"If you're going to smack a locker and have tears running down your face, it's only going to have an impact if they know that's you. If they know that's not you, your behavior will have no effect at all. They will laugh you out of the place. You must give them genuine sustained proof of how badly you want it and how much you're willing to sacrifice to achieve it." - Bob Cousy in on the Celtic Mystique
Candidly, I am not in the same situation as many of you. Coaching middle school basketball, I face no pressure about wins and losses. That doesn't mean that indifference to performance (our team went 21-4 last season). But I probably only have three or four players who even consider basketball their primary sport. I coach more soccer players playing basketball than basketball players.
My first priority is helping prepare young people for life. And to succeed in life, they will need commitment to their education, discipline and focus, organization and time management skills, and authenticity to compete in the classroom, the workplace, and on the athletic fields.
The most important motivation is intrinsic (self-regulated) not extrinsic (imposed). The seminal article on motivation in children discusses the value of "autonomy support." The authors note, "Parents may support children’s autonomy in the context of their involvement with children by attending to children’s work but allowing them to work on their own, often helping them to generate their own strategies for solving the challenges they encounter."
Tom Cruise in "Jerry Maguire" expresses his frustration with his unfocused client Cuba Gooding, Jr., recognizing his limitations to change behavior. The emphasis is on using relationships to ADD VALUE and get BUY-IN. We help young people find solutions.
Dan Pink elaborates (for adults) in Drive 3.0. High achievers don't emerge in 'carrot and stick' (traditional) settings but from Flow experiences at the intersection of autonomy (self-determination), mastery, and purpose.
I think that our process is central to results...and that begins with culture. I emphasize a culture of teamwork, improvement, and accountability (to the team). When we can stay in our lane working that process, then we have a chance to get our best results, which won't always equate to winning.
Have you used any special techniques? With one group, before a playoff game, I had a "pledge" for them to sign, promising to give maximal effort on each defensive possession. But I asked them not to sign unless they fully intended to fulfill that obligation. It's a 'singular' use technique, not to be wasted. The team defended spectacularly, but like I said, it's consumable.
I'm not a 'screamer'. I don't want to do it; they don't want to hear it. If our culture is diving on the floor for loose balls, their teammates remind them.
Last season, I closed the huddle pre-game with this line. The players would respond, "Fight." That's good enough for me.