At its best, a team brings order from chaos. Coaches help players go places they can't go alone. Sport reveals purpose, self-discovery, knowledge, and innovation. It brings joy and sadness, frustration and redemption, generosity and selfishness.
Embrace and excel in your role. "All men are created equal," says the US Constitution. All basketball players are not. Pete Carril spoke of "lightbulbs," players who radiated enthusiasm. Bob Knight reminded some, "Just because I want you on the floor doesn't mean that I want you to shoot." And Eric Spoelstra tells us that at every level including the NBA, "There is always a pecking order. Most players are role players."
Are you a singer (head coach) or a song-writer (assistant)? Do you enjoy the competition and the teaching, strategy management, and substitution? I don't like to rob Pietra to pay Paula. I love practice over games, teaching kids over testing them.
Are we prepared for today's challenge? Have we done our homework - reading, video study, practice preparation, game planning?
Do we have winning habits - daily routines with study, sleep, nutrition, exercise? High performers often have winning routines, as outlined in Tim Ferriss' Tools of Titans and James Clear's Atomic Habits.
"Winners and losers set the same goals." - James Clear If that's true, then goals should be secondary to systems/process.
Ask players what they're reading and share what books we're reading.
- It's better to read a great book multiple times than ten poor books.
- "The differences between who we are today and whom we become in five years are the people we meet and the books we read."
- Abandon reading a bad book.
Lagniappe: Watch without sound. Focus on a few elements.
- Notice the spacing. NBA spacing is exceptional.
- Is the defense close to the ball on the catch?
- Study how players get individual and collaborative separation.