YOU HAVE TO LOVE IT ALL THE TIME

The following comes a wonderful book "How Champions Think" by Dr. Bob Rotella.  Below is one of the most important concepts that today's athletes must understand.  We live in an instant gratification era where we all want what we all want and we want it right now.  That includes rewards, awards and glory.  But those are difficult to obtain, as they well should be.  It is critical that athletes understand the grind of achievement and that they embrace the grind.  Here is a great story from Dr. Rotella:

The easiest way to keep a commitment is to love what you’re doing, as Anthony and Michael love basketball and Keegan loves golf. But you have to love the entirety of what you’re doing, not just the occasional glory and rewards. I remember a few years ago, Tom Kite and I were asked to speak about attitude to a group of PGA Tour rookies. Tom spoke first. “I’m going to let Doc do most of the talking,” he said. “I’m only going to tell y’all one thing.”

I was immediately eager to know what the one thing was. Tom didn’t disappoint me.

“If you’re going to play the Tour, you have to love golf all the time,” he said. “It’s not going to work if you can only love it when everything’s going your way, every putt’s going in the hole, and every carom Is bouncing into the fairway instead of out of bounds. It’s not going to work if you practice every day and only love it when the ball is going where you’re looking. You’ve got to love it when you practice day after day after day and you can’t find it. You’ve got to love it when every putt looks like it’s going in and then lips out. That’s what it’s about.”

11 TRAITS OF THE BEST OF THE BEST

Big thanks to Los Angeles Sparks head coach Brian Agler for passing this great list on to us:

1. The Best know what they truly want.

2. The Best want it more.

3. The Best are always striving to get better.

4. The Best do ordinary things better than everyone else.

5. The Best zoom focus.

6. The Best are mentally stronger.

7. The Best overcome fear.

8. The Best seize the moment.

9. The Best tap into a greater power than themselves.

10.  The Best leave a legacy.

11.  The Best make everyone around them better.

ARE YOUR PRACTICES ENJOYABLE?

There is so much talk and thought given into the organization and design of practices.  Good coaches understand the importance of detail -- of stringing practice together in a conducive matter to learning...part-whole.  But great coaches understand the importance of finding ways to make practice enjoyable.  They give thought to teaching but they also figure out ways to make sure the players are excited about practice each day.

The following is an excerpt from the New York Times of a story written by Scott Cacciola:

The Golden State Warriors are a joy to watch. Their offense is based on movement and spacing, all five players working together to create open shots. If Coach Steve Kerr is the conductor, Stephen Curry is his soloist, a 6-foot-3, 190-pound virtuoso in high-tops.

So their practices must be incredibly organized and disciplined, right? Laser-beam focus and all that? It is the only reasonable conclusion, given the way the Warriors steamrollered their opposition en route to the N.B.A. finals. But Golden State, whose best-of-seven series against the Cleveland Cavaliers starts Thursday, has a dirty secret.

 

“I’ve told Steve, if someone came in and watched the way you practice, it would be embarrassing for you as a coach,” said Bruce Fraser, one of his assistants.

 

Specifically, it has to do with the way the Warriors start their practices. The players form four lines to jog and get loose, which is normal enough, but then things get weird.

 

They warm up by launching a series of court-length shots — heaves that graze light fixtures and ricochet off shot clocks, total prayers that occasionally reach the rim but more often than not leave members of the coaching staff scrambling for safety.

 

Yes, the Warriors typically turn the first five to 10 minutes of every practice into something that looks more like middle-school recess.

 

“When we’re warming up and stuff,” Curry said, “you see balls just flying everywhere.”

 

Kerr, in his first season with the Warriors, contributes by having Nick U’Ren, a special assistant and the team’s manager of advanced scouting, blast loud music to ratchet up the energy. It all happens behind closed doors, so there have been few witnesses to the actual chaos, but players cite those first few minutes of practice as surprisingly important, a subtle key to their success this season.

 

“The whole atmosphere of our team is very relaxed,” said Festus Ezeli, a backup center. “It’s only basketball, so why not have fun?”

You can (and should) read the entire article here.

9 BLOG POSTS TO IMPROVE YOUR OFF-SEASON

Here is a series of blogs that we posted in the past to help coaches maximize the off-season:

John Maxwell on Making the Most of Your Off-Season
Everyone that follows our blog knows how much we admire and respect John Maxwell.  Here are five areas he says for us to work on between seasons.

