2008-09 NATIONALS - FLASHBACK

'Liv & Hannah answer a post-game question...

IMPROVEMENT THROUGH MISTAKES

Took my daughter surfing earlier in the week and she did amazingly well for her first time ever being on a board. Yesterday's surf was unusually high and she talked me into going back again. Although I thought the waves were way too much for her to handle (as a rookie surfer) she was semi-successful because she understands the concept of "improvement only comes through mistakes."

If all she ever rides are the small safe "easy to ride" waves, then she probably won't improve her surfing skills. She understands that it is only through challenging herself to push beyond her comfort zone and into making mistakes that she can learn how to improve. Basketball is no different. As a player, you have to push yourself until you make mistakes... that is how you come to understand what caused the mistakes and how to adjust to improve and avoid the same mistakes in the future.

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AMAZING DOESN'T JUST HAPPEN

"Coaches can teach you but you have to take it to the gym; even the pros understand this & work after being taught."

- Paul Pierce

"The best shooters in the game have to be the best shot fake players as well; the shot fake has to become a valued weapon for the shooter."

- Kevin Eastman

The NBA has a marketing slogan that says "where amazing happens"; but I can tell you amazing doesn't JUST HAPPEN! Lots of preparation needed!

(thanks coach Starkey)

"Learning is not a matter of intelligence. It's a question of concentration."

- Chuck Knox:

WHAT IS TOUGHNESS?

Toughness has nothing to do with size, physical strength or athleticism. When a player dishes out a hard foul trying to prevent a lay up or gets a little too physical or rough against an opponent, it doesn’t show how tough that player is, instead it shows just how out of control they are.

Toughness is a mindset. It’s refusing to be beaten to a loose ball. It’s boxing your opponent out on every shot regardless of their size. It’s making your opponent prove they have game by beating your defense. It’s looking your opponent square in the eye and daring them to try and stop you. Toughness is playing to the absolute best of your ability and win or lose, know that you gave your all in the effort.

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YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE IT - THEN SPEAK IT

In the 2008 Super Bowl Michael Strahan stood on the sideline in the fourth quarter, addressing his New York Giants football team, "The final score of this game is 17-14. Believe that and it will happen." They were losing 14-10 at the time. He inspired the team enough that they believed him because 17-14 was the final score and his New York Giants won.

So we see here that three steps make up doing the impossible: (1) think it, (2) act it and finally, (3) speak it - because the words become reality. You can literally speak something into existence!

To speak it, a person needs to have courage and boldness and maybe even to be a little cocky. Your tongue is the pen that you are going to use to write to the tablet of your heart - and on the heart of others. When you speak it, the vision becomes established like dry ink.

- Kevin Elko

IF THE COACH TOLERATES MISTAKES...

"Athletes have to understand that you, the coach -- aren't' going to be satisfied with just winning. Play can be sloppy, things can be poorly executed in games and you win, but before you can be good and beat better teams, that kind of play has to be straightened out and eliminated. The athletes will be satisfied with what you tolerate. If a coach tolerates mistakes, the athletes will be satisfied with mistakes"

- Bobby Knight

CAMP - DAY 2

Had a fun weekend and got to interact with a great group of ballers.

HOOPS CAMP - DAY 1

Day 1 of the Ready For The Game Camp went off without a hitch. 32 athletes, some from as far away as Bainbridge, GA, Dothan, AL and Tallahassee. FL participated.

FINALLY... WHAT EVERY COACH ALREADY KNEW

Yesterday's Wall Street Journal finally called out the AAU for what it really is...

At Thursday’s NBA draft, some of America’s budding basketball superstars will learn where they will launch their careers. Four months later, when the season begins, many will learn something else: They don’t know how to play basketball.

One system that prepares young American players for the pros, the Amateur Athletic Union, is, by most accounts, broken. Without a rigid minor-league system like baseball’s or the extra seasoning football players get in college, America’s basketball gems increasingly get their training from teams affiliated with the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), a vast national youth-basketball circuit that has groomed many of the sport’s top stars.

For some time, coaches have grumbled that the AAU’s emphasis on building stars and playing games over practicing produces a lot of talented prospects who have great physical skills but limited knowledge of the fundamentals. Now some players are speaking out.

By the middle of the last NBA season, as concerns build about his dwindling playing time and rough transition to the NBA, last year’s No. 2 overall pick, Michael Beasley of the Miami Heat, finally conceded a fundamental flaw: No one, at any level in his basketball career, had asked him to play defense. And especially not in AAU. “If you’re playing defense in AAU, you don’t need to be playing,” he says. “I’ve honestly never seen anyone play defense in AAU.”

