1. What is the book (or books) you've given most as a gift, and why? Or what are one to three books that have greatly influenced your life?
Coaches traffic in truth, but we love stories reinforce the truth with fiction. The Positive Dog by Jon Gordon shares the power of positivity. I needed more positive reinforcements like PD. As coaches, we help others learn mastery and self-belief. Gordon’s books including Training Camp, Soup, The Hard Hat, and The Energy Bus promote achievement and teamwork.
Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl informs man's inhumanity to man in the first half of the book, years of captivity in Nazi prison camps. The second half of the book offers a hopeful narrative about suffering and techniques for coping.
2. What purchase of $100 or less has most positively impacted your life in the last six months (or in recent memory)?
FastModelSports makes FastDraw software for basketball. This allows one easily to create, modify, archive, and share basketball concepts and plays.
3. How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success? Do you have a "favorite failure" of yours?
I had a mediocre not average college athletic career at Harvard. It wasn't from lack of effort but effort isn't always enough. The experience reinforced the need to add value and make players feel valued. “Thanks is the cheapest form of compensation.”
4. If you could have a giant billboard anywhere with anything on it- metaphorically speaking, getting a message out to millions or billions- what would it say and why?
“"Think for yourself.”
The world bombards us with unfiltered information. “Is that right?” Research, double check, and recheck. How can we become our best? Repackage our message powerfully, simply, and clearly.
5. What is the best or most worthwhile investments you've ever made?
I’m coming up on forty years of marriage and am truly blessed with a wonderful, selfless family. The time spent with them is precious. I can’t show enough gratitude to them. The Jar of Awesome reminds me about gratitude.
6. What is an unusual habit or an absurd thing that you love?
Coaching, getting to know players and families and their hopes and dreams makes me better - and there’s plenty of room for improvement. Parents sacrifice so much for their children and deserve recognition for that.
7. In the last five years, what have you become better at saying no to?
Eating better is a constant struggle. Preparing and consuming better food remains a battle. Aside from health benefits, eating more vegetables and less meat, avoiding processed food, and consuming less sugar offer better health and less animal suffering.
8. When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do?
I don't meditate enough, but I'm working on it. Mindfulness grows the learning and memory centers and shrinks the amygdala, the angry, reactionary brain. The results show up as better cognition and sleep, less anxiety, and lower blood pressure. It's real and has a wealth of scientific and historical support.
9. What are bad recommendations you hear in your profession or area of expertise?
"Work the officials." Players play, coaches coach, and officials officiate. Control what we can control. I want the officials to keep the players safe and be consistent. Looking for an edge by badgering officials is a fool's errand. It also sends the wrong message about self-reliance to players.
10. What advice would you give to a smart, driven college student about to enter the "real world?"
Invest your time; don't spend it. We can't reclaim wasted time. Leverage your abilities to expand the skill set necessary for your long-term personal and professional success. Work to think, write, and speak more coherently.
11. In the last five years, what new belief, behavior, or habit has most improved your life?
Watching MasterClass daily has expanded my knowledge and perspective. Lecture series from some of the best writers, filmmakers, artists, actors, chefs, and leaders in the world add great insight. If series from Ken Burns, Sam Jackson, Jane Goodall, and Bob Woodward don't inspire us, we're dead to creative thought.
We can be ordinary but add value. What are your answers?
Lagniappe: BDT from @BBallImmersion
Decisions, Decisions! Chris Oliver’s Basketball Decision Training (BDT) requires players to make quick, decisions to either shoot, dribble, drive or pass. I was WAY too easy on @BlueAceHoops ‘22 Cate Schieber in this BDT segment! Next time, Cate! #ProcessMakesPerfect pic.twitter.com/GpNG453Ljh— FUN!damentals,LLC (@dribbles_FUN) September 4, 2019
