DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO PROVE?

Read an article on a blog this morning about 9-Time World Champion Pro Surfer Kelly Slater and how growing up with an alcoholic father created a lot of anger within, which he in-turn used as motivation.

At this ultra-competitive level (9-time world champ), motivation becomes a key factor in success.   Very few athletes are able to reach the apex of their sport *9* times.  Lance Armstrong did it 7 times consecutively (winning the Tour de France).  Arnold Schwarzenegger won 7 Mr. Olympia titles (6 of them consecutively).  What exactly motivates or drives an athlete to this kind of success?   It may surprise you to learn that it doesn't stem from wanting to win... but instead from having something to prove to someone.

In Arnold’s case, it was anger at his father’s unfounded belief that Arnold wasn’t his true son and the blatant favoritism his father showed toward Arnold’s two older brothers. Arnold had something to prove.

In Lance Armstrong’s case, it was his six year rivalry with German cyclist Jan Ullrich who openly challenged Armstrong’s ability to win [following his first Tour win] without any true competition [Ullrich did not race during Armstrong’s first win due to an injury]. Lance had something to prove.

Are you playing just to win… or do you have something to prove?  I guess there’s something to the old saying “kites rise highest against the wind.”

(Thanks Ye Old Rag Blog)

SOMETIMES IT REALLY IS "ALL ABOUT ME"

It's not uncommon during a game to encounter all sorts of negative incidents and circumstances.  They happen all the time and all around us.  


But rather than allowing those events to have a negative influence on you, why not focus your attention on what YOU can do to make something positive happen.

(Thanks Dick DeVenzio, Think Like A Champion)

STATS THAT DON'T SHOW UP ON THE STAT SHEET

San Antonio rookie Tiago Splitter is helping out in ways that do not always show up on the stat sheet.

Splitter finished Sunday’s game with five points, three rebounds and a turnover. But this hardly explains WHAT Splitter did on the court. First, his point total should have been higher. Splitter missed three free throws, one layup and had a post score removed from the ledger after a successful fade away bank shot.

Here’s the rest of the line on Splitter from my unofficial scorecard: eighteen set screens, two forced turnovers, two drawn fouls, one backtap for an offensive rebound and score, and, although he didn’t draw any offensive fouls, he was whistled for a block against David West that could have just as easily been called a charge. The ref saw it differently, but it was a smart defensive play.

Popovich was about to sub Splitter out of the game prior to this play, and after Splitter attempted to take the charge, Pop called Tim Duncan back from the scorer’s table, letting Splitter play until the next timeout.

Splitter gave tremendous effort and, despite having a poor +/- rating for the game, made several key plays to help his teammates get ahead [and win].


(Thanks 48 Minutes of Hell)

MENTAL TOUGHNESS MAKES THE DIFFERENCE

There will always be times throughout a game when you struggle with your shot or you just can't seem to do anything right.  This is when mental toughness is needed.  One of the most difficult things to develop in a player, or a team for that matter, is mental toughness.   I came across two great examples this morning of teams that showed mental toughness when it counted.

7 Over Times to get the win
Skidmore beat Southern Vermont on Tuesday night in the longest game in NCAA Division III men's basketball history -- a seven-overtime marathon, with the Thoroughbreds prevailing 128-123. The game was tied at 59 after regulation, and they were just getting started....(link)

Spurs win their 12th in row after trailing by 21 points
Manu Ginobili scored 14 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter to rally the Spurs from 21 points down for their 12th straight victory, 113-109 in overtime on Wednesday night.

Richard Jefferson added 19 points and Tony Parker had 18 points and six assists for the Spurs, who didn't lead until there were 49 seconds to play in overtime, but still improved to an NBA-best 13-1.

"I thought there was no chance we were going to win it," Ginobili said. "We were down 20, nothing was falling, we're not playing with the kind of aggressiveness and energy that you need to overcome a deficit like that. I thought it was going to be a loss. Then slowly, very slowly, we started to recover."

After a horrid shooting start to the game, the Spurs hit 6-of-10 3s in the fourth. Gary Neal was fouled on a 3-pointer with 16 seconds left in regulation and hit all three free throws to tie it at 106. The Spurs missed 17 of their first 19 3-pointers, but Matt Bonner's 3 from the elbow gave them their first lead of the game with 49 seconds to go in overtime.

“Guys just didn't have the poise and confidence to be able to make the right decisions at the right times in crucial junctures of the ballgame." Said Wolves coach Kurt Rambis.

(Thanks SI.com)

GREAT TEAMS DRINK THE WATER

A trustworthy coach can teach you all his knowledge, share all his insights and give you all his methods... but it will never matter unless you buy into that philosophy and live it everyday.

