Coaches aren't born, we're made. The simplest coaching loaf emerges from flour, water, salt, and yeast. But vive la difference! Mentors and discovery produce a unique flavor, style, and substance. Spend a moment thinking of the coaches who put metaphorical presents under our tree. Let's unwrap some presents.
Here's a shiny one for coaches - excellent health, warm hearts, and good crunch time execution. And maybe sunny dispositions. A day coaching is better than a day doing almost anything else. Except an understanding spouse.
Over there, another bauble, players physically and mentally well, able to play chess when others play checkers.
In the back, there's a set of Russian dolls. May our relationships with administrators, assistants, players, and families become a lifelong fellowship. Russian dolls and onions, layers. An open door and open ears can't guarantee open minds in our swirling universe.
Let sportsmanship be an integral part of our agenda. Respect the game. Look carefully, it's hard to find under some coaching trees.
There's an ornament shaped like the Greek letter omega. "Never be a child's last coach."
Look, inside that soft package, there's a tee shirt. Play smart, play hard, play together. That shirt fits.
Help players "fall in love with easy." Don Meyer explained that our coaching evolves from blind enthusiasm, to sophisticated complexity, to mature simplicity. An 'easy button' belongs on every desk.
Motivational posters make good gifts when matched to individuals. Help players develop a culture of teamwork, excellence, and accountability.
Books make wonderful gifts, especially witty ones with pithy messaging. Some must be read, like Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning or James Kerr's Legacy.
It's fifty years since Bouton's masterpiece. He wraps it up, "You see, you spend a good piece of your life gripping a baseball, and in the end it turns out that it was the other way around all the time.”
Shopping solutions for dreamers are never easy. What we want the most, we can't have. The wanting is in the not having.
Merry Christmas.
Lagniappe: UCONN rolls against Nova women.
4 UCONN starters had seventeen or more points. The Huskies shot 54.7% and 29% from three. Freshman point guard Paige Bueckers played forty minutes.
Sure, they're highlights but why does it work?
- Spacing
- Body and Ball movement
- Quality shot selection
- Awareness, alertness, aggressiveness
- Unselfishness
Lagniappe 2. Villanova men versus zone...screening and ball reversal.
I'm not sure how this kept working for Villanova tonight against Marquette, but it did. Screen the inside of the top of the zone, then overload it. I would guess most of you do something like this already. If not, super simple. #XsOs pic.twitter.com/TW1wftdCnN
— Coach Tony Miller (@tonywmiller) December 24, 2020