THE ONE SECOND ADVANTAGE

Great post from Chad Songy of the Point Guard College:

During our five-day Director's Team Training Camp recently held just outside Toronto, I was introduced to several new ideas while in the midst of some sharp basketball minds. One of these minds was Coach Mike MacKay, Manager of Coach Education and Development for Canada Basketball. I picked up several 'golden nuggets' from Coach MacKay, including the idea of the 'One Second Advantage'.

As basketball players we should always try to gain a one second advantage. We can do so by using screens, moving on penetration, moving defenders with fakes, etc. Often that one second advantage is the difference between getting a great shot and having a shot contested or coming up with an empty possession and not even getting a shot off at all.

While it's important to create that one second advantage, it's equally as important to maintain it. The following are some habits that cause players to lose their one second advantage:

•where a one second advantage is created by moving a defender with a jab fake, losing it by driving wide around the defender allowing the defender to recover
•catching a pass with straight legs, then forces the player to have to bend down to load for the shot (which takes one second) and losing their one second advantage for that open shot
•off the ball, standing still on penetration and therefore not gaining the one second advantage from the space or separation that's created when the helping defender hedges to slow down that penetration

I found this concept really beneficial, but it wasn't until my participation in the drill below, that I truly understood the value of being aware of your one second advantage by continually catching the ball with loaded legs.

Read the rest of this post at Chad's blog: http://ow.ly/1fyQn

ADVERSITY HELPS FOCUS

Nothing focuses the mind like crisis. Throughout history, the most extraordinary acts of genius have often come in the depths of turmoil. The atom was split during the height of World War II, when American scientists were racing the Nazis on the nuclear front, and Neil Armstrong walked on the moon because of the breakneck space race NASA had with the Soviet Union. On a smaller scale, we’ve all seen football teams that struggle to get anything done for three and a half quarters only to mount miraculous game-winning drives at the end. It happens all the time. When your back is against the wall and you know you have only one chance to win or lose, your senses become keener and your performance elevates. As a coach you always try to get your players to give 100 percent on every play of every game, but I’m not naïve enough to believe they did it. When we found ourselves behind of tied in the final minutes of a game, I could see our players dig deeper, focus more intently, and find something within themselves that pushed their performance up a notch. It’s human nature. When it’s now or never, everyone tends to focus on “now.”

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

SURE WAYS FOR PLAYERS TO IMPROVE SHOOTING

From Coach Eric Musselman:

1. Shooters must get open to receive the ball. (Many shooters do not have this skill).
2. Shooters must exhibit good shot selection. (Bad shot selection lowers shooting percentage).
3. Shooting form must be consistent.
4. Good shooters CONCENTRATE on the shot and focus on thetarget.
5. Good shooters have CONFIDENCE in their shooting ability.
6. Good shooters maintain GOOD BALANCE on the shot.
6. Become a good passer. Good shooters are often double-teamed and have opportunities for assists to teammates.
7. Acknowledge the pass you receive from a teammate.

LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE

After a disappointing outing in the SEC Tournament, I was in my office this morning breaking down the tape of our Vanderbilt loss when I got my Brian Tracy email newsletter. Talk about perfect timing! Great thoughts from Brian on attitude and perspective:

The most important application of the law of cause and effect in your life is this: thoughts are causes, and conditions are effects. What this means is that your thought is creative. You create your world by the way you think. Nothing in your world has any meaning except for the meaning you give by how you think about it and talk about it. If you don't care about something, it has no effect on your emotions and actions.

How to be Happy
Many thousands of people have been interviewed over the years to find out what they think about most of the time. Can you guess what the most successful and happy people think about all day long? The answer is simple. Happy healthy people think about what they want, and how to get it, most of the time. When you think and talk about what you want, and how to get it, you feel happier and in greater control of your life.

How to be Unhappy
What do unhappy people think and talk about most of the time? Unfortunately, they think and talk about things they don't want. They think and talk about their problems and pains, and the people they don't like. Sometimes, their whole lives revolve around their complaints and criticisms. And the more they think and talk about what they don't want, the unhappier they become.

The Most Important Quality
Based on many psychological tests, the happiest people seem to have a special quality that enables them to live a better life than average. Can you guess what it is? It is the quality of optimism! The best news about optimism is that it is a learnable quality. You can learn to be a more positive, confident, and optimistic person by thinking the way optimists do—most of the time.