Rick Majerus Concepts of Summer Pick Up Games
A great set of guidelines for Coach Majerus who was obviously dedicating his team's off-season to pressuring the ball and the passing lanes.  The key question is what guidelines have you gave your team to help develop in the areas that important to you.

Individual Ball Handling Drills from Coach Don Meyer
No better teacher in the game than Coach Meyer.  Here is one of our blog posts that includes a video of some of Coach Meyer's players executing some of his dribbling maneuvers.

The Advantages of Individual Workouts
Here is a short post with some great concepts from another great teacher -- Bill Walsh.

Morgan Wooten: Post Season Evaluations
The ability to take a reflective look back on the season and be able to decide what needs to be adjusted is a key to growth. Here is a good checklist from one of the greats in our business.

Muffet McGraw on Players Expanding their Roles in the Off-Season
Several excellent excerpts from a book written by Coach McGraw on how she motivates players through the off-season with the goal of expanding their roles through work and development.

Aggie Summer Pick Up Guidelines
Here is our list of summer pick up guidelines that we go over and give to our team.

Off-Season Shooting Program
This post has some good guidelines for how to operate a summer shooting program as well as a good video of a shooting drill by J.J. Reddick .

Creative Strength & Conditioning
Good stuff here from the Florida men's basketball program.  Strength and conditioning in the summer is difficult -- it has to be for gains.  But it can be made enjoyable for competitive athletes.  There's a video attached of some of the stuff done at Florida.

10 KEYS FOR SUCCESS ON THE GOLF COURSE (AND BEYOND)

The following is an excerpt written by Dr. Bob Rotella.  I have become a big Dr. Rotella fan having read his book "How Championships Think."  This particular piece, he wrote for Golf Digest back in 2009.  I came across it a few days ago and it is still incredibly relevant.  You can read the entire price in it's entirety here.

#1 Believe you can win.
I still remember my first major, the 1985 city championship in Charlottesville, Va. Back then I didn't play a lot of golf, but I wanted to see how good the players in my town were. I shot in the 80s and finished third from last. When I got done, I decided to follow the leaders so I could see how my game compared. After watching them for 18 holes, my evaluation was this: They hit it farther than I did. They hit it straighter. Their bunker play was fantastic. And they chipped and putted better. But I left there believing that if those guys could win, so could I. I worked on my game, and over time I got better, including one winter when all I did each day after work was hit bunker shots. Eight years after I first competed, I made a 12-foot putt on 18 to win my city championship.

#2 Don't be seduced by results.
How can Trevor Immelman get to the 18th green of the final round of the 2008 Masters and not know where he stands? It's called staying in the present, and it's a philosophy I teach all the players I work with. It means not allowing yourself to be seduced by a score or by winning until you run out of holes. Instead, you get lost in the process of executing each shot and accept the result.
 
Before Trevor teed off on Sunday with a two-shot lead, he decided he wouldn't look at leader boards. He had a plan: Pick a target, visualize the shot and let it rip. As Trevor walked up the 18th fairway, Brandt Snedeker put his arm around him and nudged him to walk ahead. Trevor told me it was the first time all day he allowed himself to think about the outcome. After marking his ball, he asked his caddie how they were doing. His caddie said he had a three-stroke lead over Tiger. Trevor said he went from being quiet and calm inside to thinking, How can I not five-putt this?

#3 Sulking won't get you anything.
The worst thing you can do for your prospects of winning is to get down when things don't go well. If you start feeling sorry for yourself or thinking the golf gods are conspiring against you, you're not focused on the next shot. When Padraig Harrington won the British Open in 2007, he got up and down for a double-bogey 6 on the last hole to make a playoff after knocking two balls into the water. Padraig told me he had a level of acceptance that earlier in his career he didn't have. He said it never entered his mind that he might blow the tournament. His only thought was getting his ball in the hole so he could win the playoff.

#4 Beat them with patience.
Every time you have the urge to make an aggressive play, go with the more conservative one. You'll always be OK. In a tournament, the rough is thicker, the pins are tougher, and the greens are faster. The moment you get impatient, bad things happen.

