Research - Go to the Source When Possible

"Good artists borrow; great artists steal." - Picasso 

I'm stealing from my basketball blog. Most applies to volleyball, especially the interview with Kristen McDonnell. 

Reading about a coach's philosophy isn't the same as a meeting, sharing a dialogue.

Years ago I asked my high school coach what 'under the radar' statistics he valued. Our managers, John Hunneman and Andy Johnson kept detail statistics and shot charts over fifty years ago. Coach Sonny Lane said, "assists and rebounds." 

That makes sense in the context of 'possession enders' - assists lead to scores and rebounds continue or gain possession. 

The best girls basketball team I saw was Winnecunnet High School, coached by Ed Beattie. When I asked about his methods, he was open and thoughtful. "Championships were made in the summer.” He explained that he could work with players twelve months a year, that "it was between the kids and him" (not parents), and they finished every practice with every player having to make two free throws (e.g. 22 in a row). I saw his team with Tiffany Ruffin dominate a local Melrose club during a ten-year league title streak. 

Periodically, I reach out to high school coaches with a set of open-ended questions about their methods. Those who respond always provide insight. Kristen McDonnell had a great share. 

Also, some coaches reply with information they ask to remain confidential. Mindfulness helps us widen the space between stimulus and response. Confidential to me means that the space becomes infinite. 

Our coaching philosophy evolves over a lifetime, influenced by a myriad of people, events, and ideas. Basketball is an "open source" domain; there are no secrets. 

If I could sit down with a few coaches for lunch, I'd include Geno Auriemma, Carla Berube (Princeton), and Brad Stevens. That would be beyond awesome... 

Lagniappe. Coaches enjoy Xs and Os. Here's a tweet from Coach Hacks. 

Princeton Point Backdoor

Back screen to loosen the defense ✅
Enter to the high post ✅
Dribble at backdoor to the wing ✅ pic.twitter.com/ZAzOYIifPN

— Matt Hackenberg (@CoachHackGO) December 30, 2023

Lagniappe 2. A favorite quote. 

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Final Thoughts on Process and Philosophy - 2023

All opinions expressed in the blog are solely mine. 

MVB 2023 didn't rebuild, they reloaded. Despite having lost six seniors with big roles, MVB stayed in the fight and made the Elite Eight. 

The competition for roles will be fierce in 2024. 

Decide whom you want to be and work to become her. 

“Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become. No single instance will transform your beliefs, but as the votes build up, so does the evidence of your new identity.”
― James Clear, Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones

"Comparison is the thief of joy." - Teddy Roosevelt 

"If they don't bite when they're puppies, they won't bite when they're grown." - Bill Parcells

“When nothing seems to help, I go and look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock, perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not that last blow that did it—but all that had gone before.”

― James Clear, Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones 

“Happy people don’t compare themselves with others. If they like something in another person, it inspires them to do something a little different in themselves. They don’t waste energy on jealousy.”
― Donna Goddard, Nanima: Spiritual Fiction

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Lagniappe. Consistent contact on serves. 

Lagniappe 2. Every team has areas to improve. Find more consistent serving with at home drills. 

Think Better

What thoughts add value? Breadth of general knowledge, imagination, and analogies help us think better.

Thinking positively allows space for solutions instead of just saying no. 

Imagine having an 'impossible' problem and solving it. 

1. Research shows that spending 12 minutes planning your day can save 120 minutes of time. 

2. Build 'thinking time' into your day. Disney CEO Bob Iger keeps a mental list to consider during his thinking time. 

3. Use a phone app (e.g. Notes), self-text, or small notebook to store 'brainstorms' for later use and optimization. 

4. Some ideas marinate over time. Author Carol Joyce Oates puts articles aside for months to allow 'fresh eyes' during revision. 

5. Author Dan Brown (The DaVinci Code) says that "good writers know when their writing is bad." Investing time isn't enough. Be fully engaged at whatever you're doing. 

