THOUGHTS ON A FRIEND AND HATING TO LOSE

Bill Martin was my Sports Information Director at LSU where he still works today.  He was in charge of women's basketball and football but worked other projects as well -- such as LSU's baseball regional tournaments the past few weekends.  I knew one thing for sure -- when LSU was defeated Sunday that Bill would be leaving Alex Box Stadium with a very empty feeling.  The athletic season at LSU was over and Bill hates to lose!

If I had one word to describe Bill it would be "passionate."  He sincerely loves LSU sports and more importantly all those involved -- athletes, coaches, trainers, secretaries, and administrators.  His passion means he knows the history of LSU like no other I've been around.  It means that he takes incredible pride in his work which makes him one of the absolute best in the business.  It also means he feels the joy of victory and the agony of defeat as if he were a coach.

So I wasn't surprised when he passed along something to me last night that would make for a great coaching blog.  Of course still feeling the sting of an LSU defeat, Bill sent me the following from www.CEOSuccessCoach.com, written by Mike Harden simply titled, "Do your employees hate to lose more than they love to win?"  It describes Bill as well as a lot of successful coaches (and athletes) I know, including myself. 

This is the comment Bill emailed me along with the article: "Baseball ended here the other night and you know me with the end of every sport season that ends in a loss I HATE IT. Came across this article on how much I hate losing that I thought you might like."

Here is the contents of the article:

Have you ever had an employee lose a sale, or a customer, or a negotiation, and say, “Well, I gave it my best shot.”  Although he would have enjoyed winning, he was more than willing to accept his loss because giving it his best effort was enough for him. Trust me, this guy is a loser.

Everyone enjoys winning. I have never met a person who didn’t like to win, but some people are content to lose if they know they gave it their best shot. True winners – those that are highly competitive – won’t simply settle for winning. They can’t stand losing, and they will do anything rather than suffer a defeat. These highly competitive types tend to work harder, make greater sacrifices, put forth extra effort, and perform heroic actions. They are like athletes at the top of their game.

When top athletes in their professions are surveyed, we find that winning isn’t what fuels their success, but instead, hating to lose is what drives them to compete at extraordinary levels. It’s no different in the corporate world. We need to staff our companies with employees who think and act like these top athletes. A culture of winning is fine, but just imagine what your company would be like if everyone there hated to lose. So you have to go beyond having a winning culture…you have to create a culture of people who hate to lose, and who would do anything rather than experience defeat. These are the people that will propel your organization to its next level of performance.

When I coach CEOs about this, I make it a point to say that their company motto ought to be: “We Hate to Lose.” What else do you need to say? That’s pretty much it… Then you have to slowly weed out the people who are content to come in second, and bring in people who hate not being number one – in anything they do! These “hate to lose” people actually feel physical pain when they lose.

A winning culture is fine for some companies, but a “hate to lose” culture will kick the crap out of that company every time. Take a good, hard mental look at your key employees, and you will know who is OK with losing, and who hates to lose. Over time, you need to build your organization around the “hate to lose” people, and get rid of the people who are OK with losing. Your culture will take a dramatic turn that will pay dividends going forward.

To reinforce my point, take a look at these memorable quotes from some great athletes:

- “I hate to lose more than I love to win.” (Jimmy Connors)

- “I’m a competitive person. I hate to lose and competition is everything. When you lose you’re easily forgotten.” (Michael Jordan)

- “Above anything else, I hate to lose.” (Jackie Robinson)

- “If you’re going to play at all, you’re out to win. Baseball, board games, playing Jeopardy, I hate to lose.” (Derek Jeter)

- “Boy, do I hate to lose.” (Peyton Manning)

How do you feel about losing? Are you a “hate to lose” CEO? And what about your company’s culture? How intensely do they hate to lose?

P.S. - Don't think Bill is just passionate about LSU sports either -- right now he is living and dying everyday with his St. Louis Cardinals! Miss ya Bill!

PROCESS-ORIENTED TEACHING FROM COACH MEYER

The following comes from "How Lucky You Can Be," the outstanding book by Buster Olney on Coach Don Meyer.  One of the things I've gradually learned as a coach is the importance of being process oriented in terms of teaching and keeping players focused and in the moment.  Almost all great coaches understand this principle.  No coach drove that home more for me than Nick Saban as I studied him during his tenure at LSU.  Of course, I learned it from Coach Meyer as well through his mentoring of me.  Here is a passing from the book on his philosophy in that regard:

Don Meyer focused on the process and taught his players to think more about the process than the results—but of course, he understood that a preponderance of correctly executed plays would almost inevitably lead to victories. A rival coach thought this was a brilliant method through which Meyer took pressure off his players: He relieved them of the big-picture worries about potential wins and losses by relentlessly training them to think only about what they could do better in any given moment.

