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The following is a listing of all posts in the category of Program Building for our site.

Click on the links to read the individual posts.

Notes for Improving Your Team

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Here are some of my takeaways from 2016

From Jack Clark, Cal Rugby Coach
(From an article written by Jen Sinkler)

“You and I could go to the sports page today and open it up and see some sports team calling themselves a family. It’s what everyone does nowadays — they call themselves a family. In reality, it grates on me a little bit because my concept of family is unconditional. There’s my screw-up brother down in Huntington Beach. I love him, but you don’t want him on your team, I promise you. Family means unconditional, whereas high-performance teams are highly, highly conditional organizations.”

“I think what matters most — outside of talent — would probably be the culture of the team: developing a really resilient, embedded team culture around performance. It’s like anything else: You’ve got to rep it. You’ve got to talk about it on day one and day five and in the middle of the season and at the end of the season.”

I think this is an underrated and overlook part of culture. I once heard Doc Rivers say, “You have to protect your team culture. This battle is waged daily.”

In other words, culture, to be successful must be intentionally thought out, planned and executed by all those involved

“We believe in constant performance improvement. We say it’s not just enough to win. That’s kind of an old thing. If you go back to legendary basketball coach John Wooden’s Pyramid of Success, you can get some performance over results. It’s there. We believe that and we believe that we should be getting better. We think that we should accept that burden. If we’re going to work at this as hard as we’re working at it, then we should be getting better from week to week, month to month, match to match. There should be improvement.”

You can read the entire article by clicking here

Kevin Eastman

Special athletes hold themselves accountable…

…don’t blame others first; instead, they look first for what they contributed (or did not contribute) to the situation.

…don’t complain; instead they look for ways to correct things that aren’t working.

…don’t procrastinate; get things done now.

…always give more than they ask of others.

…always look to take on as much as they can handle, rather than look to pass things on to others all the time.

…are constantly trying to improve their game as they can bring more to the team and constantly fulfill their role.

…are self starters and study the game (and themselves) enough to know what needs to be done; then do about doing it.

…do the un-required work, knowing that it simply needs to be done — extra reps, extra weights, extra film watching, etc. without constantly needing to be told by a coach.

…hold others accountable for their jobs and roles because they know the importance of accountability as it relates to winning; this creates a collective responsibility.

…always be among the most trusted players on the team — by coaches and players.

Characteristics a coach needs. One or more are characteristics that I think may be overlooked.

1. Respect -­‐ I believe that the greater respect the coach commands, the easier it is to ensure buy-­‐in from his or her players. And the more often you can get your team to buy in, the more you’re going to see them do what you want them to do. I’ve always tried to gain respect by outworking others in the business and trying to learn as much as I can at the place and position I’m in. Work ethic and this continuing search for knowledge have been keys to my ability to gain respect.

2. Relationships -­‐ I believe relationships are the foundation for success in any field. As a coach, you need to get to know your team, get to know about your team, talk to your players in good times and bad, let your players know you care about them, and develop a trust with your players.

3. Curiosity -­‐ It seems to me that the most successful people in any business have an insatiable intellectual curiosity about their field. They talk to the best in the business, they read about others, they listen to CDs and DVDs, they want to know what the best are doing and how it can relate to them and their programs, and they are curious to know what you know and how it can fit in to enhance their program or business.

4. Ability to motivate -­‐ Motivation is an aspect of coaching that requires coaches to constantly “read” what’s needed for their team and any given player on a daily basis. It also requires a great deal of thought and study in order to find new ways to accomplish these tasks. Find out what makes a player tick and then create ways to motivate him to get the most out of him each day. And be able to recognize when it’s a new day that needs a new motivator -­‐-­‐ even for the same player who responded yesterday!

“No matter how much we know on any subject, there’s always more to learn. Make the time to read, to study, and to think; each of these is important to your development. We all need to keep up with what’s going on in our field, too. I’ve found that news and magazine articles can be as helpful as books in this regard. The key is to keep searching so that you stay gain knowledge, improve, and stay relevant!”

Coaches expect and demand things of our players — especially those things they can control like attitude, effort and intensity. And then he talked about how we must demand it of ourselves first:

1. Coaches must maintain their intensity everyday.
2. A coach can never get bored.
3. The intensity that a coach brings to the floor helps the player have a more intense workout.
4. Coaches have body language too. Be careful of your body language, and how it could be interpreted by your players.

These are a few of my takeaways from my latest reading on Texas A & M women’s assistant Bob Starkey’s HoopThoughts. If it is not on your regular reading list, I recommend to add it. There are great articles on all aspects of coaching basketball.


Filed Under: Archives, Program Building

Your Worth to the Team

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Some good questions for coaches to ask their athletes and to use as an accountability list to their teammates.

