Saturday, June 6, 2020

Basketball: Fast Five Plus - Lessons from Superheroes

Who doesn't like superheroes? They exist in every culture to inspire us to be more, to free ourselves from earthly bonds. Recently, Admiral William McRaven gave the MIT virtual commencement speech, encouraging them to be superheroes. 

Learn from superheroes. 



"A true hero isn't measured by the size of his strength, but by the strength of his heart."  Recognize power as what we can do for others instead of to others.




"With great power comes great responsibility." This truth applies to leading teams, to parenting, teaching, politics, law enforcement, and many daily activities. It reminds players about their obligations to team and to teammates. The "star" owns a higher degree of leadership, work ethic, communication, and decision-making on and off the court.  



Superman extends an unambiguous moral code, his triad of "truth, justice, and the American Way." As coaches, promote sportsmanship - humble in victory and gracious in defeat. That doesn't make defeat less bitter or victories less sweet. 



"Why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourselves up." Struggle makes us stronger as we exceed our limitations. Failure allows for redemption, a theme from anything but a superhero movie, Groundhog Day. 



The superhero acts not from choice but obligation to do good. "It's not dying that you need to be afraid of, it's never having lived in the first place." Life manages risk amidst opportunity. 



"Life doesn't give us purpose; we give life purpose." Coaches help players to become more and to go farther together than they can go alone. 



Life will throw obstacles in our way. Choose to bring our best to the fight every day.



"A hero can be anyone. Even a man doing something as simple and reassuring as putting a coat around a young boy’s shoulders to let him know the world hadn’t ended."

Lagniappe: There are heroes whom we don't always know their names. But we should learn from their experience and wisdom. "If you make a mistake, you learn from that mistake." 



Lagniappe 2: Make the game "automatic." 



"Automatic" back cuts or 'releases' can follow a call, a "look" or even defensive positioning (e.g. overplay or a step over the three-point line. 

Lagniappe 3: More from Coach Zeljko Obradovic, a warmup multifaceted drill