ESTABLISH YOUR EXPECTATIONS NOW!

"I say, whatever your philosophy, whatever your standards, whatever your expectations, you establish those on Day One. Don’t waste a second! Let them adjust to you, not the other way around. You can always soften up if you need to, but you can’t get tougher later on."

-Bo Schembechler (from: "Bo's Lasting Lessons" by Bo Schembechler and John U. Bacon

PETE NEWELL: ONLY ONE WAY TO PLAY DEFENSE

You start with the fact that there’s only one way to play defense:  Shuffle your feet, knees bent, hands up.  That is the correct defensive posture – although you’d never know it watching some players today.  Any other way is wrong.  The inside hand should be in the shooter’s face to disconcert him.  The other arm extends almost parallel to the floor to deflect passes.  The player shuffles because that allows him to slide with the man he’s guarding.  Cross your feet, you might lose your balance.

-Pete Newell (from "A Good Man: The Pete Newell Story" by Bruce Jenkins

WHAT ARE YOU FEEDING YOUR MIND?

Dr. Walter Doyle Staples, writing in Think Like a Winner! says, “I credit one simple concept with getting me started on my journey into self-discovery. After a great deal of study and contemplation, I came to the conclusion that people have in their lives today exactly what they keep telling their mind they want.”

From "Day by Day with James Allen" by Vic Johnson

PARCELLS ON THE IMPORTANCE OF PREPARATION

"To this day, I consider preparation the most enjouable part of my work, and the most challenging.  to the extent my teams have succeeded, I'd say that solid preparation -- not talent or strategy -- was the primary factor."

-Bill Parcells

COACH WOODEN ON HELPING OTHERS.

A special thanks to my mentor Coach Dale Brown for passing this on to me.  As Coach Don Meyer also preaches, "We should all study Coach Wooden."  This message is written by Craig Impelman for The John R. Wooden Course:

This issue of The Wooden Way is devoted to the second item of Coach Wooden’s seven point creed “Help others.”

One of Coach Wooden’s favorite role models was Mother Theresa, whose quote, “Unless a life is lived for others, it is not worthwhile,” served as the bedrock of Coach’s lifetime commitment to helping others. After reading about her tremendous work among the poor in Calcutta, Coach resolved to do one kind thing each day for someone who could never return the favor; and he often put that same challenge to others. Coach realized that not everyone could bring hospices, orphanages and schools to underprivileged people like Mother Teresa, but we could still make a difference in someone’s life every day. Whether serving others’ needs physically or emotionally, even the simplest acts of kindness can have a tremendous positive impact. As Mother Teresa often said, “If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one.”

Abraham Lincoln, another of Coach Wooden’s mentors, was also an inspiration to him in this regard. Lincoln’s once remarked that, “The worst thing you can do for those you love is to do the things they could and should do for themselves.” This piece of wisdom inspired Coach to help other people find balance in their own lives. When my wife, Christy (Coach Wooden’s granddaughter), was in high school, she was also working part-time to buy a car. Coach probably could have just purchased a vehicle for her, but in keeping with his philosophy, he suggested that he and her other grandfather match whatever monies Christy earned to help her save towards her purchase. From this experience, Christy learned that one can help others by helping them to help themselves, thereby making them better, stronger people.

As usual, Coach gave us some great maxims to illustrate this point:

“Happiness begins where selfishness ends.”

“Forget favors given; rememberthose received. “

“Be more concerned with what you can do for others than what others can do for you.”

The block on the Pyramid of Success that is the best reminder of helping others is Team Spirit. Coach Wooden defines Team Spirit as: “A genuine consideration for others. An eagerness to sacrifice personal interests of glory for the welfare of all.” If you think of the human race as your team, having team spirit means helping your fellow man to succeed in life.

So, how can you start helping others today? Perhaps you might begin by being more observant of the people and situations around you. Pause each day and really look around. Do not wait to be asked for help – the very best time to help others is before they have to ask. Consider taking out the trash or making the bed or doing the laundry. Compliment a co-worker on a great idea; a pat on the back is always appreciated, and a great motivator. Mentor a child, or teach a youngster to ride a bicycle. Volunteer an hour of your time at a senior citizen’s home, church, hospital or homeless shelter. Even the smallest gesture can mean a lot.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote, “Rings and other jewels are not gifts, but apologies for gifts. The only true gift is a portion of thy self.” One way that Coach Wooden’s gave freely of himself was that, although he was arguably the most famous coach in American sports, he never had an unlisted phone number. If you wanted to reach out to Coach Wooden his number was always put there in public for anyone to find. He was committed to being available to visit with anyone who cared to pay him a visit. Similarly, Coach Wooden’s players did not leave the locker room – either at home or on the road – until (as he put it) “the orange peels, gum wrappers, towels and soap chips are off the floor.” Of course, Coach also helped with cleaning up himself. He viewed this as a common courtesy to the cleaning staff. Being considerate of others makes you naturally inclined to help others.

Strive each day to be considerate of others, giving freely of your time, energy, and resources to help them –and expect nothing in return. Trust that the joy you will experience in doing so cannot be matched. Opportunities to help others are all around you, every day, all the time. You need only to take a moment to notice them, and then act.

