ONE STATE OF MIND FACING A TEST

"There can only be one state of mind as you approach any profound test; total concentration, a spirit of togetherness, and strength."

-Pat Riley

30 DAYS TO A CHAMPIONSHIP: TAKING IN THE CAMPUS BEAUTY

Coach Jim Boone: The Clinic that I was to be a part of this weekend was cancelled at the last moment. As disappointed as I was with the cancellation, it provided me with a tremendous opportunity to spend this weekend on our campus. I really wanted to get a feel for what a weekend, with our football team on the road, would be like at Wesleyan – this is so important in recruiting, knowing your campus and school.

As I have already written, I am so impressed with the collegiate feel and beauty of our Wesleyan Campus. We have the reputation of being the best small college campus in West Virginia, I can certainly see why, this is truly a campus comprised of great architecture and grandeur. But, as we all know, it’s not just about the pretty buildings and top facilities, it’s the people that make a campus and a great college experience.

With that being said, I continue to be amazed with the energy and electricity that exist on our campus – for a small college we certainly have a major college feel and atmosphere – there is always something going on, always! Certainly the number of Fraternities and Sororities on our campus has had a major impact upon the social opportunities that exist for our students at Wesleyan. I was pleasantly surprised to find that our campus is just as active on the weekends, as it is during the hustle and bustle of an academic week.

This will be a monumental advantage for us in our recruiting, for prospective student-athletes to see and experience the vibrancy of our campus, along with the unity and support of our student body – Wow!.

For student-athletes, this is of particular importance – due in large part to the time commitments of practice and the hours spent training, they are always on campus – it’s great to be a part of a college where there is a social life and our kids can truly be college students and not just athletes! I have been at schools that this becomes such a challenge in building a successful program; whether it be a commuter school with very little campus life to offer it’s student-athletes, or a suitcase campus that becomes a ghost town on the weekends. We are so fortunate to have all that we have at Wesleyan, especially our campus life, and I cannot wait to get our first group of recruits on campus.

Of course, we must work really hard as coaches to develop and nurture this atmosphere and student support on our campus, to channel it into one of the best student crowds and home courts in the West Virginia Conference. You don’t have to go to Duke to paint your belly and have a great time at a game, you can do it right here at WVWC in the “Rock” (Rockefeller Center Arena). For our program, doing things like eating in our Café, walking through campus during the busiest times of the day, and making personal visits to our dorms - these are just a few of the things we are already doing to meet as many students as possible. They need to see me and they need to be able to say that they have personally met their men’s basketball head coach!

This was a great weekend to spend time on campus, to learn more about West Virginia Wesleyan and to build the culture of a winning program, which definitely includes our greatest asset, our student body!

NO GREATER EXAMPLE OF "SERVANT LEADERSHIP" THAN FROM THE MANY HEROES OF 9-11

It is not lost on me that earlier this week I had the opportunity to listen to a coach, a courageous coach, speak about the importance of "servant leadership."  Coach Don Meyer talks about the highest level of doing for others.  And now, on the anniversary of 9-11, let us not forget those who paid the ultimate price 10 years ago.  Let us especially not forget the number of stories of courage and supreme sacrifice and the many who took "servant leadership" to the ultimate level!


"To give without any reward, or any notice, has a special quality of its own."
-Anne Morrow Lindbergh


"What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world remains and is immortal."
-Albert Pine


“Whoever renders service to many puts himself in line for greatness - great wealth, great return, great satisfaction, great reputation, and great joy.”
-Jim Rohn


“You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you.”
-John Wooden


“You make a living by what you get, but you make a life by what you give.”
-Unknown


“I regret that I have but one life to give for my country.”
-Nathan Hale


"It is not what we take up, but what we give up, that makes us rich."
-Henry Ward Beecher


"Life's most urgent question is: What are you doing for others?"
-Martin Luther King Jr.


“Many persons have the wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.”
-Helen Keller


"Not he who has much is rich, but he who gives much."
-Erich Fromm


"Only a life lived for others is worth living."
-Albert Einstein

ANSON DORRANCE: FOCUS ON LEARNING HOW

We got the following from Coach Don Meyer's Leadership Conference...he said it was one of the best things he's ever read:

"After awhile, your coaching development ceases to be about finding newer ways to organize practice. In other words, you soon stop collecting drills. Your development as a coach shifts to observing how great coaches teach, motivate, lead, and drive players to performances at higher and higher levels. I think what happens to great coaches who are not effective at the end of their career is they lose their willingness to take the required stress and emotional confrontation that they did when they were younger. Some leaders no longer have the energy or willingness to make the emotional commitment to motivate people to attain the standard required of them to compete successfully at the highest level. Coaches sometimes are not willing to make that commitment because it is so exhausting. They are not willing to confront players when they are not exerting maximum effort and achieving maximum performance because it’s a stressful, uncomfortable situation. To constantly motivate players, you have to be a driving force and make personal investments for which you can pay dearly. There are times when it might not be an easy or popular environment for you to challenge them, but there are times when they are just going to have to suck it up and deal with it. And, trust me, the standards most players set for themselves will usually be in a comfort zone that is well below their potential.”

