This will be our last post until following Christmas. We come off of Christmas with three games in seven days so the next few days I will be breaking down tape and squeezing in some Christmas shopping. Below is a motivational passout that Coach Dale Brown would mail out each Christmas. It speaks to our ability to teach...not teaching subjects (or plays)...but teaching students (and players) -- and there is a big difference. Enjoy and may you all have a wonderful holiday season!
When Tony Campolo was in Chattanooga last week to speak at the annual “Gathering of Men” breakfast, the noted sociologist told a story that begs to be repeated, especially on this day:
It seems that there was a lady named Jean Thompson and when she stood in front of her fifth-grade class on the very first day of school in the fall, she told the children a lie.
Like most teachers, she looked at her pupils and said that she loved them all the same, that she would treat them all alike. And that was impossible because there in front of her, slumped in his seat on the third row, was a boy named Teddy Stoddard.
Mrs. Thompson had watched Teddy the year before and noticed he didn’t play well with other children, that his clothes were unkept and that he constantly needed a bath. Add to it the fact Teddy was unpleasant.
It got to the point during the first few months that she would actually take delight in marking his papers with a broad red pen, making bold ‘X’s and then marking the ‘F’ at the top of the paper biggest of all.
Because Teddy was a sullen little boy, nobody else seemed to enjoy him, either.
Now at the school where Mrs. Thompson taught, she was required to review each child’s records and--because of things--put Teddy’s off until last. But when she opened his file, she was in for a surprise.
His first-grade teacher had written, “Teddy is a bright, inquisitive child with a ready laugh. He does work neatly and has good manners … he is a joy to be around.”
His second-grade teacher wrote, “Teddy is an excellent student and is well-liked by his classmates--but he is troubled because his mother has a terminal illness and life at home must be a struggle.”
The third-grade teacher wrote, “Teddy continues to work hard but his mother’s death has been hard on him. He tries to do his best but his father doesn’t show much interest in school. He doesn’t have many friends and sometimes sleeps in class. His is tardy and could become a problem.”
By now Mrs. Thompson realized the problem but Christmas was coming fast.
It was all she could do, with the school play and all, until the day before the holidays began and she was suddenly forced to focus on Teddy Stoddard on that last day before the vacation would begin.
Her children brought her presents, all in gay ribbon and bright paper, except for Teddy’s, which was clumsily wrapped in heavy, brown paper of scissored grocery bag. Mrs. Thompson took pains to open it in the middle of the other presents and some of the children started to laugh when she found a rhinestone bracelet, with some of the stones missing, and a bottle that was one-quarter full of cologne.
But she stifled the laughter when she exclaimed how pretty the bracelet was, putting it on, and she dabbed some of the perfume behind the other wrist.
At the end of the day, as the other children joyously raced from the room, Teddy Stoddard stayed behind, just long enough to say, “Mrs. Thompson, today you smelled just like my mom used to.”
As soon as Teddy left, Mrs. Thompson knelt at her desk and there, after the last day of school before Christmas, she cried for at least an hour.
And, on that very day, she quit teaching reading and writing and spelling. Instead she began to teach children. And Jean Thompson paid particular attention to one they all called Teddy.
As she worked with him, his mind seemed to come alive. The more she encouraged him, the faster he responded and, on days that there would be an important test, Mrs. Thompson would remember the cologne.
By the end of the year he had become one of the smartest children in the class and … well, he had also become the “pet” of the teacher who had once vowed to love all of her children exactly the same.
A year later she found a note under her door, from Teddy, telling her that of all the teachers he’d had in elementary school, she was his favorite.
Six years went by before she got another note from Teddy. And then he wrote that as he finished high school, third in his class, she was still his favorite teacher of all time.
Four years after that, she got another letter, saying that while things had been tough at times, that he’d stayed in school, had stuck with it, and graduated from college with the highest of honors. He assured Mrs. Thompson she was still his favorite teacher.
Then four more years passed and another letter came.
This time he explained that after he got his bachelor’s degree, he decided to go a little further. That she was still his favorite teacher but now that his name was a little longer. And the letter was signed, “Theodore F. Stoddard, M.D.”
The story doesn’t end there. You see, there was yet another letter that spring. Teddy said that… well, that he’d met his girl and was to be married.