Lagniappe. To think better, study how information impacts us. 

Application. Make choices. Almost every year Melrose needs to 'replace' 300-500 kills lost from graduating seniors. Coach Scott Celli and staff decide whether to retool the offense (realign the attack), reposition players, or focus on player development of other attackers. Those are coaching decisions. 

As a player, create value for yourself (skill and athleticism) and the team. The videos here and elsewhere show you avenues to improvement. 

Lagniappe 2. "We make our habits and our habits make us." 

“How you do anything is how you do everything.”

This is so important for kids to understand.

The most successful people in all facets of life know this.

Build great daily habits.

Details matter. https://t.co/Lan8qHTZRR

— Greg Berge (@gb1121) December 30, 2023

Coaching Isn't Criticism

Education changes behavior. Coaching is education. Coaching changes behavior.

Effective coaches often use the "sandwich technique" placing corrections in the middle of praise. They also 'speak greatness' choosing "you did well AND..." over "you did well BUT." 

Excellent players are coachable. Performance defines players not just effort. 

Great players study the game and their performance on video to learn what went well and what could have gone better. 

When I saw this, I loved it. So so true. pic.twitter.com/vr85W7vdoe

— Butch Baccala (@butchbaccala) December 29, 2023

14 - 8 - 2

14 - 8 - 2. What can that possibly mean? Fergus Connolly discusses in 59 Lessons. 

Twenty four hours in the day, two to train, eight to sleep, and fourteen to work on your body, your skills, and your mind. 

"Repetitions make reputations." Earn those outside hitter slots next season. Tell yourself, "that is my job" and follow through on the work. 

1) Attack footwork...shortest video. 

2) Arm swing... Coach Donnie reviews

3) Attack timing and location 

You can practice the footwork without a gym or a net.

You can't invest all your time on volleyball but you can allocate some time every day to work on your body and your skills. 

Lagniappe. Upper body exercises matter. 

Change

"No progress occurs without change, but not all change is progress." - John Wooden

Where are you now as a player and whom do you want to become? Change requires work. 

Effective coaching requires the ability to project, to see what a player can become. Three factors determine a player's impact - size, athleticism, and skill. For the NBA draft, three factors determine a player's projection - college program, performance at the program, and age at the time of the draft, the younger the better. 

A program's consistency requires constant influx of young talent. But some players who were less impactful as a junior become major contributors as seniors. 

As a junior, Ruth Breen had 31 assists which blossomed to 639 as a senior. Teams flourish according to player development. "Every day is player development day." What are you doing today to improve? 

The road to success is always under construction.
Champions don't focus on competing with an opponent.
Champions compete to be better today than they were yesterday.
There is a need to improve in defeat or victory-even in the smallest way. pic.twitter.com/9rHJOLlFAz

— The Winning Difference (@thewinningdiff1) December 29, 2023

The Power of Culture - Addition by Addition

Everyone wants and needs to be seen, be heard, and be valued. Years ago I coached a girl, Bella Federico, tall and tough, hard worker, smart. We lost a game and one of our best players, Leonora Ivers, said, "It's all my fault, I was terrible." Bella hugged her and said, "We win together and we lose together." She lead and showed great teamwork. Respect!

Nine rising seniors compete for minutes and roles. Always add to the culture. "Sweep the sheds," wrote James Kerr in Legacy. The players police the All-Blacks locker room both physically and metaphorically. They clean the space and the attitude. Be part of the solution. 

Kerr writes, "Leave the jersey in a better place." The past few seasons, the team had exceptional unity in sustaining the competitive fire with different sets of players. That reflects credit on player leadership not just coaching. Your job includes being a 'good elder' for future MVB players. Your position means modeling excellence and working for academic success. Show up every day. 

Legacy reminds us about a Greek proverb, "old men plant trees in whose shade they will never sit." That parallels the African proverb, "it takes a village to raise a child." 

