Filing Cabinet

This article was written and contributed by Scott Rosberg

There is power in the words we speak. Our words carry great weight for those to whom we say them. However, the words alone are not what make them powerful. It is our intention, our tone, our inflection, and our desired outcome of speaking those words that give words their greatest power.

Words spoken or written on a page but independent of each other do not carry nearly the same weight and power as they do when they are put together into sentences. The way we string together certain groupings of words into sentences give meaning, life, and strength to the words. It is critical that we choose our words carefully and wisely in all instances. Many of us have uttered things that we wish we could go back and “rewind the tape” so as to not say what we said. But our words cannot be unsaid; our actions cannot be undone. While we can augment, tweak, clarify, apologize, and re-state, we cannot “un-state” the words we have stated.

Therefore, it is important that we choose our words wisely. As teachers & coaches, it is absolutely critical that we “watch what we say” and “how we say it,” especially to the young people in our charge. We must always keep in mind that children are taking their cues from us.

While it is true that actions often speak louder than words, our words still speak very loudly. Kids are constantly listening to what we tell them (even when we feel like they haven’t heard a word we said!). Be careful what you say to and around them. You never know what they are picking up. Kids have a funny way of reminding you of something you said days, weeks, months, or even years later. They will talk about what you said at halftime of a game 10 years ago, and you will not even recall saying what they tell you that you said.

The other issue with that is the difference between your intended message, the actual message, and the received message. These three messages can end up being quite different from each other. I might know what I am trying to say. However, my words may come out different than the way I am thinking it. The person to whom I speak it filters the message through his/her own ideas to determine what was meant. My intention might be quite different from the final perceived message of the person to whom I spoke. Or I may have intended a message for one person, but there were others there who picked up a completely different message.

Have you ever had a parent question you on why you said a particular thing to their child, and your response was, “I never said that.”? This happens all the time. When you “rewind the tape” to consider where the miscommunication happened, think about the words you chose, your inflection, your tone of voice, and your body language. Maybe you thought you were saying a certain thing, but what came out was not exactly what you thought you were saying. Then consider what the child’s state was during the conversation. Was s/he focused & attentive? Did you get confirmation from him/her of their understanding of what you said? These types of miscommunication are common, but they can be reduced by just being more in tune with your own communications and how your audience is receiving them.

We must always keep in mind our intention with the communication we are about to have with our players. Am I saying this to serve my needs or to serve their needs? Are the words I am about to speak going to help build up these young people or tear them down? Am I creating a positive, trusting relationship with these words, or am I destroying the trust that I am trying to create? Keep these questions in the back of your mind as you are building relationships with your kids.

Our tone of voice and our body language play a major role in giving power to our words. Just as words have more power when they are strung together with other words to intentionally give them power, our tone of voice and our accompanying body language give added power to our words.

We must be careful that our tone is conveying the intended consequence in the receiver. The exact same words said in different tones of voice can mean very different things to the receiver of those words. Listen to yourself and to your players utter the simple exhortation of “Come on!” Is it said as a positive form of encouragement, or as a desperate cry for help or condemnation, or even a sarcastic dig? The tone of voice says everything in a statement like this. Be careful that your tone conveys the right message.

Also, your demeanor when you say the words can create a certain feeling and response. As the leader of your program, you need to be the face (and body) your team needs to see. A scowl on your face with your shoulders back and your hands clenched will convey a very different meaning than a smile while seated. Whatever you are trying to convey, recognize that your facial expression and your body language play a huge role in how your words are interpreted.

Children learn many things in a variety of manners from the teachers and coaches in their lives. We need to constantly be considering our words, our tone, and our body language when we are communicating with the young people in our lives. We are not only giving them a message for the moment in which we are speaking to them; we are also instilling in them the ways that they will communicate with others as they make their way through life. Never forget that there is great power in your words.

For more great info on the concept of the power of our words, check out the DVD “The Power of Your Words by Bruce Brown of Proactive Coaching. Bruce gives a powerful presentation that will resonate with coaches, teachers, and parents. You can find “The Power of Your Words“ at Proactive Coaching’s website – www.proactivecoaching.info.

