You Are A Player When...

You are a player when:

1. You don't care if you are the one who sets the screen or the one who hits the winning three, because fulfilling your role, whatever that role is, is most important.

2. You have a desire to excel for the benefit of the TEAM.

3. You have an unquenchable need to exceed past your limitations.

4. You play and know, without a shadow of doubt, that you competed like a champion.

5. You understand your commitment to your teammates.

6. You understand that basketball is a TEAM sport.

7. You finish playing and only your body leaves the floor; your heart and soul are captured within the game.

8. You will exchange your blood, sweat, and tears for the benefit of the TEAM.

9. You understand the irrelevance of individual awards.

10. You would rather encourage a teammate to success than benefit personally from his mistakes.

11. Your respect for the game and those involved in the game outweighs your personal pride.

12. You make mistakes and use them to learn from and improve rather than use them as excuses.

13. Your ability to make your teammates better increases each time you take to the floor.

14. You do the little things right even when nobody is watching.

15. You act to serve your teammates with unselfish motives.

16. You have a clear understanding of your role and strive to perform it better.

17. You have done all that you can and still fell that you can contribute more.

18. You know the difference between pain and injury; playing through the pain without creating a scene.

19. You give more than what is asked and take less than what is deserved.

20. Your effort is constant and your play is consistent regardless of the situation.

YOU THINK YOU CAN... AND YOU DO!!!

Inspiring Teamwork Through Movies

This week, our team is spending a tremendous amount of time on the road. Being that we are still trying to build a team identity, a true unit thinking as one entity (I gave my "I could beat Mike Tyson in his prime" talk after our game last night), and that our guys will watch movies on the bus, I wanted to combine those two. I wanted each movie we showed on the bus to have a message; something that will inspire unity and selflessness.

This is the list of movies I came up with:
1. Glory Road - Obvious
2. Hoosiers - Obvious
3. Coach Carter - Obvious
4. The Godfather (Parts 1 & 2) - Once you're part of the family, you're always part of the family. Do anything against the family and there are consequences.
5. Goodfellas - See The Godfather.
6. Italian Job - Team unity can be built around a common goal.
7. Pursuit of Happyness - Quitting isn't an option. Continue pushing towards the ultimate goal. Complete selflessness to protect the future of the family.
8. Jerry Maguire - There are those that will lie, cheat, and steal for the glory. Inspire others toward a shared vision!
9. Braveheart - Total dedication, leadership by example, mentorship. Unrelenting commitment.
10. Bull Durham - Leading through mentoring.
11. Groundhog Day - If you don't change something, it will always be the same.
12. Miracle - An obvious choice. Team building.
13. Remember the Titans - Building a team in the wake of change and extreme adversity.

So a quick Google search unearthed a fantastic list of movies that portray leadership qualities and is already sorted by those qualities. It can be found HERE.

If you spend time travelling with your team and watch movies with them, I would encourage you to think about inspiring them at the same time.

Positive Attitude

Players don't care how much I know until they know how much I care. -Frosty Westering

You have to dream big and go for it. Surround yourself with people who believe in you and ignore those who try to bring you down. Never give up, no matter what - overcoming obstacles makes you stronger!
-Shannon MacMillan

Make each day your masterpiece. You have control over that.
-John Wooden

We can choose to see life as a series of trials and tribulations, or we can choose to see life as an accumulation of treasures.
-Unknown

If you haven't got all the things you want, be grateful for the things you don't have that you don't want.
-Unknown

Our small efforts at kindness can change people's lives more than we will ever know. Since it takes so little time and energy to change the world for the better, why not make an effort to do it every day?
-Pat Williams

I tell people: If you don't want to get into positive thinking, that's OK. Just eliminate all the negative thoughts from your mind, and whatever's left will be fine.
-Bob Rotella

Be grateful for the doors of opportunity - and the friends who oil the hinges.
-Unknown

Gratitude is the heart's memory.
-Ancient Greek Proverb

Love one another and you will be happy. It's as simple and as difficult as that.
-Michael Leuning