#5 Ignore unsolicited swing advice.
Not too long ago, I was working with this player who was struggling. But a couple of strong finishes had him feeling better. At the next tournament he makes, like, eight birdies in the first round. Now he's feeling really good. He stops by the putting green to hit a few, and a player he knows walks up to him and says: "I don't know what you're doing with your putting, but that's not the way you used to set up." A few minutes later another player comes over: "You don't have your eyes over the ball the way you used to." Now my guy doesn't know what to think. He went from making everything he looked at to being a mess the next day.
 
You'll have lots of well-meaning friends who want to give you advice. Don't accept it. In fact, stop them before they can say a word. Their comments will creep into your mind when you're on the course. If you've worked on your game, commit to the plan and stay confident.

#6 Embrace your golf personality.
Some players like Anthony Kim love to socialize on the course. Others like Retief Goosen keep to themselves. The key is to find what works best for you. The toughest player, mentally and emotionally, I've ever worked with is Pat Bradley, the LPGA Tour Hall of Famer. She was like Ben Hogan -- she didn't talk to anybody when she played. She told me she didn't have time to chat with players because she had an ongoing dialogue with herself. I still remember the day she called to tell me she was done. She'd been on the range before a tournament giving tips to other players. Later, on the first few holes, she found herself chitchatting with her playing partners. "I can't play golf this way," she told me. "I'm done. I've accomplished everything I wanted to accomplish."

#7 Have a routine to lean on.
I tell players to follow a mental and physical routine on every shot. It keeps you focused on what you have to do, and when the pressure is on, it helps you manage your nerves. A pre-shot routine helped Curtis Strange win his first U.S. Open, in 1988. Afterward he went home and watched the tape with his wife and kids. He told me they kept commenting on how cool and calm he looked. Curtis said to me: "I'm thinking, Who in the world are they talking about? They can't be talking about me. I couldn't get any moisture in my mouth. My heart was jumping out of my chest." Curtis said he had so much emotion in his body it was unbelievable. He was working his tail off just to stay in the present, hit one shot at a time and not think about what it would mean to win the U.S. Open.

‘It's easy to build up a tournament into something so huge that you can't play.’

#8 Find peace on the course.
When you practice hard and admit to yourself that you really want to win, it's easy to build up a tournament into something so huge that you can't play. I've seen amateurs not used to competing arrive two hours before their tee time and try to rebuild their golf swings. They become panicked practicers and try to perfect every area of their game. They get themselves so tied up in knots it's ridiculous. Tour players do this, too. I've seen guys come to Augusta, rent a big house and invite their family and friends. When Thursday comes around, they start worrying: What if I miss the cut and disappoint everyone? The golf course has to be your sanctuary, the thing you love, and you can't be afraid of messing up.
 
#9 Test yourself in stroke play.
I'm a big believer that stroke play is real golf. I know lots of people who are good in matches who can't play a lick at stroke play. But most guys who are good at stroke play also thrive in matches. When you have to count every shot, it's a tougher game. Too often guys go out as a foursome and play "our best ball against your best ball." That has its place, but stroke play makes you mentally tough.

#10 Find someone who believes in you.
The greatest thing I've got going for me is my ability to believe in other people's talents. I can see people doing things they can't see themselves doing. Every champion needs that. Hogan once told me he considered quitting the game several times early in his career because he didn't think he was providing for his wife the way he should. But Valerie wouldn't let him quit. She knew he'd never be satisfied until he won majors. Having confidence in yourself is important, but it helps to have someone who believes in you, too, whether it's a spouse, a friend, a teacher, or even a sport psychologist.

QUALITY DRILLS AND PLAYER DEVELOPMENT GUIDELINES

The following comes from Coach Mike Dunlap --

All quality drills include:

1. Time
2. Score
3. Competition
4. Rotation
5. Element of Confusion
6. Winner/Loser (Validation = Made Free Throw)
7. Rebounding (Always)

Whatever you do with player development make it:

1. Repetitive
2. Target Specific
3. Competitive
4. Terminal
5. Reward Effort/Praise Result
6. Drill must be linked to whole
7. Build in element of fun which comes from achievement.

GREAT TEAMS & GREAT PLAYERS TALK

Courtesy of the NBA, Lebron James was mic'd up for game two of their playoff series vs. the Hawks.  This is a great video to show your team -- great teams talk -- great players talk.  I remember Coach Don Meyer saying don't talk your game -- yell your game...Lebron does just that.

