in triple overtime and our beat writer, who rode in the bus with us mentioned some lucky rabbit feet in his story.

There was Marie Ferdinand who got tired of people on the bus talking about their dogs and made up an imaginary cat named Snow Ball.  Her escapades with Snow Ball were epic and entertained the bus always.

In 1998-99, our LSU team faced a four consecutive games on the road in the SEC with Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, Florida and Alabama.  At the time, Vanderbilt, Florida and Alabama were all ranked in the top 25.  Looking at the schedule, Ole Miss was our best chance to steal a road win.  After being behind to Ole Miss in double digits at half time, we fought back only to lose 66-59. It was a devastating loss with the prospect of three more ahead.

As we started home, Coach Sue Gunter asked if I had the VHS tape which I replied "yes ma'am."

She said "Pop it in." 

We place it in the bus video player and Coach Gunter began walking up and down the aisle of the bus as the tape played, critiquing each possession.  Letting players know they better not think about falling asleep.   When the game ended Coach Gunter said, "Bob, rewind it and play it again."

We watched that game three and a half times, all with Coach Gunter commentary, before our bus pulled into the campus on Baton Rouge.  We then upset Vanderbilt in Nashville, and Florida in Gainesville before a tired Lady Tiger team lost to #21 Alabama 71-66, despite a great effort.

Many years later I overhead Temeka Johnson telling our team on the bus as we again headed to Oxford to play the Rebels that there was no way we were going to lose this game.  She then repeated the story about Coach Gunter and the bus ride home.  It later occurred to me that Meek was not on that team and asked how she knew about it.

"Some things get passed down from team to team," she said with a smile.

For me, there is are hundreds of individual conversations on the bus, calling a player up to sit with me for a few minutes.  Talking basketball, talking school, talking life.  I've learned a lot about my players on bus rides and I'm sure they can say the same about me.

Now at Texas A&M, most everything is charter airplanes for our Aggies.  And don't get me wrong -- they are great and much appreciated.  They help get our team back and forth much quicker, allowing them to miss less class time.

But don't underestimate or underappreciate those times on the van or the bus.

"Many years of summers, and I hope it never ends
Been down so many highways, full of twists and turns and bends;
We caught lightning in a bottle, somehow we survived it all
All the stories he could tell, if this bus could talk."

 

-Kenny Chesney

     

ONE WAY KD MAKES HIS TEAMMATES BETTER

I've just finished reading an excellent book "What Drives Winning" by Brett Ledbetter.  He gives a ton of examples of outstanding athletes and the work they put into being great.  He also shares a lot of motivational ideas he used over the years to help players and teams.  One story from the book that we shared with our team is:

Here’s something that Kevin (Durant) told me he started doing as a freshman when he played basketball at the University of Texas: "One thing I try not to do is be a guy that goes into the gym and wants to be the only guy in the gym. I don’t want to be the guy that says 'I was working today, what were you doing?' I want to pull my teammates into the gym with me. If I work hard and we all work hard, I know only good things can come out of it."

GREAT OFF-SEASON CHECKLIST VIA MITCH COLE AND AGGIE BASKETBALL

Another great email newsletter from Coach Mitch Cole of our men's basketball staff here at Texas A&M!  I've posted a couple before but I strongly encourage anyone that has not signed up to get these monthly emails from Mitch to do so -- everyone is packed with great information.  Email Mitch and request to be on the list and you will regularly get stuff that will help your program.

Here is a sample from the one that was sent out today -- timely because it's about summer improvement:

SUMMER THOUGHTS

More and more, coaches are finding that the summer is when the most improvement can occur for our players and our teams. Every level from High School, to AAU, College, and the Pros, there are limits to what coaches can and cannot do regarding time spent with our athletes. Regardless of the limitations, coaches need to find the best approach within the rules to insure that the players are developing and improving throughout the summer. 

Below are a few Categories with questions/ideas that staffs should consider regarding PROGRAM GROWTH in the summer:

Skill Instruction
Do we have a plan for our players Development this summer?

If we can’t work with them, have we effectively communicated which areas they need to grow in and improve?

Is there a way we can get our older players to initiate time in the gym with the rest of our team?

