Make lifelong learning part of our brand. The ability to learn is a "soft skill" that pays long-term dividends. Kevin Eastman says, "be a learn-it-all." Remember David Mamet's advice, "do one thing every day for your craft and one for your business."
Listen better to learn more. Give the gift of attention to others. Learn 'active listening'. "Even when good listeners have strong views, they suspend judgment, hold any criticisms, and avoid interruptions like arguing or selling their point right away."
Application: start active listening with one conversation today.
Learn better with proven techniques.- Pomodoro technique - Study 25 minutes on, 5 minutes off
- Spaced repetition - circle back to material studied previously
- Self-testing - what key points have I learned?
Application: Repetition is key to retention. Special situations practice allows us to work each practice on BOBs, SLOBs, ATOs.
Use analogies. Thomas Edison valued imagination, persistence, and analogies.
I figuratively chased a lightning quick guard in practice every day one year. You know the scene in Karate Kid where Daniel uses chopsticks to catch a fly.
Application: Increase player elusiveness with dribble tag inside the arc or capture the flag. It's a game.
Assign a topic. Throughout the season, ask a player to present a brief (e.g. 2 minutes) basketball topic. It could be anything from offensive rebounding to drills to increase vertical jump.
Application: assign an assistant and/or player to run a drill
Give a pop quiz. Coach Knight allegedly would build a timeout into practice, draw up a play, then ask players to reproduce it with paper and pencil. You'd better pay attention.
Application: a coach was unhappy about player inability to run their offense. He gave a written test as a requirement to start. "We can't run what we can't run."
Read a book as a team over the year. Our local volleyball coach had his team read and discuss Jay Bilas's Toughness, chapter by chapter.
Application: It paid dividends...the team rallied from a final set 3-10 deficit (game to 15) to reach the Final Four.
The capacity to study and learn well carries over to every aspect of life. Be accountable to players and ourselves.
Takeaways:
- Listen better
- Learn better
- Use analogies
- Assign a topic
- Pop quiz
- Read a book as a team
Lagniappe. "Make the big time where you are." Phil Handy says, "start with a simple template."