Life, Basketball and other Random Things

Inspiration From Coach K

2012-03-05T08:17:00.000-05:00

In honor of UNC beating Duke over the weekend I have some quotes from Coach K :)

No this is not me hating on Duke and rubbing in the loss. Despite my dislike for Duke, Coach K really is a great coach with a ton of wisdom. I post a lot of stuff about basketball coaches and stuff related to basketball but I do so because I believe that it can be applied in many other areas in life.

"The group that can play as one, with spirit and courage, has the best chance to win."

“A common mistake among those who work in sport is spending a disproportional amount of time on “x’s and o’s” as compared to time spent learning about people.”

“During critical periods, a leader is not allowed to feel sorry for himself, to be down, to be angry, or to be weak. Leaders must beat back these emotions.”

“Discipline is doing what you are supposed to do in the best possible manner at the time you are supposed to do it.”

-Mike Krzyzewski

Jeremy Lin: Confidence and Leadership

2012-03-02T10:07:00.000-05:00

"We go into the Laker game, it's a big game and nobody expected us to win," Walker said. "But we all got in the huddle and he's probably the youngest guy in that huddle, but he has that supreme confidence. He has no fear, he gets to the bucket and does his thing and you just play off it."

Knicks forward Bill Walker on Jeremy Lin

Good luck to all of the teams playing this weekend!

How Lucky You Can Be: The Story of Coach Don Meyer by Buster Olney

2012-02-29T09:33:00.001-05:00

This was a great read about an incredible man and coach. You should definitely check it out for yourself even if you don’t care about basketball. Coach Meyer is one of the most successful basketball coaches ever and has faced many challenges in his life and career.

Here's a video summary of his story.

I will post some quotes and thoughts from the book from time to time. Here is one of them.

These notes were taken by one of his players during a talk Meyer gave and are relevant way beyond basketball.

“Sept. 20, 1985
Rules on Winning

1. Work hard.

2. Stick together.
3. Have the right attitude.

4. Be positive; don’t criticize, look to compliment.

5. Improve every day, especially as a person.

6. “How badly do I want it?”

7. Know that no one can beat you; you beat yourself. Morale is what motivates the best to get better. As you think, so you shall be. A spirit of devotion and enthusiasm for the team and purpose ... Until you find a purpose higher than winning, you will never win.

Dean Smith [says]: “The single most important factor is team morale.”

If you're interested in picking up the book you can do so here:

How Lucky You Can Be: The Story of Coach Don Meyer

Chewing on these things...

The not so Secret to Starbucks

2012-02-27T08:41:00.000-05:00

Starbucks fascinates me.

In the blink of an eye it seemed to become a cultural icon. Hanging out at a coffee shop isn’t something that only a select group of people do. Starbucks has convinced us that everyone can and should. Why?

Yes, they believe that they have the best coffee and want everyone to experience it. Yes, they want to make a lot of money. But at the core of it all, Starbucks knows something greater than that and it is one of the reasons that it has become so successful.

I’ve been reading Onward by Howard Schultz, the Founder and CEO of Starbucks and have gathered a lot of useful nuggets. It’s about far more than coffee and how they came to be the brand that they are. In it’s pages there is a theme that resounds that I believe should be the foundation of everything that we set out to do if we want to experience success.

What’s that theme you ask...? Drumroll please....

RELATIONSHIPS

Yes, Starbucks, the coffee company you love to hate or love to love, has built everything it has achieved on that value. Relationships.

In business, at home, in Coaching and sports, whatever you can think of, success is most promising when you have good relationships with people. Whether it be within your organization or with your customers, it is crucial! I’m about halfway through the book and I’ve already highlighted a bunch of stuff. Here are a few. If you want to check out the book for yourself I included a link above to the Kindle Version but you can get the hard copy Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soul with this link.

“More than our scale, the brand can and should be defined by the quality of its coffee as well as its values. Community. Connection. Respect. Dignity. Humor. Humanity. Accountability. It is our mission to make sure the world sees us through those lenses.”

"I like to think, is that the Starbucks Experience-- personal connection-- is an affordable necessity. We are all hungry for community."

“Starbucks desperately needed baristas and managers to be genuinely friendly, enthusiastic, and willing to go the extra mile millions of times a week.”

“I always say that Starbucks is at its best when we are creating enduring relationships and personal connections.”