"Fight for your culture every day." A few years ago at another school, $20 went missing from another player's locker. The team's junior captain spoke. "I don't know who did this. But whoever did, don't come back tomorrow. That is not who we are." One player didn't return. Your culture is your responsibility. Being MVB carries weight. "How you do anything is how you do everything." 

Lagniappe. Predictability has value. The end-of-season banquet reaffirms the scaffolding of MVB. People know the 'why', the values of the program and the absolute commitment to consistency. The best players play. If there's a freshman phenom, she will play because that is what is best for the team. 

Bill Walsh said, "The culture precedes positive results...Champions behave like champions before they’re champions; they have a winning standard of performance..."

Success takes time, patience, and fortitude.

Your culture doesn't change overnight.

Bill Walsh's 6 Guidelines For… pic.twitter.com/3bPZ1RzfEA

— Coach AJ 🎯 Mental Fitness (@coachajkings) December 28, 2023

As players, you're responsible for knowing the program philosophy and the details of playing your position. If you're an attacker, learn the footwork and handwork for blocking and attacking. Be able to explain it to both coaches and younger players. Be a mentor. 

Some 'undersized' outside hitters contributed to program success - e.g. Jess Porter and Lauren Howe. They leveraged above average jumping ability and timing. Most of the 'big hitters' were powerful and skilled athletes. If you want the position, match your work to your desires. 

 

 

Failure Is Inevitable. Response Depends on Us.

We all fail. We fail at relationships, communication, work tasks, individual and team sports. Critics love to take down the person or team who fails. "They're not as special as they think."

Coach Urban Meyer had an equation, E + R = O. Event plus response equals outcome. But "O" is not final. Melrose lost a disappointing early season game to Belmont last year. The team could have sulked, 'gone in the tank', but chose to regroup for an excellent season. 

Saban says, "You never want to waste a failing."

Failure is Growth.

“Everybody basically has two choices. You can throw in the towel, quit, and be mediocre, or you can fight, grind, and do the hard things you need to do to be successful...” - Nick Saban

The Response WINS. pic.twitter.com/Io2weL0HYq

— Greg Berge (@gb1121) December 27, 2023

 

Looking for More Great Reads? Try "Great Teams"

Great Teams by Don Yaeger shares the 'secret sauce' of great teams, both within and outside of sports.

He devotes one chapter to mentoring. 

Key Point 1: "Mentoring is the only shortcut to excellence." 

Tim Duncan arrived on the San Antonio Spurs with David Robinson already installed as the 'lead dog'. That didn't stop Robinson from taking Duncan under his wing and training him in the Spurs Way. Along the way, Duncan and teammates won five NBA titles. 

Key Point 2: Mentoring is critical in most professions. 

Sometimes a mentor can inspire (lecturer Dr. Faith Fitzgerald) or help up close and day-to-day (CAPT Bill Baker and CAPT Tom Walsh). 

Key Point 3: Cultivate relationships that can become mentoring. 

Sadie Jaggers became close friends with Elena Soukos and Gia Vlajkovic. Their friendship helped Sadie reach out for tips when she hit a few rough spots during the season. 

Yaeger drops suggestions for a mentoring culture. 

• Make it intentional. Have a plan, e.g. vets and youngsters. 
• Train employees to look for mentoring opportunities.
• Ask team members to look for mentoring. 
• Always be "team first." 
• "Team first" means everyone.
• Avoid jealousy (junior employees may surpass mentors).
• Remember where you came from. Everyone starts as junior staffer.

Lagniappe. Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra says, "there is always a pecking order." Can we be a great teammate and still lead if we're not an 'alpha' on the team? 

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Lower Body Plyometrics

Train to be great. Develop your body. After your warmup, you can do single and double leg jumping exercises onto a low wall or over a stack of pillows or newspapers.

Jumping rope and low height 'pogos' are good warmup exercises.

