One year when I was the head coach at Rhode Island College, my father had to have open heart surgery. I had gone to visit him in the hospital before the surgery, and we had a game at Eastern Connecticut on the day he had surgery. After the game I went to New York to […]
The Flow Of Practice
Organizing and planning practice is more than just doing the right drills. I try and focus on the flow of practice as much as I focus on what we are working on. It’s not as simple as just putting the right drills together. It’s making the drills fit with what you are trying to accomplish […]
Language In Coaching
Some good stuff on the importance of language in coaching. “Listen to yourself.” https://bit.ly/2SMIMd1
Winning and Change
CBS Sunday Morning ran a cover story about Sears, and how the once-dominant retail giant is now in bankruptcy. It was a fascinating story for my generation who grew up with the 1,500 page Sears catalog on their living room table. At the end of the piece, an executive from Stew Leonard’s that is replacing […]
Competitive Excellence
There is a difference between competing and competitive excellence. Competing is playing hard, leaving it all on the floor. But competitive excellence is more than just competing. It’s competing at an elite level and being able to handle everything that comes along with it. Playing hard is the minimum. If you want to be a […]
Body Language
I’m not sure we have the right approach to body language. I just don’t know that we should be making a big deal out of it. I get it, it doesn’t look good, it’s not a positive thing and you don’t want to show any sign of frustration or weakness. I just don’t know if […]
Belichick’s Approach
Great insight into Bill Belichick’s approach to practice and his game plan heading into the Super Bowl. https://wapo.st/2SyabiK Loved this part about how he approached practice. I think a lot of times we slow down practice too much late in the season to keep guys fresh, and it’s easy to lose the edge. The biggest […]
Fully Invested
What does it really mean to be fully invested? Fully invested players are selfless. They think about the team first. Fully invested players don’t care what day it is – whether you played the night before or haven’t played in a week. Fully invested players are bothered by a lack of accountability. They understand the […]
Creating An Optimum Environment For Success
Notes from a workshop delivered by Guy Richardson, who after 20 years in the British Army became the national team manager of the Scotland Rugby Union. Some thought-provoking stuff on buy-in and culture. https://connectedcoaches.org/spaces/10/welcome-and-general/blogs/general/13008/creating-an-optimum-environment-for-success
How To Foul On Purpose
Up 3 late in the game I’m fouling every time. But I’ve learned that fouling on purpose is hard. You can’t foul a shooter. You don’t want to make it too obvious and grab a guy and get called for an intentional. And a lot of times the officials aren’t looking to call a foul […]