Happy New Year! While I sincerely hope everyone’s 2010 is off to a wonderful start, I will be honest, I say “Happy New Year” somewhat facetiously. It’s January 7th for cryin’ out loud! When will people stop saying it?! On a similar note… the folks still saying “Happy New Year” are usually the same folks who thought it was cute to say “see ya next year” the last week of December or who are so void of something significant to say they say stuff like, “is it cold enough for you?” Are you kidding me? It is 7 degrees out you dolt! Yes, it is plenty cold. Oh well, I guess some people aren’t much for meaningful conversation.
Sorry to digress.
While I am not much into making New Year’s resolutions, even I get excited and inspired at the nostalgia associated with a new year. Having spent a good portion of the last few weeks reflecting on 2009, my goal for this year is the same as it is every year:
“Do more of what is working and less of what isn’t.”
This simple concept is the foundation of success. You can take that concept a step further and ask yourself this question every morning when you wake up:
“Are the things I am doing today going to help me get to where I want to go?”
Are the things you are currently doing going to help you next week? Next month? Next year? In 5 years? If you can’t answer yes to at least one of those time periods … then why are you doing what you are doing? Stop wasting your time! And both of those thoughts transition into yet another power concept:
“Don’t confuse being busy with being productive.”
Everyone is busy. Everyone has a long “to-do” list. But not everyone is productive. Not everyone gets results. Make sure the things you do on a daily basis are taking you where you want to go. Don’t just spin your wheels.
With that said, those three concepts are very applicable to basketball players and coaches.
Now that a good chunk of the season is over… what things are working? What things aren’t? Are you too stubborn to change? Are you on pace to accomplish the goals you set at the beginning of the season? Do you need to slightly alter and adjust those goals based on the results of November and December?
Are the things you are doing on a daily basis making you a better player? A better coach? I am sure you are extremely busy during the season, but are you truly being productive?
If you are a player and you have been in a shooting slump the last few games… are you coming in before practice to get in some extra shooting work? If you are, are you taking extra shots from where you get most of your shots in games? Do you even know where you get most of your shots in games? At Montrose, we run a very disciplined offensive system. Each of our players take a majority of their shots from the same 3 or 4 spots on the court. So that is where they should take most of their shots in practice… if they want their practice to be productive. If you are not playing as much you feel you deserve, have you scheduled an individual meeting with your coach to ask what you need to do to get more playing time? Or do you just sit on the end of the bench and pout? That negative energy is a cancer to any team… don’t do it! And if you are a coach, don’t tolerate it. “Energy takers” need to be nipped in the bud immediately.
If you are a coach, and your team is struggling, have you pinpointed the specific reasons why? Lack of effort? Lack of execution? You can’t do much at this point about lack of talent… but you can about poor effort and/or execution. Just make sure your practice plan addresses the specific area you need to ignite and improve. If your team is not executing well… a ton of extra running as punishment will not help solve the problem. That’s apples and oranges.
Pause… new topic.
I have always been a big believer in the concept of “choices and consequences.” Each of us has a choice in everything we do in life. Everything. Even the things that happen to us that are beyond our control, we each choose how we respond and handle the situation. And every choice we make has a consequence. Some consequences are good, some are bad. For some reason, the word “consequence,” has been given a negative connotation. But I believe the word consequence is just another word for result. Every choice you make produces a result. What is the consequence of not eating breakfast? Hunger, lack of focus, low energy, and poor performance. What is the consequence of making 10 free throws in a row before you leave practice every day? Shooting a higher percentage from the line over the course of the season and hitting clutch free throws during games. See the correlation?! Success is not an accident. Neither is failure.
I feel it is my duty as a coach to teach this concept of choices and consequences to the players I work with. Here is a perfect example:
Coach Vetter has a mandatory team rule that every player must wear ankle braces for every practice and every game. Right or wrong, that is his rule. One of our players asked me the other night before our game if it was OK if he didn’t wear them. I said, “Sure, if you are 100% willing to face the consequences of not wearing them.” He looked at me with a bewildered look of confusion. I asked him if he would be willing to face the consequences of Coach Vetter finding out he intentionally broke a team rule (and then have to face whatever punishment resulted), or even worse, if he severely injured his ankle during the game and ruined his season? He looked to the floor and mumbled, “No.” To which I smiled and said, “Good answer. Now put on your ankle braces.”
Here is another example of choices and consequences that is currently making headlines across the sports world:
Do you think Gilbert Arenas gave much thought to the potential consequences of bringing in three guns to the locker room? Was that irresponsible stunt worth the consequence of suspension (and possible expulsion) from the league, severe legal action, loss of millions of dollars, and a permanent black mark on his reputation? Not so funny now, is it Gilbert?
You know another valuable lesson to teach young people that comes to mind from this Gilbert situation? And don’t say, “You shouldn’t bring guns in the locker room.” If you don’t already know that you shouldn’t bring guns in to the locker room… then you either have a room temperature I.Q. or you have lived in a cave your whole life. If that’s not the case, you should be hit in the head with a sledge hammer. (NOTE: Yes, I do think Gilbert should be hit the head with a sledge hammer; hopefully it would knock some sense into him!)
No, the real lesson is one we rarely see in professional sports… taking personal accountability for your actions. Whether you are talking about steroids in baseball, Tiger’s myriad of affairs, or Gilbert bringing guns in to the locker room… I wish just once a pro-athlete would immediately accept the blame and say something like this:
“I am so sorry. I used horrible judgment and made a terrible mistake. I was wrong and I sincerely apologize. I promise to go to whatever length is necessary to right this wrong.”
Of course they all say that once it’s too late… after a week or two goes by and they have exhausted all efforts to cover up their wrongdoing and BS their way out of trouble. They all say it then. At that point, it is meaningless.
If Gilbert was man enough to be strapped with three guns, he damn sure should have been man enough to immediately accept full responsibility and hold himself accountable for the consequences. Instead, he acted like a horse’s ass and publicly joked about it.
And for the record, admitting you were wrong and apologizing does not make up for the mistake… but it does show you are a person of character and that you take full responsibility for your actions.
Lastly, I am very thankful to have received many nice Christmas gifts from my friends and family. One of my favorite gifts, given my affinity for reading, was the new Amazon Kindle electronic reader. It is awesome! If you are an avid reader, I highly recommend it.
The first book I bought was Personal Foul by Tim Donaghy (the former NBA referee who was arrested for gambling on NBA games). It was extremely fascinating and was an easy read. I knocked it out in a week. Of course, the entire book was written from the perspective of a lying, cheating, self-admitted gambling addict… but if even 10% of what he claims is true… WOW!
Also, I just posted a video montage of the Montrose Pre-Game Warm-up at www.YouTube.com/StrongerTeamDotCom. Early next week I will post the Montrose Pre-Game On-Court Warm-up (showing what we do when we take the court 20 minutes before every game). Make sure you subscribe so you don’t miss any of the action!
If I can ever be of service or help you in any way, please don’t hesitate to email me at Alan@StrongerTeam.com. I promise to respond as quickly as possible.
Play hard. Have fun.
Alan Stein