About the Author of this Article

Scott Rosberg has been a coach (basketball, soccer, & football) at the high school level for 30 years, an English teacher for 18 years, and an athletic director for 12 years. He has published seven booklets on coaching and youth/school athletics, two books of inspirational messages and quotes for graduates, and a newsletter for athletic directors and coaches. He also speaks to schools, teams, and businesses on a variety of team-building, leadership, and coaching topics. Scott has a blog and a variety of other materials about coaching and athletic topics on his website – www.coachwithcharacter.com. He can be reached by email at [email protected].

Scott is also a member of the Proactive Coaching speaking team. Proactive Coaching is dedicated to helping organizations create character and education-based team cultures, while providing a blueprint for team leadership. They help develop confident, tough-minded, fearless competitors and train coaches and leaders for excellence and significance. Proactive Coaching can be found on the web at www.proactivecoaching.info. Also, you can join the 200,000+ people who have “Liked” Proactive Coaching’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/proactivecoach. Scott can also be reached through Proactive Coaching at [email protected].

This post was written by Bert DeSalvo on his Basketball Coaching Blog, Expressions from the Hardwood

Earn the Right to Win

Tom Coughlin

Notes taken by Bert DeSalvo, @CoachDeSalvo

Introduction – Prepare to Win

“Achieving any goal begins with through preparation.” (p. 2)

“Having a structure to rely on means that when my teams have reached our goal, we can look back at the steps we took along the way to get there. And do it again.” (p. 3)

• Can repeat the process!
• Schedules, lists (lists of lists)
• Systematic approach to success

“Preparation creates confidence.” (p. 6)

“Details count.” (p. 9)

“There is no discussion about methods. The team is my responsibility.” (p. 10)

• Nobody is above the team – Follow the rules
• Rules provide a framework

Chapter 1 – Build the Structure

A. Set a Goal

“My basic philosophy has always been simple and direct: Create an environment and provide the direction necessary to allow our players to perform to the best of their ability, which will lead directly to success.” (p. 17)

“Creating a structure in which winning is the expectation rather than the hope is a long-term proposition.” (p.17)

“The important thing is to make progress, recognize these needs that have to be addressed, and make a plan to do that.” (p. 17)

“Once you establish your goal you can’t take your focus off of your objective.” (p. 18)

• Sends wrong message
• Competition

B. Know What You Have to Work With

“The best place to begin your preparation is to honestly assess the existing situation: How deep in the mud are you? What is the current status of your organization?” (p. 21)

• Starts with critical self-appraisal; Don’t blame others – “We can’t improve without realistic self-appraisal.” (p. 22)
• What’s your situation?
  – RIT/Jax – Blank Slates
  – Boston College/NY Giants – Losing Teams
• Coughlin saw NYG as a loss of pride
  – His goal was to restore pride “by being firm, fair, honest and demanding and by paying close attention to our preparation.” (p. 24)

C. Create a Structure

• Establish priorities (Coaching, staff, roster, etc.)
• “Create an overall culture that would govern everything.” (p. 24)
  – Philosophy ensures consistency of purpose and action  “Allows us to move forward together.” (p. 24)

Coughlin’s Philosophy:

“Structure and organized. A program in which everyone knows their responsibilities and that they will be held accountable for the job they were hired to do. It isn’t complicated; it’s pretty much black and white: This is how things are going to be done, and if you can’t do it this way, we’re going to find somebody who can.” (p. 26)

“Consistency, reliability, and determination guarantee progress.”