4:13

"Wherever fast players go, they always get there faster than slower players."

- Pete Carrill

TEAM HOYT

Although I placed this on the Blog a few years back, I watched it again tonight and it's message was every bit as powerful...

DOING THINGS THE RIGHT WAY

“You have to do everything the right way. Not once every three times. Not once every four times. Every time."

- Cy Alexander

Coach Tennessee State

Doing things the right way starts with…

Better boxing out on rebounds.

Playing defense with a greater sense of urgency on every possession.

Getting a good shot rather than settling for a quick shot.

4:13

"You cant control the outcome of games, but the one thing you can control is effort."

- Dave Dombrowski

WHY IS PRACTICING AT 100% SO IMPORTANT?

“What you do in practice is going to determine your level of success. I used to tell my players, 'You have to give 100 percent every day. Whatever you don't give, you can't make up for tomorrow. If you give only 75 percent today, you can't give 125 percent tomorrow to make up for it."

- John Wooden

Looks like Katie had a pretty good time in Tennessee this past week. After seeing that ring on her hand, I have a feeling she's gonna be begging yours truly to buy conference championship rings for the players at the end of this season... (lol) Just teasing you Katie! Good to have you back.

"Passion is a key ingredient to success. If you work hard without passion, you're wasting energy."

- Donald Trump

"How you perceive yourself has more to do in what you become than your skill or your talent"

- Augie Garrido

THE "BIG 4" FOR GREAT POST PLAY

1. GET OPEN IN YOUR SCORING AREA

It does no good to get open in an area where you are not effective. Know your range and your most effective shots and get open in an area where you can score.

2. SEAL - MAKE AND KEEP CONTACT

Effective sealing means that you are open in the post from some vantage point on the court. It also means that you are controlling your defender instead of her controlling you. Sealing also means that you always know where your defender is (through contact), and that is extremely important.

3. CATCH THE BASKETBALL

This sounds very simple, but there are a lot of post players on all levels of play that have everything necessary to be an effective post player but they simply can’t catch the ball. There are a lot of drills to work on hands. Don’t accept bad hands. All players can improve their hands and their ability to catch the basketball.

4. KEEP IT SIMPLE

Too many players take an easy shot and turn it into a difficult shot. Some players don’t understand the concept of getting a simple shot and don’t work accordingly. The best move is to not to have to use a move...to work so effectively that all you have to do is catch and score.

(Thanks coach Starkey)

Phil Jackson on Kobe: "He’s learned how to become a leader [so that] people want to follow him; that he had to give to get back in return."

NO AGE REQUIREMENT TO BE A LEADER

With the NBA draft quickly upon us, there is a lot of talk about a young 18 year old point guard from Spain possibly being one of the top five picks.

Ricky Rubio has played professionally the last four years (that’s right, since the age of 14) establishing himself as a mature-beyond-his-years player who was a dynamic distributor and one-man YouTube phenom. After seeing him play in person last month, the Sacramento Kings are focused more on Rubio's leadership ability than on his pizzazz.

"I'm only 18 years old, but I'm on the court like big big man," Rubio said of his leadership skills. "If your teammates don't respect you, you can't be a point guard, so that's very important. When you are a leader, the point guard who leads your team, your team gets better."

(Thanks Emuss)

"I look for people who are tough, smart, and honest; people who love to win. After that, I want people who hate to lose."

- Ross Perot

THE IMPORTANCE OF ATTITUDE

"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people thing or say or do. It is more important than appearance or skill. It will make or break a team, a company or a home. The remarkable thing is that we have a choice every day about the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past. We cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. The only thing we can do is play on the one string that we have and that is our attitude."

- Chuck Swindoll

Determination gives you the resolve to keep going in spite of the roadblocks that lay before you.

There is little difference in people, but that little difference makes the big difference. That little difference is attitude. The big difference is whether it is positive or negative. Rather than looking at her recent injury/surgery (5 screws and a titanium plate in her hand) as an off-season roadblock to improving her game, Haley recognized that it is instead, a great opportunity to totally focus on improving her left-hand skills (including shooting).

Success is almost totally dependent upon attitude, drive and persistence. The extra energy required to make another effort or try another approach is the secret of being successful.

4:13

WANT TO PLAY LIKE A GREAT POINT GUARD?

Step 1: Know what you can and cannot do.

Too many players try to make plays that are beyond their ability. John Stockton always knew what he could and could not do. He made the safe passes. He threw crisp chest passes, bounce passes and wrap around passes. He was not concerned about making high light reels; all he wanted to do was get his teammates in position to make an easy open shot. If you want to play like John Stockton, be unselfish and make safe passes.

