Month: May 2017

May 26, 2017

Abundance Vs. Scarcity Mentality

‘Instead, I have an abundance mentality: When people are genuinely happy at the successes of others, the pie gets larger’ – Stephen Covey

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As coaches we all would say growing our sport in our local area so more kids can enjoy it is the ultimate goal, right?

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Yet how much time and energy do we spend scheming X’s and O’s so we can beat our cross-town rival?

Compare that to how much time we spend strategizing how to grow our sport.

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I was very excited and encouraged recently when one of the local high school lacrosse coaches reached out to all of the other coaches in our county, to pull together a meeting with all of us, with the sole purpose of discussing how we can grow the sport in our county.

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We met for the first time last night, brainstormed on a bunch of ideas, and agreed upon the goal of making our county the hotbed of lacrosse in the state of Tennessee.

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‘A rising tide lifts all boats’ one of my mentors Dan Miller says.

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Such a simple step by this coach, just sent an email to see who was interested.

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A roomful of different personalities. A roomful of different styles. A roomful of different backgrounds. Yet no one could deny that growing the sport as a whole will benefit all of our individual programs.

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I’m sure when we play each other in the spring we will want to beat each other to a pulp and that intensity will not go away. But maybe a little voice in our ear will remind us of this higher objective when something gets us heated during the game. And the kids and parents who witness us living out our pursuit of this higher objective will be more drawn to the sport than ever.

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Another mentor of mine used to say: ‘Hit them hard then help them up.’

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Let’s create men and women who fight ferociously yet have a sound understanding of perspective and respect. The origin of the word compete means ‘to strive together.’

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Could you pull together a meeting of your local coaches and get this same kind of conversation going? Do it.

May 24, 2017

WYC 117 – Sport Psychology – Meighan Julbert talks The Mindside

Meighan Julbert is a Mental Skills Consultant who has a passion for working with coaches and athletes on gaining a competitive advantage through mental skills training. Meighan is passionate about coaching development and implementing programs to help competitors and coaches expand their potential. From her own experiences in softball and competitive cheer to serving as a coach, Meighan can help athletes who are looking to gain a mental edge.

Website/Books: themindside.com

Twitter: @MeighanJulbert; @TheMindSide

Facebook: /TheMindSide/

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Listen Now:

Listen on iTunes: iTunes link

Listen on Stitcher: Stitcher link

Listen on Google Play Music: Google Play link

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Quote

‘Don’t overwhelm your athletes with info, keep it simple, less is more’

Coaching your own kids

Have an intentional moment where you take off the coaching hat and return to just being their parent
Remember – the kids often aren’t near as into the outcome of the game as the coaches and parents are

Take risks & embrace failure

Teach kids how to take risks and not be afraid of failure

Parents

Communicate with the parents and let them know you want the kids to be a little uncomfortable and struggle a little bit, that is part of the process and how they will learn

Role-play situations – have a scrimmage with your own team and invite parents – make a few horrible calls, then afterwards discuss with the team and the parents that there will be bad calls in games, and that we are not a team whose coaches, players, or parents yell at the referees

Relationships

The first step is for the coaches to have great relationships with the parents, and to get to know them and understand where they are
You have to pick up on subtle nuances to see where different players are at. Eye contact, leadership, excitement, hustle. Look for changes in behavior.
Noticing behavior differences and asking questions let’s the players know you care

Slump-busting

Riptide concept – When caught in a riptide, initial reaction is to panic and try to swim against it. The panic is normal – so first step is to calm down. Take a few breaths. Then instead of trying harder and fighting the current – have a recovery ritual (flick your wrist, wipe your shoe,etc.) – that reminds you to get back into the present moment and re-focus

Championship Culture

Starts with respect. Relationships and respect are the cornerstones.

Connecting with and impacting kids

Every kid is different – it’s important to individualize how you are connecting with each kid and to ask questions and listen to their needs

The one that got away

Meighan worked with one athlete who afterwards told her that it was too much info and too much to think about. Less is better – don’t overwhelm your athletes and keep it simple.

Best borrowed/stolen idea

A coach brought in Meighan to help the communication on his team. The activity went horrible. Meighan called to apologize the next day and the coach told her ‘we are terrible at communicating – your activity made that clear to our team. Sometimes exercises we do don’t work – but they still serve a purpose.’ Meighan took that advise to realize that not everything will go as we plan, but that’s ok, keep trying and keep learning and keep tweaking.

Favorite coaching book/quote

Book: Creative Coaching by Dr. Jerry Lynch

The Mindside

Team workshops
Individual athletes one-on-one sessions
Coaching development
Videos, podcasts
Website/Books: themindside.com

Parting Advice

Be patient, with your players – let them think and struggle and learn, and with expectations of yourself

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May 19, 2017

But Arguing With The Refs Gets Me More Calls

I have long struggled with how much/how little to lobby for calls with referees.

