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Friday, August 11, 2023

Basketball: Develop a Portfolio of Teaching Stories

Summary: 

  • Remember SUCCESS.
  • People remember stories. 
  • Don't criticize the person, criticize the action. 
  • Learn from chimpanzees.
  • Be in charge of morale.
  • Real power is different. 

People change but remain the same. Stories help us change.

Decades ago I cared for a hospitalized patient with advanced but not terminal lung disease. I sat with him and his wife chatting for about five minutes. Finally, I said, "Joe (not his real name), you want to be independent, right?" He answered, "Of course." "In the past five minutes, you asked your wife to crack your egg and hold a glass of water up to your mouth. Does that seem like behavior promoting independence?" 

Don't criticize the person, criticize the action. As Coach Auriemma would say, "that was a lousy shot."

The Heath Brothers wrote Made to Stick about stories. They shared the acronym success -

S - simple

U - unexpected

C - concrete 

C - credible

E - emotional 

S - story

People remember stories better than facts. 

She finished her time with me and I told her, "You're the best I've ever coached. I can't take you further. It's good that you'll have some new coaches with new ideas." She answered, "No, you are a great coach." Regardless of the truth, it was an emotional moment.  

Learn from chimpanzees. Jane Goodall shared primate development. Chimps have a support system for the first few years of life, led by their mothers but with help from other members of the tribe. Sometimes the mother has to protect the child from more dominant adults and she's going to take hits. Be there for your players. Have their backs. Ask the officials to keep the kids safe from moving screens, flying elbows, and gorilla basketball. 

Be in charge of morale. During the Gulf War, Floyd Lee volunteered to go to Iraq and convert the Army's Pegasus Chow Hall into a dining experience. He added tablecloths and curtains, got the best cooks, and discarded inferior quality food. Soldiers risked their lives navigating the trip from the Green Zone to the facility. He viewed a great meal as a break from war. He said that he wasn't in charge of food service, "I'm in charge of morale." Care about your troops that much.  

Real power is different. Admiral Rickover was out on a nuclear submarine shakedown cruise. The Admiral required fresh grapes and his doctor, Doctor Baker. The Admiral told the CAPT to make the ship go all ahead full. Then he told the CAPT to make it go "dead in the water" and tell him the moment it did. The CAPT told him, "dead in the water, Sir." The Admiral exploded, "it's not dead in the water. And you're a Navy Captain? The doc will tell you when it's dead in the water."

ADM Rickover calls Dr. Baker aside and tells him, "you'll think it's stopped, but you have to wait, there will be a little shudder. When that stops, it's dead in the water." 

They rerun the scenario, the Admiral says to the CAPT, "make it go dead in the water." The CAPT says, "all stop" and everyone waits for what seems like forever. CAPT Baker thinks it's stopped, but waits. He feels the shudder come and go. He says, "Admiral, it's dead in the water." Amidst the silence, "The doc says 'it's dead in the water', good enough for me." 

Lagniappe. 

Lagniappe 2. Clear and go. 

 

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