• Need buy–Consistency provides this
• Know expectations–Explain them clearly
• Have confidence–Structure will not change

“The Structure is a statement: This is who we are, this is what we do, and this is the way we do it.” (p. 27)

“Once you’ve set up a system with clear goals you also have to make a commitment to consistency.” (p. 27)

• Stick to it – Even under duress
• To make it work you must stay the course (after setting a goal, assessing the situation and building a system)

D. Establish the Rules and Enforce Them

“The culture of an organization is defined by its rules.” (p. 32)

• Must be sensible, realistic and timely
• Clearly stated–No gray areas – “Everything needs to be spelled out, with no room for interpretation.” (p. 33)
• Have other purposes too
  – “Designed to bring the team together, create a professional atmosphere/environment in which we can get all of our work done with a minimum of distraction, and help develop pride in the organization.” (p. 33)
• Setting rules helps you find out who is committed to the program and who isn’t

Examples of Coughlin’s Rules:

1. Be on time every time
2. Know your assignments of the field
3. Conduct yourself like a professional on and off the field
4. Demonstrate pride in our organization
5. Respect your teammates
6. Pay complete attention in our meetings

“When I set the rules I always felt it was better to start out with a firm set, and then, if the situation warranted it, make the necessary adjustments.” (p. 34)

“As a leader, your credibility depends completely on the way you enforce the rules you’ve made. For them to have any value, they have to apply equally to everyone.” (p. 37)

“The day you don’t enforce your rules you might as well just do away with them.” (p. 38)

“When you don’t enforce the rules, people begin to lose respect for you.” (p. 38)

“If you are in a leadership position in any organization, in any job, and you compromise principles the first time you face adversity, you’ll lose all your credibility.” (p. 40)

“Once again, ‘earning the right to win’ means making a difficult or even unpopular decision and sticking to it.” (p. 40)

“The principles and values that form the cornerstone of our beliefs cannot be compromised.” (p. 40)

E. Be Resilient

“There will be times when we all have to overcome adversity – but we believe adversity makes us stronger.” (p. 41) (i.e. injuries = ‘next man up’)

“If you manage to overcome that many obstacles to your goal, you have earned the right to win.” (p. 45)

F. Build an Organization with Character

“The key to building a system that functions smoothly is to find people who share your vision, hire them, and allow them to do their job.” (p. 45)

• Have to hire people who will carry out your vision/philosophy
• The better your people, the better the organization will be

“The success of the program will rise or fall on the ability, initiative, imagination, and determination of the members of our staff.” (p. 46)
Coughlin looks for:

1. Great All-American work ethic
   a. Know the demands of the job
   b. Go beyond this!
2. Commitment (players move to Jax – Means all in!)
   3. Enthusiasm

“Character-based, valued centered philosophy has always been the backbone of my organization.” (p. 47)
“Character is essential.” (p. 50)

Coughlin conducts interviews w/free agents, coaches, draftees to get to know them as people

“You want to work with dedicated people you can depend on to be there when things get tough. The more of those good character people you have in key positions the better chance you have to succeed.” (p. 51)

“Character also accelerates the growth of talent.” (p. 51) [JPP]

“We find the complainers and the whiners, the people who aren’t willing to put in long hours, the people more interested in self-promotion than the success of the team and get rid of them as quickly as possible.” (p. 53)

“Sometimes you just need to get rid of a bad apple. Cutting those people really will cut your losses. Anyone who is serious about building a long-term program has had to do this.” (p. 54)

“No one is irreplaceable.” (p. 55)

G. Delegate Authority

“A successful coach or manager delegates responsibility and allows people he/she trusts to do their job.” (p. 56)

Ultimate responsibility is on the head coach though.

You can read inside the book by clicking on the image at the left.

You can read the rest of Coach DeSalvo’s notes at this link: Earn the Right to Win

The following article was written by Juan Pablo Favero of San Diego State University.  It was originally published in The NSCAA Soccer Journal

The hope is that these ideas can be modified to the needs of your program, and shared with your athletes. I hope it stimulates thought and discussion among your coaching staff as to how you can create your own list of and examples of “Controllables” to help your athletes improve their performance.

Controlling the “Controllables”

Every sport has specific demands that must be mastered in order to successfully play and excel as an athlete.

Physical, Technical, Tactical, and Psychological attributes serve as building blocks for success. In soccer, physical qualities like strength, speed and agility ale critical. Technical skills such as passing, receiving and heading are important abilities that must be mastered. Tactical intelligence includes vision awareness and decision-making on and off the bail. Other sports have similarly important elements In each of these areas. Some of the key mental skills in all sports are focus, optimism, and self-confidence and all these skills can be developed and strengthened.