Think about talking with some recent MVB graduates (e.g. Sadie, Gia, and Elena) whose physical training was an important part of their success. 

Nothing works unless you do. 

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"Share Something Great"

Develop your personal philosophy. Make it worthy of whom you wish to become.

I know a physician's assistant who asks everyone for one piece of advice. I told him, "share something great."

Nobody has time to read every recommended book, but find time to read summaries and selected books.

Here's a summary of Naval Ravikant's, "The Almanack of Naval Ravikant" from a free site informing book summaries. 

The Five Big Ideas

1. Understand how to create wealth
2. Build judgment
3. Learn the skills of decision making
4. Learn to love to read
5. Understand happiness is a choice

Wealth is not the same as money. Family, meaning, and friendship are wealth. Wealth comes from 'compounding' knowledge and good, ethical decisions. Consider reading Darren Hardy's The Compound Effect. Here's a summary. 

"Good judgment comes from experience; experience comes from bad judgment." Or experience comes from making choices where you didn't get what you wanted. Before making big decisions, ask "what if" and "what can go wrong?" You become a blend of the people with whom you associate. Surround yourself with great people. Find mentors. 

Often the most important decision we make is whether we invest our time or spend it. James Clear's Atomic Habits points out to align our habits with the person we want to become. To become a better athlete or volleyball player, train. Higher level decision-making benefits from higher level thinking. Learn to use mental models. Higher order thinking requires more study such as Ed Smith's Making Decisions. 

"Read. Read. Read. Read. Read." Reading an hour a day will vault you into elite status of readers. Twenty-five percent of Americans never read. Matt Haig reminds us that every book is about "someone searching for something." Leaders are readers. Up your metaphorical game by reading. 

We own our happiness. Don't give others permission to define you. Shawn Achor's book, The Happiness Advantage reminds us that we own our happiness.

MVB provides structure and culture that can help you build a system designed to craft success. Develop better habits, leadership, teamwork, and motivation and get on the right side of success. 

Lagniappe. The four legs of the success chair are 1) skill, 2) strategy, 3) physicality, and 4) psychology. There's no Athleticism Fairy Godmother. Do the work. 

"But I don't know how." Here are a couple of lessons. 

Important not Urgent

In Making Decisions, English scholar and cricketeer Ed Smith summarizes two key questions:

1) What decision needs to be made?

2) How urgently does it need to be made? 

With eight months until volleyball tryouts, roster decisions are important and not urgent. As Smith says, there's nothing favoring either hasty or ponderous decisions. 

Prior to last season, nobody asked me the player most likely to emerge as the next dominant MVB player. I may have leaned toward Leah Fowke because of her ability and position as setter, the quarterback of the team. Although Leah outperformed high expectations, Sadie Jaggers achieved even more despite a position change. 

If you harbor serious ambition about contributing, what are you doing today to build skill, knowledge, athleticism, and resilience? You're the metaphorical "Jim" in the video, making an impression. 

"Bring your best self every day." If you want to become the next dominant outside hitter, do the work today. 

"It's showtime every day." ACHIEVEMENT = PERFORMANCE x TIME.

"What's your MVB skill?" Develop a skill that forces the coaches to get you and keep you on the court.

"Leaders make leaders." Everyone can lead. You don't have to be a captain to be a leader. 

Commit to becoming great every day. 

Lagniappe. You don't need a gym to work on your approach. Make it second nature. "Repetitions make reputations."

“The Art of Captaincy “

In “The Art of Captaincy,” shared by Ryan Holiday, Mike Brearley shared the story of a zookeeper who never lost a lion cub. The zookeeper’s secret? “No two lion cubs are alike.”

Who enjoys that degree of success? Parents seldom dismiss coaches to our face, recalling Oscar Wilde’s wisdom, “Your friends stab you in the front.” 

There's no 'one way' to the art of captaincy. 

Some think they could do better and others share resentment about minutes, role, and recognition. 