THE COMMON THREAD BETWEEN NICK SABAN AND PETE CARROLL -- BELIEF IN WHAT THEY DO

There's an excellent article on Bleacher Report written by Jason Cole in which he interviews new Atlanta Falcons coach Dan Quinn.  Cole asked Quinn, who has worked for both Nick Saban and Pete Carroll about their differences and Quinn responded with the one thing they both had in common:
 
Bleacher Report: You worked for Nick Saban and you worked for Pete Carroll. I can't imagine two guys being much more different than those two.

Dan Quinn: That's true...HOWEVER, I've told this story a few times before. Personality-wise, they are so different. But there is a common thread. I think they both totally know how they want to do it, how they want to run their program. They are both so committed to their beliefs in how they wanted to do things that they were actually very similar. As head coaches, they both coach a lot, like literally get in there and work with the players. That said to me that if I ever had this opportunity, I didn't want to be someone who didn't coach.

That left a real impression on me. I remember that, and I remember that they had a deep belief in the philosophy they had in place. Though one was engaging from a personality standpoint and wanted the players in with him and the other was more polarizing and on the players...that way was different. But having an organized vision of how they wanted their programs run was really similar. The programs weren't run in the same fashion, but the attention to detail was.
 
B/R: Was there ever a time the program got off track for either of them and they had to do something to get it back on track?

Quinn: I think, in a good way, when things got off track they were both totally true to their principles.

THE PEOPLE YOU MEET AND THE IMPACT THEY HAVE

This past week has been a tremendous period of reflection for me.  In the past 7 days there have been the birthdays of Sue Gunter and Skip Bertman, the one-year anniversary of Coach Don Meyer passing and on Tuesday we laid my father to rest. Also during that time we lost a great man in Tom Moran.

There is a quote from Jim Rohn that says, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”

While last week was a difficult one for me emotionally, I also realized what a blessed person I am to have these individuals in my life.  Each one has played an amazing role in my development as a coach and as a person.

Tom Moran was the first non-staff person that Coach Dale Brown introduced me to when I interviewed at LSU.  He was an extraordinarily successful restaraunteer who was a dear friend of Coach Brown's and a huge supporter of our basketball program.  Many knew Tom for his restaurants.  He owned the Ruth's Chris Steakhouse in Baton Rouge (along with others around the nation), Ruffino's, Ninfa's and of course T.J. Ribs.  They were all extremely successful -- because of Tom.  I used to tell him he'd make a great coach in the way he ran his businesses.  He was driven to be the best in whatever he approached.

Three years into my tenure I got married.  It was during the time when I was labeled as a "restricted earnings" assistant coach.  A position the NCAA created in order for it to be able to cap that position's pay at $16,000.  That small sum had to include everything -- such as summer camp.  In no way was I allowed to make more that $16,000 per year.

Soon after, Coach Brown called me in his office and said, "First, I want you to know I want you to stay on my staff but you're married and have family obligations and you need to at least consider options.  I was talking to Tom last night and he wants to meet with you and Sherie tonight."

My wife and I met Tom at Ruth's Chris and of course, spent the first 30 minutes talking about LSU basketball.  Then Tom told me he'd like to hire me.  He would send to restaurant school in Houston (on him).  Following the two month completion he would make me an assistant manager at Black-eyed Pea for six months at around $35,000 and then I would be made manager at Ninfa's with a salary around $75,000.  He told me the hours would be long -- well into the night.  He told I would be working holidays.  He told me there would be an occasional knucklehead employee that I would have to deal with.  Then he laughed and said, "It's a lot like your current job -- except the pays a lot better."

I told Tom I was really appreciative and then asked him if I could have a couple of days to think about it.  I loved coaching -- but I knew what Coach Brown was talking about: I had to think about my wife now and just not myself.

I didn't sleep much that night and got a phone call early the next morning from Tom asking if we could get together again.  I met him at TJ Ribs for lunch.

"Bobby, I want you to know right off the bat that I want you to come to work for me," Tom started.  "But can I give you some advice?"

"Of course," I responded.

"Don't.  I gave this some thought last night.  You are very passionate about coaching and teaching. I know you are going to take a hit in the pocketbook for who knows how long but when you are passionate about something you need to follow that and see where it leads.  I truly believe that's what you need to do."

And with that I thanked Tom and continued my coaching career. 

