CHAMPIONSHIP MENTALITY -- LOOKING TO LEARN EVEN IN VICTORY

Having been blessed to have coached some of the best to play the game, I have been able to study their approach.  One of the most important attributes I've found is their ability to constantly look to improve -- even after big wins or great performances.  An example of that comes from "Thinking In Bets" by Annie Duke -- a fascinating take on the decisions we make.  Shoutout to Mike Neighbors for recommending this book.  The story as told by Duke is about Phil Ivey, one of the best poker players in the land:

"In 2004, my brother provided televised final-table commentary for a tournament in which Phil Ivey smoked a star-studded final table.  After his win, the two of them went to a restaurant for dinner, during which Ivey deconstructed every potential playing error he thought he might have made on his way to victory, asking my brother's opinion about each strategic decision.  A more run-of-the-mill player might have spent the time talking about how great they played, relishing the victory.  Not Ivey.  For him, the opportunity to learn from his mistakes was much more important than treating that dinner as a self-satisfying celebration.  He earned a half-million dollars and won a lengthy poker tournament over world-class competition, but all he wanted to do was discuss with a fellow pro where he might have made better decisions."

It is the champion's ability to take a quick but honest look in the rearview mirror to assess areas of improvement.  Bill Parcells once said he believed, "you learn far more from winning."  

The champion also takes responsibility for their improvement and growth when they practice self-accountability. As Navy SEAL Rorke Denver says, “Every SEAL must learn to run his own jump.  You pack your own chute.”

WHAT ARE YOU DOING THE "REST OF THE TIME"

The following is a great passage from "What Drives Winning" by Brett Ledbetter and makes a profound point about opportunities where we create value without being involved in the actual action.  It's the "time between actions."  What is your self-talk like at those opportunities?  Are you focusing on what's next or what just happened?

College golf can teach us a great lesson. I was working with a high-level college team and I asked the team a few questions:

Me: How long does it take for you to complete a swing?

Team: One second.

Me: How many shots will you take in a normal round?

Team: 72.

Me: How long does a normal round take to play?

Team: 5 hours.

Me: Let me get this straight, you’re only swinging a golf club for one minute and twelve seconds out of 300 minutes?

Think about that for a second. The great golfers are the ones who can manage the other two hundred, ninety-eight minutes, and forty-eight seconds the best.

UNLEASHING GREATNESS PERFORMANCE EVENT - APRIL 10

I'm incredibly excited about this event and looking forward to growing in my personal and professional life on April 10 at the Hall of Champions at Kyle Field.  I've known Don Yaegar for 20 years and he is a transformative speaker.  Ed Molitor is a former coach that has dedicated his life to helping groups and individuals find success.

The Center for Executive Development at Mays Business School in partnership with The Molitor Group

Join Don Yaeger and Ed Molitor in the Ford Hall of Champions at Kyle Field for Unleashing Greatness, a Leadership Performance event where they will share with you the traits and behaviors of high-performing leaders in athletics. They will demonstrate how those same traits and behaviors intersect with remarkable business leaders. More importantly, they will show you how you can further develop these traits and behaviors to unleash your individual and collective greatness.

ENHANCED EXPERIENCE
There is no better setting for this powerful event: the Ford Hall of Champions was part of an unprecedented transformation of Kyle Field and continues in the traditions of the greatness of Texas A&M. For one day, the Ford Hall of Champions will serve as a gathering place for some of the top business leaders and teams in the region.

