"Inspire." No slogan reads, "Mediocrity Above All." Emotion drives excellence. But emotion isn't enough to drive the process.
Sara Blakely, sole owner of SPANX, a five billion dollar company shares her mantra, "Make it. Sell it. Build awareness."
You want to make varsity as a freshman. I don't tell players that. Instead, I say, "contribute to the success of the varsity as a freshman." Yes, it's an issue, because upperclass players are fighting for spots, too.
Make it. Blakely says, "obsess the product." Your product is your size, athleticism, skill, teamwork, knowledge, and resilience. If your product is mediocre, you can't sell it or build awareness. Branding a bad product is a non sequitur; it makes no sense.
You shape your product even before "cross the red line" onto the court. Are you mentally ready or are you thinking about a school assignment or your friends? Focus, showing eye contact, go hard every repetition to LEAVE AN IMPRESSION.
Improve your product and get teammates to work out with you. Help make them better, make yourself better.
Craft a vision. Be worthy opponents. Compete. Never quit. Plenty of teams will have more talent; don't allow them to have more heart, more will.
Sell it. You sell it by performing your best. Remember Don Miguel Ruiz's "The Four Agreements." The fourth is "always do your best." It won't be great every day. The shots might not fall but that only degrades your movement, intensity, blocking out, setting screens, and getting loose balls if you allow it to.
You never know when another coach is watching and telling herself, "I want that player on our club."
Former Pistons coach Chuck Daly said, "I'm a salesman." He was selling his style and substance to players who decide whether to give it their best or less. There's a saying on Wall Street, "Price makes news." Your performance (price) draws interest.
Build awareness. Self-promotion gets attention, but "word of mouth" attention is better than self-promotion or advertising. "You've got to see this kid play." A coach suggested I was overhyping a player. He then coached her for three days at a camp. "Potentially the best player to come out of the city."
"If you build it, they will come" was the tag line from Field of Dreams about the Iowa cornfield that became a magical ballpark. Decades later Major League Baseball will play the Field of Dreams game.
Drill. "Simple" teaches how to play. Play 2-on-2 progression to build offensive and defensive skill.
- Give and go
- Pick-and-roll
- DHO
- "Anything goes."
The Horns "3 series" includes options like pindowns, staggered screening, back cuts and "triangle" offense.