This blog was 100% inspired by a concept I read on www.CopyBlogger.com (an invaluable resource for anyone who writes their own blog).
You need talent, luck, and persistence. Pick any two if you want to be successful.
Whether you are a basketball coach or player, you can reach your (realistic) goals and achieve a high level of success with just two of those three.
Don’t believe me? Let’s take a look…
Talent
To some degree, what most people refer to as talent, is nothing more than passion. If you love to do something… you will do it every chance you can. And the more you do it, the better you get. Now obviously there are several uncontrollable factors that determine someone’s ultimate talent and success on the basketball court (height, athleticism, etc.), but in many instances, talent comes from non-stop, obsessive practice. I have never met a lethal shooter who didn’t practice all of the time… who didn’t shoot thousands and thousands of shots every single week. Being a talented shooter is 100% controllable.
There is no debate that Kevin Durant was born with numerous physical gifts. But so are a lot of people. So how come KD is an NBA All-Star and the league’s youngest leading scorer of all time and other 6’9” guys don’t play passed high school or college? Because KD has an unparalleled passion for basketball and he works on his craft every single day. The same can be said for Greivis Vasquez. I met Greivis the day he got to the United States (from Venezuela) in 2005. He spoke very little English and weighed 150 lbs. Now he is about to be picked in this year’s NBA Draft. How is that possible? He made himself talented by working on his game every single day.
Same goes for coaching. Who are some of the most talented coaches in college basketball? Coach K? Tom Izzo? Jay Wright? Do you have any idea how much time and effort those guys have put into their coaching skill sets? They love the game of basketball and work relentlessly at becoming the best they can be.
And talent doesn’t have to be all encompassing. You don’t have to be good at everything. You just need to have a specialty… a specific talent that makes you stand out. It might be defense (Bruce Bowen), it might be rebounding (David Lee), or it might be shooting (Ray Allen). Working on your weaknesses is important, but so is making your strengths even stronger!
Talent is the ability to make the most of what you have with where you are.
Luck
Honestly, I don’t believe in luck. I think unsuccessful people use luck as an excuse. I believe luck is when preparation meets opportunity. I love the quote, “the harder you work, the luckier you get.” There is so much truth to that statement. So that means, in order to be lucky, you need to be well prepared when opportunity knocks.
Do you even know how to prepare? Players, what do your daily workouts consist of? Do you just jack up 300 shots or do you take game shots, from game spots, at game speeds? Do you practice ball handling drills looking down at the ball or do you force yourself to look up (even though you may lose the ball initially)? Do you visualize a defender in front of you when making moves to the basket or do you just do the drill? Do you have a solid strength & conditioning foundation or do you just play pick-up? Equally important, are you a great teammate? Are you the type of player other players like to play with and coaches like to coach? Trust me… you’ll be a lot luckier if you are!
Coaches, do you just study the X’s and O’s or do you work on communication and leadership? Do you put all of your focus on your out-of-bounds plays or do you spend time learning how to most effectively communicate with every member of your program? Do you reinforce great work habits with your players 365 days a year? Do you read, watch film, and network with other coaches?
I realize many resources cost money… camps, clinics, DVDs, and trainers, which can be a limiting factor for some. However there are numerous resources that don’t (like this blog or my YouTube channel). Find them. Use them.
If you want to be lucky, you need “to be in the right place at the right time.” Instead of waiting for that to happen, you need to make an effort to create real value in every place you go and every person you come in contact with.
When opportunity knocks, will you be prepared to answer?
Persistence
This one is pretty obvious. Don’t give up on anything you can’t go a day without thinking about it. Never quit. Keep practicing. Keep working. Most people think they are persistent, but in reality, they give up after a couple of “no’s” or a few minor failures. Be too stubborn to quit. Don’t be so pig-headed you won’t try to new approaches or make adjustments along the way… just don’t quit. Ever.
My twin sons, Luke and Jack, will be 3 months old next week. They have an unyielding persistence. They don’t stop until they get what they want! They are relentless and they don’t take no for answer. While that has certainly caused me a handful of sleepless nights, I hope it is a quality they never out grow. If they apply the same persistence to the game of basketball as they do to wanting to be fed… they will indeed be McDonalds All-Americans in 2028!
Bottom line is this. If you want to be successful, on the court, or in anything in life:
Make your own talent.
Make your own luck.
Never quit.
If you want to see some impressive drills from three action packed days at the 2010 Chris Paul Elite Guard Camp, please check out http://TinyUrl.com/CP3Camp2010.
My intense summer camp circuit is in full swing. Stay tuned for blogs, videos, and Tweets with behind the scenes insight from the NBA Players Association Top 100 Camp and all of the Nike Skills Academies (Deron Williams, Kevin Durant, Paul Pierce, Amar’e Stoudemire, and LeBron James). It’s going to be an epic summer.
Speaking of which, we have officially wrapped up our 10 week long Can He Dunk? Project. I will post the highly anticipated promo video, along with a ton of content, at www.CanHeDunk.com in early July. ESPN/Rise is editing the final webisodes which are scheduled to air a week or two after the site launches.
Please let me know if I can ever be a resource to you for your program. You can email me at Alan@StrongerTeam.com.
Train hard. Train smart.
Alan Stein
PS: I sincerely apologize, but I have had to discontinue the 100 Exercises in 100 Days promotion because of technical issues. However, I will be posting some valuable content in its place as well as adding a weekly Coaching Nugget downloadable PDF (free!). You can find these resources in the Media Gallery at www.StrongerTeam.com.