For your team to maximize it's talent and reach its potential all players must drink the water the coach is leading you to.  You can show people the way to do something, but you cannot force them to act after that...they must want to embrace and believe in it themselves.  Great teams drink the water.

(Thanks iAthletes)

IT'S A MARATHON - NOT A SPRINT

We hear the phrase "seeing The Big Picture" quite often in sports and although we naturally assume athletes understand it's meaning, that's not always the case.

I attended a game last night where the losing team was 4-0 going up against a school 30 times it's size (enrollment). Following the 3-point loss, I spoke with a player that was taking the loss much harder than expected. It's important for athletes to understand that the season is four months long, physically tiring and mentally draining.   The sooner they realize that losing in November is not the end of the world but an opportunity to correct mistakes and learn, the better prepared they will be in March.

4:13

PLAYING SMARTER - NOT HARDER

"In the game of basketball it is not about who runs faster or jumps higher, but about who makes better decisions and fewer mistakes."
- Hubie Brown

CULTURE OF EXPECTATION

“I say this all the time -- winning is a culture and it’s a habit.  It’s not only winning on the field, it’s the way you walk, you talk, you eat, you breathe, you believe.  And everybody in the organization -- not just the players and the coaches -- but everybody who affects those kids has to have that mentality."
- Jimbo Fisher, Coach at Florida State

DON'T BE BLINDED BY THE BASKET - SEE THE D

One of the many things I consistently preach to athletes is to always race the ball down the court and look for an "easy" basket....but if an easy basket is not there, don't force the ball inside, but instead set up the offense and run your plays.

I attended a boys varsity game on Friday (that went to OT) and watched a talented athlete succeed in racing the ball down the court trying to beat the defense... but for some reason, he was not able to recognize that the defense was often in position to contest penetration.  The athlete in question repeatedly forced the ball inside over and over again without ever making a pass, which resulted in numerous missed shots that were off-balance and rushed (which in-turn became defensive rebounds).  He also ended the game with six TO's, mostly from ball handling mistakes in traffic.

An athlete must be able to recognize the difference between an "easy" shot and a shot that will likely be contested...and that comes from reading the defense.  Athletes must also understand that a defense typically begins to breakdown after 3 or 4 passes.  Although the goal on offense is to score... it's sometimes necessary to force the defense into playing help and recover until it shows it's weak spots before actually attacking the basket.

Don't get so focused on attacking the basket that you blindly ignore the defense.

4:13

EVOLUTION vs COMPETITION

Here is this thing that makes life so interesting. The theory of evolution claims that only the strong survive... maybe so. But the theory of competition says just because they are bigger or stronger doesn’t mean they can’t get their butts kicked.

That’s right! See, what every long-shot, come from behind underdog will tell you is this... the other guy may in fact be the favorite, and the mathmatical odds may be stacked against you all the way...  But what the odds don’t know is that this ISN'T a math test.

4:13

FRIDAY QUOTES

Those who ask a question may feel like a fool for 5 minutes; but those who never ask the question are content to remain a fool forever...

"We focus on what we want to say, but we should first focus on why would they want to listen."
- Mark Fritz

"A great team isnt built by just having top talent. It matters how these top talents combine with each other."
- Coach DeForest

"Coming into practice mentally "clutter free" is the responsibility of both the coach & the player for that period of time it must be about the team, not self!"
- Kevin Eastman

"A problem is a chance for you to do your best."
- Duke Ellington

"This is DeMatha. We don't lower the bar for anyone. If you want to play here, YOU have to raise to OUR level."
- Coach Jones

"You can't let other people tell you who you are. You have to decide that for yourself."
- David Rhoads

"The first rule of teamwork is to learn the rules. The second is to play by them."
- Harvey Mackay

CULTIVATE THE "WE"

"Each of us must be committed to maintaining the reputation of all of us.”
- Jim Rohn

If you look at the best teams… the teams that consistently win year in and year out, the one constant each of those teams preach and maintain is the “WE” mentality.

4:13

SHAKING MY HEAD IN DISBELIEF

I received a disturbing email last night from a parent of a player at a nearby school that left me shaking my head in disbelief.  I wanted to share an excerpt from the email:

"...I don't think (player name omitted) needs to play AAU.  Seriously.  She stinks.  Really.  You should have seen her play tonight.  She missed like 39 shots and only made one.  She got fouled once, and major air-balled one shot (really embarrassing) and made the other shot.  I am so tired of staying with her to rebound her shots (she misses so many so it wears me out) in the gym an hour later than everyone else and for hours on the weekends - while she practices her shot - all for nothing.  She has not proven anything all season - except that she stinks.  I told her tonight after the game that I am done - no more money on ball camps, no more extra practice at the gym.  Done.  This is her last year - she can finish out for Coach (coach name omitted), but no more.  She went to 5 ball camps this summer and played AAU - she should be way better than she is - for all the time and money we have put into it.  She is just a girl who plays basketball..."

