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Thursday, September 22, 2022

Don Meyer (Cross-Posted from My Volleyball Site)

Some of you have never heard of Don Meyer, former basketball coach at Northern State. At one time he held the record for men's basketball coaching wins. He won the ESPY "Jimmy V Award" for courage. He used to have a spot on his website where you could ask a question and he was always generous with his answers. 

Here are a few points worth noting:

1. Coach Meyer kept three notebooks, one for basketball, one for general knowledge, and one for appreciation for his wife, that he gave her at the end of each year.

2. He had many sayings, like there are three phases in coaching - blind enthusiasm, sophisticated complexity, and mature simplicity.

3. He had few rules

-Everybody takes notes.

-Everybody says "please" and "thank you".

-Everybody picks up trash. 

4. He was a big believer in "servant leadership." 

5. The relevant quote for today, "It doesn't matter who you play; it matters how you play." 


Some teams waste energy overthinking the opponent and underestimate the importance of doing they you do well. Invest time and energy doing more of what works and less of what doesn't. 



And a story