Two decades ago, my twelve year-old daughter headed out to softball. I said, "you're going out to play?" She answered, "No, Daddy. I'm going out to win." Balance confidence and humility to be our better versions.
Humility erects scaffolding. It sees constant opportunity for growth. In Legacy, James Kerr explains how one of the New Zealand All Blacks' mottoes is "sweep the sheds." "When you lose, say nothing. When you win, say less."
Coach Wooden lived humility:
Franklin Adler, a student manager for the UCLA basketball team from 1964 to 1968, recalls an incident when he was cleaning up after a game that reflects Coach’s humility:
I was scurrying around between banks of lockers when I heard the sound of footsteps and the thud of objects landing in a receptacle. Thankful for any help, I assumed that a Washington State janitorial employee was making his rounds after the game. Imagine my surprise when I came around a corner and saw that my ally in cleaning up the room was Coach Wooden!
He cautions us to beware entitlement, control, and paranoia.
Everyone knows how overconfidence played out in Aesop's fable of The Tortoise and the Hare.
During the Civil War, Ambrose Burnside was an ascendant general. He hatched a bold plan to attack General Lee at Fredericksburg. Burnside took the assignment in part because of a rivalry with General Joseph Hooker. Delay in equipment needed to cross the Rappahannock River sabotaged the plan. Burnside delayed but attacked anyway but Union forces were decimated in a Confederate counterattack. The battle was the low point for Union forces during the war.
William Tecumseh Sherman sought to undermine the Confederacy's access to resources in his march to the sea. But rather than direct confrontation, Sherman avoided high visibility battles fraught with high casualties. He schemed to drain the Confederacy of supplies and their will to fight. His lack of ego limited publicity but earned victory.
Humble coaches show players their importance and value. Humble players know every role fosters team success. Humble players encourage teammates. Humble players celebrate credit awarded to others.
Lagniappe 1: "Elbows behind ears..."
Lagniappe 2: What barriers arise in program development?One thing we really focus on with our players is the concept of "Walling Up" on defense. That is 'chest blocking' a driver as they hit the key & then continuing contact with chest whilst putting hands in air to contest shot WITHOUT fouling. See here from @Giannis_An34 pic.twitter.com/oaMWI7wI7X— Coach Liam Flynn (@coachliamflynn) April 21, 2019
- What is the biggest design risk? E.g. individual versus team development in an era of expanding zone defense.
- How do I generalize solutions? Ensure decision training and competition.
Lagniappe 3: Design versus engineering. What's important versus the input (time, expense, effort) needed to get there? How much time do we assign to defending the pick-and-roll versus shooting better?
In allocating practice, weight design and difficulty. For example, with youths, how important will three point shots be for you versus difficulty in achieving. When there is an imbalance, how do you choose?