Here is a video of Coach Wooden speaking on the subject of helping others: http://bit.ly/upUDIQ

MORE WISDOM FOR THE BUSY COACH

As I have said before, Stephanie Zonar has been a hero of mine since she wrote "Leader of the Pack," a very touching book about the courageous Kay Yow. It's a very well written tale of how Coach Yow not only shaped the young women she coached at North Carolina State, but how through her incredible will and determination, she galvanized a nation through women's basketball to fight against breast cancer. Stephanie has gave portions of the book sales to the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.

Stephanie has a great website (http://lifebeyondsport.com/) with an inspiring blog and has travelled the nation to work with teams.

And now she has a new book out and I love it -- I believe it should be in every coach's library. I have reviewed it already but wanted to do so again with a different topic.

"Wisdom for the BusyCoach" -- is just that -- a book filled with short passages on a variety of subjects that can help us with our teams and more importantly -- with ourselves.

Each topic starts with a quote such as:
"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them."
—John F. Kennedy

That is followed with a passage of wisdom:
BusyCoaches can easily get stuck in the day-to-day grind of managing a team and lose sight of the big picture. But if you step back and re"ect on your life and team you’ll see the blessings you may have missed. Recounting your abundant blessings may remind you that giving thanks through words—while certainly important—is not the highest form of appreciation. Saying that you’re thankful for your players, for example, doesn’t carry much weight if you disrespect and degrade them the other 364 days of the year.

And then an action question:
Make it your goal to show gratitude both in word and deed, and the people around you will know that you truly mean what you say.

Followed by a biblical scripture on that subject:
"And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father."
—Colossians 3:17

Purchase this book at: http://www.lifebeyondsport.com/mybooks

THE FOUR HAZARDS OF UNPREDICTABLE TIMES

Failure to Execute You’ve thought through the crisis. You have your strategy. Now the question is, can your teams execute? Will they? Some people in your organization are getting it done. Some aren’t and probably never will. Then there’s the great middle—how much more could they contribute if they performed more like those who are getting it done?

Crisis of Trust
Levels of trust drop in uncertain times. Securities markets plunge due to crisis of confidence. People lose confidence in their own organizations. On an uncertain road full of pitfalls, everyone decelerates: it’s not called a “slowdown” for nothing.

Loss of Focus
You have fewer resources, fewer people, more confusion. People try to do two or three jobs at once. A person trying to do two jobs has half the focus of a person doing one job, and half the likelihood of doing either job well.

Pervasive Fear
Economic recession causes psychological recession. People fear losing jobs, retirement savings, even their homes. It’s “piling on.” And it cost you. Just when you need people to focus and engage, they lose focus and disengage.

From "Predictable Results in Unpredictable Times" by Stephen R. Covey and Bob Whitman

RELENTLESS

The following comes from "Coaching The Mental Game" by H.A. Dorfman:

For an athlete, relentless behavior is an expression of his will to win.  An expression of mental toughness.  The primary reward is, once again, in the behavior, not in the result.  But invariably, a "way to winning" is in being persistent.  To persist in doing the right thing.  In executing tasks well and responding to adversity with courage and determination.

John Cheever called it the discipline of continuousness.  To the relentless pursuit of what is challenging or difficult.

Coaches should concede that this kind of toughness can be learned by so-called soft athletes if the subject is addressed and reiterated regularly -- as instruction, rather than ridicule of an athlete's softness.

"Victory belongs to the most persevering."
-Napoleon Bonaparte

MOMENTUM TAKERS, BREAKERS AND MAKERS

The following passage is from "The 5 Levels of Leadership" by John Maxwell:

Momentum Takers
The vast majority of people don't start anything, nor do they stop anything.  They just go along for the ride.  If momentum is moving, they move with it.  If it has stopped, so do they.  Their productivity and effectiveness are based almost entirely on what others do to make things happen in the organization.  for that reason, they need good leaders who produce and create a productive environment.  That is one of the reasons that I define more as "faith in the leader."

Momentum Breakers
The second type of person actually hurts morale and momentum in an organization.  Not only do they not produce, but they prevent others from producing.  These types of people cause problems and, whether intentionally or not, hurt the organization.

Momentum Makers
The final type, momentum makers, are Level 3 leaders.  They produce.  They make things happen.  They create momentum.  Their behavior is consistent with the advice given by the legendary Alabama football coach Paul "Bear" Bryant, who said, "Don't worry about making friends; don't worry about making enemies.  Worry about winning, because if you win, your enemies can't hurt you, and if you lose, your friends can't stand you."

SOME ODDS AND ENDS FROM KEVIN EASTMAN

1. Every now and then we should just sit and think. Never know what you willcome up with.

2. Success has a price and players have to know that they have to pay it just as much as you and your staff have to.

3. Success does have down payments: work ethic, discipline, preparation,consistency.

4. We are the sum total of the experiences we've had and the people we've met. What have you done? Who have you associated with?

5. Preparation is so important because it can help eliminate fear and
doubt.

6. Before we can eliminate excuses that keep us from improving we have to recognize what those excuses are. Write down your top three excuses and then eliminate them for the next month. This will create a habit of not using them any more!

7. It's very important to take a close look at your locker room. Whose voices are being heard? Are these the messages that you would want being sent?

8. What messages are on your locker room wall? May seem corny but it's something that players will see -- and probably read -- almost every day!

9. Never be concerned about repeating a message; repetitive verbal teaching is a great form of teaching. Teaching doesn’t always have to be physical.