This setting will provide a memorable experience in a creative environment and help us break away from the typical conference setting. The Ford Hall of Champions setting means fewer interruptions and more focus — a day out of the office provides an opportunity to take a mental break from the never-ending to-do list and the usual distractions that pop up throughout the day.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Our day together will be broken down into three sections where Don and Ed plan to go deep on:
•Unleashing Greatness through Authentic and Resilient Leadership
•Recruiting in a Tight Labor Market and Stopping the Revolving Door
•Embracing the Power of Greatness- Game-Changers that you will not find in the playbook

Additionally there will be an interactive Q&A Section. The practices we cover will equip you with the tools to:
•Increase your self-awareness
•Communicate authentically
•Leverage your strengths
•Develop and strengthen powerful relationships
•Develop an unshakeable foundation of trust
•Build a culture worth fighting for
•Develop a champion mindset built through self-discipline and repetition
•Unleash Your Greatness

Click here for more details and how to register:
https://www.themolitorgroup.com/unleashing-greatness/

JAYSON TATUM: "READY TO LEARN EVERY DAY"

We came across a good read on Boston.com by Nicole Yang speaking to Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski about his thoughts on Jayson Tatum's rookie year with the Celtics.  You can read the entire article here but below are some thoughts from Coach K that stuck with me.

I thought it was fascinating that Coach K considered wanting "to get better" as a strength.  He didn't dismiss his talent but made sure to point out that Tatum wants to improve each time he steps on the court -- and that was certainly the case this season.

“I think the main strength he has — besides the talent — is that he always wants to get better,” Krzyzewski said. “He’ll come ready to learn every day, and he’s not afraid of making mistakes in the learning process.”

As for areas of improvement, Coach K mentioned talking.  We are always imploring our players and teams to talk more so it's nice to see one of the game's best coaches recognize its importance.

“I always like to see him talk more,” Krzyzewski said. “When you’re talking, that means you’re more consumed with the game you’re playing. You own it more.”

Another critical form of learning is listening and seeing -- which Coach K says is also a strength of Tatum's.

He cautions, however, there’s no need to overdo it. In moments when Tatum might seem quiet or reserved, Krzyzewski said it’s because he’s listening and observing.

“That’s why he’s such a good learner,” he said. “He’s not talking all the time because he’s listening and seeing and then doing. He’s really ahead of his years.”

THE ONE GUARANTEED TRAIT OF THOSE COACHES WITH SUSTAINED SUCCESS

The one thing that I have learned through decades of coaching is that there is no one set way to teach and coach and be successful.  Time has shown us that there are as many ways to be successful as there are committed coaches to their philosophies.  There is no set defensive style of play or offensive attack that is better than the other.  You can push the ball in transition or walk it up and find positive results.  The use of video and scouting reports are also as varied as the number of programs using them.

There is one constant however for those who have sustained success -- they are all continual learners.  They find time to grow their knowledge of the game as well as to improve in areas of communication and relationships.  To remain the same is to fall behind.

It was interesting today that I got an email from my mentor Dale Brown that talked about one of our games great coaches in John Wooden and how he approached learning throughout his career:

◄How about Coach Wooden actually took a psychology class so that he might be able to communicate with his student-athletes at a higher level.

◄He believe in watching the practices of other sports and developed some of his time management thoughts from Notre Dame football coach Frank Leahy.

◄It didn't bother coach to reach to UCLA rival coach Pete Newell to talk about defense.  (This also speaks to Coach Newell in his willingness to do so as well)

◄As did Don Meyer, when Coach Wooden as speaking at clinics, he would arrive early and stay late and be an avid note taker of the other speakers.

◄Each off-season he would select a phase of the game and pour himself into over the summer.

◄He was also a ferocious reader that once read the dictionary from cover to cover to improve his vocabulary.

Want to be successful over the long haul?  What your plans this summer to grow YOUR game!

BUZZ WILLIAMS: THOUGHTS AND CONCEPTS

Thanks to Steve Smiley for pass along these notes with me about six years on Coach Buzz Williams

Success is found in your daily agenda

“The general is the only one that loves the killer.”
◄Your Head Coach needs the killers
◄Be a killer!
◄Be a killer every day
◄Be ready to grind and work
◄That must be your mentality if you want to be elite

You will have a lid on your success if you are not willing to sacrifice

What are you doing today?
◄What are you doing tomorrow?
◄Have you learned all the steps on your journey?
◄Or are you just going through the journey and not learning?

