Ten Thoughts on Why Coaching Defines Destiny (AND or BUT)

Years ago a former Middlesex League coach described Melrose Volleyball as a "legacy program." They're solid year after year. Why? 

1. "Success leaves footprints." - Kevin Eastman

Consistent leadership outperforms whether it's high school sports or the pros. 

2. "Technique beats tactics." - Gregg Popovich

The best teams are the most consistent at core skills - serving, serve receiving, digging, passing, attacking and blocking. 

3. "Fight for your culture every day." 

The UNC Women's soccer team has won over twenty national titles. There's a sign in the locker room, Excellence is our only agenda  Teams struggle when individual agendas take precedence over team success.

4. "Coaches are the most selfish people in the world. We put the players on the field who give us the best chance to look good." - Bill Parcells

The players who absorb the teaching and do the things the coaches teach, the way they teach it, at the right time, will be on the court or the field.

5. "The magic is in the work." 

Outwork your opponent in practice, during the off-season, in games and good things happen. 

6. "Silent teams lose." - Kevin Eastman 

On-court communication is vital. 

7. "The best teams force players to prove their value." - Mike Lombardi in Gridiron Genius

Each year players have to prove they earn their position. Seniority systems based on age or years played don't reward merit and underachieve. 

8. "My ego demands the success of my team." - Bill Russell

Everyone decides which is more important, winning or individual achievement. In the stock market there's a saying, "price makes news." So does winning. 

9. "We make our habits and our habits make us." 

Winning habits cultivate winning performance. 49ers Coach Bill Walsh said it another way, "Champions behave like champions before they’re champions." Act like the person you want to be to become that person. 

10. "Discipline determines destiny."

Take care of business at home, in the classroom, and on the court. 

Alabama Coach Nick Saban asks whether you're an AND player or a BUT player. You don't want praise for how you play qualified by BUT he's selfish, or he's not fully engaged, or he got into a bar fight. You want AND she's an excellent student, she's a leader, and she's a good person. 

You aspire to be a captain? You're an AND player. Sometimes you make the team because you're an AND player. 

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