"Valuing personal connections at a time when so many people sit alone in front of screens; aspiring to build human relationships in an age when so many issues polarize so many; and acting ethically, even if it costs more, when corners are routinely cut—these are honorable pursuits, at the core of what we set out to be."

"I love Starbucks because everything we've tried to do is steeped in humanity. Respect and dignity. Passion and laughter. Compassion, community, and responsibility. Authenticity."

The Humanity from Linsanity

2012-02-21T11:23:00.000-05:00

What I have enjoyed most about Linsanity is that it seems for once everyone is rooting
for the good guy.

Everyone isn't hoping he fails

It's actually ok to jump on the bandwagon

We are EXCITED that someone is doing well!

In an age where it seems like sooo much bad is brought out of people through sports, it is refreshing to see the good and be reminded of why we like sports in the first place.

Thanks for never giving up Jeremy Lin.

What is to Gain from being Persistent?

2012-02-20T09:25:00.001-05:00

I found The following poem from www.coachingtoolbox.com

“I will persist 'til I succeed" by Og Mandino

I will not allow yesterday’s success to lull me into today’s complacency,
for this is the great foundation of failure.

I will forget the happenings of the day that is gone, Whether they were good or bad,
And greet the new sun with confidence that this will be the best day of my life.

So long as there is breath in me, that long will I persist.
For now I know one of the greatest principles of success;
If I persist long enough I will win.

I will persist.
I will win.”

It's a new day, a new week, whatever you face keep plugging away.

Connected

2012-02-15T22:00:00.000-05:00

I heard/ read two things separately yesterday that have left an impression on me.

The first was that 65% of 10-15 year olds have their own cell phones.

The other was a tweet by author Donald Miller that said, “Entering into relationships is the whole point of this life.”

You’re probably thinking what do they have to do with each other? The first is pretty crazy but not all that surprising. The cell phone/ texting phenomena at first just seems like everyone wanting to be up with the times and technologically advanced. We want to have the coolest tech that has a million features and apps and I think at least initially we forget why we want all of the things that they offer. Yes we all text like crazy but why?

Because all this crazy tech enables us to connect with our people. And deeper than that we are building relationships which really is the point. If relationships weren’t, then we wouldn’t be so obsessed with our phones and knowing what people are doing and telling them what we’re doing.

Yes, this yearn for connectedness is often abused but I think that it all says something about our inner longing as people.

What do you think?

Why we Play 4Kay

2012-02-15T12:24:00.000-05:00

For the last two weeks high school and college women’s basketball teams at all levels across the country have been participating in “Play 4Kay” Games in honor of the late Coach Kay Yow, to raise breast cancer awareness and funds for scientific research on the court, across campuses, in communities and beyond. I’m not sure if most participants know much about Coach Yow other than she battled cancer for part of her career and was a great coach.

When she passed a few years ago in late January, a friend and I drove down to NC to attend the funeral. I want to share below something I wrote soon after the funeral about that experience and Coach Yow’s influence and the person that inspired the hundred’s of games and thousands of dollars being raised.

Coach Yow won over 700 games in her 30 plus years coaching at NC State and her two decades battle with breast cancer. To me the most inspiring thing about her was her faith in Christ. I did not know coach Yow, I had never met her, honestly I don’t remember ever watching NC State play, but her influence reaches beyond her achievements in basketball.

Yes basketball was her platform and I learned about her because of it. I felt compelled to attend her funeral to pay respect to a woman who has done great things in the basketball world and also I wanted to see how others have been influenced.

Before and after the funeral I heard interviews and read articles in which so many people spoke of her character, her gentleness, and care for her players and all those she knew. I don’t think most people knew that the great things that they admired the most about her were a reflection of her faith, her commitment and service to God. Her last act of service to God was to glorify Him in her death. For over 1000 people she made a point to be clear who she lived for and every person’s need for Christ. The whole service was planned by her and designed to glorify God including a 25 minute video she recorded sharing her testimony, reading scripture about our need for a savior and that savior is Jesus and an opportunity to accept him for ourselves. I was blown away.

Here’s a woman whom hundreds of people could’ve stood up and said amazing things about during her funeral but she chose to keep the focus on God. Here’s a woman who understood what life was about. Directing people towards God.

Each of us have been given life. We’ve been given talents and opportunities that many people don’t have. You may have had awful things happen and may be going through something tough. You’ve won games and lost games. But regardless, all things are purposed so that the work of God can be displayed in your life. Kay Yow is a great example of that. Through basketball and battling cancer, the work of God continues to be displayed.