Coaches and captains must bring energy, effort, and focus, modeling excellence. Captains aren't permitted to have low energy days or low leadership times. 

Some young women are hesitant to lead because they don't want to be seen as 'bossy' or worse. Get past that. Lead. 

Lagniappe. Work on your platform. 

Sustainable Competitive Advantage

Coach Greg Berge shares commonalities of sustainable programs. Follow the thread. 

Why do some programs WIN year after year?

I have been fortunate to be a part of a few…

Here are 5 Reasons Why They Do:

[THREAD] 🧵

— Greg Berge (@gb1121) December 24, 2023

 

Merry Christmas Manifested

Merry Christmas to you and yours. In the best circumstances, a Christmas article means special merit, unique insight. Wishful thinking. 

Volleyball affords us opportunities for emotional extreme, joyous victory and shattering defeat. In Making Decisions, Ed Smith quotes Steven Conner on his thoughts on sport. "The sporting event aims to force evidence into manifestness." That restates the words of the immortal Ivan Drago, "I must break you."  

Movies share unforgettable truths. Work hard and smart and you'll succeed, like the Hickory Hoosiers. The richness of storytelling doesn't guarantee championships in real life. Hard work aligns the odds more favorably, but skill, will, and luck all intersect to determine outcomes. 

Results in sporting events do not occur randomly, such as along a Galton Board. 

If sports were truly random, then Watertown would not be a superpower in field hockey and Melrose would sort along the Bell Curve like the marbles above. Program organization, attraction of athletes into volleyball, superior coaching, and 'tradition' combine to shift the marbles to the right, wins above expected. 

Economics studies the allocation of limited resources. There are a finite number of motivated athletes. Capture the eyeballs of athletic elementary schoolers and more elite MVB players emerge from the 'competitive cauldron'. 

Books for the literate sports reader with Christmas gift certificates? 

1. The Boys in the Boat... Dan Brown weaves a tapestry of the Great Depression, the 1936 U.S. Olympic Crew team and the rise of fascism in 1930s Germany. Brilliant storytelling and prose. 

2. Legacy... James Kerr reveals the culture and chemistry of the New Zealand All-Blacks rugby team, the most successful team in sports. 

3. In These Girls Hope Is a Muscle... UMASS journalism professor Madeleine Blais shares the trials and tribulations of the Amherst Hurricanes girls hoopsters as they seek unity amidst chaos and rivalry. Named one of Sports Illustrated top 100 sports books. 

4. The Leadership Moment... Michael Useem informs stories of leaders who emerged amidst crisis both local and global. It's required reading for the UNC Women's Soccer team. In the introduction, he asks readers to consider:

• What went well?
• What went poorly?
• What can we do differently and better next time? 
• What are the enduring lessons? 

Lagniappe. Beating tough opponents demands tough responses. 

Four ways to defeat a more talented opponent:
1. Give more effort, physically and mentally.
2. Be more poised under pressure.
3. Play smarter strategically.
4. Work better as a team.

— Sports Psychology (@SportPsychTips) December 23, 2023

Appreciation for Readers

Shout out to the regular readers and occasional guests to the Melrose Volleyball blog.

Over the past twelve months, over 123,000 readers stopped by to learn about MVB, volleyball, leadership, and more. 

Thanks to the players, coaches, and families for their indulgence when I have not gotten the whole story or the whole story right. 

The "why" is to give back for all that Melrose sports and MVB has given to our family over the past three decades. 

 

"Your Coach Is Crazy"

From the Basketball World 

Develop Your Plan; Plan Your Development

You're committed to excellence. You don't need a gym membership or expensive equipment.

A gallon of water weighs over eight pounds. That's a good approximation for a dumbbell. A jump rope on a popular online site costs five to nine dollars. Body weight exercises cost nothing. 

Based on the article published in American College of Sports Medicine. It features 12 exercises deploying only body weight, a wall and a chair.

