As coaches we have a variety of responsibilities that we must be aware of, especially when it comes to the kids we coach. One element of our responsibilities is to keep things in perspective. This post discusses the idea of why it is important for coaches to keep our perspective. A short time ago when…
A.C.E. Factor
You’ve heard of the X Factor, correct? Defined as: 1. a variable in a given situation that could have the most significant impact on the outcome. 2. a noteworthy special talent or quality. Certainly a key championship ingredient, however, we (South Titan Basketball) are even bigger believers in the “ACE Factor”. This is the ability to control…
Change Your Coaching Staff Dynamic (in 20 minutes)
A team can’t develop healthy team cohesion if the leadership team (i.e. coaching staff) isn’t cohesive. [Tweet That!] Seems logical, yet somehow coaches believe they can still build a unified team despite distrust and other fractures among the staff. Won’t happen. Can’t happen. Patrick Lencioni’s The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else in Business reviews some of…
“I Just Don’t Read”
Today’s post comes from a comment I have heard various coaches make through the years – “I just don’t read.” As an English teacher for 18 years, reading was obviously a very big part of my job. Reading was a huge part of what I was trying to get my students to do. As teachers,…
3 Easy Ways to Understand Your Athletes Better
I’ve become a raving fan of Brett Ledbetter and his book What Drives Winning. The title isn’t framed as a question, but it really is a question. What drives winning? Not to spoil it for you, but his answer is…(drumroll please): CHARACTER. If you focus on building character, the winning will take care of itself.…
The Day I Met Pat Summitt
I didn’t know Pat Summitt personally, but like thousands (if not millions) of young girls growing up when the Tennessee Lady Vols earned dynasty status, her influence touched my life. Since her passing, many players, friends and fans have written remembrances documenting how her courage and determination blazed a trail for them to experience competitive…
8 Tips to a Better Relationship With Your Boss
Most of us have a boss. Someone that has a lot of say as to our professional fate. For head coaches overwhelmed with the demands of running a program, investing time in building a better relationship with their athletic director—often called “managing up”— can seem daunting. Many coaches don’t feel heard by administration and don’t…
Be Precise
This is the next in a series of posts that come from some ideas I wrote about in my first two booklets A Head Coach’s Guide for Working with Assistants and The Assistant Coach’s Guide to Coaching. While those booklets were born out of some specific head coach/assistant coach issues I was facing with some…
The Key to Creating High Performing Teams
Last week at the What Drives Winning Conference, Florida softball coach, Tim Walton, referenced a TED Talk by business leader, Margaret Heffernan. In it, she cites research by evolutionary biologist who studied productivity using chickens. William Muir devised an experiment to find out what would make chickens produce more eggs. Chickens live in groups, so…
What Drives Winning – Row the Boat
Last week I had the absolute privilege to attend the “What Drives Winning Conference” in St. Louis, Missouri. It is in its second year and run by Brett Ledbetter and Becky Burleigh (Florida women’s soccer). It is the first conference, seminar, or clinic that I have attended that discussed zero X’s and O’s. Instead, the focus of…