7 COMPONENTS TO MOTION OFFENSE (AND ANY OTHER OFFENSE)

The following are key components to executing good motion offense as seen by Duke's Mike Krzyzewski. However, I think if you look at the list closely enough, no matter whether you run motion, continuity, pattern or quick hitters -- these are all elements that will help your offense to be effective.

PASSING: Good passing helps avoid turnovers and puts your team in the best possible scoring positions. Most of our passing drills establish the mindset of passing away from the defense instead of passing to the offense. Moreover, the passer must not only get the ball to the recipient but also put the recipient in the best possible position to shoot the ball and score.

MOVEMENT: The key to successful movement is to move in concept with the rest of your teammates to insure the key concept of our offense, floor balance. Proper spacing is essential for a good offense. An offensive player standing still allows his defender to play off his man to give help to his teammates.

SCREENING: Each player must help his teammates get a better shot opportunity. The screen is the most effective way of establishing better shot opportunities. However, the passer must look for both the person being screened and the screener as potential scoring threats. In the execution of the screen two players will work together to produce a scoring opportunity.

SHOT DISCIPLINE: Despite its reputation, motion offense is not an equal shot opportunity offense. You, as a coach, must establish what type of shot each player is expected to take.

CONCENTRATION: In pattern offenses, the system does all of the thinking. In motion offense, you are only as good as you concentration. You must think before you move.

ROLE IDENTIFICATION: Each player must understand the role designated for him on the team. Shot discipline and role identification go together. Each player must be told to play within his capabilities.

COMMUNICATION: Communication is key to motion offense. In order to establish proper floor balance and establish the best shot opportunities, players must be in constant communication. For example, demand that the screener call out the name of the player he is screening. This keeps both players alert, encourages good screens, and helps keep the floor balanced.

THOUGHTS ON THE IMPORTANCE OF PUNCTUALITY

Some thoughts on the topic of punctuality today including my favorite passage on the subject from Dean Smith: http://bit.ly/MzSB0h

Here are some more thoughts:

“If I have made an appointment with you, I owe you punctuality, I have no right to throw away your time, if I do my own.”
-Richard Cecil

“Know the true value of time; snatch, seize, and enjoy every moment of it. No idleness, no delay, no procrastination; never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.”
-Lord Chesterfield

“Punctuality is one of the cardinal business virtues: always insist on it in your subordinates.”
-Don Marquis

“Unfaithfulness in the keeping of an appointment is an act of clear dishonesty. You may as well borrow a person’s money as his time.”
-Horace Mann

“Punctuality is the soul of business.”
-Thomas Chandler Haliburton

“I could never think well of a man’s intellectual or moral character, if he was habitually unfaithful to his appointments.”
- Nathaniel Emmons

“Punctuality is not only a duty, but is also a part of good manners; it is favorable to fortune, reputation, influence, and usefulness; a little attention and energy will form the habit, so as to make it easy and delightful.”
-Charles Simmons

“Better three hours too soon than a minute too late.”
-William Shakespeare

“Tardiness often robs us opportunity, and the dispatch of our forces.”
-Niccolo Machiavelli

SOME DEFENSIVE THOUGHTS FROM ERNIE WOODS

The following comes from "Advanced Basketball Defense" by Ernie Woods.  It is one of the best defensive books I've read in my coaching career.  First bought it in 2007 and is one of a handful that I re-read on an annual basis. Here are just a few nuggets:

By using short, descriptive words to teach the various fundamental skills, players will quickly learn to play defense aggressively.

If you are not spending adequate practice time teaching and improving defensive fundamentals, then you are setting up your players and team for certain failure.

Disruptive pressure, like wine, gets better with age.

Defensively, nothing good ever happens on middle penetration -- it's all bad.  Dribbling up the middle usually results in a lay-up, drop pass for an easy shot, short pull up jumper or a kick out pass for an open three point shot.

Since players receive instruction from a variety of sources, it is very important that the entire coaching staff use the same offensive and defensive terms.

Be creative and design your own break down drills to fit your needs and player abilities.  Creating drills and plays are one of the enjoyments of coaching basketball.

Always introduce a skill or drill one day and refine it.

Defense starts prior to your opponent receiving the ball, not after!  (Coach Starkey: one of the most important and difficult principles to teach players)

Do not allow any successful pass over fifteen feet in distance.  In allowing uncontested passes over 15 feet, it compromises the defense and opens up the entire court to the offense.  It also forces all defenders to make major defensive adjustments and in the process makes them vulnerable to offensive attack.

