IMPROVING CONCENTRATION SKILLS

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

An athlete must understand a few basic things if he's going to improve his concentration skills.  first, he should understand what is possible to control and what is not.  It's possible to control one's thoughts, feelings and behavior.  We can't control external events, other people's thoughts and deeds, and consequences beyond our behavior.

-The athlete can tell himself what to do in positive terms
-The athlete can focus on the immediate, rather than past or future (The next task -- "now -- is all that can be acted upon.)
-The athlete can focus on his approach, instead of results -- past or future.

It's often easier for an athlete to practice mental skills than physical.  he doesn't need a physical environment.  he can work on some concentration skills away from the field or arena, sometimes just by sitting in a chair at home.

THE IMPORTANCE OF WINNING

I had an interesting conversation with Coach Greg Brown this morning -- one of the great perks of working here at UCF.  We were talking about how it seems that a great number of young people simply don't seem to hate losing enough.  When they fall short they simply move on.  I honestly believe that part of it is societal.  We live in a time where every kid gets a trophy -- whether they've earned it or not.  This is not to say that there can never be glory in losing -- if you have valiantly laid everything you have on the court -- and in preparation as well.  It's not to say that moving on after a loss isn't important either -- it is.  But HOW you move on speaks volumes about how successful you will be.

I read a quote the other day where Urban Meyer said he had never lost a game where his team had properly prepared.  Certainly Coach Meyer has more talent to work with than the majority of is but when talent competes against talent, the more prepared team usually wins.

I think it is the detail and effort of preparation that causes losing to be so painful.  You have made sacrifices through work in your preparation -- including the off-season -- to be victorious.  Those that don't seem to let losing bother them much are often the ones who didn't care to put too much into preparation....and they will will lose more than they should.

Vince Lombardi once said (and has been often criticized for saying it) that "Winning isn't everything. It's the only thing."  He has also said as times that he wished he would have worded it differently and said "Wanting to win isn't everything. It's the only thing."

As Greg and I were discussing how little losing seems to bother so many these days it took me back to my freshman year at Marshall University where I had a basketball coaching class from the Thundering Herd's late head coach Stu Aberdeen.

Coach Aberdeen talked about the importance of winning and "teaching people the importance of winning." 

I can remember as if it were yesterday him saying, "If you are on the operating table and fighting for every breath just to hang on, you better hope that doctor wants to win more than anything else in the world.  You'd better hope that the taste of losing is so bitter that he will do anything and everything he can to win."   Coach Aberdeen continued, "If you are in a court of law and you've been falsely accused of a major crime, you better hope that winning is the most important thing in the world to your lawyer.  That he is expending every ounce of energy he has to victory."

It was a powerful statement that has stayed with me my entire life.

While at LSU, John Trelor was an assistant coach for the men's staff.  John had also served on the staff of Bob Knight.  I asked John what made Coach Knight's teams so successful.  He told me there were two reasons and one of them was the fact that Knight made everyone in the program hate losing.  He would create shared suffering -- making life miserable for the players and the staff to the point that they would be determined to win the next game.

While I might not believe in all of Coach Knight's tactics, I do believe that you must have consequences for losing -- losing in drills, losing in practice, and losing games.  Losing cannot be accepted if you fell short in giving your best. 

And this I think is a great life lesson.

God forbid but should our country end up in World War III in 20 years, will we have young men and women that will have the same resolve to win as did the generation that saved a our nation in World War II?

What are we doing to teach our student-athletes to compete?  What are we doing to help them understand the importance of winning and losing -- not just on the court but beyond?  Again, losing with honor can come about because you gave everything you had -- that in itself is victory.  But how many times have you played a game or even went through a practice where EVERYTHING was given?  We must continue to push for more -- and not just from them but more importantly from us!

I know coaches that get over losses extremely quickly these days as well.  We must be the example of competitive spirit for our teams.

WANTING to win is not everything -- it is the ONLY thing.  It has to be the fire that flames our passion.  As Greg pointed out this morning, you can tell when someone is passionate about something.  It shows in their preparation.  It shows in their enthusiasm.  And it shows when the meet a momentary failure.

One more from Coach Lombardi: "Let me tell you what winning means? It means you're willing to go longer, work harder, give more than anyone else."

TEXTING AND DRIVING

A few year back, we shared video link below with our team members -- and even members of our Fast Break Club.  We decided to do it again here at UCF.  It is a graphic video reenactment of a driving accident caused by a driver texting.  It hits home however, because it shows how many lives can be effected, sometimes in dramatic fashion.  I think it is critically important that as coaches we are teaching our student-athletes about more than just passing, cutting and screening. Here is the email (and link) we sent our team today:

Please take the time to view this…respond to me only AFTER you have watched it.

Some advance notice – it’s graphic! But it’s important for you to understand that something that seems as harmless as texting while you drive can not only effect you for the rest of your life (or even end it early) but can also have horrific effects on friends and loved ones and even people you’ve never met.

We send this because we love you all and we want you to stay safe…the fact that it is so graphic will hopefully drive the message home.

TRY TO IMPROVE YOUR THINKING EVERY DAY

It’s true that the more thinking you do, the better you become at it. But you can quickly improve your thinking if you do the following on a daily basis:

• Focus on the positive: Thinking alone won’t guarantee success. You need to think about the right things. Negative thinking and worry actually hinder the thinking process rather than improve it.

• Gather good input: I’ve always been a collector of ideas. I do a lot of reading, and I continually file the ideas and quotations I find. I’ve found that the more good ideas I’m exposed to, the more my thinking improves.

