Coaches love to celebrate the successes of our players. What separated some of the most successful? Hint, it wasn't the coaching.
What "minimum" criteria apply?
- Direct coaching of the player (e.g. not just summer league part-time)
- Minimum - All-Star player or higher (e.g. All-State, All-Scholastic) in at least one sport
- Post high-school career success if already graduated
Parental support. School teams, AAU, individual basketball training, and personal training all cost time and money.
Physical attributes - skill, athleticism, size. In addition to skill, players need unusual athleticism, size, or both.
Students of the game. The best leveraged more than coaching maintaining their notebook and studying video, beginning at a young age.
Coachability. It's not a given that players have commitment, openness, aptitude, a strong work ethic, and humility. They also need access to coaching sufficient for their development.
Character. Etorre Messina says, "Character is job one."
Commitment. Show up every day. "Every day is showtime."
Competitive. Match your work to your slogans. Brad Stevens says to have "competitive character." Kobe Bryant preached "mamba mentality" in relentless preparation. Coach John Wooden shared, "make every day your masterpiece."
Collaboration. Be the best teammate, the best leader of yourself, and model excellence at home, in school, and on the court. Adopt the Fourth Agreement, "Always do your best."
Never satisfied. "I'm pleased but I'm not satisfied." Our philosophy was TIA - teamwork, improvement, accountability. Have great habits and a 'winning routine' that works for you.
Lagniappe. Excellence.
"If you want to play at an excellent level - if you want to do something excellent, you have to be excellent all the time.
— The Winning Difference (@thewinningdiff1) May 8, 2024
That's how you build habits.
When excellence becomes a habit, then that's just who you are." -Kobe Bryant pic.twitter.com/m1Vqn7g7MC