David Mamet says we cannot award ourselves praise and other external honors. Better to focus on integrity, hard work, and honesty.
In Making Decisions, Ed Smith shares unconventional wisdom about seeking media gratification.
"Communication wins" via PR campaigns may yield short-term satisfaction, but most 'behind the scenes' high performance belongs hidden from public view.
"Inflation reputation" distorts who and what we really are. Smith doesn't mention 'mean reversion' per se, but the perception pendulum swings in both directions. Overestimation of our capabilities is likely temporary. The fall from grace can be hard.
"Manipulation" carries a negative connotation for good reason. Nobody wants or enjoys manipulation. The public and the media both feel capable of disentangling deflections and the blowback is likely harsh.
Rephrase as Aristotle. "We are what we repeatedly do. Therefore, excellence then, is not an act, but a habit." What we do reveals who we are.
Lagniappe. People speak and act to get things from others - money, love, respect, help. That applies to coaching, too.
Another coaching obligation assures 'adequate' academic achievement from players. Excellence should translate across domains. Many of us want high performance from players across their lives.
Lagniappe 2. Model 'showing up' and giving our best to players.
"The mentally weak athlete is wounded by hardship, while the mentally tough athlete is resilient in spite of it.
— The Winning Difference (@thewinningdiff1) July 23, 2023
There is no controlling what's already happened.
There's no controlling what's yet to happen.
All an athlete can control is the present, and it should be all that… pic.twitter.com/84oo0KIjT7
Lagniappe 3. Understanding defensive intent helps teach offense.
Diamond Press
— Matt Hackenberg (@CoachHackGO) July 23, 2023
Ball Reversals don’t hurt us, but they do:
▪️Create time to move players
▪️Create time to have better spacing
▪️Better understand how the defense is shading pic.twitter.com/8LSUJyVPC6