Recognition, awards and charts can be a good way to provide incentive for improvement in the summer.

 

Strength and Conditioning
Are we measuring improvement from our athletes? Do we have checkpoints every 6-8 weeks? (Recognition for summer improvement could be a way to keep them motivated during the off-season.)

 

Are the methods we are using productive, but still interesting and fresh to avoid burnout?

Do our athletes understand the importance of rest, nutrition and safety in training?

Send them interesting articles on pro athletes and their testimonials on how they achieved greatness through hard work!

 

Open Gym
Is there a regular time for the players to shoot and play pick up games? 

 

Are the pickup games competitive? (Lost are the days when you played in a packed gym of players dying to get on the court, but knowing if you lose, you may sit 3 or 4 games waiting to play again!) Can we create that environment?

Most pickup games hardly resemble a real game. How can we make open gym more game-like? Consider shooting Free Throws for fouls, starting possessions at half court, extra points for put-backs, etc. 

Basketball Camps
Do our camps provide a healthy balance of fundamental skills teaching, shooting competitions, and 3v3 or 5v5 games?

 

Are our older players engaged in camps, willing to participate and impact the younger kids in the area?

Are we working to build our camps and promote the program in the community? 

T-Shirts and gear are natural Billboards for your program. Buy T-Shirts in bulk and provide as many as possible!!!

Academics
Are we aware of the “at-risk" guys in our program that might need to recover classes or get ahead in the summer? Losing a player due to grades can be a program killer!

 

It’s been said that most students fall behind in the summer in Math and Reading. Can we incorporate a plan that might stimulate our players to read, write, or be engaged academically? 

Weekly communication with links to articles, or book suggestions followed up with conversations could be useful.

 

Team Building
Is there a time in the summer to get together as a team and cast a vision for next season? 

 

A short trip to a baseball game, a Team Camp, a mid-summer “Weekend of HOOPS,” a Sand Volleyball game, BBQ? 

Weekly communication with positive messages or articles on TEAMWORK and STRONG RELATIONSHIPS

Are we thinking through how to eliminate distractions to our team’s growth? 

 

Staff Development/Rest
Are we growing in knowledge as a staff each summer? 

Challenge each coach to think through a few new ideas that might help in each of the above categories. Have someone on the staff take different categories like Motivation, Offensive and Defensive Concepts, new and improved Strength and Conditioning ideas, work a different basketball camp, or read a few books on leadership development, etc.

Lastly, is the staff taking time to get away? Sometimes great ideas begin to form when we have removed ourselves from the day to day activities. Recharge the batteries before the fall arrives! 

JACK CLARK'S 8 POINTS OF TEAM CULTURE

A few weeks ago I tweeted the link to an article on Jack Clark, the legendary rugby coach.  It was written by Jen Sinkler as part of her Thrive series at her website.  It is the best thing I've read in sometime.  It is lengthy and detailed and worthy of the time it takes to read by any coach who wants to improve.

As we see from the great ones such as Nick Saban and Bill Walsh, it is process over results.  As Sinkler writes:

Clark’s coaching style includes almost no scrimmages, and very few drills that involve full contact (i.e., there isn’t much tackling). So, how do they dominate so completely? They drill culture above all else and, put simply, they know how to win. 

“I think our winning percentage is probably 90 percent or close. We’ve been chasing excellence for a long time,” he says. “We have a performance culture where the byproduct is winning, versus ‘We’re all about winning.’ That’s not really how we think.” 

The rest of Sinkler's article goes into Clark's development of that type of culture and she lists eight areas Clark believes is important to creating his teams.

The first one was LOVE CONDITIONALLY.  I've never seen this worded in such away.  Clark was interested in a "family atmosphere" but in a higher level of team. Sinkler quotes Clark:

"You and I could go to the sports page today and open it up and see some sports team calling themselves a family. It’s what everyone does nowadays — they call themselves a family. In reality, it grates on me a little bit because my concept of family is unconditional. There’s my screw-up brother down in Huntington Beach. I love him, but you don’t want him on your team, I promise you. Family means unconditional, whereas high-performance teams are highly, highly conditional organizations." 