• Spend time with good thinkers: If you were to interview a group of top executives in any profession, you would find that well over half had the benefit of being mentored at some time in their careers. And I believe that the greatest benefit anyone receives in that kind of relationship is learning how the mentor thinks. If you spend time with good thinkers, you will find that the exposure sharpens your thinking.

The following comes from "Make Today Count" by John Maxwell

LEVELS OF COMMITMENT TO THE TEAM GOAL

The following comes an excellent book, "Championship Team Building" written by Jeff Janssen.

1. Resistant- player has not bought into the team goal, usually because he has his own agenda. The only reason the player may be working hard is for selfish reasons.

2. Reluctant- player is hesitant, disinterested or sometimes afraid to commit to the team goal. These are the players who usually do enough to get by when prodded, but cut corners when they thing they can get away with it.

3. Existent- team goal has little significance and the player is often participating for other reasons. These are the players who are on the team because their friends are or their parents want them to be. (This level occurs often in youth sports.)

4. Compliant- team goal is important and the player will do what is asked to achieve the team goal. This player understands and agrees with the team goal and will abide by the team standards to achieve it. They will do what is asked of them and usually no more or no less.

5. Committed- team goal is of high importance and the player is willing to do whatever is necessary to achieve it. These are the players who put in the extra time and energy necessary to help the team succeed.

6. Compelled- team goal is of utmost importance and the player is totally invested in making it a reality. These are the players who feel a true sense of mission and purpose in what they are doing. They seek to and enjoy putting in extra time because they view it as an important investment in achieving the team’s mission.

THE GREAT KNOW THEY CAN STILL IMPROVE

You know what you need to improve on to get better. That’s big. You’d be surprised at how many people think they are good and have no clue that they are playing at only 50 percent of their potential. Even when people call them the best or say they are great, the best know they can do it even better and greater as they strive for perfection. The best see where there is room for improvement and their humility and passion drives them to improve. The average ones, however, don’t see it or don’t want to see it. They think that once they arrive at the door of greatness it will stay open forever, not realizing that if they don’t improve the door will shut and in some cases will even fall on them.

From "Training Camp" by Jon Gordon

3 KEY WORDS TO MENTORING LEADERSHIP

The following comes from "The Mentor Leader" by Tony Dungy with Nathan Whitaker

Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.

The vision, mission, and values we establish in life are the guiding lights for our lives and the lives of those we lead. Those three elements create the “goalposts” for the decisions and actions of our lives. They should direct and guide everything we do – and we should develop them prayerfully as we move forward.

Vision
Mentor leaders cast a vision well beyond themselves and their own interests. Vision paints the picture of where we want to be, what we want to look like, what we hope things will be like in the future if we do what we feel we are called to do as a team or an organization. A well-cast vision is one that can be commonly shared by all members of the team and that all team members can – and must – buy into. In order for the vision to be compelling, however, it must encompass more than merely the leader’s best interests; it must include goals and benefits that resonate with the entire team. It must be something they can see and believe is possible to achieve with their collective efforts.

Mission
A mission statement – whether it’s for an organization, institution, family, team or individual – serves to answer a fundamental question: Why do we exist?

In other words, why are we doing what we’re doing? Why bother with all of this, anyway?

Craft a mission to the best of your ability, encapsulating the items that make your family or team unique, and then run with it.

First cast the vision. Then establish the mission. Then get moving!

Values
The final component that guides any sound organization is its values. Values, very simply, can be thought of as the “rules of the road.” They tell us and others what is important to us – as leaders, as an organization, and as individuals. They are the rudder that steers the ship. They tell us how to treat other people, both inside and outside the team or organization.

The values we adopt as leaders will paint a picture for others that is appealing and attractive, of someone they want to be associated with – or not. Our values will determine how we as leaders approach, care for, and develop our mentoring relationships.

For me, leadership has always been about service.

Truly serving others requires putting ourselves and our desires aside while looking for ways and opportunities to do what is best for others.

JOE TORRE: ON DEALING WITH CONFLICT

Teamwork depends partly on how we handle conflict and trouble at work. If we gloss over every problem with an employee, colleague, or supervisor, we’re going to live with that tension constantly. If we always say, “I’ll deal with it tomorrow,” we’re asking for a tough night’s sleep.

There’s only one surefire way to resolve conflicts with people in the workplace or the family: Get those troublesome issues on the table as soon as possible, and deal with them directly.

From "Ground Rules for Winners" by Joe Torre

BEING FULLY ENGAGED

"Winning is important to me, but what brings me real joy is the experience of being fully engaged in whatever I'm doing."

-- Phil Jackson

COACHING TIP #1: GETTING CAUGHT UP ON YOUR READING MATERIALS

In the busy world of coaching, it is sometimes difficult to keep up on my reading material.  There are articles in magazines but even more importantly there is a ton of information on the Internet.  The question when to read everything.  An idea that I got from Coach Dale Brown, the most avid reader I've known, is to keep a file with everything you'd like to read and carry it with you on the road.  Down time in a terminal, flight, bus ride or hotel stay can allow you to catch up on your reading.  I keep a manila folder in my desk drawer and when I come across a magazine article I tear it out and place it there.  Same with Internet articles -- print them and place them in the folder.  Then when I hit the road I place it in my back pack and take advantage of travel time to get caught up on my reading.  Of course highlighting and underlining important passages as Coach Brown also taught me.