Coaches' Eyes

From Wikipedia, "The second paragraph of the United States Declaration of Independence starts as follows: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal..."

The document doesn't refer to athletes. 

Coaches eyes. When your girls are trying out for a school play, a school, a job, a team...they must LEAVE AN IMPRESSION. What do the evaluators see? Here is an excerpt from a recent note to parents: 

1. Size. When I was a junior in college as a walk-on pitcher, saw three freshman pitchers who were all over 6'4" and 220 who could throw the ball through a wall...if they could hit it. That didn't portend well for me. 

2. Athleticism. Some is genetic. Some can be developed. Every elite player works to become bigger, faster, quicker, stronger. 

3. Skill. Where do you stand on the skill continuum? How many 3s did we make yesterday? Wearing mittens, I can show you. We need to work on the shots we intend to take. The inside game (post play) is starting to come back in college.

4. Basketball IQ. CARE - concentration - anticipation - reaction - execution. My job is to help your girls 'see the game'. That's everything from spacing, reading defenders, to getting and preventing individual separation, communication, better ball pressure ("execute the coverage, trust the protection" - the back line defenders), pulling the chair, "lock and trail," and so on. 

5. Toughness. Toughness isn't really teachable. Toughness is getting what needs to be done, on time, and done right - that's everything from chores, religious education, study, finishing homework or your thesis, and getting the stop in crunch time. And it's not just individual, it's the FOXHOLE mentality, who do you want on each side of you and at your back. 

6. Resilience. Your girls succeed when they fight through adversity.

 

7. Emotional intelligence. How does your daughter play with others? I highly recommend Professor Adam Grant's book, "Give and Take." Here's a great summary.

We love our children and it's easy for bias to cloud our vision...endowment effect, framing, recency bias, attribution, confirmation bias and more. Hedge fund manager Todd Harrison reminds us to "never confuse net worth with self-worth." Never confuse 'minutes' with self-worth.