The Netflix series, "The Playbook," is brilliant. My notes on the Dawn Staley episode:
"It's strange how my puzzle of life gets put together." Coaches assemble puzzles.
"Men's rings are more like trophies."
"I grew up playing with boys...whatever the guys were doing, I was doing."
"What fueled me...was to get on the big boys court."
"If my ball was being used to play, I was going to be on the court."
"I made them respect my game."
No. 2. "Growth takes place outside of your comfort zone."
"I wasn't comfortable talking to anybody, to know how to study, to know how to take notes (at UVA)."
"You gotta work just as hard as you do on the basketball court in the classroom."
"I started competing in the classroom."
No. 3. "Create a home court advantage...without the fans we can't recruit the type of players we need to compete for a national championship."
"The fans really did the part of making us look like a national championship team (number one in attendance in the country for the third straight year in a row)."
"We created a place where people feel really special."
"When you make somebody feel special, they want to help you succeed."
No. 4, the 24 Hour rule. "You have the mental capacity to keep moving or you don't."
"Twenty-four hours from a win or a loss, WE MOVE ON...let it go."
No. 5. "What is delayed is not denied."
She kept two pieces of nylon from the 2017 Championship, one to keep and one to give to another coach close to winning a title.
Lagniappe: The Dream Player. Staley Not Shelley (Frankenstein), Dawn Staley builds her dream player.
