Very interesting presentation on this podcast from Greg Carvel, the hockey coach at UMass, who took over one of the worst teams in the country and won a national championship 5 years later. Great insight into his culture and how he built it. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/greg-carvel-head-coach-of-umass-ice-hockey/id1540843402?i=1000529469132 Some concepts that I really liked… Command Respect When he first […]
Taking over a new program and trying to build an elite culture from scratch is challenging in a lot of ways. It’s really hard to slow things down. The amount of work that needs to be done can be overwhelming and it’s hard to remain patient. You know what you want things to look like […]
I’ve learned over the years as a coach that there are some things that are easier to recruit than to teach. Certain parts of the game just come to players naturally. That’s not to say you can’t make them better in these areas. You can always work on improving skill. But there are certain elements […]
From Nick Nurse’s book “Rapture.” In my Raptors office, I have an elephant on my desk. My assistant, Geni Melville, picked it up on the street in Toronto. It’s made of some kind of bronze and is the so-called elephant in the room – a visual reminder of the need to have hard conversations and […]
What is the response you are looking for? That is the question you should ask yourself when you are talking to your team. If you think about it, you aren’t talking to your team just so they listen to you. You are trying to get a response out of them. If they are receiving your […]
A good thought-provoking piece from a few years back. https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/beautiful-minds/what-predicts-nba-success/
“Look around you and look inside you. How many people do you think are settling? I will tell you: a hell of a lot of people. People are settling every day into okay relationships and okay jobs and an okay life. And do you know why? Because okay is comfortable. Okay pays the bills and […]
Clarity of Purpose – One defined mission Deep Trust – Allows for vulnerability Psychological Safety – Fosters competitive excellence Uncommon Leadership – Everyone is a leader Take Ownership – The culture is theirs Direct Communication – Truth-tellers, always Win Anyway – No excuses Process – Constant performance improvement Perspective – Emotional balance Intrinsically Motivated – […]
Perhaps the simplest, most important attribute you can have a player is to be reliable. It sounds pretty basic, but it’s true. As a coach I want to know what I’m going to get. Regardless of what level player you are – whether you are a starter and a star or a practice player who […]
“A big reason guys get stuck in the G League… they don’t realize the position they’re trying out for. It’s like going to a job interview thinking you’re going to be the CFO, and they’re looking for someone to clean the bathrooms.”