Here are more ideas.

 

Develop your own program. 

1. Baseline testing. What's your vertical jump (power)? What's your three-cone run time (quickness)? How long can you jump rope (endurance)? 

2. Design your workout program for at least three days a week. It's easier when you workout with a teammate, even if it's over the phone. 

3. After four to six weeks, repeat testing. Jump higher, run quicker, exercise longer. 

Invest your time don't spend it. 

Coming Attractions

 

Living Your Best Life

Reflect on your life, who you are and how you intend to live. You are not what you do but your attitude, choices, and effort.

Simon Sinek shares a number of perspectives in this video. You will enjoy the lessons. Be like the Apple executives who want your teachers to teach better and you to learn better. We're all in this together.  

Djokovic Interview - Pearls

Learn across domains. Find tips to leverage. 

• Flexibility is critical. 
• Wisdom and accuracy compensate for less speed.
• Look for opponent weakness.
• Mental strength is not a gift. It must be trained.
• Think positive. There is no room for doubt.
• You can win if not at your best if mentally tough. 
• Be ready for battle.
• "I accept myself as a flawed human being."
• Success blends the physical and the mental. 

Ask "what can I learn from Djokovic to become more successful?"

Wanting Versus Doing

I've cared for a lot of patients with advanced lung disease over the past forty plus years. I've heard many spouses say, "my spouse won't help around the house" or "he won't take out the trash."

I usually say, "your spouse would love to do more or heavier work. Their illness causes severe shortness of breath. They can't."

What does it feel like to have severe lung disease? Take about a 3/4 deep breath in. Now you can't let it out. You can only breathe in and out from that overinflated lung status. It's similar to preparing to jump, from standing straight up, without being able to flex knees and hips. You can't generate force because the muscle "length-tension" relationship is impaired. 

What does that have to do with you? Running sprints and working hard is a time-limited privilege. Enjoy it. Relish practice. Devour it.   

Bo Ryan on consistency even on the days you don’t have it

“The idea of practice, and bringing it every day.. there is no such thing as a bad day of practice”

pic.twitter.com/3zaRPAiXnH

— Hoop Herald (@TheHoopHerald) December 22, 2023

 

"Any Idiot with a Whistle Can Coach"

All opinions expressed in the blog are solely mine. Don't blame the City of Melrose, School Department, Athletic Department, or MVB. 

Once a coach demanded, "you will address me as Coach." That went well. 

“Too many leaders, Plutarch laments, think that the “greatest benefit in governing is the freedom from being governed themselves.” - Ryan Holiday, Discipline Is Destiny

Leadership is uncomfortable, demanding accountability to discipline, energy, sacrifice to bring your best version every day. 

Leadership means asking yourself hard questions. Did I do enough? What can I do better? 

Leaders make leaders. Consider a few names from the last group of players I coached. Ava Wenzel, band leader, winner of every accolade and award the Melrose Band can deliver. Seven members of the Girls Soccer team who made it to the Elite Eight for the first time. Sadie Jaggers with the triple of volleyball All-State and All-Scholastics from The Boston Globe and The Boston Herald. Cecilia Kay, Boston Herald Dream Teamer, three year All-Scholastic going into her senior year. GPA 4.95. Basketball scholarship to Division 1 American University. Many of these young women will develop future leaders. 

Leaders Eat Last, writes Simon Sinek. Leaders put their 'troops' in position to succeed and willingly sacrifice time with their families to organize and conduct practice, to watch film, to scout opponents, to teach and communicate. 

Yet Brad Stevens asserts, "coaches get more than we give." We develop close ties with players, families, other coaches as part of the effort to take others where they cannot go by themselves. Shared vision, shared sacrifice, shared results. 

I've heard and read, "any idiot with a whistle can coach." Yes, anyone with a whistle can coach, but not everyone with a whistle deserves the honor to be called, "Coach."

Lagniappe. Summary, "Leaders Eat Last." 

