New Partnership - JM Athletic!

I am very excited to announce a new partnership with JM Athletic! In addition to the great folks at Baden, JM Athletic has become the new Official Uniform Supplier of Matt Grahn's Basketball Coaching Workshop.

JM Athletic was established by my good friend, and fellow Eastern Washington University alum, Justin Miller. Justin is extremely passionate about not only the game of basketball, but basketball uniforms. All of the JM Athletic uniforms are completely custom built just for your team. They will do a free mock-up of your design and present it to you for your approval. All lettering and logo work is done tackle twill and embroidered for a strong, durable, and crisp look that will last. Uniforms can be customized in any way you wish your team to look.

If you are in the market for game uniforms, shooting shirts, warm ups, tear away pants, and anything in between, JM Athletic is the way to go!

If you are interested in more information on JM Athletic basketball uniforms, you don't have to look any farther. You can actually work through me! Please feel free to contact me at matt_grahn@yahoo.com. I would be more than happy to assist you in your uniform needs.

Passing and Conditioning - Argentine National Team Passing Drill

All players are partnered with another player across from them. So in this case the numbers are partnered with the X-numbers. The two balls in the drill must travel in the same direction. Once the ball is passed, the players must sprint to change places with their partner.

This drill can also be done in a full court situation:

Once your players know this drill, they will sprint to the half court positions! You can assign where your guys go and change it up every time.

A Leader's "To-Do" List - John C. Maxwell

From Success Magazine:

John C. Maxwell's 8 Things on Every Leader's To-Do List

1. Find your own personal strength zone.

A successful leader is a person who knows what they do well and does it, but they also know what their people know well and help them practice it.

2. Help others find their strength zone.
What is their special ability? You can't make others good at something you are bad at. You can only increase a person's giftedness by helping them answer important questions of themselves. What is their temperament? What is their passion? What choices are they making in their life? Help them with these things and there's no limit to how much someone can improve in these areas.

3. Help them define success.
Success is hugely subjective. Knowing your purpose in life, growing to your maximum potential or sowing seeds that benefit others are all great definitions of success.

4. Help them understand how to be successful.
The secret of our success is determined by our daily agenda. Decision-making is important and the management of the decision-making is even more important. Do the right thing today to be in a good place for tomorrow.

5. Teach and practice the four pillars of success.
• Relationships
• Attitude/Tenacity
• Leadership/Influencing people
• Equipping and developing other people

6. Teach your team the 20/80 principle, or the Pareto principle.
Within this, prioritize life. What is required of me? What gives the greatest return? What give me the greatest reward? When these three line up, then life becomes wonderful.

7. Provide resources for them.
There are only three times when people change. When they've heard enough that they have to change; they learn enough that they want to change; or receive enough that they are able to change. Put those resources of change in their hand.

8. Require them to reproduce themselves.
They have to teach someone else what they learn. Don't spend valuable time with people who want to consume but not share. Share the knowledge. Share the wealth.

Andrea Waltz - Dealing with Rejection

Andrea Waltz is the co-author of the book, Go For No! She recommends the following tactics for dealing with set backs:

Reframe your perception - It is an undeniable truth in life. You are going to run into failure at one point or another. We are all going to hear someone tell us "no" in our pursuits. This is simply part of the route towards achieving our goals. At the point where you are hearing "no" and all things point toward failure, Waltz says that "success is almost always straight ahead."

Clarify your mission - Do you believe in what you have to offer? Most people will answer with an enthusiastic "yes!" Waltz says, "Understand that you are on a mission of service to others. People are out there waiting for what you have; it is your job to find them!"

Take action - Many times, it can seem overwhelming to bounce back. Break it down into smaller pieces and get after it! By concentrating on smaller bite-size chunks, we will be able to see successes and boost confidence. As the confidence builds, start adding bigger chunks.

Reinforce your activity - Waltz says, "Instead of celebrating results, reward action." This coincides with the basic premise of The Positive Coaching Alliance's Double Goal Coach. The only person you can control is yourself; not anyone else. By doing this, you will essentially retrain yourself on your feelings toward rejection or set backs.

Keep going - Waltz offers great advice here, "The truth is most people give up too soon. Most things take longer than we want or expect. Be patient. Stay the path." Kevin Eastman gave me the best advice in regards to this by telling me that the fact that I had the experience can only help in the future.