The Art of the Post Game Conversation
As your athlete gets older, the competition becomes better, and the stakes get higher. Losing means close to nothing to most 5th and 6th graders, but as you move into middle school and high school the losses sting a little more. Some teams/coaches/parents put much more pressure on their athletes to win.
Fear and Faith
Choose faith. Choose to prepare yourself and believe in your training. It has been said many times and I believe it to be true, “Champions do not rise to the level of competition, instead they drop to their level of training.”
The #1 Way to Influence Your Athletes
Give your athletes a reason to want to listen to you. Show them (instead of trying to only tell them) how a grown man or woman lives. Set the standard high, then live it. Only then will your words have the influence and conviction you hope they have on your audience.
Even if you don't think they are watching, they are always watching. Always.
Fishing for Influence
When I went fishing, I didn't think about what I wanted. Instead, I thought about what they wanted. I didn't bait the hook with brownies or gummy bears, rather, dangling at the end of the line was a fresh worm.
More than a Title to be Influential
Old wisdom I have found to be true reads, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” I knew Mr. Denton cared about us. I don't know how, but I just knew. If you want to be an effective teacher, coach, manager, or parent, you need more than a title to be influential. Whatever role you have in a person’s life, you can only impact a person as far as they let you.
John Wooden on Chasing Your Destiny
John Wooden, legendary former UCLA basketball coach, did a TEDtalk before he passed away about how to find success. Here is a summary of what he said…
A Role for Every Player
This is one way to create team culture. It doesn't happen on accident, but when a coach is intentional about creating a positive environment, great things happen.
It starts with you.
Losing Twice in one Game
You don't win once in a while, you don't do things right once in a while, you do them right all the time. Winning is habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.