Step 2: Play for your teammates.

John Stockton could have averaged well over twenty points a game whenever he wanted. He was one of only a handful of point guards who consistently shot over fifty percent from the floor. However, he never averaged more than 17.2 points per game. He was dedicated to getting his teammates good shots. Everyone wanted to play with him as their point guard and if you can play like John Stockton, everyone will want to play with you.

Step 3: Be tenacious.

One of the toughest players to get around when he set a pick was John Stockton. He was always setting screens on bigger players and drawing fouls because they would become agitated and finally just push him down. He was also tenacious on defense and worked very hard to get the ball back.

Step 4: Master the pick and roll.

The play that John Stockton was known for was running the pick and roll with Karl Malone. Every pick and roll that is run correctly puts the defense at a disadvantage. Once you know how to capitalize on that disadvantage you can play like John Stockton. You can dominate a defense and get your teammates easy shots.

Step 5: Shoot accurately.

Stockton was a tremendous shooter. It was a great weapon that prevented defenses from sagging off of him. If you gave him even a little room, he could hit any shot from the three point line and in. In order to play like Stockton you need to have a better than average jump shot.

(Thanks to coach Starkey)

"I understand why this organization wins. They work extremely hard. Hard. I mean hard! My first couple of days here, I would call my agent and be like, 'Man, what'd you get me into?' It's unbelievable. After that first day, I understood why they're Super Bowl champions. I understand. It's only going to make me better."

- Corey Dillon

Three-time Pro Bowl running back

New England Patriots

“Running is the source of my stamina. Early in my career I learned to run until I’m tired, then run more after that. The running I do before the fatigue and pain is just the introduction. The real conditioning begins when the pain comes in; then it’s time to start pushing. And after that I count every mile as extra strength and stamina. The reserve tank. What counts in the ring is what you can do after you’re tired.”

- Muhammad Ali

"Highlight reels don't win championships. They don't. The boring plays win championships."

- Tony Romo

IT'S YOUR CHOICE

Each of us has two distinct choices to make about what we will do with our lives.

The first choice we can make is to be less than we have the capacity to be. To earn less. To have less. To read less and think less. To try less and discipline ourselves less. These are the choices that lead to an empty life. These are the choices that, once made, lead to a life of constant apprehension instead of a life of wondrous anticipation.

And the second choice? To do it all! To become all that we can possibly be. To read every book that we possibly can. To earn as much as we possibly can. To give and share as much as we possibly can. To strive and produce and accomplish as much as we possibly can. All of us have the choice.

To do or not to do. To be or not to be. To be all or to be less or to be nothing at all.

Results are the best measurement of progress. Not conversation. Not explanation. Not justification. Results! And if our results are less than our potential suggests that they should be, then we must strive to become more today than we were the day before.

4:13

REACH FOR GREATNESS

If you find yourself on a path with no obstacles or few difficulties, it’s usually the path that doesn’t lead anywhere worth going. Challenge yourself to reach beyond mediocrity… reach for greatness.

4:13

FIGHT ONE MORE ROUND

"When your feet are so tired that you have to shuffle back to the center of the ring, fight one more round. When your arms are so tired that you can hardly lift your hands to come on guard, fight one more round. When your nose is bleeding and your eyes are black and you are so tired that you wish your opponent would crack you one on the jaw and put you to sleep, fight one more round – remembering that the person who always fights one more round is never whipped."

- James J. Corbett (1866-1933)

Former world heavyweight boxing champion

COMMITTMENT TO THE TEAM FIRST

"Players who are committed to the team first will find a way to help when things are going bad, they will do whatever it takes. Kids that are more into themselves will not do that. They will take care of themselves and get more individual when things are tough."

- Dick Bennett

HIGHER ARC = BIGGER TARGET

Your target area (inside the rim) increases with a higher shot angle. The higher the arc, the larger the target.

In theory it makes sense to shoot with a slightly exaggerated high arc (70 degrees), thereby increasing the size of your target. You rarely see good shooters shooting low angle shots (30 degrees).

INVEST YOURSELF IN THE PROCESS

There comes a time in every athletes career where they have to make a decision. If they truly want to improve… they have to decide whether they are willing to pay the price for that improvement. And I know that’s a phrase that gets thrown around a lot in sports, “paying the price” but it’s true none-the-less. You will never get better if you are only 50% committed to getting better. Talking about it will never make you better.

Once an athlete accepts the fact that they actually CAN improve their game through some work & effort, and once the athlete decides to embrace that process… the sky is the limit to what they can accomplish.

