First Day of Practice
We get a team break, “Stallions, hu, hu, hu!” I tell them no one can leave until they shake my hand. Every, single, kid, shakes my hand, looks me in the eye, and says, “Thank you, sir.”
How catching a Pokemon can help you win more games.
Today, I caught a Pokémon. On a walk with one of my summer staff, I pulled out my phone and fired up the PokemonGo app. "What are you doing?" asked Will. "Connecting to my students," I answered." An hour later, after I had a 10-year-old explain to me what I just did, I used it as an example of Followership. I now had 15 uninterested 11-year-olds on the edge of their seats because their teacher understood a little about their world.
First Impression as a Coach
Running into a former student or athlete after 10 or so years is always exciting to me. More often than not, after the “bro-hug” or some version of it, they will offer their hand to their former coach, looking forward to that firm handshake they learned all those years ago.
What Are you Reading? My 2016 list
“You are the same today as you’ll be in five years except for two things: the books you read and the people you meet.” - Charlie Tremendous Jones I do not like to read. I find it difficult to quiet my mind long enough to give a page my complete attention. I read slow, and I sometimes have to read a paragraph a few times before I move on. Can you relate?
"The New Coach" - Sweep the Shed (5 of 5)
Your athletes are a reflection of what you teach and what you allow at practice. If you yell at the ref, they will yell at the ref. If you stomp your feet in disgust, they will emulate that behavior when something doesn't go their way. Speak to the ref with respect and with calmness in your voice. Be encouraging and be classy in victory and defeat. Be the coach you would want your child to have or the coach you would want as a child.
Learning Leadership at a Young Age
I learned how to be a leader by being put in a situation at an early age that required decision making and problem solving.
How to Build Confidence as an Athlete
Confidence does not happen without being intentional about your improvement. Use these strategies and other mental toughness tools to build up your confidence to perform at your best ability. Remember the commitment you made at the beginning of this article, "You are not competing with anyone else, ever again. Starting now your primary strategy is to make everyone else around you play at your level. You won’t make excuses; you’ll cause others to make them. You won’t play down to an opponent’s level, it’s up to them to play at yours. You won’t stop until the final whistle blows, you’ll go all out until the time runs out.” Now it’s your turn…GO!
The Difference Between Price and Cost
Working at a school with students from over 80 different countries brings forth interesting questions about language that often have nothing to do with leadership, the subject they are in my class to learn. A tennis player from Belgium was confused on the difference between the words price and cost. I pulled out a calculator.
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.