To check your value to our team, ask yourself these questions:

  1. Am I mature enough to work at things seriously?
  2. Do I observe the rules of our sport?
  3. Do I expect and respect authority?
  4. Do I conform to all training rules?
  5. Am I willing to sacrifice for the team? And for myself?
  6. Do I work hard in practice to improve my fundamentals?
  7. Do I recognize correction from the coaches as an effort to help me to improve rather than as a criticism of my performance?
  8. Do I help and encourage my teammates when they are striving to improve?
  9. Do I stand up for the team or a teammate when I hear criticism?
  10. Do I tell a teammate to stop complaining?
  11. Do I report any dissension among players to the coaches?
  12. Am I dedicated to the point where I’m willing to make any sacrifice which will improve our team, improve myself, or improve the image of our team?
  13. Do I recognize the fact that while on or off the field/court my actions and performances are a reflection on my family and on the team?
  14. Do I take pride in my actions, dress, and speech on and off the field?
  15. Do I have a spirit of cooperation with other team members and the coaches?
  16. Do I have a burning desire to win?
  17. Do I continually work to improve—never being satisfied with my present development?
  18. Do I have the self-discipline and mental toughness to fight back when the chips are down?
  19. Am I all business before and during the game?
  20. Am I a hard loser? That is do I profit from my mistakes by thinking and talking over the cause of defeat and make sure the same cause never defeats me again? (There is a great difference between a hard loser and a poor loser)
  21. Do I recognize the privilege and honor of being on the team?
  22. Am I eager to learn more?
  23. Do I spread enthusiasm to others through my enthusiasm and eagerness?
  24. Do I set an example for younger players which will make them eager to become the same kind of player and person as I am?

Filed Under: Archives, Program Building

Great Teams vs. Destructive Teams

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Some thoughts to share with your athletes…

Great Teams

“Prepare for every game/meet/match like you just lost your last game.”

There is a difference between readiness and preparation; readiness doesn’t get it done. You must prepare – Marine boot camp philosophy

“Treat people nice, even when they don’t deserve it.”

Have Positive Captains

– Work hard
– Take care of things on the floor/field
– Let the coaches take care of everything else

Have Great Team Attitudes

– Listen to each other
– Are courteous
– Say what they feel, but watch how they say it.
– Don’t talk behind each others back
– Don’t put each other down

Have players and coaches who accept and appreciate their roles on the team.

Work on improving their skills

Share ownership in both victory and defeat.

We before Me Attitude

– Trustworthy
– Disciplined
– Unselfish
– Help teammates up
– Know roles

Push each other in practice to better prepare each other for the next game.

Self Destructive Teams

Your Four Toughest Opponents

– Negative attitudes in your program
– Injuries
– Illness
– Ineligibility

“What is your attitude?”

“What do others perceive as your attitude?”

Have lost the love of the sport.

Are not willing to practice every day, especially when times are tough.

Lose track of their short term and long term goals. – What are the team’s goals?

Are more concerned with individual goals than the team goals.

– Who is starting?
– Whose name is in the paper?
– Who gets more playing time?

Lack leaders who will lead by example.
– “Can talk the talk but WON’T walk the walk”

Criticize teammates ”Run each other down rather than lift each other up”

Are not coachable

When you are not getting better each day, you are telling your teammates that you don’t care OUR team.


Filed Under: Program Building

Action Steps for Team Leaders

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Some good thoughts to share with your team’s leaders or with the entire team.

These two handouts were taken from Ryan Renquist’s “The Notebook of Champions” Building Success One Victory at a Time (Sixth Edition)

What is a Leader?

A LEADER, LEADS BY EXAMPLE: A leader must be a positive role model at all times. Every word spoken has to be a positive word. Every act he does must be a positive act. A leader can never be negative. He must be a shining example of what it takes to be great.

A LEADER BRINGS OUT THE BEST IN OTHERS: A leader must be the type of person that others want to be like. He has to inspire his teammates to be their very best.

A LEADER IS AN EXTENSION OF THE COACH: Most players are well behaved when the coach is around. However, when the coach is not around, negative things can occur. Any type of negative talk, about the team or another player, is detrimental to the team. A leader does not try to cut corners in any way. He knows what the team and school rules are and does not break them himself, or allow others to break them.

A LEADER IS A HARD WORKER: A leader must enjoy serving others. He must want to do the things that are necessary for a team to have success. A leader is always trying to think of ways he can help improve the team.

A LEADER PUTS THE TEAM FIRST: It is easy to come up with excuses why we can’t get a task done. I hear those excuses all the time. If you want to do something, you can almost always do it. If you don’t want to do something, you can almost always find an excuse so that you don’t have to do it. I want people who I can count on to be there. I want people who are committed to basketball all year – not just during the season.

A LEADER TRULY WANTS TO BE A SERVANT: You can’t fake it, you either want to be a positive servant to your team, or you don’t. The leaders of this team do not have to be the best players. In fact, I think it is neat when someone who isn’t a great player steps up and takes on a leadership role. Your job as a member of this team is to find some way to make a positive contribution to the team. For some that contribution may be providing leadership.

Leading by Helping Others:

If you think it ever was about you as a leader, you are wrong. Leadership is about others. Great leaders love and care about others more than themselves.

