Thursday, September 29, 2022

Basketball: Sending Messages

"Stay on message." Coaches send messages with words, tone, silence, non-verbal communication, actions, and more. 

Simplicity is vital. Hemingway is famous for clarity and simplicity. Here's a passage from The Old Man and the Sea. 

"We're in man defense. Call out your player. Talk on D." Or "the best defensive player will always start." Put our minutes where our mouth is. 

Don't be misinterpreted. Hack Wilson's coach wanted to teach the slugger how bad alcohol was. He met Hack and dropped a worm into a glass of vodka. Within thirty seconds, the worm shriveled and died. "What does this teach you, Hack?" "Coach, I'm never going to have to worry about worms." 

Find the best way to deliver a message. I coached a dyslexic player who had issues with right and left. I'd tell her, "force the dribbler to the curtain" or "run the play on the side of the benches." 

Don't cut corners. Coach Auriemma set the team off the loosen up with a couple of laps. Nobody cut a corner. Champions don't skip steps. 

Use a high ratio of positive to negative messaging, at least three to one. Coach Wooden often 'sandwiched' a correction between two positive messages. 

Maintain focus. Pat Summitt's players were staying out late and drinking. She brought them in for a 6 AM session, installing trash cans at each court corner. "Run." They ran until they started vomiting in her version of "Four Corners." 

Set priorities. Bill Bradley's Princeton coach Butch van Breda Kolff thought players' priorities were off. On the chalkboard, he wrote: 

Winning Touch. Teams that touch win more often. "Touch can trigger the release of oxytocin in the brain, a chemical that induces trust. Researchers say anyone can use the power of trust in everyday life." Coaching girls, I confined that to "fist bumps" and "head taps." 

ROOTS (Royal Order of the Splinter). Few interventions say more than benching a player. Balancing that message brings problems. We can lose players, too. 

Feedback. "Trust but verify," said President Reagan. Sending a message doesn't mean receipt. At Lahey Clinic, the Transplant Nurse reminds the recipient about taking anti-rejection medication. "What happens if you don't take the medicine?" "I die." She repeated it twice more. Get feedback and readback. 

Summary:

  • Stay on message.
  • Keep it simple.
  • Don't be misinterpreted.
  • Stay positive.
  • Maintain focus (Four Corners)
  • Winning touch.
  • Set priorities. 
  • ROOTS (Royal order of the splinter)
  • Get feedback and readback.

Lagniappe. Find additional ways to send messages to our teams. 


The State Department learned that Russia had "bugged" our Washington headquarters. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright wore a variety of pins to express her opinions and moods, sending colorful messages. "Read my pins." When meeting with a Russian foreign minister not long after, she wore this oversize "bug" costume jewelry pin. 

Lagniappe 2. Defenders must establish intent. 

Lagniappe 3. Are you ready to impact winning? 

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