Helpside support not only eliminates one-on-one isolations, but also provides the defense with a numerical advantage.-

ULTIMATE COACHES' CLINIC: BILLY MARTIN

In 2008, Pat Williams, the GM of the Orlando Magic and a tremendous motivational speaker put out a book, "The Ultimate Coaches' Clinic." It is a fascinating book because of the style Pat utilized. He surveyed over 1000 coaches and administrators for insights to what is important to successfully do their job. It is a great book to own and I highly recommend it. Here are some thoughts from Billy Martin.

• Teach the fundamentals of baseball, do the fundamentals right, and everything will fall into place for you.

• Winning is the whole idea, sure; and that’s what I’m trying to do. But the enjoyment comes from the things I put in it, the teaching, the problem solving, and the answer to challenges. The victory at the end is only the proof that you’ve succeeded, and nobody can take that away from you once you’ve won. But the fun and the rewards are in what you do getting there.

• Managing is teaching, first of all. That’s even more important than winning itself. When you get a player whose potential you can see, and show him things that can make him better, and show him the things that can make him win, and then you can see him later realizing those things—it’s like a graduation. It makes you feel satisfied even if he’s no longer your player.

LEARNED - PRACTICED - SHARED

"Success isn’t something that just

happens. Success is learned, success is

practiced, and then it is shared."

-Sparky Anderson

8 WAYS TO UTLIZE A BALL SCREEN

The following comes from some clinic notes listening to Chad Walthall, now head coach at Minnesota State University.

#1 Turn the Corner (vs. no hedge by defender) -- guard drives low and tight.
#2 Hesitate & Go (vs. soft hedge) -- at level of screen, hesitate, eyes on the rim...key to make the hedge man relax.
#3 Split the Hedge -- after clearing the screen low and right, explode on the split...dribble below the knees (must under-utilized part of offensive ball screening)
#4 Fake the Split -- then inside/out dribble to the paint.
#5 Reject the Screen (guard's man completely blocks the path of the driver)
#6 Shooting Behind (vs. ball defender going behind) -- shot must come directly behind screen.
#7 Re-Screen (vs. screener's defender showing big, flat hedge) -- drive over the screen, then crossover and use the screen again toward the baseline.  Screener turns to the inside on second screen getting you closer to the basket.
#8 Early Slip (vs. guard's defender jumping low toward baseline) -- driver splits between his man and the screen.  Counter is to take the split.

GARY BLAIR'S TEXAS A&M AGGIE COACHING ACADEMY

We are very excited to announce today the dates of the inaugural Gary Blair Texas A&M Aggie Coaching Academy.  The dates for the Academy will be August 11-12.  This will be a unique experience because our Aggie basketball team will be available for demonstration purposes as we prepare for our summer tour in Italy.

Here is a look at the two-day schedule of the Academy:

Saturday - August 11, 2012
12:30  Registration
1:30   Practice Philosophy (Coach Blair)
2:00   Perimeter Workout (Coach Bond)
3:30   Post Workout (Coach Starkey)
4:45   Dinner
6:00   Aggie Team Practice
8:30   Coaches' Social

Sunday - August 12, 2012
8:00   Breakfast
9:00   Shooting Workout (Coach Wright)
9:30   Aggie Program Stations
            Motivating Today's Student-Athletes
            Creating Recruitable Student-Athletes
            The Art of Scouting
            Strength & Conditioning
11:30  Facilities Tour
12:00  Lunch
1:00   Defensive Conditioning (Coach Starkey)
2:00   Aggie Team Offense (Coach Blair)
3:00   Q&A with the Aggie Staff

Cost for the Academy is only $50 and includes all three meals listed as well Coaches' Social.  Also included will be an Academy Notebook that will include sections on philosophy, motivation, scouting, conditioning, recruiting, playbook and practice planing. There will also be a DVD provided later with footage of the various sessions.

We will be releasing more info the next few days that includes a website for registration but if you'd like a PDF flier please email me at: rstarkey@athletics.TAMU.edu and I will email one directly to you.

We are also working on discounted hotel rates and will be announcing that soon as well.

You can also get updates by "likiing" our Gary Blair Coaching Academy Facebook page: http://on.fb.me/LMufUi

3 SIGNS OF A MISERABLE JOB

From "The Three Signs of a Miserable Job" by Patrick Lencioni:

ANONYMITY
They feel their leaders don't know or care what they are doing.

IRRELEVANCE
They don't understand how their job makes a difference.

IMMEARSUREMENT
They cannot measure or assess for themselves the contributions they are making.

As a leader, what can you do to avoid or correct these within your team?  As a head coach with the various members of your staff...or as a coach with the members of your team...or as a captain with your teammates.