Find solutions that tell better stories.
1. What do small-sided games mean to you? For me, it's fewer players, more touches, and added constraints.
2. What's the 'establishing shot' of our story? It is a picture of triumph, work, or getting up off the canvas? Here's ours.
Anson Dorrance's quote about Mia Hamm informs the meaning of work for mastery without any expectation of credit. The magic is in the work. Are we working for achievement or recognition?
3. What's on your "mood board?"
Yours can remind you of whatever you deem important.
An analogue is the 'collage photography' of David Hockney. We assemble our lives using a variety of overlapping pieces...and that gets messy.
4. Ask better questions. Develop your most important question. Mine is, "what does our team need today?" How can I make a difference?
5. Rebuild our culture. Every season we start fresh. Steve Kerr noted, "by human nature, we're all selfish and we want what's best for us." In The Team Building Strategies of Steve Kerr, he adds, "get these players to go against their natural instincts of being selfish and find a way to get everyone to come together as a team."
Kerr emphasizes:
- "It's a long season, this game's meant to be fun."
- "Be mindful of the right way to do things."
- "There's compassion - for each other and for the game of basketball."
- "And...there's competition."
Raise expectations about communication and high performance.
Know the distinction between interest and commitment. Persistence - how do we teach persistence? Model persistence. Share stories of persistence. The world overflows with stories of persistence, from Lincoln to Lawrence Frank and Kyle Maynard.
Lagniappe: Be grateful.
Be the difference for someone else today.