-Anson Dorrance

BRIAN TRACY WITH 3 PRINCIPLES FOR SUCCESS

Be Clear About Your Goals
There are many simi larities between business and war. In both cases, the victor is the one who uses superior strategy against his or her competition.

There are three principles of military strategy you can apply to your work every single day. The first idea from the military is called the Principle of Man euver. The principle of man euver says that you should be clear about the goal, but be flexible about the process of ach ieving it. According to the Menninger Institute, this quality of flexibility is the most important single quality that you will require for success in times of rap id change.

Be Open to Continuous Feedback
A key peak performance quality for you is to "accept feedback and self-correct." Peak performers are those who can take information from their environment and even if the information is contrary to all of their planning, they can accept the information, modify their plans, and continue moving forward. They are always open to new ideas and insights.

Learn What You Need to Know
The second military principle you can use is the Principle of Intelligence. This principle of intelligence means simply, "get the facts!"

The most important thing in business decision making is for you to get accurate information. Facts don't lie. It is important that you get the real facts, not the assumed facts or the apparent facts or the obvious facts, or the hoped for facts, but the real, provable facts.

Make Better Decisions
Perhaps the key job of the executive is decision making. The quality of the decisions that you make will be in direct proportion to the amount of time that you take to gather timely and accurate information. The very best thing that you can do, if you have insufficient information, is to delay making a decision at all.

Invest Your Resources Wisely
The third military principle applied to strategic planning is the Principle of Economy of Force. Economy of force means that you expend only the resources necessary to achieve the objective and not more. It also means that you commit sufficient resources to achieve the objective once you have decided upon it.

Since your own personal en ergy is all you really have to invest over the course of your lif etime, the military principle of economy says that you should be very selfish when deciding how you are going to use your self. Keep asking your self, "How important is this?" and more important, "How important is this to me?"

Action Exercises
Here are two ideas that you can apply immediately to be more strategic in your work and personal life.

First, remain flexible when you are working towards your goal. In times of rap id change, all of your best ideas can be contradicted by new information. Be willing to try different things. Be open to new inputs and ideas.

Second, get the facts! The more and better information you can acquire before you make a decision, the better your decision will be. The very best managers spend a good amount of time getting the real, provable facts before they take action.

Be sure to check out: www.BrianTracy.com

30 DAYS TO A CHAMPIONSHIP: THROUGH THE EYES OF AN ASSISTANT COACH

Coach Jim Boone: Today I'm giving our blog space to our new assistant coach, Ryan Sharbaugh:

Reflecting on my first week as a Bobcat working under Coach Jim Boone gets me very, very excited! The foundation of a championship culture is being laid here each day as Coach teaches our players, “The Bobcat Way”. This team is the epitome of hard work, from the books to the weight room to the hardwood.

I have been very impressed and amazed with the positive energy and electricity that exist throughout Wesleyan; we certainly have a very vibrant and energetic campus life, with over 90% of our students residing on campus – it makes for a true collegiate experience. As well, our faculty and staff, in all departments have been extremely helpful and welcoming to me throughout this entire week.

I have also used this opportunity of being new to campus, to take my meals in our cafeteria. This has been awesome, not just for me to learn more about our students at Wesleyan, but as Coach Boone constantly emphasizes, to work upon building positive relationships with our own basketball student-athletes. And again, what an unbelievable and festive atmosphere along with great, great food!

Above all, I am most impressed with the group of guys that we have inherited and recruited as our own. In a short period of time, they have shown tremendous dedication and commitment to Coach Boone’s winning teaching and coaching – understanding “The Bobcat Way”. Their consistent and hard work approach has blown me away, both in the weight room and in practice. They have been extremely focused and attentive in adjusting to a brand new system of play and have shown great progress in doing so. Our senior captain Reggie Chambers has set a precedent for each player to get better every day in the classroom, weight room, and on the court, and our guys have done great job following his lead. This is truly a unified Team, and it’s only the first week of September. I look forward to continuing our progression at this pace and cannot wait to begin official practice on the 15th of October.

Yesterday, I passed the NCAA recruiting test allowing me to recruit off campus, as per NCAA rules. I am happy to have that behind me, as I have already begun in organizing our fall recruiting efforts. Knowing that we will be losing four potential starting seniors makes this an extremely important year in our recruiting efforts, which is one of my major responsibilities. We already have our eye on several quality student-athletes, great kids who will be representative of West Virginia Wesleyan College and our basketball program, as we continue to build the foundation of a championship culture, on and off the court.

In closing, I feel very blessed to be here at West Virginia Wesleyan, working at a great institution, with an unbelievable campus life, and a tremendous head coach and teacher, in Jim Boone. It has been a very positive experience in all aspects for me this entire week. I am already most comfortable in calling this my home!

