"If they don't bite when they're puppies, they usually won't bite." - Bill Parcells
In the developmental space, coaches seek to add value through teamwork, skill building, and accountability. That's hard enough, but adding "bite" adds complexity.
"Toughness is a skill." Not fake toughness (chest pounding, glaring at opponents) but setting and fighting through screens, taking charges, and being first to the floor. There's no "50-50 ball" when it's YOUR ball.
Toughness translates into taking care of business - preparation and execution of classwork, chores, and jobs.
How do we make puppies into big dogs?
- Set higher expectations.
- Build your body. (Strength and conditioning)
- Model commitment and discipline
- Give specifics (be granular).
- Share examples.
Expectations. Avoid setting the bar low. In 1967, coming off six consecutive bad seasons, new Red Sox skipper Dick Williams proclaimed, "we'll win more than we lose." The Red Sox lost in the seventh game of the World Series. Teams sink to the level of low expectations. Don't traffic in excuses.
Strength and conditioning. I've had players acknowledge fear of physicality. But regardless of your sport, strength and conditioning translate.
Jayson Tatum wants to be an All-NBA player.
Modeling. Life rewards thinking but also action. Players won't "buy in" unless they see added value translating. Mac Jones is the new Patriots QB1. He got respect in the room but showing up at Gillette Stadium at 4:30 A.M. and putting in fourteen hour days or more. "Your actions speak so loudly that I cannot hear a word you say."Specificity. SMART training references specific-measurable-attainable-realistic-timely approaches. "This is what you have to do to succeed."
Storybook endings. Bill Bradley put in three hours a day from age 12 and eight hours on Saturday transforming a banker's son into an All-American and Rhodes Scholar. "He wasn't a great athlete." But he is a Hall of Famer.
The Heath Brothers' book Made to Stick animates the edge provided in telling your narratives. We remember great stories and often apply them.
Lagniappe (something extra). "Never think without a pencil in your hand." - Es Devlin, performance designer
Lagniappe 2. AND or BUT a message from Nick Saban