PERSONAL ACCOUNTABILITY

Successful teams all have one common characteristic. Every one of these teams has a person or people who hold themselves personally accountable.

These are the special people who only need a coach to teach them what and how to do something; then they take that and run with it. They understand that a major part of their job is to be self sufficient and personally accountable for their improvement and productivity, as well as making sure their actions impact their teammates in a positive, not negative way.

These players:

1. Don't blame others first; instead, they look first for what they contributed (or did not contribute) to the situation.

2. Don't complain; instead, they look for ways to correct things that aren't working, they don't procrastinate; instead, get things done now.

3. Always give more than they ask of others.

4. Always look to take on as much as they can handle, rather than look to pass things on to others all the time.

5. Are constantly trying to improve their game so they can bring more to the team and consistently fulfill their role.

6. Are self starters and study the game (and themselves) enough to know what needs to be done; then go about doing it.

7. Do the unrequired work, knowing that it simply needs to get done -- extra shots, extra ball handling, extra studying, etc. - without constantly needing a coach to tell them to do it.

8. Hold others accountable for their jobs and roles because they know the importance of accountability as it relates to winning; this creates a collective responsibility.

9. Always be among of the most trusted players on the team, by coaches and players alike.

(thanks coach Starkey)