UTLIMATE COACHES' CLINIC: RICK BARNES

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. From time to time I will share a few but it is a great book to own and I highly recommend it. At LSU, another member of our staff is former Texas Longhorn standout Travis Mays. While he had long left Texas for the NBA before Rick Barnes was hired in Austin, he has gotten the opportunity to know him and watch him at work. He has shared with me some great stories of why Coach Barnes is consistently successful at Texas so I thought I'd start with his list first:

1. Get up every day knowing nothing. Be like a sponge and learn each day. You never know it all. Be a good listener and ask questions.

2. Everyone you deal with in the organization is important.

3. Be serious about your job, but have fun doing it.

4. You are being watched as a coach. You have to live it and not just say it.

5. You can't be everything as a coach, so pick out two or three areas to focus on. Also, focus on what causes you to lose.'

6. Work with a purpose and know how what you are doing fits into the big picture.

7. When you ask players to do something, they must be able to respond.

8. Never get away from teaching the fundamentals. They never go out of style.

9. Always find ways to learn what makes people tick.

10. Understand learning disabilities and how they affect your players. Not everyone learns the same way and as the same pace. You can't treat them all the same.