WHEY WE WIN #7

This is our 7th installment from Billy Packer's book "Why We Win" in which he ask coaches of all sports for insight on their philosophy.

Could you talk about organization and time management?

John Wooden: I had three rules I always used in preparation. 1) You be on time. 2) You never criticize a teammate. That’s my job. 3) You never use profanity. If you vio-lated any of those three rules, then you didn’t get to practice that day.

Ara Parseghian: Every minute that you wasted between the time a game ended and the next game started was wasted time because you only have so much time in there.

Joe Gibbs: The whole time during that season, if I took two hours to do something, I always worried.   Pat Summitt: I think time management and organization are obviously critical in terms of how, as a coach, I manage my time and allow me to prepare and organize for play-ers’ time...A time-out is what, 60 seconds, maybe 90 seconds? I talk to my staff, organ-ization, my players about the need to understand how to position themselves on the bench, how to really listen.

Bill Walsh: If the players feel that you are using every minute on the field to preapre them to win or to compete, then they’re going to be willing to give you every minute of their time. But if there’s wasted, loose, lackadaisical moments there, the players lose their concentration and lose their appreciation for practice.