(from MasterClass)
"I'm a salesman." - Chuck Daly
Everyone sells...retail, advertising, teachers, butchers, bakers, candlestick makers. Get buy-in for our ideas, messages, and teaching. What are we prepared to fight for?
"Don't be boring." Connect with our audience. Respect their intelligence and their time. Vary drills and practices to engage our students. Here's a sample:
Use the truth. Honesty creates trust. Trust earns loyalty. Don't make false promises regarding role or playing time. Check the facts; separate fact from opinion. Find teaching tools like graphs, charts, diagrams, and video.
Explain why our plan benefits them. "Ten thousand hook shots could make you ten million dollars." Adopt these study habits (spaced repetition, Pomodoro technique, self-testing) and get into a better college. Basketball scholarship needs acceptance and admission. An email or letter saying that a player isn't a qualifier take some life from us.
Use humor. Abe Lemons had a way with words, " When Lemons first contracted to play Miami he suggested to Coach Bruce Hale: "Let's play a home-and-home series, but let's play 'em both at your place." But he could be edgy. "Guard Dick Bagby came up to him recently and reported he had a cold. "That's probably a draft from all them ol' boys rushin' past you with the ball," Lemons said."
Spare the sarcasm. Proactive Coaching writes, "while it may be clever, it can be cruel. It can hurt and confuse kids because it is a message of contradiction. It is criticism without correction, and the criticism is often painfully harsh."
Serve the players, not ourselves. "How can you do this to me and your teammates?" Coaches often choose what's good for ourselves and our careers. Players are entitled to the same choices. Thank players for their contributions to the program and wish them well. Be the adult, even when it stings.
Have a track record. Share how graduates of your program have done. It takes time. Network to help them advance. Take pride in how players succeed professionally and personally.
Remember: ACHIEVEMENT = Performance x Time
Winners do extra. The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary. Recall the most successful graduates of our programs. They always are the hard workers. Unrequired work distinguishes excellence.
Study communicators. Study influential speakers and methods of speech. Mark Forsyth shares specific rhetorical technique. "Become more to do more; do more to become more."
- Don't be boring
- Use the truth
- Explain why our program benefits them
- Use humor
- Spare the sarcasm
- Serve the players
- Have a track record
- Do extra
- Study communicators
For example, briefly explain the greatness of Bill Russell. Invest time to make arguments shorter with stronger points.
- 14 Championships in 15 years (2 NCAA, 1 Olympic, 11 NBA)
- First African American coach in major professional sports
- Winner-take-all games, Russell won...every time.
Lagniappe 2. Develop your portfolio.
