Promoting Your Success as a Player, "Make the Teacher Care."

“If you can’t appreciate what you’ve got, you’d better get what you can appreciate.”
― George Bernard Shaw, Pygmalion

Success follows players in a variety of flavors - family, academic, athletic, happiness, fame, money.

As coaches, we help take players where they cannot go alone... personal development, skill, game knowledge, letters of recommendation, job placement, winning teams, scholarships, and more. 

Rick Pitino triggers a range of emotions, but his book title, Success is a Choice deserves mention. “Lying makes a problem part of the future; truth makes a problem part of the past.” Be honest with yourself and with others about yourself. Make your story great but real.

Make your coach want to help you. Robert Cialdini's classic book, Influence, includes "liking" as one of his six core principles. Why go out of your way to be unlikeable? 

If you earn a mediocre grade without studying, that seldom inspires the teacher to invest time and redouble effort on your behalf. Make the teacher care. 

What do coaches remember about players? We remember high performance and  intangibles like punctuality, attitude, discipline, effort, energy, and teamwork are indelible. 

Lauren was the first at VOLUNTARY workouts and the last to leave. Tell her something once and she was on it. She carried the laminated handout of Coach Wooden's "Pyramid of Success" to school in her gym bag every day. I wrote an unsolicited letter to our Congresswoman in support of getting her a Congressional nomination to the Naval Academy. She graduates from Annapolis in a few months and I'll be almost as proud as her parents. 

Victoria (a.k.a. V-Rex) was the most intense, emotional player I've coached. She was an outstanding multi-sport athlete, an All-State volleyball player. Her favorite sport... Football. 

It's impossible not to root for that type of student-athlete. Offer to write letters of recommendation and follow through. Victoria starts veterinary school in the fall. The V-Rex will become Doctor V-Rex for me. 

Cecilia is the most skilled player for her age that I have coached. She rarely missed a voluntary workout and says "yes" to every opportunity to improve. She is an elite student averaging over 20 points, 13 rebounds, and 4.5 blocks per game playing in a good private school league. She is shooting over 76 percent on over a hundred free throws this season and is 8/21 (38%) on threes in her past five games. And she's a six-foot tall freshman. 

One hot Sunday night, I introduced her to reverse layups from the baseline. She struggled. The following Sunday, she showed how she had nearly mastered the skill. She repped "box drills" tirelessly and studies video to correct mistakes. She dropped me a line yesterday after I sent her the UCLA-Memphis Walton clip, "Thanks Coach! The Bill Walton highlights were really fun to watch!"

Samantha carried her notebook to every practice...and profited from it. She recorded her successes and areas for improvement, tracked her progress over years while building skills and sculpting her body. As a sophomore, she led the local high school team deep into the postseason then transferred to a private school where she won a state title. She has four D1 offers (at last count) and will be an impact player at the next level. 

Summary: (Advice for everyone)

Make the coach care about your special journey. It's a superpower.

Have a roadmap to destiny, like the "Pyramid of Success."

Bring intensity to practice, games, and academics.

Build skills and say 'yes' to chances to improve. 

Use technology, from video to notebooks to build understanding. 

We're blessed to be part of a student-athlete's journey. Don't take that for granted. We participate in changing lives by adding value and reminding players, "I believe in you." 

Lagniappe. From Adam Spinella, Daily ATO, "Iverson Rip."