"If you're afraid to be fired, you'll always tell the player what she wants to hear." - Patrick Mouratoglou
Netflix's "The Playbook" shares coach's rules. My rules shouldn't be your rules.
Coaches develop substance and style over a lifetime, honing our craft in fits and starts. Experiences mold us just as water wears away rock. Our job is to tell players and teams what they need to hear. Sometimes that won't be good for either of us. I doubt Bill Belichick celebrated releasing Bernie Kosar or benching Drew Bledsoe. Nobody seeks hell in a handbasket.
Almost half a century ago, Coach Sonny Lane reamed us out after a two-point loss to the defending state champions. "The only reason you lost," he thundered, "is that it said LEXINGTON on their jerseys." That changed our lives.
Cub reporter Peter Gammons chronicled the rematch in Boston Garden, "This was the 1960 World Series, the KC-Miami playoff of 1971 and Havlicek Stole the Ball rolled into one high school game."
Rule No. 1. "Think it through." Generate what if scenarios and "pre-mortem examinations." The plan failed because of what? What did we do wrong or what didn't we do?
Rule No. 2. "Seek understanding not validation." Everyone remembers Pete Carroll for a pass interception on the goal line. The likelihood of an interception (analytically) was about one percent. A run with three wide receivers blocks eight defenders with six blockers. Former Patriots assistant Mike Lombardi liked the Patriots chances against the run. Don't judge process by outcomes ("resulting").
Rule No. 3. "The game is about the players." Nobody (except the coach's family) comes to watch the coach. Direct our efforts at making the team and the players their best.
Rule No. 4. "Take care of business." Our preparation, our habits, and our work make us. Don't let others define you. Don't let defeat define you.
Rule No. 5. "Be detail-oriented." A team reflects its instruction. "One bad play, bad play. Two bad plays, bad player. Three bad plays, bad coaching."
Rule No. 7. "The magic is in the work." Chop wood, carry water. Play urgently. Be desperate to succeed. Do not quit.
Rule No. 8. Prepare. The Scouts' motto was "be prepared." Pack your bag the night before, double checking for the "emergency" items you need - medication, extra shoelaces, extra socks, snack, water.
Flanking the top of the pyramid are faith and patience, belief and time.
Rule No. 9. Believe. You can only be as good as you think you are. Bill Parcells said, "confidence comes from prior success." Earn confidence through preparation and practice. Too many times the girls ask, "how good is the team we're playing?" Coach Don Meyer emphasized, "it doesn't matter who you play; it matters how you play."
Rule No. 10. We're all as good as "the talent." A roster has lottery picks, first round choices, second round draftees, and free agents. If we have a lot of the latter and none of the former, we'll struggle against the opposite. Sportswriter Hugh Keough quipped, “The race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong; but that is the way to bet.”
"Don't beat yourself up; there will always be someone else there to do it for you." Win with humility and lose graciously.
Lagniappe: Seattle Storm (via Chris Dorsey) sets the side PnR from spread offense
Lagniappe 2: Pregame shooting "3 Lines" - pass, sprint to half-court, catch and shoot