Are you ready for this... the player she's talking about, her daughter, is just a 7th grader!

I tried to put her mind at ease by reassuring her that players mature at different times in their careers and the best thing she could do for her daughter is to make sure her daughter is having fun.  There won't be a lot of growth if she isn't enjoying the game.

Often parents have a warped perception of their child's athletic abilities. I can't count the number of times I've heard comments like "why isn't my daughter starting? she's much better than..." or "...why do you always pull my daughter out before she's had a chance to find her rhythm?..."  Most parents think their kid is the best player on the team and that's something that I think most coaches have had to deal with.  But when a parent places unrealistic expectations on their kids, they are sucking the fun right out of the game.

4:13

NUGGETS

"Good coaches demand the most from their players...they teach their players to think quicker & demand the most from themselves."
- Bob Knight


"What to do with a mistake... recognize it, admit it, learn from it, forget it."
- Dean Smith


"Culture is 7 days a week, 24 hours a day."
- Kevin Eastman


"There’s only one chance to win a championship. That’s this year. Never a guarantee you’ll get a second chance."
- Chris Oliver


"If a player is making mistakes you can replace a player. If an entire team is messing up you better look in the mirror."
- Mack Brown


"Be thankful for adversity. It sorts the winners from the quitters."
- Brice Durbin

SOMETHING NEW

Filled-in for a coach at a practice yesterday (at another school) and had an absolute blast!  I loved watching the enthusiasm and focus of the athletes when they learned something new.  I think it also benefits the athletes to hear/learn from someone different... call it a mini-clinic if you will.

Coaches, we can sometimes forget that we use a great deal of practice time to prepare our teams with a lot of X's & O's and the same mundane drills, while we unintentionally put their learning on the back burner.  Show them "something new" and you give them a reason to want to practice something new.

4:13

KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE PRIZE

Bill Belicheck met with his team shortly before the playoffs last season. He showed them a video of the Breeders' Cup (horse race) and paused the tape halfway through the race with the outcome still up in the air.

He asked the team "Who will win?
The horse with the most experienced jockey?
The horse who has won the most money?
The horse with the best odds prior to the race?"

The team was puzzled, "No, it's the horse that runs the best race from here on out."

You can't focus on prior accomplishments/failures, you must only focus on the present and doing your best the next play
.
(Thanks Coach DeForest at Basketball Coaches Club)

PASSING IS A RELATIONSHIP

According to renowned Italian and EuroLeague coach, Renato Pasquali, passing is a relationship formed with others. When you do not pass to an open teammate, you are sending them a message: "I did not trust you with our team's advantage."
Here's a look at the different types of passes and what message they send:

NO PASS = No relationship. I don't trust you to do the right thing with the ball.
FORCED PASS = A forced relationship. It is never completed or never whole.
DIRTY PASS = A pass made after holding onto the ball for a long time. It's an afterthought that says, "I've exhausted all other options and my time with the ball. Here... take what's left."
CLEAN PASS = A pass made on time and on target. This pass builds a relationship of trust. It says: "I'm thinking about you and what's needed for the team (in this moment).

It's important to develop an understanding in players that when you do make a pass to a teammate, a sense of trust develops.

(Thanks Sefu Bernard, the LLaBB)

HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR GAME IMMEDIATELY!!!

Take Higher Percentage Shots
All basketball coaches love having a good shooter on their team.  The way to instantly improve your shooting percentage is to eliminate any shots that are difficult to make.  If that seems simple, it is.  It’s amazing how an athlete can appear to be a good (or better) shooter when they stop taking shots that they don’t make very often.

I’ll give you three keys that you should use to evaluate each shot: Was your shot on balance?  Within range?  And, in rhythm?  If the answer is ‘no’ to any of these questions, it was an shot attempt that will not only make you a less efficient shooter, but also, in the eyes of your coach and teammates, make them lose confidence in you.  Earn your coach’s trust through your shot selection.

It’s been said that “it doesn’t matter how beautiful a swing a baseball player has; if they always swing at bad pitches, their batting average will be embarrassingly low.”  The same applies in basketball.  It doesn’t matter how sweet your stroke looks if you constantly shoot poor shots.  Eliminating poor shots a game can increase your shooting percentage significantly.  Good coaches love that.