What separates you from everyone else?

Question to ask yourself: Can you sign the players on your team now?
◄You better be able to if you want your Head Coach to hire you as an assistant.

Do what you’re supposed to do, every day.

You conversations are your personal advertisers!
◄Don’t ever talk down to someone.

Always (ALWAYS) talk UP to people.
◄Introduce yourself, have confidence, and make an impression.
◄They are going to form an impression of you anyways, so control that impression!

You have 2 things you can change in your life:
1) The books you read
2) The people you meet

Study those books, and build those relationships!

Study both success and study failures!
◄At what point did they fail?
◄Why did they fail?

Walk around like you have a black eye every day!
◄Be humble

The game is pure inside the lines!
◄When the ball goes up, you can’t hide.
◄You better be ready, because the game is coming.

God blesses the intent of our heart.
Be a servant to the staff.

THE OPPORTUNITY TO PURSUE EXCELLENCE

In a few weeks I'll be speaking at the PGC/Glazier Coaching Clinic in Dallas.  I have two segments and my last one is titled: "Don Meyer - Lessons Learned from a Legacy Left."  I've spent the last few days rereading Buster Olney's great book on Coach Meyer, "How Lucky You Can Be," and came across a passage back in the acknowledgments that I'm going to share with my team today:

"I first met Don Meyer when I was twenty-four years old and a first-year reporter at the Nashville Banner.  Meyer's practices were always open to the public, and so, once or twice a week, I would sit in and watch and listen. When the team met in a classroom before or after practices, I would take a seat in the back.  The underlying message that I heard him present to his players -- that every single day provided you with the opportunity to pursue excellence or not -- resonated with me from a young age."

NICK SABAN ON THE ILLUSION OF CHOICE

REGARDLESS OF SKILL & TALENT, ALL PLAYERS CAN DO THESE

This past month has been primarily an evaluation period for those in the college game with two full weeks travelling the country looking for players that best fit our Aggie family.  As someone that cares about the game, observing the competition in the summer can by uplifting or disappointing depending upon the team and players you are watching.  It's a lot of pressure on these young women because they know that a summer performance can often preclude their future options. 

Some players can be found doing too much.  At times players can play with the thought of trying to impress a coach and end up over doing it as opposed to doing what their team needs to do to play better.  Ironically, helping your team play at a higher level is more impressive to college coaches than individual performance.

During the summer, I found myself jotting down a few things that EVERY player could do to be better that had nothing to do with talent.  Things that regardless of their skill level, they could enhance their contribution by focusing on these areas:

1. Shot Fake and Pass Fake

Truly a lost art.  When's the last time you said to yourself, "that player is excellent as shot and pass fakes."  Of course part of the responsibility belongs to us as a coaches -- are we teaching and emphasizing it?  Few things can help an offensive player more than the proper use of a pass fake and a shot fake.

2. Know and Execute the Plays

Sounds a little silly saying "know the plays" but it's amazing to see a player or two who doesn't know where they are supposed to be or what they are supposed to being doing.  Whether is an inbounds plays, a half-court set, a motion entry or anything else structured, take the time to know where you are supposed to be and what you are supposed to be doing.  Next is execution -- doing it when you are supposed to and as well as you can.  This does not take talent but commitment to knowing and understanding your team's playbook.

3. Play Hard

Again, seems like it shouldn't have to be said but it does.  And here is the key to playing hard -- you have to do it all the time...not just when your team's ahead or the play is called for you.  Playing hard means that you are making all your cuts in your offense hard.  It means that you are sprinting to screen.  It means that getting back on defense is a full speed proposition.

4. Have a Team First Attitude

Be the player constantly encouraging their teammates...picking them up both physically and emotionally when the time comes.  Don't be the player with the horrific body language when a teammate turns the ball over as if you were saying "I wouldn't have made that mistake."  If a played does make a mistake, correct it is a positive manner.

5. Understand Shot Selection

Forcing shots does not help your team nor does it impress a college coach.  Know what a good shot is for you -- and yes, your shot selection will vary from those of your teammates.  Don't hunt shots, let the shots find you.

6. Concentrate

As I heard Nick Saban once say, "Wherever your shoes are, be there."  Don't wonder mentally.  Stay focused to the job at hand.  Be a process oriented player.  Don't worry about the past play -- it's over.  Don't worry about a play in the future they may or may not happen.  All you can control is the current possession you are involved with -- give the possession complete concentration.

7. Be a Great Listener

This actually can do a long way to helping with concentration.  In timeouts are you locked in with your eyes and ears.  Does you coach have your complete attention.  There's a free throw situation and your coach or captain is barking out instructions.  Are you actually listening and processing or just hearing -- and there is a difference between listening and hearing.

8. Be in Great Shape

Without doing anything in regard to skill work...without saying anything about your talent level...you can make an impact on your team by being in great physical shape.  When the game is in the fourth quarter or late int he second half and everyone else is starting to drag, this is where you can make a difference.  Not only will you be a step faster because of your conditioning level, but you will be mentally sharper as well.  How many times have we seen a team put on a late run and in large part because of players that are in just better shape that run the floor and past their opponent.

9. Control Your Intangibles

Again, these have nothing to do with skill or talent but they are game changers.  The three areas that players can control (but often choose not to) are: attitude, energy, enthusiasm.  Now I'm not saying it is easy but if you want to make a difference in your team its well work working on.  By controlling your intangibles, I mean you don't let officiating, teammates, opponents, coaches, gym conditions or anything else effect you having a team-first attitude, with high energy and positive enthusiasm.

10. Be an Example

What do your teammates see when they see or think of you?  He or she is always early to the gym.  They stay late.  They are on time for meetings.  They listen to the coach.  They keep their composure.  Off the court they conducting themselves the right way.  They maintain a proper diet to put fuel in the tank.  They are positive talkers -- not criticizing a coach or gossiping about a teammate.

11.  Rebound
Some of the best rebounders are lacking in talent and athleticism -- they board well because of effort and tenacity.  Rebounding is one of the only areas in basketball where it's alright to selfish.  I've coached for over 35 years and have never heard of a coach taking a player out for rebounding too much!

I would imagine some of my coaching friends can add to this list but the key for players to understand is that every player can adopt these principles and it will make them a better player and their team a better team.  There's nothing on here that requires you to jump higher, run faster or have an amazing handle.  Be committed to areas that you can control and work towards being the best you can in those areas.

ANOTHER KOBE WORK EHTIC STORY

Kobe's professional trainer was fast asleep. Could you blame him? It was 3:30 am in the morning. All a sudden his phone starts ringing. It's Kobe. He must be in trouble, or in some kind of emergency. His trainer is freaking out, and nervously picks up the phone.

Kobe says that he's doing some conditioning work and could use his trainer's help. The trainer then proceeds to get ready and head over to the gym. He arrives around 4:30 am. 

What did he see? He saw Kobe by himself practicing. Drenched in sweat, it looked like he just jumped in a pool. It wasn't even 5am in the morning yet.

From "4 Stories About Work Ethic" written by A. J. Agrawal for INC.com

KYLE KORVER ON THE WORK ETHIC OF LEBRON JAMES

The following comes from Stack.com in which Kyle Korver talks about the work ethic of Lebron James.  You can see the entire article here which also includes some video of Lebron and the Cavs workout out on VersaClimbers.

Here is what Korver had to say:

"Behind the scenes, just how hard he works. He's a machine. You don't see guys this late in their careers, guys who've had this much success, be the first guy in the gym. He's still there," Korver said. "I was blown away." Korver would know—this is his 14th season in the NBA.

As an example of LeBron's unparalleled work ethic, Korver pointed to the morning after a regular-season game against the Utah Jazz. The night before, the Cavs had defeated the Jazz on the back of a Herculean 33-point, 10-rebound, 6-assist effort from LeBron. The next morning, LeBron was in the gym before anyone else.

"He played [38] minutes, he played hard. And the next morning, he was on the VersaClimber when everybody else got there, in full sweat doing a massive strength and cardio workout," Korver said. "He was like, 'The playoffs are coming! I've got to be ready! I've got to be able to play big minutes and play at a high level!'"

UNTIL

We shared the following post on our HoopBoost blog for players but thought we'd share with our coaches as well.

One of the most important elements to your practice, especially when you are working without your coaches, is that it is both deliberate and intentional.  In other words, don't just pick up a basketball and start shooting.  What shot are you working on?  What move are you trying to develop?

Make sure you are concentrating on the elements of execution and going at a pace and speed that will translate to success on the court.  We had Kevin Eastman speak to our team last season and he told some stories on Kobe Bryant and the "intentionality of his workouts."

Eastman had been told that Kobe might go to the gym and spend two or three hours working on one move -- ONE MOVE!  

When Eastman ran into Kobe they talked about that and he asked Kobe, "How long do you work on a particular move?"

To which Kobe replied, "Until."

That's the mentality of a professional and a great player.  They don't get bored with the repetition of developing their skill.

They work "until."

This reminded me of past post on the same subject.

One of my original mentors in the game of basketball is Marianne Stanley.  During my early years of coaching I worked her summer basketball camps at Old Dominion.  In fact, I was good for two weeks for about nine years in Norfolk.  Marianne ran a great camp -- it was a teaching camp -- because she is first and foremost a teacher.  She is one of the greats of our profession that have fought to get our game where it is now.  That's why Sunday was such a special day as she came by to observe our practice.  Marianne is currently an assistant coach for the Washington Mystics and is doing her homework for the upcoming draft. 

She took the time to talk to our team about elements that go into taking your game to the next level and the word that came to the forefront is passion.  You have to be passionate about your profession to excel in it.

She also took a few minutes to pass on a conversation she had had with Coach John Wooden.  Many years ago she was asking Coach Wooden about what made Bill Walton such a great player.

"He didn't get bored with the repetition that you need to be great," replied Coach Wooden.

How many players are good but don't work at something long enough and hard enough to excel at it?  The word Marianne used was "mastery."  She said the great ones didn't mind the constant repetition because their goal was to master the parts of their game.

A SYSTEM FOR READING (PART I)

I thought I'd share how I keep up with some of my reading -- specifically magazine, internet or newspaper articles.

I keep a file folder with me simply marked "Reading."

Anytime I see an article but don't have time to read it I'll print it out or cut it out and slide it in my folder.  There are usually between 10 and 25 articles in that folder at any time.  I keep it in my backpack so that I can pull an article out at anytime and read it.

I treat the articles like I do a book, marking relevant passes with a yellow highlighter to be added to a typed list of notes.  

What am I looking for?

Anything that will make me a little smarter or better at what I do.  It might be something pertaining to coaching, teaching or personal growth.

Anything that I can share with our team.  It could be technical or motivational.  It might be something to share with all of the team or specific members.

Anything that I would like to share with those that read my blogs.  I have a blog for coaches and one for players and am constantly looking to keep them updated with information to possibly help them grow.

Sometimes I will find something that we can utilize in recruiting.  Maybe it's an article of passage of an NBA player that I know a recruit might enjoy or possibly their coach.

At times, I will find something that I can share with someone in general.  Maybe an administrator, our staff, a former player or even a friend.

The key is having a system and then finding the time to read.  By carrying it with me I can pull out an article at any time.  Today at the car wash, I got through three articles which beats watching the brushes spin round and round!

I'll blog on this later but I've recently started using the app "Pocket" on the advice of Buzz Williams which is excellent for saving and transfer articles.  Once installed on your browser, when you come across an article, you are one click away from saving it for later -- from your PC or any mobile device.  You can then pull it up and anytime to read.  You can also forward it to people via email or text or share on your social media accounts. The photo to the right is what my "Pocket" looks like this morning with some articles waiting for me to catch up on.  If I "check" the article on one device, I can pull them up on any of mine.

I'm also utilizing a similar app titled "Instapaper" -- working to decide which one fits me the best.  Early on I really like the highlighting open on "Instapaper."  I'll keep you posted.

BELICHICK ON THE IMPORTANCE OF PAYING ATTENTION

The following are a few take aways I took from CoachingSearch.com on a post about Bill Belichick written by Chris Vinnini:

THE IMPORTANCE OF PAYING ATTENTION

“Paying attention to details, being coachable, understanding the material you’re given, and then working at it,” he said. “My experience has been any athlete, coach, businessperson that pays attention to the material, listens to the coaching points, understands what they need to do to get better, if they go work hard, they’ll improve.

“If they don’t listen to the coaching and go out and work but do it their way — it’s work, but not productive work — then the improvement is pretty marginal. The person that understands the things I need to do, but they don’t actively work to improve won’t improve either. My experience has been, regardless of the talent level, if they’re attentive, they listen and work hard, then you’re going to see improvement.”

KNOW YOURSELF AND YOUR PHILOSOPHY

“If you’re trying to be someone else, it doesn’t go far,” he said. “… As I think of the coaches I watched, they were different, but what worked for them worked for them. You can only do what you can do. This might be a great idea and work for somebody else and it might be a great play, but if you can’t execute it, it’s not a good one.

Here is a link to the entire post.

HOW THE PATRIOTS COACH THEMSEVLES

One of my favorite concepts from Tom Izzo is "the best coached teams are player coached teams."  In other words, they are the custodians of their own program.  The police each other and hold each other accountable.  It creates a special culture of ownership that that great teams show.  And by great teams, I mean those teams that are consistently competitive year in and year out and are driving by their culture.  Here is a short piece on the New England Patriots.

"In the biggest games, in any situations and on a weekly basis, his production was phenomenal," Belichick wrote.  "Rodney Harrison embodies all the attributes coaches seek and appreciate: toughness, competitiveness, leadership, selflessness, hard work, intensity, professionalism -- and coming from Rodney, they are contagious.

After all, there were many "normal" things in the locker room that weren't necessarily normal in other places.  Harrison was among those who were there for the installation of things that were not taken for granted.  The players, for example, were coachable, maybe because some of their toughest coaches were their peers.  All of their competitions were based around improving team performance.

They gave out that mental error belt to prevent mistakes in the game.  They challenged one another to get to work early and interrogated players who tried to leave early.  They took the punitive nature of being late for meetings away from he coaches and handled it themselves; if you were the last one sitting down, no matter what time it was, you were late.  In fact, Harrison learned that lesson when he first arrived from San Diego. He and others became enforcers of that rule and many more.  They checked one another's plate for fatty foods.

Fried chicken again today, huh?  No wonder you're making so many mistakes in the game.

From the book "Belichick and Brady" by Michael Holley

'WHAT DID I GIVE AWAY?"

The following comes from the book "Belichick and Brady" by Michael Holley and gives a glimpse at the drive to improve that makes Tom Brady great:

Ty Law's team had been miserable: the Jets were 2-10 after a 16-3 loss to the Patriots.  The two teams played again, the day after Christmas, and the Patriots walked away with a 10-point victory.  One fo the few highlights in the game for the Jets was Law picking off Brady and running seventy-four yards for a touchdown.  

A couple of days after the game, Law got a phone call.He recognized the number, the voice, and the question.

"Hey Ty," Brady said.  "What did you see on the interception?  What did I give away."

Three titles and two MVPs later, he was still searching the way he had when he was trying to take the job from Bledsoe.

"Tom, I played with you longer than anybody over there, right?"  Law explained.  "It's obvious what you do:   You do this exaggerated throwing motion and I knew you were coming back the other way.  I played with you long enough to know that.  As soon as I saw that motion, it's not a real throwing motion, I just stopped.  You threw it right there."