One of the Mental Toughness principles I teach our players is controlling the “controllables’. Athletes have limited physical and emotional energy so wasting time and energy on things you have no control over and can’t do anything about, not only can empty your energy tank but also lead to frustration and decreased performance. Examples of things you cannot control: are the weather, field conditions, the crowd, and the referee to name a few.

Instead, make, the conscious effort to focus on the things you can do something about and have control over. Here is the Top Ten list I have encouraged our Aztecs to focus on controlling.

1. ATTITUDE – Everything starts and ends with attitude and if you get it right, all else will fall in line with it. A positive, winning attitude helps you succeed and impact those around you. One of my favorite quotes on attitude is by Tony DiCicco, World Cup champion coach in 1999. “Attitude is a choice that can color any situation and it is contagious. You must act as the player you ware to become. Confident players focus on what they can do and don’t worry about what they can’t.”

2. EFFORT – How hard you work is up to you and no one else. If you give up that control, you are giving away one of the main things that sets you apart from the rest. Your effort must also be smart and reflected in your work rate in practice and games. Anson Dorrance who has won 21 National Championships puts it this way: “Winning is not something built in a day; it is constructed year-round. As always, it comes down to progressive, consistent effort, with a view toward a long-range goal.”
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3. FOCUS – I define focus as relaxed concentration; it becomes especially important in games where outside distractions can keep you from performing at your best. Your focus must be on the here and now, on each play, one at a time. NBA coach Phil Jackson says, “The key is seeing and doing. If you’re focusing on anything other than reading the court and doing what needs to be done, the moment will pass you by.”

4. FITNESS – The work you put into your physical conditioning will directly affect your ability to play while making a positive impact for your team. Two-time World Cup champion Michelle Akers gives the following advice: “Be committed to the one thing you can control – your fitness. Be smart and be aware that your decisions and actions on and off the field affect the team.”

5. PREPARATION – Bobby Knight says t all: The will to win is overrated in athletics, because everyone wants to win. It’s the will to prepare to win that makes the difference. A side benefit of proper preparation is that it also helps you feel more confident.

REST AND NUTRITION – Your performance is directly impacted by your food and hydration choices as well as the amount of rest and seep you get. Some research on your part will help you make better choices in this area.

COACHABILITY – This has to do with your ability to receive, accept, and apply the coaching points from your coach. The smartest players not only learn from the coach, but also from their teammates.

EMOTIONS – You must act your way into Feeling and not feeling a certain way before you act. Former University of North Carolina basketball coach, Dean Smith said: You can act yourself into a new way of thinking more easily than you can think yourself into a new way of acting.

COMMUNICATION – Positive, assertive, and clear communication is not only something you can control, hut will also give you and your team an edge. Megan Jurado a 2012 NSCAA All-American for us at San Diego State said, ‘The sports psychology exercises really help our communication and how we work together. I think it has brought us together as a team.’

BODY LANGUAGE – While this is a part of communication, it is actually the most visible and easiest thing you can change. If you walk out with confident body language and remain that way under pressure situations, it will send a clear and powerful message to your teammates, your coach, and your opponents.

So I encourage you to concentrate on the controllables. Start with attitude and pick one other quality at a time to work on with your players. You and your team will start to think more effectively and steadily perform at a higher level.

Guest post from Scott Rosberg

Basketball seasons are winding down all across the country. This is a time of great excitement and anticipation, as teams prepare for their post-season tournaments with dreams and goals of an eventual state championship. However, it is also a time of reflection for coaches and athletes alike.

Late in a season we sometimes play the “coulda’, shoulda’, woulda’” game and wonder what might have been had we done things differently. Or we look back and think how glad we are that we chose to do things the way we did them, for they produced many of the results we desired when we started our seasons a few months ago.

One key area for coaches to focus on is impact. What kind of an impact did you have on your kids and your teams? As you come to the end of your season and you look back on all that happened, can you say that you helped create an experience for your kids that was worthwhile and significant? What will your seniors look back on and say their final experience playing in your program was like? What can you do with your teams in the future to ensure that they will always remember their senior season in the best way possible?

