Are You Willing to Do What the Beast Does?*

The most difficult subjects can be explained to the most slow- witted man if he has not formed any idea of them already; but the simplest thing cannot be made clear to the most intelligent man if he is firmly persuaded that he knows already, without a shadow of doubt, what is laid before him. - Tolstoy

*Adapted from my basketball blog

Winning needs focused investment in areas that work. Neither 100 percent investment in offense nor defense is best. Full belief in your failing process is nonsense. 

Leadership. Can the coach sell the program, get buy-in, and add value? In Community Health (1977) we learned about barriers, efficacy, severity, and susceptibility. 

• Barriers - what hinders us?
• Efficacy - what's the 'applicable' track record? 
• Severity - how bad is the situation? 
• Susceptibility - does it apply to the community? If "hockey" or something else is king, is there room for basketball? 

Philosophy. Can we sell our philosophy to smart people "firmly persuaded that they know already?" 

• Do well what you do a lot. 
• Do more of what works (e.g. hard to defend actions) and less of what doesn't.
• Know Knight's Power of Negative Thinking. Don't take bad shots, don't turn the ball over, don't foul needlessly. Don't give games away. 

Player development. What's your player development track record? 

Show your receipts - D1 players, McDonald's All-America nominee, All-Scholastic/All-State selections, Local Athletic Hall of Famers, valedictorians and more. 

Strategy  "We can't run what we can't run." Without core skills, the choice of 'offensive system' doesn't matter. 

Physicality (strength and conditioning) Without training, we cannot play "harder for longer" needed to outperform opponents. Measurable performance like 12-minute runs, broad jump, and bench press repetitions give easy to obtain, reproducible results. 

Psychology Have a simple program that you can implement such as mindfulness and visualization. 

Commitment is king. Players choose whether to invest in themselves and winning or not. "It takes what it takes." In addition to all of the above, players need to play, a lot.

"Mentoring is the only shortcut to success." Find a mentor. 

"Winners are trackers." - Darren Hardy, The Compound Effect   Measure what you do and seek improvement and betterment of your personal best. 

Are you willing to do what the beast does? "Champions do extra." It's a big ask. 

Lagniappe. What the beasts do. 

Lagniappe 2. One minute of magic...on winning points