This is also a recruiting philosophy.  Another profound story that Clark shares with Sinkler is one about Bo Schembechler and the importance of getting the right people on your team:

There was a legendary football coach that died about 10 years ago named Bo Schembechler at Michigan. He has this quote that I think is the greatest quote. It has to do with recruiting and who you want on your team. He says, “Well, if you ever really want a guy and you don’t get him, that’s OK. He’ll only beat you once a year.” I think that’s kind of catchy. Then this old boy clears his throat and says, “On the other hand, if you get the wrong guy on your team, he’ll beat you every day.”

The second ingredient is BE THOROUGHLY ACCOUNTABLE.  As Clark told Sinkler:

"After the game Saturday we kind of know what the injury toll is, but things do get worse overnight sometimes. So we do a med check straightaway on Sunday morning, followed by a regeneration strategy, followed by this long meeting."

There was another interesting comment made to Sinkler:

"When we get caught up in our coaching, we’ve got to force ourselves to talk about what we’re doing well. But it has become part of what we do — we open every meeting with what we did well. We never cut that list short — we always build upon it. It’s got to be real, though. It can’t be stuff that is kind of halfway true. It’s got to be real stuff. Make that list as long as we can. Spend so much more time on your strengths."

This speaks to two great pieces of coaching.  The first one is to be process oriented.  Be more concerned with what you are doing as opposed to the result.  The second, and one that many coaches overlook, is to never lose sight on what you team is doing well -- both individually and collectively.  Not only must you recognize this as a coach, but share with your team and continue to work on those strengths.

Ingredient #3 is a SHARED VOCABULARY.

Clark made a point that this is as much taught as the fundamentals of the game and made mention that he didn't think teams in general had enough team meetings.

The fourth point of emphasis in developing a great team culture according to Clark would be to PRACTICE RESILIENCY.

Clark told Sinkler: "I think what matters most — outside of talent — would probably be the culture of the team: developing a really resilient, embedded team culture around performance. It’s like anything else: You’ve got to rep it. You’ve got to talk about it on day one and day five and in the middle of the season and at the end of the season."

I think this is an underrated and overlook part of culture.  I once heard Doc Rivers say, "You have to protect your team culture.  This battle is waged daily."

In other words, culture, to be successful must be intentionally thought out, planned and executed by all those involved.  Another thing Doc Rivers spoke of the "buy in" of players into the culture.

Fifth on the list is EXPECT EVERYONE TO LEAD.

This is a form of shared ownership where everyone is contributing to successful elements of a culture.  Successful people work at making the right decisions within their priorities and strive to properly manage those decisions daily.  The first and most important person that you lead is yourself.

Sixth on Clark's culture building list is IMPROVE RELENTLESSLY.

I absolutely love what Clark told Sinkler in this regard: "We believe in constant performance improvement. We say it’s not just enough to win. That’s kind of an old thing. If you go back to legendary basketball coach John Wooden’s Pyramid of Success, you can get some performance over results. It’s there. We believe that and we believe that we should be getting better. We think that we should accept that burden. If we’re going to work at this as hard as we’re working at it, then we should be getting better from week to week, month to month, match to match. There should be improvement."

GET A GREAT COACH is never on the list.

Two things resonate here.  The first is Clark's understanding that teaching must be a key ingredient in successful/teams and organization.  Talent is never enough alone and it takes the right kind of coach or staff to build on that talent and then mesh the individuals together.

Clark also speaks to coaches being able to understand and properly utilize technology for ultimate results.  Part of that formula for him is to continue to grow and improve as coaches if we want to continue to grow our players and teams.

Last, but certainly not least on the culture creating checklist is VALUE TEAM.

Clark told Sinkler: "We celebrate team, talk about it and build on it. I talk to a lot of our teams on campus. I guest-lecture in the business school, so I have a lot of opportunities to talk to groups of people, especially in a team setting. Most of them don’t cherish that they’re an expert in team. They get lost in the fact that they aren’t an expert in their sport yet. They confuse that with being an expert in team."

I tweeted that this was one of the best things I've read in sometime and I sincerely mean it.  I strongly encourage you to read the entire article here.  Sinkler went in great detail with Clark regarding each of the eight components of his team's culture.