While there is not too much you can do at this point in your season to create an entire season’s worth of significant moments of impact, you can still do some things to help your kids make the last few weeks special. First, focus on doing just that. Help them to have the best weeks of the season right now. Of course, scoreboard success will help with this, but scoreboard success is something you have very little control over. A few things that you do have control over are your practice and game preparation, your focus on character and sportsmanship, and how you treat your kids.

Prepare for your practices and games in a manner that keeps things fresh for your players, while maximizing your time and all that you have put in this year. Try running new drills that work the skills you most want to have them prepared for. For games though, this is the time to “let them play.” You have taught and worked with them all season to be able to perform and compete at a high level at this time of year. Don’t overload them with too many new things (something I have done all too often!). However, this is also a great time to throw in a new wrinkle or two in order to have some extra “arrows in the quiver” and to help them feel like they have an extra advantage over their opponents.

Also, make sure you continue to emphasize good character and sportsmanship. Just because the stakes are higher doesn’t mean we can slack off on being accountable to our standards at this time. In fact, it is precisely in more pressure-packed, emotional moments that we need to be our best selves. Coaches always talk about wanting to “play our best at the end of the year”; we should also be our best when it comes to character and sportsmanship.

Finally, make sure you continue to work to provide your kids a great experience. By changing a couple routines up, you can keep things fresh. If you don’t have games until the weekend, consider giving them Monday off, or make it a day for watching game film and having a pizza party. Then get back to practice on Tuesday-Thursday.

You must also keep treating your kids in the most positive way possible. Check in with them and make sure they are feeling good about the final push to the end. Keep them motivated and excited to be part of the program. Inspirational messages and quotes can continue to provide great insight and meaning. Help them see the light at the end of the tunnel is near, and it is time to make the absolute most of their time together.

Remember that your seniors are going through some emotions that the other players are not dealing with, so help them to navigate through the end of their high school career in your sport. Every year I have told my seniors to “Pack every moment with everything you have because you won’t believe how quickly it is going to go. You want to make sure you can look back on the season and say, ‘I’m so glad I did …,’ instead of ‘I wish I would have…’”

Before you know it, your season will be over. What are you doing to make the most of your last few weeks together with your team? I would love to hear some things that you do to close out your season with your teams that help make it memorable. You can leave your comment on our Facebook page.

Also, this is the start of Senior Nights and End-of-Season Banquets. My newest booklet, Senior Salute, written for coaches and parents to give to their senior athletes on Senior Night or at End-of-Season Banquets, has seven team themes that have been prevalent in their athletic lives and will be part of their future lives: Character/Integrity, Trust, Passion, Toughness, Accountability, Teamwork, and Success, with many quotes supporting each theme. The inside front cover is set up for you to write a personal note to your senior athlete. You can get Senior Salute for $6.00 each or a 10-pack for $50.00, plus shipping! To take a sneak peek at the “Introduction and First Theme,” or to order Senior Salute, just click here.

About the Author of this Article

Scott Rosberg has been a coach (basketball, soccer, & football) at the high school level for 30 years, an English teacher for 18 years, and an athletic director for 12 years. He has published seven booklets on coaching and youth/school athletics, two books of inspirational messages and quotes for graduates, and a newsletter for athletic directors and coaches. He also speaks to schools, teams, and businesses on a variety of team-building, leadership, and coaching topics. Scott has a blog and a variety of other materials about coaching and athletic topics on his website – www.coachwithcharacter.com. He can be reached by email at [email protected].

Scott is also a member of the Proactive Coaching speaking team. Proactive Coaching is dedicated to helping organizations create character and education-based team cultures, while providing a blueprint for team leadership. They help develop confident, tough-minded, fearless competitors and train coaches and leaders for excellence and significance. Proactive Coaching can be found on the web at www.proactivecoaching.info. Also, you can join the 200,000+ people who have “Liked” Proactive Coaching’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/proactivecoach. Scott can also be reached through Proactive Coaching at [email protected].

Editor’s Note from Brian: I have had this in my files for around 20 years and feel that it is definitely worth sharing.  I think it is good advice for all of us, regardless of our age!