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In my mind I think ‘Stay focused on coaching my team, all the calls will even themselves out in the long run.’

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Of course as it is written ‘The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.’ I often walk away from games feeling frustrated with my interactions with the officials (on both sides- frustrated with their responses, and frustrated with how I interacted with them.)

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To help me work through this – I have engaged with some really smart coaches and worked through the best approach. So here is what I am committing to for next season. Might not be perfect, and might have to tweak it for the next year, but I feel really good about starting here:

In the offseason – study the rules inside and out. It is impossible to have an intelligent conversation with an official if I don’t understand the rules.
Before the game when talking to the officials – let them know I respect the difficulty of their job, so I will not be yelling out rules infractions from the sideline. I will then ask for their permission, in return, during play stoppages (timeouts, between periods) to approach them with any clarifications or concerns I have.
Some leagues/officials insist that only the head coach talk to the officials. Ask for permission that during these stoppages, if I will be busy coaching the players, if occasionally it would be OK with them for me to send an assistant coach for a rule clarification.
A really wise coach suggested that during these conversations, when possible, to try to stand next to the official instead of face-to-face. It is not a confrontation, it is a conversation. Likewise, my body language during these conversations is critical. From a distance it should look like a conversation not a confrontation.
There will occasionally be circumstances where player safety dictates an immediate discussion with the official, and player safety trumps these rules and need to be handled immediately.
It is important that this approach be communicated clearly to your players and parents. The players must know that you will defend them and lobby for them. They need to understand this approach is the most effective and appropriate way to do that.

This approach will be a challenge for me, as I am a perfectionist so bad calls drive me crazy. But it will free me to stay focused on what our team is doing, and in turn will send the message to our team to stay focused on what they can control.

May 11, 2017

WYC 116 – Youth Baseball & T-ball – Marty Schupak talks Skills & Drills

Marty Schupak has been coaching sports for 25 years. He has coached over 1,400 kids in youth athletics in a variety of sports in addition to baseball. He is the author of eight sports books including T-Ball Skills & Drills and is the creator of eleven baseball instructional videos.

Website/Books: tballamerica.com

Twitter: @tballMarty

Youtube: link

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Listen Now:

Listen on iTunes: iTunes link

Listen on Stitcher: Stitcher link

Listen on Google Play Music: Google Play link

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Quote

‘2 of the best things I’ve done in my 25 years of coaching have nothing to do with sports’

Coaching your own kids

A common mistake is to be overly concerned with ‘fairness’

Cringe Moment

After a few seasons of success, Marty thought he would run his practices like the MLB, and focus one day on offense, one day on defense. What he realized was that kids live for batting practice – so don’t take away the thing they love!

Teaching Skills

Have 5 to 7 drills in practice
Integrate skills with fun drills
For ages under 10 – Marty limited his practices to 60 to 75 minutes
A great test – how many kids are missing your practices? Are they on time? – For an incentive – Marty would choose batting order by who arrived to practice at first.
Positive reinforcement – Use running as a celebration, not a punishment.

The 59 Minute Practice plan

Have a 4 to 6 minute warm-up – it’s important
Do several high energy drills
Spend 5 to 7 minutes talking about what went right in the last game, and any areas you are working on
Practice the little things – base running
In batting practice – he puts down 2 cones – and 1st 2 pitches they have to bunt, if they bunt between the cones, they get an extra swing in batting practice

T-ball skills and drills

Website/Books: tballamerica.com
Separate skills – even throwing and catching
Great drill to teach throwing – to get their arms far enough back – have kids lay on a bench and use a tennis ball – gravity will help get their arm back far enough to show them what it feels like
The progression theory – Start with a kickball on the batting tee. Then work your way down smaller or smaller to a baseball. Same for fielding – start out telling them you just want them to get their glove on the ball, they don’t need to field it

Championship Culture

Enjoy success and greatness – even if it’s the other team that did something great!
Show more than tell – don’t just verbally describe game situations – practice it!
Keep the focus on developing the kids, not on wins/losses
One goal – to get the kids to come back next year
Rewards & Energy – Tennis racket home run derby – they bat from 2nd base and get a chance to hit home runs
Good practices = Victory lap at end of practice

Connecting with and impacting kids

Writing a reference letter for a kid with a single mom to get into prep school, he was accepted and went on to go to Harvard
Another boy lost his dad in 9-11 and Marty was able to step in a father-figure role to him

The one that got away – in a good way

In a good way a memorable game – Marty’s basketball team was missing most of it’s players and they ended only having 4 players. They were getting beat 44-6, so Marty called timeout with a few minutes remaining, and challenged them – if they out-rebound the other team for the rest of the game, he would buy them ice cream – energized his team and took a bad situation and turned it into a positive

Best borrowed/stolen idea

Go observe other practices!
Keep kids moving
Many drills can be used in a variety of sports with a few tweaks

Favorite coaching book/quote

Quote: ‘Don’t be afraid to fail’

Parting Advice

Bring enthusiasm and passion
Try to learn everyday

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May 8, 2017

The Culture Bus – Key Takeaways From A Rollercoaster Ride Season

The rollercoaster ride season

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Our lacrosse season wrapped up this past week. I appreciate you following my ride, a wild one with many ups and downs it has been.

