Everyone gets stuck. We call it writer's block, "the doldrums." ennui, being in a rut, dumbfounded.
In basketball, I call it "stale." Our goal is constant ascension but players get distracted, fatigued, hurt, injured, demoralized.
How do we get unstuck? What are considerations?
- Exercise
- Rest
- Diversion ('break the monotony')
- Take a vacation
- "Reset" cards
Eno and Schmidt published "Oblique Strategies" (rut-breaking) cards in 1975 with cues or tips such as "what would your best friend do?" Dan Pink briefly discusses this in Drive. We could buy the cards, but Pink refers us to a Twitter site inspired by the rut-breakers, Oblique Chirps. It's mostly historical, but still useful. Here are samples from Wikipedia.
PROBLEM: How can we allow fewer points? Obviously this will vary by team.
- Turn the ball over less (turnovers bleed into points)
- Contain the ball better (decrease the need for help)
- Defend the three better (do not help off corner threes)
- Stop committing bad fouls. ("Show your hands.")
- Revisit transition defense. ("What are we doing?" Review assignments.)
Maybe we should make up our own 'unsticking' cards. Call them "Instants" because they're designed to reset us quickly. They could be phrases, quotes, a song, or a picture.
Kevin Bacon, 1984, Footloose
"One man's meat is another man's poison."
As coaches, regularly stop and self-assess. Take the team's temperature. Read the room. Excellent teams PLAY basketball. Mediocre ones lack the unity and joy needed to succeed.
Lagniappe: Automate habits.