 

Find a Minute of Inspiration Every Day

Read, study, ask "how will I get better today?" The community believes in you but do you believe in yourself. "Ordinary people do extraordinary things every day." 

POWERFUL speech by Jim Valvano that is extremely motivating

“God must have loved ordinary people because he made so many of us…but every day ordinary people do extraordinary things.”

Words to live by, get up and get to it 😤😤

pic.twitter.com/uk3BEEswYQ

— Hoop Herald (@TheHoopHerald) December 19, 2023

Stay on Central Themes

Focus on the big four:

1. Skill - tailor to your position but work on all skills, especially if you have a goal of playing "all around"

2. Strategy - watch some video of elite players and teams to study their approach

3. Physicality - leverage your gifts with training including upper body strength. "Dumbbells are your friend." Do some isometrics, too. 

4. Resilience - mental toughness applies to everything you do. "How you do anything is how you do everything." Your parents assign a few chores? Do them well and on time. Academics. Be your best. "Show up" engaged in every class. Sports. Consider mindfulness training. 

Lagniappe. "Be a good person." 

MVB - An Elevator Pitch (Check the Boxes)

Busy people have no time to waste. Submit your ‘elevator pitch’ for MVB. Creative people don't exhaust the pool of ideas. Be creative, emotional, funny but the rule is, “be brief.”

Support Melrose Volleyball. 

Imagine hundreds of people chanting as one, "MVB, MVB, MVB." Since 2003, too many to count league titles, 10 sectional championships, a State Title, 18 All-State selectees, and tens of thousands of satisfied fans. 

A sport where every possession scores a point. “Bump, set, spike.” 

Want upsets? Andover annihilated, Barnstable beaten, Billerica bamboozled, Duxbury downed. 

Culture, coaching, competitors.

Check the boxes. 

Hall of Fame Coach? Check

Triple crown winners (All-State, Globe and Herald All-Scholastics) the last three years. Check 

Herald Team of the Decade (2010-19) members? Brooke Bell and Sarah McGowan. Check 

Be a part of something special and get everything but sand in your shoes. 

"Dig it." 

How Coaches Think*

*Reposted in part from my basketball blog 

He walked into "The Brain Store" and checked the inventory. The sign said, "Physicist Brain, $20 a pound." He moved on. "Doctor's Brain, $40 a pound." He moved on. He saw, "Coach's Brain, $80 a pound." He asked why a coach's brain costs so much. The shopkeeper said, "Do you know how many coaches you need to get a pound of brains?"

Coaching has tradeoffs. That is a hallmark of economics, the allocation of scarce resources. How do we allocate practice time, minutes, roles, recognition? At some levels, winning is secondary. At others, it is nearly everything. 

"Education changes behavior." Coaches are teachers. We motivate, add value, and hope to get buy-in through authenticity and truth. 

We promote a philosophy, believing that it's part of added value. Mine is "teamwork, improvement, accountability." Be a great teammate, do the work of improvement, and hold ourselves to a high standard. 

"Every day is player development day." Some coaches are talent aggregators, some developers, and some do both. Locally, there's only development no recruiting. 

"Technique beats tactics." - Gregg Popovich  Our coach said it another way, that you plan to outplay your opponent or trick them. The latter is a dog that won't hunt. 

"Basketball is sharing." - Phil Jackson   Shared vision, shared sacrifice, and shared effort produce shared results. How much of each that's shared determines how good the results. 

"Successful teams inform a plan to play longer and harder." The greatest coach in the world can't manufacture great talent without adequate raw materials. But sometimes the combination of receptive talent and positive coaching distills an excellent mix. 

Coaches understand self-serving bias. We put players and teams in positions that we believe give them a chance to succeed. That doesn't always square with the opinions of friends, family, and critics.