JOHN MAXWELL ON TRUST -- THE FOUNDATION OF LEADERSHIP

The following is a portion of a wonderful post by John Maxwell on the subject of trust.  Read his entire post: http://bit.ly/p6cNDo

Trust: The Foundation of Leadership
Trust is an attitude that allows people to rely on, and place confidence in, other people. By establishing trust, leaders introduce a degree of stability and certainty into the chaos of life. Trust acts as emotional glue, holding together leaders and followers. “Do my people trust me?” is the central question of leadership, and leaders must continually monitor the level of trust that exists on their team. In the words of Warren Bennis, “[Trust] cannot be acquired, but must be earned. It is given by coworkers and followers, and without it, the leader can’t function.”

Prerequisite to Earning Trust: Self-Confidence
A leader must possess a measure self-confidence to inspire the trust of co-workers. The leader who wavers indecisively and emanates self-doubt has no chance to win the devoted backing of followers. Knowing oneself, one’s gifts and faults alike, is the starting point for connecting with others. Leaders who are comfortable in their identity, and secure in their abilities, put others at ease and invite their trust.

Building Trust

1) Show Respect
People are drawn to those who make them feel valuable. Leaders win trust when they expect the best from their people and treat them as worthy of respect. In a sense, followers are like mirrors: they reflect back the level of trust that’s shown to them.

2) Be Dependable
People trust what has proved to be reliable over time. They take note of a leader’s readiness to sacrifice for their benefit and of his or her willingness to work hard on their behalf. Once they’re convinced that the leader is on their side, fighting for them, people naturally extend trust.

3) Speak Truthfully
Being truthful involves the twin components of consistency and honesty. A leader demonstrates consistency by making words and action compatible. Perhaps nothing evaporates trust faster than when leaders break promises. As Charles Horton Cooley observed, “If we divine a discrepancy between a man's words and his character, the whole impression of him becomes broken and painful; he revolts the imagination by his lack of unity, and even the good in him is hardly accepted.”

Honest leaders speak in a sincere, forthright manner. They mean what they say, and they refuse to shy away from the truth—even when it’s uncomfortable. Leaders help people get past the discomfort of painful truths and help them move toward decisions that improve their situation and bring growth. In the long run, people trust and appreciate straight-talkers more than sweet-talkers.

COACH MEYER'S CAMP CONCEPTS

The following is the camp philosophy utilized by Coach Don Meyer and his staff to run one of the greatest camps in the sport of basketball.  Coach Meyer's camps went beyond the massive numbers they accumulated each summer but also impacted the institution where they were located.  Elite coaches would travel the country to watch Coach Meyer teach and operate his basketball camps. The philosophy is simple but imagine if you change the word "campers" to "student-athletes" the impact it would have on your basketball program.

1. Our campers come first.

2. We will give our campers and their needs our highest priority.

3. We treat campers and each other as we wish to be treated.

4. We provide excellence in teaching basketball to all of our campers.

5. We continue to evaluate and improve our efforts.

6. We will take personal responsibility for finding or creating a solution to any problem or complaint that a camper or family member may have.

7. We will do our part to ensure the success of the Wolves Basketball Camp.

30 DAYS TO A CHAMPIONSHIP: WHIRLWIND TOUR CONTINUES

Coach Jim Boone: We are in the middle of yet another important week as we attempt to create the culture we need to be successful -- so much to do!  Here's a quick look at what's been going on and what we've got to get done.

Meeting today with Admissions was phenomenal, they are the best I have ever worked with, so important to our recruiting success! 4th Team Development session today – extremely impressed with our Team’s intensity and focus after three days off. Had dinner in café – great time to see our students and Team interact.

Tomorrow, will be a work day in the office, and a day I want to continue to reach out via phone to area coaches, this has really went very well. Need to make a decision on our Clinic, contemplating a free one on the 23rd as you suggested. Also, trying to make a decision on Software for Film Editing – good news is there are so many options now.  We've just got to find the one that fits what we need to accomplish.

Tomorrow evening, setting up office with new assistant and Jimmy – trying to maximize our efficiency and space.

Will begin to plan our Recruiting Schedule for the Fall (We are late, but better late than never) and our scouting schedule for the season. As well, I am working on developing our Staff Responsibilities, this is huge as we develop our coaching team and work to maximize our strengths as a unit.

Meeting on Thursday with a marketing firm that is visiting WVWC to determine our long range goals, etc – honored to have the opportunity to participate!

Flying to Minnesota on Friday to speak at Ultimate Hoops Coaches Clinic in Eden Prairie – an awesome event – so privileged to be a part of the Clinic!

WHAT MATTERS

50 years from now it will not matter what kind of car you drove, what kind of house you lived in, how much you had in your bank account, or what your clothes looked like. But the world may be a little better because you were important in the life of a child.