Explore an Uncommon
Approach to Leadership!
Listen To Them
"I have to be willing to listen to them."
First year Kansas State head coach Jerome Tang, talking about this players.
Shaka Smart Year Two
Interesting look at how Shaka Smart helped transform Marquette in year 2 without bringing in any major new players.
Mike Brey
I saw Mike Brey speaking to a group of coaches once at the Final Four, and one of them asked him about his team rules. Brey laughed and said "We have a sign in the locker room at Notre Dame. It says 'Take care of your schoolwork and the basketball, and we'll get along just fine.' That pretty much sums up our list of rules." He went on to talk about how he builds trusts with his guys and sets a standard of expectations, and they all understand what the means, so they don't really feel the need to have a lot of team rules.
Coach Brey's gift, to me, was not ever taking himself too seriously in a business where that isn't easy to avoid. He was the head basketball coach at Notre Dame, one of the most famous universities in the world. It would have been easy to build an impressive ego over the years, but he never did. He kept it simple, trusted his kids, treated them (and everyone else) with respect, and had a ton of success.
When Notre Dame was in the Big East I knew their staff pretty well, and I remember Rod Balanis telling me that when they traveled they were required to leave after classes during the week. They couldn't leave early and miss class the day before they played. We played them one time on a Saturday at Noon, and he told me they landed in Providence at around 11 PM the night before the game. And they were flying commercial, always taking the last flight of the day out of Chicago so the kids could get to all of their classes that day. In an era when most coaches want to be in town at least 24 hours before tip off and have no issue practicing at 10 AM on campus before leaving, Notre Dame required that they do it a little differently, and Mike Brey took it all in stride. He was the head coach at Notre Dame, and that was just part of the deal.
Mike Brey was proof to me that you can be successful in this business at a high level and still keep things in perspective, without a huge ego or taking yourself too seriously. He's always been one of the genuinely good people in the business.
Georgia Football's Four Values
Kirby Smart just won his second straight national championship at Georgia. Here are the 4 program values that sustain his culture.
Resilience
- Fight through when you feel the urge to succumb to pressure or hardship
- Practices are tougher than games/Extra weight sessions in-season
- Prepare for the tough times before they happen - anticipate adversity
Composure
- Check your emotions
- Focus on the next task
- Come together with your teammates
- Coaches hand out "composure cards on the sideline"
Toughness
- Practice is a battle. Very physical, they don't hold back. In pads 3 days a week.
- Confronts undesired behavior immediately
- Either you are in or out
Connection
- Team activities called "Skull Sessions"
- 15 minute meetings - discuss history lessons, business case studies, that relate to tough times during games
- Building bonds amongst players
The 4 values come down to:
- Overcoming adversity
- Living up to a program standard
- Staying disciplined in tough times
- Developing deep connections
Great strategies for any teams.
Credit: @TheDaily_Coach
Steve Kerr Moments
Steve Kerr continues to be as thoughtful and real as any coach in the game.
Coaching and Family
I've never been a big fan of teams that use the word "family," even though just about everyone does it. First of all, we aren't that close. I've had players ay "these are my brothers right here." Really? You just met 3 of them a month ago. You became brothers because you are good at basketball and you chose the same school?
I love this quote from Todd Monken, the offensive coordinator at Georgia. This is real, despite whether or not it says "Family" on the back of your shorts or your locker room wall.
"Our System Is Our Players"
Ed Cooley on his system at Providence and he how and his staff adjust to his players:
“You’ve got to adjust with your personnel. There are so many coaches who are just based on system. Our system is our players. We as coaches have to adjust to them."
Big Games
Every game counts the same in the standings, but some games are bigger than others. Whether it's a rivalry game, a game to decide the league title, or a do-or-die post-season game, you can feel the difference when preparing for a big game. Let's face it, UConn at Providence is different than when Depaul comes to town, and everyone knows it.
We had a lot of success in March at Rhode Island College and we played in a lot of big games in the regular season. We were won the league six times in nine years, and finished second twice and third once. We were always in contention for the league title, which meant a lot of big games.
The key for us with big games was when things started to feel different, not to do anything different. We had no problem talking about how big the game was - if you play college basketball at an elite program you want to play in big games. You have to recognize it. But the key is not to change what you do. Of course it feels different, and everyone knows what is at stake. That pressure is a good thing. If you acknowledge that pressure it will likely have less of an impact on your approach.
We were picked to win the league every year I coached at Rhode Island College. There was a stretch of six straight years where the winner of our first game against Eastern Connecticut, which for some reason was always played in December as one of the first league games, went on to win the league. Even though it was usually the first or second league game of the year, we always talked about it as a title fight. We knew that the winner of that game usually took control of the league, so we made it a point to recognize that.