Tom continued to be a supporter of mine.  Each year I'd give Tom my men's basketball parking pass and continued to do so even after I switched to the women's side, working for Coach Gunter.  My first year on Coach Gunter's staff we upset #1 ranked Tennessee -- the first time we'd every defeated a #1 ranked team -- and there was Tom and Coach Brown on the front row, giving me a hug when we left the floor.

Of course what Tom did for me had a great impact on my life.  But I was only one of thousands that he touched in an amazing way.  After Tom's own battle with cancer, he became a major supporter and contributor to the Mary Bird Perkins-Our Lady of the Lake Cancer Center. Tom also was a founding director of the Dale Brown Foundation, which gave educational opportunities for students around the country; and he served on the boards of the Pennington Family Foundation, Girls & Boys Town and Baton Rouge River Center. Moran has helped the Boy Scouts of America-Istrouma Area Council, Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes, St. Jude Research Foundation and Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

So as difficult as last week was, I know today I am thankful for all those who have crossed my path, especially Tom "T.J." Moran.

BRAD STEVENS OFF-SEASON COMMITMENT

Over the next few weeks, will share some posts on what you can do during the off-season to improve your team.  I'm a big believer that championships are won in the off-season, as must would agree.  But many think this is only conducive to players.  In fact, what coaches do in the off-season is often more important in the improvement or decline of their program.

Thanks to Brooklyn Kohlheim's email newsletter (sign up for it here), we were able to read how important the off-season is even to NBA coaches with an inside look at Brad Stevens and last year's off-season did to support a 15 win improvement and how he is approaching this year's off-season.  The article was written by Adam Himmelsbach for the Boston Globe and you can read it in it's entirety here (Great Read).  But here are some of my take aways:

During an interview with the Globe last week, Stevens detailed how last summer laid the groundwork for the Celtics’ 15-win improvement and playoff appearance this season. Unsurprisingly, it was a thorough plan rooted in research. And as the Celtics enter another critical summer, clues could be gleaned from how Stevens handled the prior one.

“I just kind of think of things I’d like to know, and I embark on a project,” Stevens said. “Sometimes they end up being worthless, and sometimes they help you. But it’s important to analyze, work, and scrutinize. Be critical of yourself, and start there.”

Stevens keeps a pen and notepad next to his bed so he can scribble a new play or idea when it pops up. Most often, though, the concepts come during the long flights that can be both a blessing and a curse during a grueling NBA season.

When looking back at 2013-14, Stevens knew the Celtics had faltered late in close games. In the final five minutes of contests in which the score differential was 5 points or less, the Celtics had a net rating — offensive rating subtracted by defensive rating — of -25.4, 29th in the league. Furthermore, in those situations they were averaging 16.1 turnovers per 100 possessions, the 28th-worst mark in the NBA.

The Celtics had not executed down the stretch and Stevens wanted to know why. So he began analyzing every possession in the last five minutes of every Celtics game that year.

There are generally about 200 total possessions in an NBA game, and the rate typically increases in the last five minutes because of fouls, so Stevens probably analyzed well over 1,500 plays.

“I broke down every possession in the smallest of details,” he said. “It was the most arduous — well, maybe not arduous, because it’s not real work compared to what some people do for a living — but it was the most boring yet helpful thing I probably did last year. It helped me figure out a lot.

“When you’re not in the season, you detach emotionally and you can see what guys are and aren’t doing, what guys struggle with, what you could have done to help them be successful and how you can be better moving forward.”

At the start of this past season, Stevens presented his findings to his players. His message was simple: You’re closer than you might think.

“He put it to us in a way that gave us confidence, that if we do these few plays a little bit better, it could result in making the playoffs,” guard Evan Turner said. “It gave us an idea of how slim the difference is between having a successful season and not, and we realized they were fixable mistakes.”

This season, the Celtics improved their net rating in late-game clutch situations from -25.4 to -7.5, and they lowered their turnover ratio from 16.1 to 12.6.

Stevens’s offseason focus was not solely on his players. He also identified about 35 stars from around the league whose games he admired. Then he assigned groups of them to his staff — also taking five for himself — and asked his assistants to dig in.

“We studied them inside and out,” Stevens said. “What made them great? What were their flaws?”

Shrewsberry, for example, was tasked with analyzing guards Damian Lillard, Kyle Lowry, Tony Parker, and Ty Lawson. He said the project helped identify traits that they could pass on, and it also gave the Celtics a head start on individual scouting heading into the regular season.