The Month of October

The weather is getting cooler.  Did you grab your hoodie?  I can feel it, hoops season is here.  The month of October is one of my favorites, why?

Well, mostly because we get to coach and I mean really coach.  This is the month that we coach each player withoutmanaging the external pressures of playing time and social media applause.  We get to coach them to be the best against the greatest competition in life, themselves!  We teach, we demand, we encourage…all with only one goal in mind, can we help these players reach their fullest potential.

Not potential based upon anyone else opinion or stat, but what we know as coaches as maximizing their truest potential.  And coaches, we know it.. the magic happens with players arrive each day craving improvement, knowledge and ready to work.

Based upon this realization, my goal throughout this season is….coach everyday like its October!  Will you?

 

It is CAMP time y’all!

It’s time for camp y’all!

This is by far my favorite week of the year! However, do not get it confused! There is so much that  goes into the preparation!  Our staff does the best job in making sure each camper has the most positive experience ever!  Actually, they work their tails off to make sure I have the most positive experience ever! You see, everyone knows how much I love teaching the basics of the game, and camp week allows me that opportunity.  For us “older”(or let’s say more experienced) coaches, camp is where we learned how to coach and teach.  It’s where we networked and shared with other coaches across the country.  It’s what we did every summer, and it’s also what allowed us to pay a few bills.

Every year around this time I become reflective of the past, and then I remind myself that it’s camp week…the BEST week of the year!

This is a big part of what defines us as being not just a coach, but a TEACHER!  So, I’m ready to reach, share and sharpen my teaching of the game I love so very much!

THANKS to everyone that has worked so hard to make our camp the best!  And thanks to all of the parents and coaches who are traveling to Greenville, NC next week and allowing me to pour into your kiddos!

LET’S GO…influence+impacters!

Bounce BACK Ability

GET BACK UP…I know you hear me!  GET BACK UP!

Have you had one of those days?  Want to get back in bed?  Did you even get out of bed? Are you looking for the deepest hole to hide? Why do you have an overwhelming desire to crawl into the fetal position?
Well, it’s a bad day…maybe a really, really bad day! But please do NOT make it a bad week, bad month, or bad year.
GET BACK UP!  CHIN UP!  PICK YOUR PRIDE UP WITH YOU!  TAKE ONE, TWO, THREE STEPS FORWARD.
Some of the most incredible stories I have ever heard started with the fall, the loss, the big fat F!  But each and everyone one of those “feel good” stories direct us back to the BOUNCE BACK!  Exactly what we want to know about…how do you dig deep and have that “BOUNCE BACK ABILITY.”
Too many times, I’ve gotten caught up in the failing (and I mean failing hard) to recover mid-fail.  Wow, what a concept…RECOVER MID-FAIL!  How can we do it?  Look, if i knew exactly how this would probably be a book and not a blog.  Best I can say at this point is;  RECOGNIZE IT’S A GET A STOP (G.A.S.) MOMENT.  Not  recognizing it because its the final possession of the game, but recognizing it at the 7:00 minute mark.  It is a gift of experience to see it before it hits you.
All I know for sure is that bouncing is hard to do while you are on the floor.  Try it! It’s HARD! Put a little pep in your step, a little flow in your Joe! Stick and move!

The 30 Minute CHOICE

What would you CHOOSE to do with an “extra” or “unexpected” 30 minutes of time? Does it matter WHEN this time occurs or becomes available? Would early morning, mid-morning, or late night make a difference? Does it matter how you feel at the time…happy, sad, moody, mad? Does the fact that the task would actually take 40 minutes instead of 30 to complete the objective prevent you from starting? Would the excuse that by the time you got started it would be time for another event already on your calendar? I hear that voice in my head…Just check social media while you wait on practice to start or while you wait to board the next flight. I know I face this choice multiple times per day. However, I also know that in order to value the precious gift of time we have been given we MUST efficiently maximize it. WHY maximize the 30 minutes? I guess it may just depend on what your objective may be each day, week, month, or year. If your objective is to build a quality relationship, connect with family, or simply recharge while being an asset within your company or organization then I say, “MAXIMIZE your choice with ALL you’ve got.” The way I see it…30 minutes of reading….30 minutes of studying your craft….30 minutes of planning…30 minutes of organizing just allows you to be better for the person that stands by your right and left side. So, in those moments of wasted space between your next “have to” be sure to see it as an opportunity to be better….not better for just yourself, but better for the people in your life that depend on you to be great. It is YOUR 30 minute choice, but I promise at the end of your daily schedule you will not wish you had scrolled on social media more!

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SNAPSHOT: Did the 30 minutes of just getting a new book or two started complete the book? Absolutely not! However, the chapter I read tomorrow and the next day and the next day with a consistent and focused mindset sure will get the job done. Actually, I do enjoy reading 3 and 4 books at a time this exact way. Try it!

WANTED: Coaches Craving Knowledge!