(Thanks Tyler Coston, PGC)

BUILDING A QUALITY PROGRAM

From Manu Ginobili to Tony Parker to DeJuan Blair and numerous others, the San Antonio Spurs have made a habit of turning overlooked players into major contributors... and there's a good reason why.

There’s a hallway in the AT&T Center outside of the team’s locker room, training room and the coaches’ offices. It’s where all the reporters hang out to interview Coach Pop before the game, and all the players come in from the parking garage.

In this hallway, one wall is lined with framed pictures. A few are team pictures from over the years, but most are action shots of each of the players. Jacob Riis’ famous quote about pounding the rock hangs near here, transcribed into different languages so that everyone — not just the native English speakers — can burn it onto their brains.

About a week or two ago, the pictures were changed out for newer ones. Interestingly enough, Alonzo Gee is in one of the photos. It’s an image of Gee going up for a dunk against Caja Laboral in the preseason. There is also one of Garrett Temple.

Gee could be traded or sent down to Austin today and no one would be surprised. The same could be said for Temple. And yet, the Spurs make it a priority to do the little things to make sure that every player feels a part of the team. I doubt there would’ve been anyone complaining of the pictures of Gee and Temple were just a couple more photos of members of the big three, but they aren’t.

(Thanks Associated Press &  48 Minutes of Hell)

LOOK FOR THE "EASY" POINTS

Most offensive players are only 75% committed when going to the basket.  That's because most of them try and avoid contact.  They start to dribble into the paint and uh oh... here comes a defender!!!  At this point, most offensive players end up adjusting their shot to shoot over or around a defender (which usually results in a miss).

If a player would decide to attack the rim and commit 100% to getting there, they would spend a lot more time at the FT line getting easy points.

4:13

FEELING TIRED?

As an athlete, eating a balanced diet is an absolute MUST to maintain the level of energy needed to perform at your best. If you usually find yourself too pooped to pop, you could have a slight magnesium deficiency.

"This mineral is needed for more than 300 biochemical reactions in the body, including breaking down glucose into energy," says Samantha Heller, MS, RD. "So when levels are even a little low, energy can drop."

In a study done at the Department of Agriculture's Human Nutrition Research Center in Grand Forks, N.D., "women with magnesium deficiencies had higher heart rates and required more oxygen to do physical tasks than they did after their magnesium levels were restored. In essence, their bodies were working harder which, over time, can leave you feeling depleted."

The recommended daily intake of magnesium is around 300 milligrams for women and 350 milligrams for men. To make sure you're getting enough, Heller suggests:

Add a handful of almonds, hazelnuts or cashews to your daily diet. Increase your intake of whole grains, particularly bran cereal. Eat more fish, especially halibut.

(Thanks Colette Bouchez)

WHEN COACHES GET CAUGHT UP IN THE MOMENT

As coaches, we can sometimes let our emotions get the best of us.  I watched my daughters middle school game last night and couldn't help but notice a great teaching moment for us coaches in what I witnessed.

With a 16 point lead and 58 seconds left in the game, the winning coach yelled out across the floor to her best defender (by name) "don't do anything stupid!"  She yelled this not once, but twice in a span of 10 seconds.

What I witnessed after that comment was the body language of her player... the girl that had worked her butt off for the entire game by covering the opposing teams best player which was also much bigger than she was, completely droop as if defeated.  Everything she accomplished in that game was immediately forgotten the moment her coach yelled out across the gym for all to hear, that she was likely to do something stupid.

After the game (and win), the girl was still visibly disappointed by the stinging words of her coach.  Although I don't think the coach intended it to come across the way it did, the damage had been done.  There is a big difference between yelling out "no fouls" and yelling out something that can (and was) be taken personally.

Coaches we need to be careful not only in what we say... but the manner and tone in which we say it.  Don't get so emotionally caught up in the game that you forget who is standing beside you in the battle.

4:13

I THANK MY COMPETITORS

Pat Summit carries the following with her at all times:  My competitors do more for me than my friends.

My friends are too polite to point out my weaknesses, but my competitors go to great expense to tell of them.

My competitors are efficient and diligent. They make me search for ways to improve my products and services.

I Thank My Competitors... My competitors would take my business away from me if they could.  This keeps me alert to hold what I have.

If I had no competitors, I would be lazy, incompetent and complacent. I need the discipline they enforce upon me. I thank my competitors. They have been good to me.

God Bless Them All.
--Author Unknown

(Thanks Sefu Bernard)