Monday, January 4, 2016

Readiness Factor - WAR

I am belaboring the point that basketball is not war. Our opponents are not our enemies; they share the arena of competition and opportunity. In Eric Greitens' remarkable book, Resilience: Hard-Won Wisdom for Living a Better Life, he shares a SEAL acronym: WAR equals 'we are ready'

I respect the contributions that players and families make to participate in our program. Aside from the time and money invested directly, many also do additional sport-specific training, have gym memberships, and incur other costs. MASTERY = WORK + SACRIFICE. 

Coach Bob Starkey shares an extended passage about readiness from Urban Meyer's book Above the Line. 

Here's an excerpt:

In 2012, Kenny was a junior backup to quarterback Braxton Miller.  Throughout all of our practices that fall, Kenny was the most mentally and physically engaged player on our team.  When Braxton was running players, Kenny was 10 yards directly behind him, make the same reads and checks, executing the play mentally.  Then, when the ball was snapped to Braxton, Kenny would perform the correct motions just as if he were taking the life rep.  That was our culture at work.

How you prepare in the classroom and at practice informs both your identity and your future. Many of your are familiar with Minnesota Hall of Fame defensive lineman Alan Page, a member of the Vikings' "purple people eaters". After his stellar professional football career, Page ascended to become Minnesota's first African-American Supreme Court Justice. 

Page recently retired but remains active in the community. Page said he'd like to think he's done some good with the Page Educational Foundation, which has awarded $12 million in grants to 6,000 students of color at Minnesota post-secondary schools in the 26 years since he and his wife, Diane, founded it. 

If we want to be exceptional, then we have to prepare to be exceptional every day. Celtics coach Brad Stevens said it another way, "Do it right. Do it every day."