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Here are my key takeaways as I look back over the journey:

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1 – Crucial Conversations – I had a good heart to heart conversation with the head coach about two-thirds of the way through the season. I was really honest with my frustrations and he received the feedback very well. Things weren’t perfect after this, but they were significantly better. My biggest regret is that I did not have the courage to have this conversation much, much earlier in the season. As I embark on the new adventure to start a new team – the importance of communication strategies within the coaching staff and dealing with different opinions in a healthy wayhas become one of, if not the most important strategy as we assemble a coaching staff.

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2 – Positive energy/ Icebreakers – Starting every practice with some type of teambuilder/icebreaker/positive energy activity was very successful. I kept a list of what we did and some other ideas as well, reply back to this email if you want me to shoot you a copy of that (it’s in an Excel spreadsheet, and hopefully you can decipher my notes.)

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3 – Leadership Development – Reading The Hard Hat by Jon Gordon with the seniors, and having them present the ideas back to the team was a huge success. I had several of the seniors come up to me at the banquet and tell me how much that book meant to them.

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4 – The importance of a coach – As I observed many of the boys’ reactions and body language to how they were being coached, I was reminded of what a huge opportunity we have as coaches. We can tear them down and belittle them, or we can pour into them and love them and let them know how much we believe in them. In their successes, and more importantly in their failures, we can help them develop a growth mindset where they truly believe they have the ability to accomplish great things on and off the field.

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I am excited to stay in touch with these players and hopefully be able to continue to push them and support them in any way I can.

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Thank you again for following along this journey, I will probably do the same thing and share my experiences starting later this summer as we lay the foundations for our new team. It’s definitely going to be an #Epic2017!!

May 2, 2017

WYC 115 – Athlete Development – Trevor Ragan talks Training Ugly

Trevor Ragan is the founder of Train Ugly

From Trevor:

I AM ON AN ADVENTURE…

To challenge and question EVERYTHING that we think we know about sports, education, and development.

Through this journey I’ve worked with best-selling authors, olympic coaches, professional athletes, renowned professors, and thousands of coaches, teachers, students, and players from all over the world.

These experiences helped me to discover some incredibly important research in the fields of motor learning, performance science, and psychology that should have totally changed the way we train and develop students, athletes, and people in general – but they have not.

It’s my mission to change that.

Each morning I get out of bed inspired to read, research, learn, and share as much as possible with students, athletes, coaches, and teachers.

Website: trainugly.com

Facebook: /trainingugly/

Twitter: @train_ugly

Youtube: /SabiSushi1

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Listen Now:

Listen on iTunes: iTunes link

Listen on Stitcher: Stitcher link

Listen on Google Play Music: Google Play link

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Quote

‘You have to be bad first’

Cringe Moment

Being too focused on the win or loss – Enjoy the journey!

Teaching Skills

2 pillars:

Motor learning –
- The number of reps
- Make reps: Random & Gamelike – Games are random, so reps should be too. Great video on this: youtu.be/m_5nWKyRzKM
Growth mindset – The people who believe in their capacity to learn and grow, do much better at learning and growing. ‘Skills are built not born.’ Learning is not easy – you have to be bad first. You have to understand that being bad first is part of the process.

Dealing with failure

Trevor had a goal since 7th grade to make the Duke basketball team
He tried out as a walk-on, and was the last one cut.
How do you deal with this type of failure? Learning to appreciate the value of the struggle, while you are in the middle of the process
Have huge goals that you can picture yourself doing. But then focus on the systems and process that will get you to that goal. The result of achieving the goal does not define you.

Championship Culture

Create a safe place to learn
You’re going to be bad first
Don’t create a culture that only values success and perfection
Teammates and coaches need to take the focus off the outcome when building up their teammates and players
Coach K from Duke – He invests a huge amount of time in creating 1 on 1 relationships with all his players

Best borrowed/stolen idea

Karch Kiraly – Now coach of the women’s U.S. Olympic team – Always learning. He asked Trevor after Trevor observed his practice: ‘What do you think we can do better?’

Train Ugly

Video essays – Great explanations of the science and research – check them out at trainugly.com

Favorite coaching book/quote

Book: The obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holliday – good for young athletes
Book: Rising Strong by Brene Brown
Book: Daring Greatly by Brene Brown

Parting Advice

Sports provide the opportunity to teach children life skills that are life-changing

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