There’s no other way around it. There is no magic pill to make you better. There is no DVD that will make you better. There is no coach that can make you better. Only YOU can make you better through the decision to sacrifice some fun time (TV, computer, etc.) to invest meaningful time into improving your game. Like a savings account, it won’t grow without putting something into it. Your game won’t progress very much without investing some meaningful time into it. And I don’t mean by just spending time at the gym shooting around. That doesn’t help your game. You have to practice with a sense of purpose. You have to be honest with yourself and identify the weak areas of your game that need improvement and specifically target those areas with the goal of improving them.

Remember, being average means you are just as close to the bottom as you are to the top. Separate yourself from average.

4:13

NEW PROTOYPE HOOPS KICKS FROM UA

UnderArmor is slowly creeping into the hoops market. Here is a sneak peek at their latest prototype hoops shoe.

INTERESTING DELEMMA

Orlando Magic forward/center Marcin Gortat is in the middle of a dilemma. Gortat, who gets paid by Reebok to wear their shoes is obviously a Michael Jordan fan, but guess who wants him to cover up his Jordan Jumpman tattoo.

Gortat was asked, by Reebok representatives, to cover the tattoo up or wear long socks. The tattoo, located on Gortat’s right leg, is a red Jumpman logo overlapped by the silhouette of a basketball. I know why Reebok wants him to cover it, but does Reebok actually hurt their image worse by the publicity of asking him to cover the Jordan tattoo? Would anyone have even noticed had they not made a big deal about it?

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WINNING TEAMS HAVE 4 THINGS IN COMMON

A few years ago in Seattle, Washington, nine finalists were poised at the starting line of a 400 meter race, each planning to do his best and hoping to win the medal for first place.

As the gun went off, the racers sprinted toward the finish line. But one of the runners fell down. He quickly got up and gave his all to catch up with the others. But once again, he fell. His frustration totally overcame him, and he burst into tears and began to sob loudly. Then a strange thing happened.

The rest of the field heard his cries, and they turned to see that he was lying on the track. The runners began to slow down, and then one by one, they stopped, turned around, and went back to him. They picked him up, consoled him, and then together, all nine of them finished the race.

In a race made for individual glory, the racers had made themselves into a team. Where in the world could something like this happen? At the Special Olympics. Perhaps that is why they are called ‘special!’”

We can look at hundreds of winning teams in the past 50 years, and we will find that their players have four things in common:

#1 They play to win: The difference between playing to win and playing not to lose is often the difference between success and mediocrity.

#2 They have a winning attitude: Team members believe in themselves, their teammates, and their dream. And they don’t allow negative thinking to derail them.

#3 They keep improving: The highest reward for their efforts isn’t what they get from it, but who they become because of it. Team members know intuitively that if they’re through improving, they’re through.

#4 They make their teammates more successful: Winners are empowers. Few people are successful unless a lot of other people want them to be.

- John Maxwell

WHERE OPPORTUNITY HAPPENS

"You'd have to go back to Kobe's early years in the older-style Lakers uniforms, when he was throwing up air-balls against Utah in 1997 or missing potential icing free throws against San Antonio in 1999 to conjure up images of Bryant failing so badly in playoff crunch time. Since then he's accumulated tons of highlight reel plays that you see in the black-and-white ‘Where Amazing Happens’ commercials complete with the piano music." - Chris Sheridan, ESPN

Even the best player in the game had trouble focusing at the line when the game was on the line. Kobe who is normally rock-solid in pressure situations (85% FT), was a pitiful 5 of 10 from the line last night in the Laker’s 108-104 loss to Orlando.

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PANIC vs CHOKING

Panic, is the opposite of choking. Choking is about thinking too much and allowing it to affect your game. Panic is about thinking too little. Choking is about loss of instinct. Panic is reversion to instinct. They may look the same, but they are worlds apart.

Why does this distinction matter? In some instances, it doesn't much. But there are clearly times when you are in a situation where failure happens and understanding "why" is central to correcting it.

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LECRAE SHOW CANCELED.

Well it's officially "official" ...the June 26th show in PC has been canceled.

"As an athlete sometimes the best thing that you can do is not think. It's muscle memory, let that take over."

- Laker’s Lamar Odom on hitting late-game FT’s

SINGLENESS OF PURPOSE

Dr. Charles Garfield, a psychologist who studied peak performers and highly successful people found that one major difference between them and others less successful was that they concentrated on one main goal while others dissipated their efforts going after many goals.

"You can have anything you want - if you want it badly enough. You can be anything you want to be, do anything you set out to accomplish if you hold to that desire with singleness of purpose."

- Abraham Lincoln

"Leadership is a matter of having people look at you and gain confidence, seeing you react. If you're in control, they're in control."

-Tom Landry