Look for the Good
Optimists seem to have different ways of dealing with the world that set them apart from the average. First, as we mentioned, they keep their minds on what they want, and keep looking for ways to get it. They are clear about their goals and they are confident that they will accomplish them, sooner or later. Second, optimists look for the good in every problem or difficulty. When things go wrong, as they often do, they say, "That's good!" and then set about finding something positive about the situation.

Seek the Valuable Lesson
The third quality of optimists is that they seek the valuable lesson in every setback or reversal. Rather than getting upset and blaming someone else for what has happened, they take control over their emotions by saying, "What can I learn from this experience?" Fully 95% of everything you do is determined by your habits, good or bad. When you repeatedly look for the good and seek the valuable lesson in every obstacle or disappointment, you very soon develop the habit of thinking like an optimist. As a result, you feel happier, healthier, and more in control of your world.

The Body-Mind Connection
More and more doctors are coming to the conclusion that 80% or more of all diseases and ailments are psychosomatic in origin. This means that "psycho," the mind, makes "soma," the body, sick. You do not get sick from what you are eating, but from what is eating you.

Action Exercise
Resolve from now on to see your glass of life half full rather than half empty. Give thanks for your many blessings in life rather than worrying or complaining about the things you do not have. Assume the best of intentions on the part of everyone around you.

Check out Brian's home page at: http://www.briantracy.com/

WHY WE WIN: THE IMPORTANCE OF PREPARATION

"Why We Win" is a fascinating book written by TV analyst Billy Packer along with Roland Lazenby. The preface of the book for Packer is to ask the same variety of questions to a series of outstanding coaches. The list of coaches include Red Auerback, Ara Parseghian, Bob Knight, Joe Gibbs, Pat Summitt, Dean Smith, Bill Walsh, Chuck Noll, Tommy Lasorda and Mike Krzyzewski, just to name a few. Here is an example of one of the questions and a few responses.

What’s more important, pregame preparation or in-game adjustments?

Anson Dorrance: “I think preparation is the absolute. All things you do before the game begins are certainly more important that whatever happens during the soccer game.”

Bob Knight: “I think preparation. I think in-game adjustments are the most overrated thing in coaching. The team that’s willing to prepare to win is going to be the team that wins. Most everybody plays to win, but it’s preparing to win that I think is the most important thing in successful play.”

Mike Krzyzewski: "Pre-game preparation is much more important as far as the coach and player relationship, in that I find most players, if they start a game and don’t have the proper mind-set, it’s very difficult to turn that around."

WHAT LEADERS DO

1. Leaders relentlessly upgrade their team using every encounter as an opportunity to evaluate, coach, and build self-confidence.

2. Leaders make sure people not only see the vision, they live and breath it.

3. Leaders get into everyone’s skin, exuding positive energy and optimism.

4. Leaders establish trust with candor, transparency, and credit.

5. Leaders have the courage to make unpopular decisions and gut calls.

6. Leaders probe and push with a curiosity that borders on skepticism, making sure their questions are answered with action.

7. Leaders inspire risk taking and learning by setting the example.

8. Leaders celebrate.

From the book "Winning" by Jack Welch with Suzie Welch

WOODEN ON THE PROCESS AND PRACTICE

The following comes from "Today Matters" by John Maxwell:

I mentioned earlier in the chapter that I fulfilled my lifelong dream of spending half a day with John Wooden. He is an amazing man. He coached basketball for over forty years. And, in all those years, he had only one losing season (his first). He led his UCLA teams to four undefeated seasons and a record ten NCAA championships, including seven in a row. No wonder he is called the Wizard of Westwood (the Los Angeles suburb where the UCLA campus is situated).

Before I went to see him, I spent three weeks rereading his books and devouring every bit of information I could about him. Then, on the appointed day, I met him for lunch at a little diner near his home where he eats regularly. When we met, he was ninety-two years old. But you wouldn’t know it to talk to him. He’s alert. And he is sharp!

As we ate, I must have asked him a thousand questions, and he answered them all graciously. I wanted to learn as much as I could about his leadership. I wanted to know why he thought he had been able to win as he did. He said he attributed it to four things: (1) analyzing players, (2) getting them to fulfill their roles as part of the team, (3) paying attention to fundamentals and details, (4) working well with others. I also wanted to know what he missed most about coaching. At first his answer surprised me.

“Practice,” he said. “It wasn’t the acclaim or the championships.” Then I remembered a quote from him I had read before our meeting. I later went back to reread it:

“I have often been asked when I first started dreaming about winning a national championship. Was it at Indiana State Teachers College or after I arrived at UCLA? Perhaps while I was a college player? I never dreamed about winning a national championship.”