I’ve been there! The season is approaching, and you have ran the same drills and used the same motivational techniques for years now.  However, you settle for if it is not broke then why fix it, right?
I have also been at the place of being nervous to run the first team meeting of the year, and really feeling I have no idea what offensive concepts to implement, let alone HOW to implement those concepts and TEACH them.
No matter which extreme is possibly your current reality, it is the exact reason we never miss one year of hosting our coaches clinic. As coaches, we all have a responsibility to share our experiences with other basketball coaching scholars in order to help them grow and in turn, IMPACT & INFLUENCE more young people. I have said it at least 1000 times….. there are no secrets with this game and as coaches we need to SHARE MORE….SHARE MORE INFO…. AND SHARE MORE OFTEN!
My hope is that everyone takes away at least one important nugget  from our clinic this Saturday.  Selfishly,  I know I always look forward to any clinic  because I will have a notebook and pen waiting for that one crucial take-away I will utilize this season.
Hey coach, I’m talking to you! Put your sweatsuit on, grab your coaching staff, grab your notebook….lets SHARE and GROW the game that we love!
The return on this investment will be ENDLESS.
Game On!

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What’s Your Edge?

DICTIONARY.COM defines the word edge as on a brink or verge. I really liked that until the next line said on the edge of a DISASTER! Disaster? I thought EDGE gives you an advantage, a leg up? So, I immediately go into study mode. The more I read, the more I ask, and the more I process real life scenarios. Then, the more I understand that your EDGE could truly depend on your margin for error.

Think of it like this, I have an edge over the competition in the market place because of my accelerated advanced degree. Maybe someone has an edge because they can shoot the ball at a high percentage, plus they are 6’2. What amazing EDGE all of that would be, but it would also give you a greater margin for error or an ability to recover after failing! So, I would argue that the true edge is having the ability to judge your accurate MARGIN FOR ERROR and BOUNCE back ability. My first year as a college coach, I learned about the phrase “an over exaggerated sense of self importance.” I am thankful I learned that quickly. Then I learned to look at myself and see what I had to improve upon. After you get real real honest with yourself you of course end up failing and screwing it up! That’s when I learned what real EDGE is…the ability to DO IT AGAIN THE NEXT DAY.

Stay tuned for more on…MARGIN FOR ERROR AND BOUNCE BACK-ABILITY!
Now, lets show our true EDGE – show back up and compete again tomorrow.

JDNUNITEDWAY2 Heather Macy, ECU Women's Head Basketball Coach, speaks to attendees during the launch of the 2016-2017 United Way campaign in Onslow County during a luncheon held at the Jacksonville Conference Center Tuessday afternoon September 13, 2016. Photo by John Althouse / The Daily News

 

FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS…..

Can you feel it? Can you see it? Can you sense it? Its the start of a new school year. The school supply section is more crowded than normal, seems like everyone is fitting in one last vacation, and the teachers are there weeks early organizing their classrooms! The great thing about the start of a new school year is that it feels like a new start and sometimes a fresh start. Its actually one of the best parts of having a career in education. A bad year does not have to turn into a bad five years. So many of my friends discuss being in a rut and when discussing the duration of time I am shocked. Did you just say for YEARS? That’s not a rut, that’s a grave to me! You see for educators we are so fortunate because no two days are the same and no two years are ever the same. It poses great challenges, but also great excitement. So, as we prepare for another school year lets be better than the year before! Actually, lets be better than the day before. Lets make this year the BEST ONE EVER! Why? Because all that is not given is lost and we are prepared …FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS.

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Impact & Influence

We are ONE week away from one of the most important weeks of the year! It is the week we get to give back to a game that has given us all so much. We get to teach kids the game we have loved since we were a very young age. We get to go way beyond the basics. We get to get kids fired up over a game they may have never played. We get to introduce young kids to tools that will help them elevate their skills to new heights. We will be awarded countless opportunities to build self-confidence, and we will get to remind ourselves WHY we became coaches in the first place. Next week many nervous campers and parents will arrive at Minges Coliseum unaware of “what’s next” while a passionate and energetic camp staff will await with one objective: TO IMPACT & INFLUENCE.

Watching our current players teach the game and share their skill sets with young campers is a always a pleasure. This mentoring may be the best thing they will do all summer to improve their own game. It could serve as a powerful teaching and learning tool.  Summer basketball is the exact place where I learned to teach and coach. It is where most coaches refine their ability to teach the game as well as learn new technology in an effort to better themselves.  This is the week we all LEARN, GROW, and THANK the game that has given us so very much. It is the best game in the world! Let’s go have some fun!!

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Consistency is Key! Just KEEP Showing Up!

We have a program belief that consistency is the truest measure of performance. Anyone can be great for ONE day, ONE week, or even ONE year. True success lies in the ability to get up each and everyday and repeat the behavior. This is the reason weight loss programs succeed or fail. This is the reason grades run across a full semester. It is a way to teach and test the ability to stick to “it”. As we say in our program….Just KEEP showing up everyday! Personally, I have experienced the greatest production when I have demonstrated the most consistency in my activity.  I believe the key to success in business, sports, and relationships is CONSISTENCY! Try it! Do you want a job? Go tell that person or company, “One day I am going to work here.” Go tell them each and everyday.

If you want something bad enough, you will be consistent.consistency 2