Here are four tips to help you love and care about those you lead. However, let me preface these tips by saying that the most important thing you need to do is not fake caring. Either you really love those you lead or you don’t. If don’t feel it, don’t fake it. Faking it will erode your trust as a leader very quickly. People know when leaders are genuine and when they are not.

1. Serve. There is a positive correlation between serving others and love. The more you serve others, the more you will care for and love them. The more you care and love, the greater desire you will have to serve. It can be as easy as sending a heartfelt card during a tender time in an employee’s life, or doing something nice for their family. There are many opportunities to serve those we lead, we just need to be aware and look for them.

2. Be empathetic. See those you lead as people with needs just like you. I was talking to a colleague of mine the other day who has an employee with a very sick father who lives clear across the country. She can’t afford an airline ticket to see him. This kind and generous leader is going to buy her a ticket so she can see her father, and he is doing it anonymously. He has truly seen those he leads as people just like him that he can reach out and serve.

3. See the positive. Everybody has good in them. The more you think and speak positively of others the more you will care. If you are always seeing the negative; it is difficult to care because those feelings are in direct conflict with caring. Some of you might be saying, “well, that is fine and dandy, but there is negative, and I have to address that too.” And I agree. But look for the positive first and then address the negative because you love that person, not because you are upset or angry.

4. Express it. Now, you don’t need to say “I love you.” That could be construed as something different than what you are trying convey. But telling those you lead that you really do care about them; that you appreciate them, and feeling it as you say it, will increase your love for them. There is a real connection that occurs when you express how you feel genuinely to others.


Filed Under: Leadership, Program Building

Developing a Positive Team Culture

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Teams that have negative cultures surrounding them sap the energy out of everyone involved–most importantly, the players. Teams that have positive cultures add energy to everyone’s tank. Being an “energy giver” is a conscious decision that coaches, players, and parents can make that will make the experience of being a part of the team more enjoyable for everyone. In this article, I will focus on some ways that coaches, can promote a positive culture for their program.

A positive culture doesn’t just happen on its own, it is a cooperative effort between coaches, players, and parents. A good way to set the tone is to have a parent meeting for coaches to clearly communicate their expectations for both players and parents. Coaches and parents will not always agree, but in the most positive team cultures there will be a mutual respect between coaches and parents for the difficult job that each group has.

Put it in writing. For coaches, put your expectations on paper and make sure that each player and each player’s parents have a copy of what those are. It also makes a big difference when players are involved in creating the expectations that they will be held accountable for. Make a list together of no more than a dozen expectations (for youth teams three to five is a good number) that your players agree to be held accountable for. This is not a goals list, it is a written vision for what the players are like in a team with a positive culture.

Examples are: Only positive body language, no excuses, only positive comments to teammates, and 100% effort expected at all times. Those are just a few positive behaviors to get you and your players started on creating your team’s list.

Players on a positive culture team enthusiastically support and follow the expectations that have been established. There are times when players must put what is best for the team ahead of their own desires. That is one of the great lessons taught by basketball!

The number one goal for our coaching staff is to develop a life long relationship with each participant that can never be broken. That motto is the first thing our coaches see when they open their staff notebooks. We operate with that thought in mind during all of our interactions with our players. Our coaches are the leaders for our program, but we can still treat our players as adults and with respect. It also means that we take the time to get to know our players as individuals and not just basketball players. I take a couple of minutes as they are warming up to make sure that I acknowledge each player every day and ask how their days have been so far.

You can be demanding without being demeaning. Developing a positive team culture does not mean that you ignore mistakes, or that you do not coach and correct your players. It means that you make corrections in a way that allows the player to keep his dignity. It has been my experience that players want you to be demanding in order to bring out the best in them. It can be done in a way that doesn’t create animosity.

As an example, one year our players and coaches developed as a part of our expectations that we would practice with the intensity of a state championship team. Certainly a demanding goal. Rather than yelling at our team when our intensity was down, I would simply ask, is that the Winamac (the school I was coaching at) Way that we agreed upon? Then it isn’t personal. It isn’t me picking on them. It is the coach holding the team to the standard that they set for themselves. I encourage you to find similar ways that you can be demanding in positive way with your team.

Teach the Improvement Process. There are really only three ways to improve: Develop a new skill, perform a previously acquired skill more quickly, or perform a skill with better technique. To achieve any of those performance goals, players must push out of their current ability level and comfort zone. When they do that, they will make mistakes. If you as a coach criticize or chastise your players for the mistakes they make that are a part of the improvement process, you are not going to see much improvement.

Coaches must set the tone in practice where your players understand why mistakes are an accepted and expected process of getting better. Mistakes will be viewed as stepping stones toward growth, or sources of frustration depending on how you frame them to your team. If your culture sees mistakes , you will see marked improvement in your players.

I believe that young people thrive in an environment where they feel comfortable. I also believe that they can both feel comfortable and be held accountable at the same time. The bottom line for school and youth teams is for the participants to have a rewarding experience. I would define rewarding as an opportunity to grow as a person and provide the fun that goes with participating in a team sport that enjoy playing. The more positive you can make the team culture, the more rewarding it will be for the players.


Filed Under: Program Building

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