“What I was dreaming about each year, if you want to call it that, was trying to produce the best basketball team we could be. My thoughts were directed toward preparation, our journey, not the results of the effort (such as winning national championships). That would simply have shifted my attention to the wrong area, hoping for something out of my control. Hoping doesn’t make it happen.”

Mix idealism with realism and add hard work. This will often bring much more than you could ever hope for.

We talked more about practice, and he said, “What you do in practice is going to determine your level of success. I used to tell my players, ‘You have to give 100 percent every day. Whatever you don’t give, you can’t make up for tomorrow. If you give only 75 percent today, you can’t give 125 percent tomorrow to make up for it.’”

5 THINGS TO DO INSTEAD OF COMPLAINING

Another great email from Jon Gordon:

To help you break out of a “complaining” rut here are five things you can do instead of complain. These tips will help you realize you are not powerless. You have the power to choose your beliefs and actions. And in your focus on the positive instead of the negative you'll find the faith, strength and confidence to take on life’s challenges and identify the solutions to your complaints.

1. Practice Gratitude

Research shows that when we count three blessings a day, we get a measurable boost in happiness that uplifts and energizes us. It's also physiologically impossible to be stressed and thankful at the same time. Two thoughts cannot occupy our mind at the same time. If you are focusing on gratitude, you can't be negative. You can also energize and engage your coworkers by letting them know you are grateful for them and their work.

2. Praise Others

Instead of complaining about what others are doing wrong, start focusing on what they are doing right. Praise them and watch as they create more success as a result. Of course, point out their mistakes so they can learn and grow, but make sure you give three times as much praise as criticism.

3. Focus on Success

Start a success journal. Each night before you go to bed, write down the one great thing about your day. The one great conversation, accomplishment, or win that you are most proud of. Focus on your success, and you'll look forward to creating more success tomorrow.

4. Let Go

Focus on the things that you have the power to change, and let go of the things that are beyond your control. You’ll be amazed that when you stop trying to control everything, it all somehow works out. Surrender is the answer.

5. Pray

Scientific research shows that daily prayer reduces stress; boosts positive energy; and promotes health, vitality, and longevity. When you are faced with the urge to complain or you are feeling stressed to the max, stop, be still, plug-in to the ultimate power, and recharge.

Check out Jon's website at: http://www.jongordon.com/

TALK TO YOUR PLAYERS MORE

Chuck Daly said if there was one thing he would do differently in his career, he would have talked to his players more:

Players have so many answers if you will listen to them.

There is an art to listening to your players. You will be amazed by what you can learn from a player’s body language, their eyes, etc.

At the end of the game, you should look at your players and look to see who is looking at you. If they are not looking at you, then they don’t want the ball.

Clinic notes from Doc Rivers

BRIAN TRACY: DEVELOP A CLEAR VISION

The one quality that all leaders have in common is that they have a clear and exciting vision for the future. This is something that only the leader can do. Only the leader can think about the future and plan for the future each day.

Take the Time to Think
Excellent leaders take the time to think through and develop a clear picture of where they want the organization to be in one, three and five years. Leaders have the ability to communicate this vision in such a way that others "buy in" and eventually see the vision as belonging to them.

Motivate People to Give of Their Best
It is the vision of the future possibilities, of what can be, that arouses emotion and motivates people to give of their best. The most powerful vision is always qualitative, aimed at and described in terms of values and mission rather than quantitative, which is described in terms of money and numbers.

Money is Important
Of course, money is important, but the decision and commitment to "be the best in the business" is far more exciting.

Keep Your Cool
Another key to leadership success is for you to "keep your cool." A study at Stanford Business School examined the qualities that companies look for in promoting young managers toward senior executive positions, especially the position of Chief Executive Officer. The study concluded that the two most important qualities required for great success were, first, the ability to put together and function as part of a team. Since all work is ultimately done by teams, and the managers' output is the output of the team, the ability to select team members, set objectives, delegate responsibility and finally, get the job done, was central to success in management.

Practice is Everything
The second quality required for rapid promotion was found to be the ability to function well under pressure, and especially in a crisis. Keeping your cool in a crisis means to practice patience and self-control under difficult or disappointing circumstances.

People Are Watching
The character and quality of a leader is often demonstrated in these critical moments under fire, when everyone is watching, observing and privately taking notes. As Rudyard Kipling once said, "If you can keep your head when all around you are losing theirs and blaming it on you, then the world is yours and all that's in it".

Your job as a leader is to have a clear vision of where you want to go and then to keep your cool when things go wrong, as they surely will.