Written by Beverly Heirich.

We all have the same questions: Why is life so tough? Well, there’s an answer to that:

When my husband and I were raising our five children, we taught them everything we knew. Now we know that was not much

If we could do it over, here are some critical facts about human nature that I would start teaching them before they were old enough to brush their teeth without help.

Bad is easy. Good is hard.
Losing is easy. Winning is hard.
Talking is easy. Listening is hard.
Watching TV is easy. Reading is hard.
Giving advice is easy. Taking advice is hard.
Flab is easy. Muscle is hard.
Stop is easy. Go is hard.
Dirty is easy. Clean is hard.
Take is easy. Give is hard.
Dream is easy. Think is hard.
Lying is easy. Truth is hard.
Sleeping is easy. Waking is hard.

Holding a grudge is easy. Forgiving is hard.
Telling a secret is easy. Keeping a secret is hard.
Play is easy. Work is hard.
Falling is easy. Getting up is hard.
Spending is easy. Saving is hard.
Doubt is easy. Faith is hard.
Laughter is easy. Tears are hard.
Criticizing is easy. Taking criticism is hard.
Letting go is easy. Hanging on is hard.
Secret sin is easy. Confession is hard.
Pride is easy. Humility is hard.
Excusing oneself is easy. Excusing others is hard.
Borrowing is easy. Paying back is hard.
Sex is easy. Love is hard.
Argument is easy. Negotiation is hard.
Naughty is easy. Nice is hard.
Going alone is easy. Walking alone is hard.
Dumb is easy. Smart is hard.
Messy is easy. Neat is hard.
Cowardice is easy. Bravery is hard.
War is easy. Peace is hard.

Poor is easy. Rich is hard.
Sarcasm is easy. Sincerity is hard.
An F is easy. An A is hard.
Growing weeds is easy. Growing flowers is hard.
Reaction is easy. Action is hard.
Can’t do is easy. Can do is hard.
Feasting is easy. Fasting is hard.
Following is easy. Leading is hard.
Having friends is easy. Being a friend is hard.
Dying is easy. Living is hard.

If you ask why all this is so, why is life so hard, I’ll tell you, “It just is. Nothing in life that is good and worthwhile comes without effort.

We are born, all of us, with a nature that is drawn to the easy rather than the hard.
Knowing this about one self and others softens the heart and builds iron into the will, keeps us going when all around is crumbling, when friends forsake, when the heart breaks, and the courage and confidence shatter.

Knowing that such experiences are part of the deal gives us opportunities to choose to do hard things. Constant challenges make our journery exhilarating, wonderfully fulfilling, never, never boring. As the Arabs put it, “All sunshine makes a desert.”

And here’s a small secret that most sad and lonely people never learn: Deep down inside we are all asking the question. No matter who you are, life is hard, and we all ask why it should be so.

But there is comfort in knowing we’re not alone. So maybe your child – or the person sitting over there – needs to hear from you right this minute that sometimes you question too.

Easy is its own reward. Hard is much finer!

Sharing some notes that I have taken recently from some of my favorite leadership sources. Some of them, I hope you can use for yourself and your staff, others for your players, and most of them for both groups!

As with all of my posts, I am sure that you won’t agree with everything that is listed here and will probably find some that you either can use as is or that you can modify to meet your needs.

Kevin Eastman

Twitter: @KevinEastman

The mind & the attitude can have a major impact on how far one can go. The mind has to be “clutter free” and the attitude has to be “all in”!

Understand that trust has eyes & ears. It evaluates the consistency & authenticity of what it sees & hears. It takes its time to evaluate you!

Make sure the “give-get” percentages favor the “give”. Giving should be part of our make up. We all truly do have things to give & share!

As much as we like to tell people what we think it’s even more important to put thought to what we say. Hard to take words back!

Just as you work out physically, you must also get your repetitions in mentally. Challenge yourself with heavier mental reps as well. Stretch yourself!

Every so often a great exercise is to get away & just think about or remind yourself what you TRULY BELIEVE in; things that are non negotiable!!