He explained that his father had died a couple of years ago and he was wondering … well, if Mrs. Thompson might agree to sit in the pew usually reserved for the mother of the groom.
You’ll have to decide for yourself whether or not she wore that bracelet, the one with several rhinestones missing.
But I bet on that special day, Jean Thompson smelled just like … well, just like she smelled many years before on the last day of school before the Christmas Holidays begin.
"To be a leader a man must have followers. And to have followers, you must have their confidence. Hence the supreme quality of a leader is unquestioned integrity. Without it, no real success is possible whether it is in a section gang, on a football field, in an army, or in an office."
"He was not only a hard worker, 
Below are some random notes I took listening Coach Krzyzewski a few year ago.
If you want to change your life in any area, there are five keys to succeeding at the highest level that will not only create the change you want to make, but also make that change sustainable and lasting. 
The absolute most valuable information we can depart to you in regard to creating a Basketball Newsletter for your program is that you can build it in any shape or form you desire. You are the creator, the editor in chief! We are now in the 8th year of publishing Full Court Press. There is not enough space to tell you the response we have had in that short amount of time.
Former President Gerald Ford discusses six fundamentals of leadership:
After a 15-day layoff, the Northern State University men’s basketball squad was back on the court Sunday afternoon, and found itself in a fight to the end with the visiting Midland Lutheran College Warriors. The Wolves, playing in their first game since an exhilarating win over Minnesota State on Dec. 13, managed to outlast the Warriors 77-74 to improve to 10-1 on the season.
I've long been a believer that one of the most important things that we can teach our players is the ability to concentrated for long, extended periods of time. It allows them to not only do more but to learn more when they can focus in spite of all the surroundings.
Coach Don Meyer always talks about the fact that "if your best player is also your hardest worker, you have a chance to be a good team."
The following passage is yet another pearl from John Maxwell. This comes from his outstanding book "Leadership Gold."
"The luck of having talent is not enough; 
f the post is one of the most difficult yet critically important parts of any defense. You must have a sound philosophy for both contesting the pass to the post area, as well as how you will defend the ball should it be caught in the post. The high post area is often overlooked or at the least not emphasized enough with many teams. In our offensive system, one of the primary goals of our offense is to get the ball to the high post. We believe it is the perfect ball location for attacking. When the ball is in the high post area, there is no helpside or ballside for the defense. This often leaves isolated low post play. All of which puts tremendous pressure on the defense. Therefore, we want to spend time in practice during both part and whole-method teaching to concentrate on how we will defend the high post.
logy for this is “ear in the chest.” This tells us how low and how close we should be in our stance. Another teaching point is that we want the lead foot in the passing lane (Photo #1) — as opposed to having a hand in the passing lane (Photo #2). By having a good stance in the passing lane, we have our body positioned between the ball and the high post receiver. Often, if you teach hand in the passing lane, a defender will be caught behind the receiver if she seals her out properly. This can lead to a cheap foul as well as an easy step and seal for the high post player to create a receiving lane.
Ready or not, some day it will all come to an end.
While attending a coaching clinic a few springs ago, we had a chance to spend some quality time with Don Meyer of Northern State University. When the discussion of free throw shooting came up, Coach Meyer didn’t hesitate to recommend a video tape on the subject that had highly impressed him.
"Patience is not passive; 
"The essential thing is action. Action has three stages; the decision born of thought, the order or preparation for execution, and the execution itself. All three staged are governed by the will. the will is rooted in character, and for the man of action, character is of more critical importance than intellect. Intellect without will is worthless, will without intellect is dangerous."
"Most of the verbal communicating you do is from one individual to another. This is true whether you're in a family, social, or a work setting. 
SHOT SELECTION
We have tried various ways with each of our children to make them champions. The following ten keys apply to making champions of the people you employ, manage or lead.
This is our third installment from Billy Packer's book "Why We Win" in which he ask coaches of all sports for insight on their philosophy.
"The most important thing in the break is to get there with the ball, and then work to get a good shot...Everybody says, 'If you run, you're going to have more turnovers.' I never accepted that. If you can handle the ball you can handle the ball. If you can handle the ball under the pressure of good half-court defense, you sure as hell ought to be able to handle it in full-court play against very little pressure."
"Responsibility is the price of greatness."
The following are some observations from the 2008 Olympics by Corinne Elletson:
Zoltan Roth on developing SELF-CONFIDENCE: