"HE WAS EXACTLY WHAT I NEEDED"

Below comes from ESPN's Buster Olney who is currently working on a book on Coach Meyer:

For 38 years, what Don Meyer has loved most about coaching is the problem-solving. Fixing a player's jump shot. Correcting the way his team defends the screen-and-roll. Adjusting the offense.

Meyer will coach the last home game of his career on Saturday, when Northern State University plays host to Southwest Minnesota State in Aberdeen, S.D. He has 923 career victories, and he got there by focusing on the process rather than the product, on getting his own players to execute better.

"You always knew what Don's teams were going to do," said Belmont University coach Rick Byrd, who has probably matched up against Meyer more than any other coach. "But the attitude of his teams was, 'We're going to practice it so well, execute so well and play so hard, that we're going to be better than you.'"

This kind of intense preparation required generations of players who could rise to the challenge of meeting Meyer's overwhelming intensity, who understood the message in his sometimes biting critique and window-rattling sarcasm, and who realized along the way that his lessons were about more than just basketball.

Over the years, his relentless focus on problem-solving -- the habit of looking inward and demanding accountability -- has been about more than defending the screen-and-roll. It's been about his players demanding more of themselves, as people.

"It wasn't always a bed of roses," said Wade Tomlinson, who played for Meyer at David Lipscomb College from 1986-90. "I can remember going back to my dorm room and visualizing holding him down and punching his head. But he is exactly what an 18-to-24-year-old male needs at that time in their life. He was exactly what I needed."

Meyer's success as a coach could be defined, in theory, by his record of wins and losses, of the NAIA national championship that David Lipscomb won in 1986, by the fact that the two greatest scorers in college basketball history, John Pierce and Philip Hutcheson, played for him.

Read the entire article at: http://bit.ly/dtSrko

JIM CALHOUN ON PRACTICE STRUCTURE

Once we start, after stretching we go full speed. Two hours and ten minutes is the longest we ever go. I don’t think you can go hard any longer than two hours.

1. Everything we do in practice is competitive.

2. Stats are kept on every player in practice, every practice.

3. We practice 6 game situations daily for 7-8 minutes. Make sure you get your players in simulated game-winning situations as often as possible.

4. All drills include both offense and defense.

5. Make sure you have carry-over into games from your drills. All drills involve full-court transition.

6. I don’t set goals—I set a standard of excellence. You’ll always have control that way whether you play a good team of poor team. This takes away the pressure to win. That takes care of itself.

LOU HOLTZ ON LEARNING

A day without learning is a day without living. Learning is an incremental process. No matter what the subject, you must first learn the fundamentals, putting in long hours to master the basics. You have to be able to add, subtract, multiply, and divide before you can move on to quantum physics. An art student doesn’t sit down behind the canvas on the first day of class and say, “Show me how Rembrandt did it,” and a first-year writing student can’t expect to pen a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel in one sitting. Only after you’ve mastered the fundamentals can you take the next step, and the next, and the next, progressing until you have reached your goal. All talented individuals develop their talents over long periods of time, and I was no different.

From "Wins, Losses, and Lessons" by Lou Holtz

THE WINNER'S CIRCLE

The following comes from Denis Waitley. Check out his website and sign up for you email newsletter at http://www.deniswaitley.com/

Every four years we see those five brilliant, interlocking Olympic rings on flags and in television and billboard advertising globally. The Olympic Games are where the best in the world go for the gold and the few stand, listening to their national anthem, in the coveted winner’s circle. If the five Olympic rings were attitudes of champions in every profession, these five attitudes would be prominent in the mindset of the peak performer:

Paying the Price.

Everyone wants to win, but few are willing to invest the time and effort. Paying the price means focusing on developing the skills and training regimen of champions—observation, imitation, repetition and the internalization of knowledge into habits; also, learning why and how to go the extra mile and seeing success as a marathon, not a dash. Champions view failures as temporary inconveniences and learning experiences.

The Olympian Within.

Winners believe in their worth in advance of their performance. Most people base their worth on their current status or achievement level, which means that until they are judged successful by society’s standards, they have little to be proud of. Champions believe in their dreams when they have only a dream to hang on to, even in the face of criticism and superior achievements by others.

Non-situational Integrity.

Authentic, lasting winners have an uncompromising attitude about self-honesty. They function according to an “integrity triangle,” consisting of three basic questions: (a) Are my beliefs based upon truth? (b) Do my words and actions correspond with truth and honesty? (c) Before I speak or act, do I honestly consider the impact of my decision on other people and the environment?

The “Coachability” Factor.

Champions are always open to alternatives to improve their performance. Consistent winners are not the arrogant egotists who dominate the media spotlight. The most successful individuals in the game of life are often the most approachable, most gracious, least judgmental of others and most critical of their own performances, as well as most eager to learn and improve.

Being a Team Player.

A team in harmony is synergy in motion, where the whole is greater than the sum of the individual talents. When all assignments are understood, when each takes 100 percent responsibility for the outcome, a quantum leap in performance takes place. Winners learn how to become interdependent—without sacrificing individuality—and how to stand out, while fitting in.

JOHN MAXWELL'S LEADERSHIP ASSESSMENT

The following post on leadership was written by John Maxwell for http://www.successmagazine.com/. Check out the website and sign up for email newsletters as well as finding a great amount of resources at the site.

As you read along, I encourage you to do your own assessment because there is no right or wrong answer. So grab a notebook and a pen and let’s get started.

A Leader’s Greatest Liability: Insecurity
Quoting my wonderful friend Wayne Schmidt, “No amount of personal competency compensates for personal insecurity.” In other words, no matter how confident you are, your competence can never outweigh and overcome your insecurity. It’s only a matter of time before your insecurity will sabotage your confidence.

In my book The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, the first law I talk about is The Law of the Lid, where one’s leadership ability determines a person’s level of effectiveness. And I feel the greatest lid on a leader’s ability to lead is insecurity. Insecure leaders are always positioning themselves to look good in the eyes of others. As a leader, when you are more concerned about how you look than how your people look, when you are more concerned about your outcome than your people’s outcome, when you are more concerned with how you are presented than how your people are presented, you are in trouble.

When I see an insecure leader, I want to get away from that person as quickly as I can. Not too long ago, I was talking to a person who was thinking about joining a staff with an insecure leader at the helm. Wanting to help, I told him he may want to reconsider. I told him it would be like handcuffing himself to this person while walking through a minefield. It’s only a matter of time until he—the insecure leader—blows himself up. And if you are handcuffed to him, guess what? You get to go, too.

Insecure leaders handcuff their people and consistently have losses along the wayside of life because they are constantly thinking about themselves first. Insecurity is a huge liability.

A Leader’s Greatest Motivation: A Challenge
Leaders love challenges. English historian Arnold Toynbee once said, “Appropriate response to challenge is the basis for the rise of any society or organization.”

I was doing a telephone interview with a magazine not too long ago, and one of the questions was how do I spot a leader. Once you understand what to look for, it’s not very complicated. Leaders love challenges. Anytime there is risk involved and a person backs up and doesn’t want to take the risk, they have already made a statement about their leadership ability.

Leaders love uncertainty. They love being on the edge where they don’t know if they are going to make or break it. They love not knowing how things are going to end up, but one thing is for sure: Good leaders bet on themselves. They will take the potential reward even though it could end up being a potential loss.

If you are looking for leaders in your company, give them a challenge, problem or issue that is way over their heads, add a little risk to it, and see if they are willing to put a little skin in the game.

I get very nervous when someone is about to launch or lead something who isn’t willing to take the risk that I’m willing to take. Because I know what will happen when it doesn’t go well. They will look to me for a parachute to save them. Leaders love a challenge.

A Leader’s Greatest Return: Developing People
What does developing people mean?

•Developing people means I value them.
•Developing people means I commit time to them.
•Developing people means I mentor them.
•Developing people means I equip them.
•Developing people means I empower them.

A Leader’s Greatest Prayer: Wisdom
I have prayed more for wisdom than for anything else. But why would a leader pray for wisdom? It’s very simple. There are many times when I don’t know what to do and am in over my head. And when you are in over your head, it doesn’t matter how deep you are, you are still in over your head. You can drown in 7 feet of water just as easy as 70 feet.

When I am in over my head, I pray to God to help me. Wisdom is knowing what to do next. What leader doesn’t need to know that? Skill is knowing how to do it. Virtue is doing it.

Dr. William J. Mayo said, “When knowledge is translated into proper action, we speak of it as wisdom.”

A Leader’s Greatest Recognition: Respect
The highest level of leadership results in respect. And respect is not a personal right. There is a quote I love on respect that says, “Everyone has the right to speak, but you have to earn the right to be heard.” It simply means go ahead and speak, but it doesn’t mean I am going to listen to you. There is a big difference between having the right to speak and the right to be heard.

Respect is usually gained on diffi cult ground. In other words, people usually gain respect through their most diffi cult times. Leaders gain respect when they take companies through very troubling fi nancial times. Presidents gain respect when they bring the country through diffi cult times. The reason Abraham Lincoln is the most revered president of the United States is because he successfully took America through its darkest hour.

COACH SABAN: COACHING TODAY'S ATHELTES (PART IV)

The following is the final of four parts of notes taking from a Coach Nick Saban clinic talk while he was coaching at LSU:

There is no substitute for knowledge. Knowledge and experience is what help you make an excellent play as a player and as a coach.

You should never let the other team determine what you are. General George Custer overestimated and General George McClellan underestimated their opponents. You cannot let the other team destroy what you are. You will not win or lose or have success based on what the other team is. You will have success based on what your team is. Team work is a funny thing. You can have a 427 Corvettes with oversized cams that will run 160 miles an hour, but if you don’t have the lug nuts for one tire, you are not going anywhere.

On the field, you can’t develop leadership if the coaching is doing all the leading. The players have to play and the coaches have to coach. The coaches can’t continually tell the players what to do. Bill Belichick would make the coaches go to the sidelines all the time when we had team drills. He would say to let the players play. I have senior meetings all the time. When we have them, I give the players ownership in those meetings. We have a peer group from every class that serves in a Peer Intervention Program. This program centers on behavioral issues. They deal with drugs, alcohol, agents, how to treat the other sex, spiritual issues, or any other behavior issues both positive and negative that you might have heard about. It actually is a tool to develop leadership within every group. I need groups that I can meet with to find out what is going on and be a sounding board for the team.

There are no decisions made on this team that I do not control. I can frame out any situation for them and get them to do what I want done. But they think it is their team and they are making the decisions. If you give them that type of ownership, they will lead and effect the other guy.

To be a good player on your team, you have to affect someone else on the team. You have to cause them to play better by the way you play. You affect other players with the character and attitude. To be a great player, you have to affect your entire unit. If you are a great player, every player on that unit plays better when you are on the field. The number one thing on any team that will keep your players from being selfish is respect for the other players. Having respect leads to trust and from that they begin to believe in each other. That is the way it works and that is the way it has to be.

JOHN MAXWELL'S 5 C's TO ESTABLISHING AND ACCOMPLISHING GOALS

To give yourself a handle on establishing and accomplishing goals, keep in mind these “Five Cs.”

• Consideration—What is the needed response? That’s what Mr. Berman asked himself when he asked those tough Marine drill sergeants for help.
• Credibility—What must I do to get the needed response?
• Content—What must I say to get the needed response?
• Conviction—How must I say it?
• Conclusion—What steps do I need to take to get the needed response? Now that I have said, felt, and determined to do something, what action will I take?

From "Be A People Person" by John Maxwell

INVESTED LEADERSHIP

An organization can execute only if the leader’s heart and soul are immersed in the company. Leading is more than thinking big, or schmoozing with investors and lawmakers, although those are part of the job. The leader has to be engaged personally and deeply in the business. Execution requires a comprehensive understanding of a business, its people, and its environment.

The leader must be in charge of getting things done by running the three core processes—picking other leaders, setting the strategic direction, and conducting operations.

From "Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done"
By Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan

TEAM PERCEPTION TEST

The following comes from Coach Steve Smiley of Sheridan College. Steve formerly played for Coach Meyer.

Also, here is a great idea that Coach Don Meyer really believed in, and we try to communicate to our players here at Sheridan. The idea is, the best way to learn something is to be able to teach it to somebody else. If your veterans/leaders can teach your younger players, you will have a successful program:

WE LEARN...
10% of what we read
20% of what we hear
30% of what we see
50% of what we both hear and see
70% of what we discuss with others
80% of what we experience personally
95% of what we TEACH to someone else
William Glasser

One last idea that we tried this year, and it worked well. It’s probably too late in the year to use these specific questions, but we did a Team Perception Test early in the year and had our players rate their teammates on the following questions. Our staff compiled the results and then we gave the players the choice of seeing how their teammates perceived them.

1. Who is our best practice player?
2. Who is our hardest worker?
3. Who is our most vocal leader?
4. Who controls the locker room when the coaches aren’t there?
5. Who is the best in the weight room?
6. Who is our best shooter (should be taking the shots @ the end of the game)?
7. Who is our best clutch free throw shooter?
8. Who is our best defender?
9. Who is our best rebounder?
10. Who is our toughest player (will do all of the dirty jobs)?

REFRAMING ADVERSITY

"Kites rise against the wind, not with it."
-Kay Yow

Coach Yow mastered the art of reframing adversity. No matter what obstacle she faced, she found a way to use it as a motivator to propel her forward, not allowing it to keep her stuck.

Kites rise when the wind comes against them. The same is true for your team, BusyCoach. Your players’ greatest opportunity to rise to their potential happens when the team faces adversity.

If your starter goes down with a season-ending injury, for example, and you reframe it as an opportunity for others to step up, you just might see your role-playing sub turn into a conference player-of-the-week.

What adversity is your team facing today? How will you reframe it to help them overcome?

From Stephanie Zonars and "Wisdom for the BusyCoach"

I'm obviously a big fan of Stephanie's book on Coach Yow: http://bit.ly/cG2mFc