The flaw would be corrected for the play-offs.

HOW TOM THIBODEAU SPEND HIS YEAR "OFF"

From NBA.com, Mitchell Hansen wrote an article on Tom Thibodeau and in part, how he handled his year away from coaching.  Again, more proof that the best are continual learners and look for ways to improve.

After departing Chicago, Thibodeau took a year off to reflect, recharge and learn before looking for another head coaching job. 

“Last year was a great year. I visited some (NBA) teams in September and October and then went back the last month of the season. I believe I visited 13 teams,” he said. “When you don’t have your own team and you’re not worried about who you are playing next, you have a much broader view on everything. It was a great year and I took a lot from it.”

Along with visiting other basketball teams, Thibodeau branched out to two successful coaches in other sports: New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick and former St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa.

“You’re talking about two all-time greats in the history of their respective sports and to get the opportunity I had to spend some time with them was invaluable to me," Thibodeau said. "What you find out is the winning characteristics are always the same in every sport. When you start to learn about leadership and what teaching is all about, you can learn a lot from those guys.”

COACH MEYER: THE NOTE TAKER

The past few days I've been rereading "How Lucky You Can Be," by Buster Olney which is a wonderfully written book on the life of Coach Don Meyer.  I came across a story that made me laugh out loud but at the same time displayed what made Coach special and great:

Don Meyer was the worst fisherman that Ron Vlasin had ever seen.  Years before Meyer's accident, Vlasin and Meyer had gone out on Lake McConaughy, Nebraska's largest body of water.  Shortly after the two men had dropped their lines, Meyer asked Vlasin a question about the high school basketball team that Vlasin coached.  With his back to Meyer, Vlasin started answering the question keeping his voice low for fear of disturbing the fish.  After a few minutes, Vlasin had glanced over at Meyer at the other side of the boat and saw that his friend had put down his rod, had pulled out a notebook, and was writing everything that Vlasin had said.

YOU IMPROVE WITH WORK AND THE PROPER MENTALITY

A shoutout to Jeanne Kenney who forwarded me this article written by Chandler Rome of The Advocate.  It talks about the work and mentality Alex Bregman of the Houston Astros organization has made to grow his game.  It's always about the process: 

“I had never seen him hit balls that far in my life,” said Goldstein, the Astros’ director of pro scouting. “Just was consistently barrelling balls and throwing them over the fence like that. This was the first day of spring training. We had never seen that kind of power before, ever, out of him.”

Bregman, a nonroster invitee, added 20 pounds in an offseason when he and his longtime hitting coach, Jason Columbus, split home plate in half. The focus was twofold for a right-handed hitter who had yet to showcase the power major league evaluators knew was present.

Bregman concentrated on fastballs that tailed in on the inner half of the plate. He’d grown accustomed to rolling over them for grounders to the left side. Columbus emphasized line drives, lifting to the opposite field.

“Sacrificing what you are now for what you’ll become,” Bregman said Tuesday night. “That’s kind of the mentality for making that change.”

“Wherever it is,” Bregman said. “I don’t care where I play. I just want to try to help contribute and win games.”

HOW A PLAYER CREATES THEIR IDENTITY

We posted this in our blog for players HoopBoost, but I wanted to share it on our coaching blog as well. It comes from "Coaching The Mental Game" by H. A. Dorfman which is among my top 10 books for coaches wanting to learn and master their craft:

"The measure of a man's real character is what

he would do if he knew he would never be found out."

-Thomas McCauley

What I say it, "You identify yourself by what you do when no one is watching.  The supervised athlete may be the hardest worker, the most selfless and responsible competitor.  But how he practices when no one sees him, how he interacts with teammates when the coach is not within listening distance -- that's when he defines himself.

Theodore Roosevelt extended the definition to self-awareness and independent self-evaluation, saying, "I don't care very much about what I think of what I do.  That is character!"