There are positive and negative thoughts. And, hey, it doesn't cost you a cent more to think positively.
-Angelo Dundee

There is no room in your mind for negative thoughts. The busier you keep yourself with the particulars of shot assessment and execution, the less chance your mind has to dwell on the emotional. This is sheer intensity.
-Jack Nicklaus

There are so many people out there who will tell you that you can't. What you've got to do is turn around and say, "I can. Watch me."
-Layn Beachley

Rebuilding

First off, let me apologize for not having posted in a couple of weeks. Finishing up graduate school classes, recruiting trips to showcases, trying to finalize student's schedules for the fall, and traveling to New Orleans with my band have put posting on the back burner.

Yes, I did say I play in a band. I play drums in an oldies to classic rock cover band. We play strictly for charity, so it doesn't become a job and it stays a hobby. I think we sound pretty good, and if you're interested you can check out our website at www.theharleys.org.

We did play a gig in New Orleans recently. I lived in Lake Charles, Louisiana for a short time. I interviewed for a position the weekend before Katrina ripped through NOLA. Took the job, moved to (as some of the locals call it) Puddle Chuck, and two weeks later Rita rolled right through the middle of town. Being from the Pacific Northwest, I know practically nothing about natural disasters. Got a taste of tornadoes in Oklahoma, but hurricanes were unfamiliar territory for me. I think the scariest thing about them is that you know well ahead of time that they're coming!

As I crossed the Sabine River into Louisiana and drove along I-10, there were still constant reminders of the storms. Houses still had blue tarps on their roofs. Signage along the freeway were not all repaired. In some parts it looked as if absolutely nothing had been done. The city of New Orleans has come a long way since Katrina. Even went through another monster in Gustav. It would be extremely easy for those folks to just drop everything and call it quits.

I am amazed at the resiliency of the folks in Louisiana! There is so much rich history there. They get devastated by hurricanes which cause floods, evacuations, topple structures, etc. and yet they bounce back... and bounce back with a smile on their face with true southern hospitality. What can we, as coaches, learn from this? My recent visit proved that the people there have it figured out!

We can press on! That's the lesson. No matter how bad it gets in the win/loss column, there is always another day. We can work hard to improve our situation. Even if things are in disrepair, we can have a positive attitude. We can treat others around us with kindness and caring even in the worst of situations. As we do that, the situation won't seem quite as desperate as we originally thought. Others will rally around you and fight for common good.

I look back and read my previous post about the teaching of Les Brown and see that he is really talking about the people of Louisiana. Not one person that I ran into during my trip ever have a negative thing to say. Even though the world around them was still not the same as before, they were still inviting and ever so gracious. Those folks know that it is worth fighting for. If we can instill that kind of commitment into our players, nothing will stop us!

Are you a “BUILDER-UPPER” or a “BREAKER-DOWNER”?

I once asked a very good colleague of mine, Larry Cordaro who is an assistant coach at Southeastern Louisiana University, for a quick hit recommendation "sound-bite". He wrote that I was a "people-picker" which the following poem summarizes:

One day as I was walking around my home town,
I saw a group of men tearing a building down.
With a “heave” and a “ho” and a mighty yell,
They swung a huge steel ball and a tall building fell.
And I asked the foreman, “Are your men skilled?
Are they the ones you’d hire if you were going to build?”
“Oh no,” he laughed, “Oh no, indeed!
Just unskilled laborers are all I need.”
“These men can easily wreck in a day or two,
What it takes skilled builders many years to do.”
And I asked myself as I walked away,
“Which one of these roles do I want to play?”
Do I want to be known as one who constantly tears down,
As I waste my time spreading negativity around.
Or do I want to be known as one who skillfully builds with care,
I hope that my team will always be glad that I’m there?
Carefully using a positive plan
And putting it into practice the very best that I can.
Or am I a wrecker who roams the town,
With the intent of just tearing it down.
-- Anon