Give yourself a chance to succeed. Success is about investment; adjustment; & commitment. Determine which, if any, you need to improve on!

To be a true teammate: must hold yourself accountable to everything you hold others accountable to. The one thing a true team is not: self centered!

Everyone says communication is so important-then why are we not as good at listening? It’s critical to success. We ALL need work on this SKILL!

To be a great teammate your pride will take a hit at times and your pride can never take precedent over the success of the team!

Being a good teammate is still doing your part when things are going bad for you. Being a good team is helping that player get out of it!

Consistency is a direct result of doing the right things the right way–now. Focus on the execution of now & discipline to do this every day!

A team will always have challenges and issues. That is where the strength of a team must show up: using everyone in anyway to get through them!

I also have a sample five minute video of Coach Eastman discussing his views on skill development. Click this link to see it.

John Carrier

These notes were reposted with permission by John Carrier on his basketball coaching blog. Here is a link to the blog: www.johncarrier.blogspot.com

I am currently reading Phil Jackson’s book, Eleven Rings. One gem I’ve pulled out in the first 100 pages is the “Bullseye Test” he uses with his players.

The Bullseye Test is simple, yet insightful. Give each player a three ring bullseye. Have them write where they feel that they are in terms of their connection to the rest of their teammates. Don’t give them anymore than that. You can read a little more from the inside of the book at Amazon by clicking the cover of the book at the left, or you can click on this link: Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success

You then look at their bullseyes and see how connected each person feels to our group. It also gives you a handle on how connected the team feels as a group. If they are very connected they are in the middle, if they feel kind of connected their name will be in the second ring, and if they don’t feel connected they write their name on the last ring or outside the rings. A lot of times it comes down to playing time – the more they play the closer to the middle they write their name. So you have to account for that a little bit when looking at them.

Once you’ve done the exercise, you can use them to have individual talks with your players. Ask lots of questions about why they feel that way, and if they are outside the middle how can we move them closer (without adjusting playing time of course). It will also help you determine if how to proceed with team bonding activities during the season. It’s something we will definitely use this season.

The following are some notes that he took at the Minnesota Basketball Coaches Association Clinic

John Tauer – St. Thomas University – Motivation

One of the many good things he touched on was what gives people intrinsic motivation. People are mostly motivated by three things:

1. Autonomy
   Choice in life.
   Give players choices in what drills you do (within reason).
   Even one or two choices per practice can be powerful. 
2. Togetherness
   Players need to belong to something bigger than themselves and have a more powerful purpose.
   Keep your finger on the pulse
   Team building
3. Competence
   Being good at things.
   How can you put your players in positions to find success?

TJ Rosene – Emmanuel College/PGC – Building a Culture

Greatest Teammate Exercise
-Have players close their eyes and imagine the greatest teammate they ever had.
-Call on players to share the characteristics of that teammate.
-Make a team list of the traits of great teammates.
-Turn it around on them – why can’t EVERYONE on this team be a
great teammate?
-Make the list into a “commitment list” that everyone is going to
commit to (coaches included) and everyone will be held accountable
to for the year.

Rocking Chair Statement
-As a coach, write a statement about what you want players to remember about you when you are old in a rocking chair on your front porch!

The Best At What They Know
-Everyone is the best at what they know.
-If you’ve got a problem player, they are likely exhibiting that behavior because that’s what they know.

Communication Must Haves
-Truth, Love, Transparency
-N.I.T.E
+Name, Information, Tone, Eye Contact
+Simple but effective

Open Mic Monday
-Do this as a team
-Players can stand up and say ANYTHING that is on their mind, especially things they are frustrated with.
-They can also ASK ANYTHING of teammates and coaches and will receive an honest answer.
-You must speak it in love and not anger.
*This is a GREAT WAY to make sure that issues stay in house and don’t ever boil over.

Lion vs. Sparrow
-Lion is content and confident. He doesn’t worry about anything he can’t control.
-The sparrow is always frantic.
-Lions play through bad calls, band bounces, etc without emotion.
-Sparrows constantly wine and complain
*Might change it to wolf and squirrel to fit Minnesota.