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Friday, September 30, 2011

Youth Sports Parent Types

Stats Dad Blog has a list of 10 sports parents types.

Agent Dad
Supply Depot Mom
Roughrider Dad
View Mom
Ground Crew Dad
Spirit Wear Salesmom
Athletic Mom
Nerd Dad
Now You See, Now You Don't Parents
Overly Spirited Dad

Read and see if you fit any of the profiles...

Andy Katz on Tennessee Basketball

The following is from college basketball writer, Andy Katz's blog....


SEP 30
12:53
PM ET
A suspension, a financial hit and a firing would seem to be a pretty effective deterrent to misleading the NCAA enforcement staff and department superiors.
But the fallout that occurs when a staff is collectively penalized -- as was the case with Bruce Pearl and his assistants at Tennessee -- should be a major wakeup call, too. In a recent story on CBSSports.com, Gary Parrish detailed the bitterness and hard feelings that have developed among a group of Vol coaches that used to be considered tight-knit.
[+] EnlargeBruce Pearl and Jason Shay
AP Photo/Lisa Norman-HudsonBruce Pearl and longtime assistant Jason Shay (right) have grown apart in the ugly aftermath of Tennessee's turmoil with the NCAA.
So as a loss of friendship is added to the list of consequences of breaking the rules, the law firm that represented former UT assistants Jason Shay, Steve Forbes and Tony Jones is using the Tennessee case as a course study on what not to do given how the Committee on Infractions is now handling cases.
The summary of the case came down to a 2008 photo from a cookout at Pearl's house that involved a few prospective student-athletes (one of which was Ohio State point guard Aaron Craft), which was a violation since juniors aren't allowed to have visits off campus. A photo of the event surfaced nearly two years later and when initially questioned about the photo and the cookout, the coaches didn't answer truthfully. There were impermissible calls as well and the end result was a three-year show-cause penalty for Pearl and one year each for the three assistants.
It was a devastating blow to all of their careers. Forbes is coaching junior college at Northwest Florida State and Shay is his assistant, making $20,000 a year. Jones, the interim coach at UT during Pearl's suspension last season, is coaching high school basketball in the Knoxville area. And while he is doing just fine financially, Pearl has essentially been banned from coaching in college for three years.




Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Motivational Tweets- Good Stuff

Kevin Eastman
Players need to worry about helping each other; not coaching the coaches. No matter how much they think they know--the coaches know more!

Mike Lee Basketball
Repetition is not a punishment-there are no magic drills-there is no microwave success. Patience, consistency and persistence!

Alan Stein
"Each individual on your team needs to take responsibility for their own performance and actions."

Alan Stein
Seven days without strength training makes one WEAK. Have YOU been hitting the weights?

"It's My Own Fault"

This morning I was observing my student-teacher with his Sociology class. They were going over a test they had taken the previous day. A girl in the class had missed a question, and she asked where the information to answer the question had been covered. The student-teacher explained to her, and finished by saying,"Ok?"

After hearing the explanation, the student's reply,"It's ok, it's my own fault."

My first thought was that her comment is not something you hear everyday, whether in class or just in routine everyday encounters. Refreshing.

The first step toward success is accept responsibility for your actions.

The best part of the story is that the student is a varsity girls basketball player!!

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Disease of Failure- Ergophobia & Enissophobia

Many things can prevent athletes from reaching their goals. But often players may not know what is wrong. Some players may not realize it, but they may be victims of ergophobia and/or enissophobia.

Ergophobia is the fear of work. Their are athletes who can find 1001 excuses to miss workouts or practices. And in some cases their individual excuses may be legitimate but when you add it all up, they are not investing the time and effort needed to successful. And other athletes may go to workouts or practices regularly- they may never miss a day, but they are just putting in their time. Instead of lifting 150lbs, they settle for lifting 100lbs. 150lb's would be work. Instead of taking shots at game pace, they go 3/4 speed because it is more comfortable. This athlete is horribly disappointed and frustrated when their season starts. They are the kid who doesn't make the team or the kid who does not play as much as they would like. And they are frustrated with their situation because they just can't understand,"I went all the time, why aren't I playing."

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Kevin Durant- 15 Lessons

Alan Stein has an interesting blog written about his experiences working with Kevin Durant. When you read it, it will be obvious why Kevin Durant is a star. Often we think that the NBA stars get there by talent alone, as you read this you will realize Durant may have talent but he has MUCH more.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Michigan Team Camp- Great Memories

In the mid-'80's we had struggled to beat Moline, we just could not get by them. So I was looking for anything that might help us get over the top. I heard Moline had been going to team camp in Chicago at Doug Bruno's team camp. So I figured if it was good for them, we would try it. So our first team camp experience occurred in 1988. It certainly was not a recreational experience, it was very intense. So intense that in the middle of a week a girl asked me to mail a post card for her (different era, no texting). Probably not ethical but I could not help but notice, all that was written was- "Get Me Out of Here!!!"