What we established at RIC over time, however, that really made a difference in big games was how we practiced every day. We made sure our compete level was elite every day. We didn't have walk-throughs or go half speed. If our guys needed a break we gave them a day off, or we just went with a shorter practice. But we made it a point to talk about the way we prepared every day. No matter what time of year or who our next opponent was, we were preparing to win big games. We were preparing to win games on the road against great teams. We were preparing to win tough games when two starters were out or we got into foul trouble.
We emphasized the way we prepared every day. We talked about big games, adversity, handling everything that goes into winning in tough environments. Our approach to big games was long-term. When we got to a week where we had a really big game, and everyone could feel the pressure and the hype, we just had to be ourselves. We prepared the way we always did, without doing anything different because of the big game. We didn't want have to change to win big games, we just had to be ourselves.
Confrontation and Solitude
Leadership is not always comfortable. In fact, it rarely is for the majority of the group. Leadership is not great chemistry and everyone enjoying each other's company. When things are going well and everyone is happy, impactful leadership generally isn't necessary. Great leadership involves confronting bad behavior, and often leaves those in charge out on their own. Leadership can be very lonely. Great leaders have to be comfortable being alone.
One of my first lessons in leadership as a head coach came in my first year at Rhode Island College. It was maybe a week or two after I had taken the job, and I was still getting to know my players. I would often see them in the recreation center where my office was in the afternoon as they were gathering to play pick-up, and I'd get a chance to talk with them before they played.
On this particular day I had been recruiting the day before, so I hadn't seen them before or after their pick-up games. Our only senior (who would turn out to be my first captain) Kevin Payette came by the office before heading into the gym, and I asked him how the pick-up games yesterday had been. He said "They were crap, coach, to be honest. It was sloppy, guys weren't competing hard, there was a lot of arguing going on. They weren't very good." I replied, only half-serious, "So what are we going to do about that?" Figuring I'd get a quizzical look, I was kind of surprised with what I heard. "We got up this morning at 7 AM and ran as a team, Coach. We took care of it."
I was pretty surprised. I remember thinking "wow, we might have something here." What type of team, especially one that came back to school in September without a coach when their coach took another job in August, gets together to run at 7 AM because their pick-up games were sloppy? That was one of my first lessons in ownership. KP and the rest of the team had taken ownership of the program in the fall when there was a coaching transition. They set their own standards for their team, and when they didn't live up to them their were consequences. Everyone who was a part of the team or who was planning on trying out showed up to run at 7 AM that morning.
The maturity and level of ownership were really impressive. But what really struck me when I had that conversation with KP was the risk he had to take to confront the bad behavior. First of all, confrontation isn't easy for most. Many of just just try and avoid it at all costs. But confrontation is essential to good leadership. If you want to implement change you have to confront bad behavior. And when you do, especially if you don't have a lot of support, leadership can be very lonely. Do you think the 20+ guys who were playing that day felt some sloppy pick-up games were worth getting up at 7 AM for? I'm sure it wasn't a popular decision in that gym, but it was the right one, and it was important. We have standards here, and if we don't live up to them there are consequences.
The right leadership choices don't always feel good. Leadership takes guts. You have to be willing to go against what's popular to do what is right. In fact, many of the most important leadership decisions I have made didn't feel very good. But I knew what I was doing was important, and I was convinced it was right.
Leadership will often lead you to confrontation, and it will be very lonely at times. You have to have the conviction in your beliefs and the mental capacity to handle the way it feels. When it comes to strong leadership, confrontation and solitude often come with the territory. Embrace it.
Expected Standards
"You learn the real standards from each other."
If you want to learn about the culture of a team, don't ask their seniors. Watch the freshmen. What they do is the true culture.
Bill Walsh - 7 "Dont's" After Defeat
- Don't Whine
- Don't Ask 'Why Me?'
- Don't Expect Sympathy
- Don't Keep Accepting Condolences
- Don't Blame Injuries or Officials
- Don't Ignore The Media
- Don't Blame The Team
Landry Fields
Some really good stuff from Landry Fields on the mental side of player development.
Run At The Screen
Don't tell your players to run "off" a screen or to use a screen. Tell them to run at a screen.
When your teammate is trying to screen to get you open, you should run right at your teammate. Don't veer wide around the screen and give your defender a chance to ride you out. There is usually going to be some contact when you are coming off a screen, and on offense you want to force the issue. If you run around a screen or go wide, you give your opponent a lane to beat the screen.
Your mentality when you come off a screen should be to run right at your teammate who is setting the screen for you. The mindset should be to force your defender to foul you. He has to get pretty physical with you to keep you from running him into the screen, and it's likely going to be a foul. If it isn't called, you should be able to rub him into the screen and get open. Keep your hands up in the air so you don't get involved in hand fighting and get called for a push.
When your teammate is screening for you, run right at the screen. Don't widen out and give the defense any kind of angle to beat the screen. You want to be physical when you are coming off a screen. Don't allow your defender to dictate where you go. Run right at the screen, and you'll either get fouled or get open.
Saban - Discipline
"What are you willing to accept from yourself... and what are you willing to accept from your teammates?"