Kevin Garnett- Creating Culture

The following is from ESPN....

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Kevin Garnett changed the culture in Boston, and the future Hall of Fame forward is already having the same impact in Brooklyn. 

“I’m a team player. I’m not a selfish guy. I have no ego,” Garnett said Tuesday. “My stats and my body of work speaks for itself. If someone does something incorrect, I’m quick to correct them, but I care about the next guy. 

“I’ve always cared about the guy who’s struggling or the guy who’s going through something, I’ve always tried to be a source of strength for anyone who’s on the team, and always leaned on guys for strength. I don’t know, it’s just who I am. It’s my makeup. If you ask my friends, they’ll tell you the same thing.” 

Humility

“Humility is not thinking

less of yourself but

thinking of yourself 

less.”

C.S. Lewis

Grow Up

The following from Proactive Coaching....

When tough times hit the immature, ineffective competitor (players or coaches), first there is self-pity and then come excuses. Grow up, toughen up, take responsibility, get better and compete!!!

Winning Culture

The following is from Proactive Coaching....

Watching the Vanderbilt fall baseball “Omaha Challenge”… when you watch great teams run gassers, they ALL touch the line EVERY time. Excellence is never an accident. They are an intentional “this is the way we do things” team culture.

Fighting Cancer- Great Story

This is one of those stories about good things in sports. Read this article and see if your eyes don't water up...

University of Wisconsin men’s basketball coach Bo Ryan’s arm was a little sore after spending five hours shaking hands and posing for pictures with the 2,090 students who showed up for Thursday’s “Shooting Down Cancer” event at the Kohl Center.

But Ryan wasn’t complaining, especially after a strong showing that led to he and his wife Kelly donating $66,130 to Coaches vs. Cancer/American Cancer Society

Proactive Coaching

As a coach I enjoy finding resources which help me better understand coaching from the mental and emotional side. Basically I am looking for material which helps me try to make the experience for the athlete more and more educational- help the athlete use sports to prepare for life.

The followong is from Proactive Coaching.....

What do your parents do at games that really make you feel great and proud to have them present?

• ·         Cheer for everyone on the team, not just certain players
• ·         Just having them there tells me that it was worth my time
• ·         Support us win or lose
• ·         Not getting on the refs, players or coaches
• ·         Support me even when I am not playing much
• ·         Cheering and encouraging at appropriate times in a civilized manner
• ·         Cheer for us, but not too much
• ·         Remember that we choose to play for fun and everybody is trying their best
• ·         Don’t be too hard on your kid – give them some room to grow, but stay by their side to help them grow up
  
  
  
  

  What do your parents or other parents do at games that make you feel embarrassed or uncomfortable?

• ·         Argue with the ref – it is annoying for everyone
• ·         Try to coach the coach
• ·         Discouraging comments to players
• ·         Yell at you when you are trying to concentrate
• ·         Criticizing athletes or coaches, calling them by name
• ·         Yelling advice makes me play worse
• ·         Cheering if the other team makes a mistake
• ·         When parents boo
• ·         Telling me what I need to do better when they don’t know how to play the game
• ·         I feel sorry for my teammates whose parents yell at them.  When I play, my job is to listen to the coach, not my parents.
• ·         When they don’t agree with a call, they yell, “come on” or “what was that?” etc.
• ·         Let me be who I am, let me enjoy myself out on the court and don’t try to improve my game with your negativity

Championship Practices

I believe how you practice will determine how you play. Teams who are inconsistent usually are teams who practice in an inconsistent fashion- work hard one practice but not another, or work hard one drill but coast the next.

I believe how you play in the first three minutes of a game reflects how you practice.

When good teams go to practice, you focus on basketball. Coaches don't have to focus on motivation, players are motivated. Coaches and teammates don't have to try to figure out moods, players are focused. I have been fortunate to have many good "practice teams", who won many games as a result. One of our absolute best was our 1995 team- as coaches we focused on basketball, the players took care of effort and motivation and chemistry.