Not being real bright, I had us scheduled to go again in 1989. But in early June I got a letter from the Chicago camp saying they had cancelled our session and moved us to another session a week later. It would not work. I had no idea what to do, but I knew it would not work. Gary Bruington's daughter was playing and I told him my disappointment. I told him the only options I could find in the brochures I had were a couple too far away- one of which was Michigan. He said, "Why don't you look into taking the train?" I did and at the time it would only cost us about $75 per kid to take the train.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Put First Things First

"Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least."
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Vertimax Workouts

The following are some options for use in conditioning with the Vertimax.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZi7wOFapHU&feature=youtu.be

Michelle Wynne- Great Coach


What should you look for in assistant coaches in a basketball progam? This is a topic that head coaches talk to each other about, and it is a topic that is presented over and over in coaching clinics.

I have been fortunate to have many very good coaches and only a very few bad coaches in our program.

Bad assistant coaches may not only not help the players improve and develop their skills, but in some cases may actually cause the players to lose enthusiasm for basketball in general or for the varsity program and coaches in specifically. I did have one junior high coach who so poisoned the young players against the high school that sadly their players were never able to overcome this negative attitude to reach their full potential.

Good coaches at lower levels develop skills and enthusiasm in the players so they are able to become successful at the next levels. One of the best assistant coaches I have had in 30+ years of coaching was Michelle Wynne. At one point she coached freshmen girls and then later coached junior high girls at Churchill.

What made Michelle such a good coach in our program?

Saturday, September 3, 2011

1962 All-Star Game w/ Spahn & Matthews

One of my brushes with the famous was at the 1962 All-Star game. The game was great but our brush came after the game.

In 1962 my family had a chance to go to the All-Star game at Wrigley Field in Chicago. It was a different era when you did not have to pay big bucks and order way ahead of time. They sold tickets in pairs. So my father was fortunate to get 3 pairs of tickets. So we ventured to Chicago with Dad, Mom, brother Mark, cousins Kenny and David, and I. Six in the family Olds 88. We got there early and parked within sight of Wrigley Field.

Friday, September 2, 2011

Don Meyer- How Lucky You Can Be

I just finished reading Buster Olney's book on Coach Don Meyer- "How Lucky You Can Be." It is a VERY emotional story. Don Meyer broke Bob Knight's record of 902 wins in men's college basketball, while coaching Northern State University. When he broke the record, he was in a wheel chair with one leg amputated.

At the beginning of the school year, on a team retreat, Meyer fell asleep at the wheel and got into a near fatal accident. The story describes his fight for his life. While performing surgery to save his life from the injuries of the accident, doctors found that he had cancer. The title of the book is based on the idea that Meyer and doctor's believe that had he not been in the accident, his cancer would have gone undetected until it was too late.

John Wooden- Enthusiasm

"Simply put, I mean you must love that which you do.  Your heart must be in it.  Without enthusiasm you cannot work up to your fullest ability and potential; you're just going through the motions.  And just going through the motions won't bring you to the level of competitive greatness we seek whether in basketball, business, or life."- John Wooden

Great website on everything Wooden....

http://www.coachwooden.com/index2.html

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Meeting Famous People- Top 10 List & More

After President Obama was here a couple weeks ago, I wondered who some other people can claim they got to meet. I got answers from the following- Andie Allison, Steve Cheesman, Jessica Howard, Michael Rux, Dan Sullivan, Todd Rudolf, Jay Redfern, Aaron Frey, Libby Derry, Curt Allen, Craig Hillier, Jay Barshinger, Thom Sigel, Amanda Gunther, Jaque Gohlinghorst, Jay Hatch, Emily Cline, and Mark Massey

After their replies, I chose to rank the top ten most impressive “meetings.”  Here is my top ten (actually 12) of famous people they met.

Top Ten List of Meeting Famous People
12- Meeting Michael Jordan twice would be higher but people from Quncy cannot be put in top ten.

11- Tweeting with Jenny McCarthy- I think this is start of how politicians get in trouble.

Tie- 10-Being at Pat Summit's house and getting to pet the dog- impressive. And having Pat Summitt give you advice to be patient.

9- Having Ted Kennedy’s nephew stay overnight at your house- more impressive if actually could remember which one it was.

8- Telling Coach K to put his ring away- rudeness drops this.

7- Kick Brooks & Ronnie Dunn- would be higher but I don’t know who they are.

6- Having lunch with Eddie Matthews & Warren Spahn after the 1962 all-star game- this would move up if the senility of the individual had not prevented him from remembering details.

5- Shaking hands with both Obama and Clinton- conversation with both should have moved it up.

4- Lunch with Jerry Mathers- would move up if he was still 12 years old.

3- Meeting John Wooden, Adolf Rupp, Kareem, Bill Walton, Dr. J- if it had been at one time, it would have been easily #2.  It sounds like one of those dream suppers.

2- Interview with John Grisham- it might have made #1 had he not made the rude comment about my hair.

1- Coaching Cindy Crawford- I don’t think anyone can beat that.