"Better ingredients, better pizza" equals "better players, better basketball."
MasterClass profiled World Champion pizza chef Tony Gemignani in its GOAT series. The parallels are obvious.
Feel joyful watching people eat. (Feel excitement watching great basketball. I worked with a coach who preached, "Entertain your family and me.")
Everything starts with flour - high gluten, high protein flour. (Everything starts with having effective players. Neil DeGrasse Tyson says, "It's not enough to be right. You have to be effective.")
Low diastetic malt makes pizza lighter and airier. (Excellent players are strong and conditioned.)
"I never thought of that." (There is always more to be learned. Action: what can I learn more about?)
"To be a master, you have to be a student." (Action: Embrace the Zen teaching of 'beginner's mind'.)
Activate yeast ('woke up'). (Coaching takes players where they cannot go alone.)
Cold water slows the dough down. (Be aware of the importance of tempo.)
Sea salt and oil. (Find the right combinations for your coaching tastes.)
Experience "epiphany" a flavor worth experiencing for life. (Rarely, you watch a team that leaves a special taste. When I watched the Winnacunnet girls play, I knew they had something special. Coach Beattie was their secret ingredient. Action: Study a great coach.)
"I'm going to learn how to make this." (There's no coaching cookbook. It takes time and trials. Action: be intentional in learning each day.)
He rests the dough in the refrigerator for 48 hours. (How committed are we to the process?)
"It was a lot of trial and error." (Edison learned there were 999 ways not to make a lightbulb.)
"When you're competing you get an adrenaline rush." ("Nothing great is accomplished without enthusiasm.")
"When I look at pizza I look at it as a sport."
"Sauce should always be at room temperature." (Stay under control.)
Whole milk mozzarella. (Fat = flavor. Ingredients/players are key.)
He uses pizza steels in the oven. (We all need help.)
Learning a craft is a lifelong journey. (Action: Learn every day.)
He has "respect the craft" tattooed on the side of his hands. (Action: give respect to get it.)
"Strive for greatness." (Action: Always do your best.)
Summary:
- "I never thought of that."
- "To be a master, you have to be a student."
- Experience "epiphany" a flavor worth experiencing for life.
- "I'm going to learn how to make this."
- Learning a craft is a lifelong journey.
- "Respect the craft"
- "Strive for greatness."