"Do more of what works and less of what doesn't." Choose more hard-to-defend actions both individual and team. Each dish has the ingredients of spacing, cutting, passing, and screening. And like cooking, development blend time and temperature (intensity). I wrote about hard-to-defend actions here. 

Understand opportunity cost. Being on a team has costs relative to alternatives. Costs involve both time and money. Sitting on the bench magnifies the costs.

Macroeconomics is the forest, microeconomics is the trees. Macroeconomics is the ecosystem or culture. Microeconomics is how players interact with the system, the coaches, and each other. 

"Capital (minutes) flows to its most efficient use." The players you see on the court or the field got perceived as being the most efficient. 

Coaches think like economists. 

Lagniappe. To handle given situations, they must be trained. 

The Navy SEALS like to say, "Under pressure we don't rise to the occasion, but rather sink to the level of our training."

When crisis hits or adversity comes our way, it highlights who we are and how we've prepared.

How we PREPARE TODAY will determine how we PERFORM TOMORROW. pic.twitter.com/2WtO7Br3Tv

— Jamy Bechler (@CoachBechler) December 5, 2023

Sacrifice

Coach Sonny Lane told us that success means sacrifice. That truth has never dimmed. 

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"Sign Ups"

A friend told an army ranger recruit, "How bad can it be? 62 days. And the first day is check-in." 

The recruit arrived, exited his car to hear, "drop and give me twenty." 

You don't have a choice whether to take American History or English. You choose whether to study. Volleyball is voluntary. What are you signing up for?

The sign in the UNC Women's Soccer locker room reads, "EXCELLENCE IS OUR ONLY AGENDA." The Tarheel recruits know they're in for the daily 'competitive cauldron' brewing a chance at a national title. 

What are you signing up for? 

• Model excellence. Sacrifice comes with the program. If a nine or ten year-old asks how to become an MVB player, what's your answer? "This is who we are. That is how we do it." 
• Fitness. "Fatigue makes cowards of us all." Don't get in shape; stay in shape. 
• Habit formation. Win the morning, win the day. Do the hard things first. NBA star Kevin Durant wakes and asks, "How am I going to get better today?" 
• Academic excellence. Do the work. "How you do anything is how you do everything."
• Coaching. Are you coachable? What is your commitment level?   

It leaves a mark when Coach Scott Celli tells me about a player. "She listens. She wants to improve. She wants to play." 

Lagniappe. "Did you push yourself to be great today?" 

"It's so easy to be average.
It takes a little something to be special.
It takes something special to be a great player.
Did you push yourself to be great today?
If you didn't do it, you lost a day today.
If there is a touch of greatness in there, how cool would that be?" pic.twitter.com/jl3RNkM2ub

— The Winning Difference (@thewinningdiff1) December 20, 2023

Lagniappe 2. Work on your serve at home.  

 

Everyone, Everywhere, All at Once

"Everyone Is Necessarily the Hero of His Own Life Story." - John Barth

You'd rather read a story about your exploits than those of Hernan Cortez. The same applies for athletes, band members, thespians, and robotics devotees. 

Review the 'Achievement Equation'. Do the math. 

ACHIEVEMENT = PERFORMANCE x TIME 

Legacy follows an elite performance (in the moment) or excellent performance over a career.

Let's digress. Amy Poehler shares a MasterClass in improv. She asks, "do you belong in this scene?" Is the scene better because of your performance? 

Have special skills that make the scene better. If you want the scene, build your skills to "take up space." Size doesn't define capacity to take up space (Maggie Turner). Take up space and add connection to make the team better.

Lagniappe. "Control what you can control..." attitude, choices, effort

Life is about CHOICES.

Here are 8 of them.

1. Attitude is a Choice
2. Character is a Choice
3. Work Ethic is a Choice
4. Leadership is a Choice
5. Consistency is a Choice
6. Commitment is a Choice
7. Daily Habits are a Choice
8. Encouragement is a Choice

SUCCESS is a Choice.

— Greg Berge (@gb1121) December 11, 2023