Tag: james kerr

July 13, 2018

Picking up the Trash

Heard a really cool story this week. One of my son’s best friends’ cousin is lacrosse player in another state. He is a rising senior, and while quite talented, wasn’t on a lot of D1 radars for lacrosse. Then, after a few fabulous outings at some national lacrosse tournaments, the interest level started quickly rising.

Not that unique of a story at this point, athlete does well and gets some opportunities.

But what happened next is where this story gets really interesting.

This young man got a call from the head coach of one of the top college powerhouse lacrosse programs, some would argue THE top program.

The coach requested the young man and his parents come that weekend for a visit and meeting. They did.

And this story is what still gives me goosebumps: The coach began the meeting with this:

“We saw you play last weekend and were impressed. So we came down to the field after your last game and looked for you. We found your teammates. They were hanging out, taking off their pads, having a good time. But we couldn’t find you. We looked and looked, but to no avail. Then finally we saw you. You were over in the team tent. Picking up trash, cups, and cleaning up. In that moment you went from an average recruiting target of ours, to THE top target. You see, lacrosse is a sport generally consumed with young men who are entitled, selfish, and uncoachable. But what we have found is that recruiting players who will pick up the trash helps us build a culture that wins championships.”

Gives you goosebumps, right?

And as a sidenote – can you guess what 2 books this coach recommended as summer reading for this young man?

Not surprising at all – Legacy by James Kerr, and The Hard Hat by Jon Gordon.

October 4, 2016

WYC 093 – Strongman Competitions to Youth Lacrosse and College Rowing – Will Ruth talks Connecting the Dots

Will Ruth is the JV Coach for the Bellingham Warriors HS Club Lacrosse team and the strength coach for the Western Men’s Club Rowing team. He is an NCSA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) as well as USA-Weightlifting Level 1 Sports Performance Coach and US-Lacrosse Level 2. In 2015, he became a Rowperfect UK author with his step-by-step manual for strength training for rowing, Rowing Stronger. He also is a Strongman competitor.

Website: strengthcoachwill.com

Ebook: Rowing Stronger

Facebook: /strengthcoachwill

Twitter: @willruth335

Listen Now:

Listen on iTunes: iTunes link

Listen on Stitcher: Stitcher link

Listen on Google Play Music: Google Play link

–

Quote

‘Create the highest possible operating standards, develop the character of your players, and develop the culture of your team, and as the title of Walsh’s book says ‘The score takes care of itself” – James Kerr in Legacy

Connecting the Dots

Cool blog post on looking backwards to see how diving in has lead to where Will is today: strengthcoachwill.com/2016/07/18/5-tips-for-new-coaches/

My Cringe Moments

Learning boundaries with athletes – Understand and listen first
Devolved leadership, from James Kerr’s Legacy – since Will is coaching kids that are not that much younger than he is – he works hard to give them ownership

Teaching Skills

Whole-part system – Break a complex skill down into smaller parts you can focus on
Incorporate important skills into every drill – for lacrosse ground balls: include ground balls in shooting drills and every other drill you do
Be mindful of your Criticism to Positive ratio – Shoot for at least 5
Tharp/Galllimore study of John Wooden in practice: PDF

Mental Toughness/Achieving Peak Performance

Focus on effort rather than outcome. You want them to play aggressive and learn from mistakes, not be afraid to make them
Will coached a kid who was moved to varsity as a freshmen and it stressed him out, so they moved him back to JV – so Will’s job was to get him back to loving lacrosse and not being stressed by it. One way Will did this was using a physical routine – of actually brushing off his shoulders after a mistake (mental reset routine)
Use the bench as a teaching tool not a punishment

Culture – Discipline/Rewards/Teambuilding

It starts with developing leaders and captains
Try to not overcoach during games – have your leaders figure it out. It’s not a video game – don’t try to control every action.

Connecting with and Impacting Kids

Will tries to bring up each kid to a higher level

The One that got away

Will lives the philosophy of looking forwards not backwards

Best borrowed/stolen idea

Devolved leadership from James Kerr in Legacy
Thirds system of practice planning – 1st 3rd is stick skills, 2nd 3rd is small-sided games, 3rd 3rd is more full games

Favorite coaching book/quote

Quote: ‘Create the highest possible operating standards, develop the character of your players, and develop the culture of your team, and as the title of Walsh’s book says ‘The score takes care of itself” – James Kerr in Legacy
Lacrosse podcast: insidelacrosse.com/tag/Podcasts

Strength Coach Will

Parting Advice

Make sure it’s still fun. Remember what it was like to play at that age, and what did you like doing in practices?

–

Today’s Sponsors

I Youth Football helps coaches, organizations, or parents teach football skills to kids ages 3-11. Not only does I Youth Football guarantee your players increase their skills, they will give you individualized pricing based on your situation. So if you are a coach or want your local organization to run I Youth Football in your area, visit them at www.iyouthfootball.com and reach out. It’s simple to set up, and a nice way to earn a little side money while helping kids learn the game of football. To get $100 off the program be sure to use this coupon code: winning

—

Reviews are the lifeblood of the podcast!- If you like the podcast- please take 2 minutes to write a review! Click here

–

Ready to be an Awesome Youth Coach? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter:

August 16, 2016

WYC 088 – Youth Hockey – Glen Mulcahy talks transformational long term development

Glen Mulcahy is a speaker with a down to earth flair who shares his knowledge from a lifetime of involvement in multi-levels of sport. Glen has a degree in Human Kinetics at the University of British Columbia, is a contributor to One Million Skates and both an instructor and regional evaluation coordinator for BC Hockey. As a Hockey Canada NCCP instructor/mentor of adult coaches for BC Hockey, Glen has now certified over 2000 coaches in the Pacific Coast Amateur Hockey Association since 2009. He brings a 360 degree view of sports that is unique, from that of a youth athlete, to a coach of various sports for 20+ years and also parent of two children playing both recreational and competitive sports.

His lifetime in sports includes honors while playing various team sports including municipal banners as well as provincial titles in Hockey, Football and Rugby. His belief in focusing on transformational long term developmental vs. transactional short term immediate results orientated coaching you will find both refreshing and inspiring. Glen is passionate about sharing what he has learned to bring the game back to the kids and lead others to do the same.

Websites: paradigmsports.ca; changingthegameproject.com/hire-a-speaker/

Twitter: @IncParadigm

Facebook: /Paradigm-Sports-1653362264912581

Listen Now:

Listen on iTunes: iTunes link

Listen on Stitcher: Stitcher link

Listen on Google Play Music: Google Play link

–

Quote

‘Who you are as a person is far more important than who you are as a basketball player’ – John Wooden

Coaching your own kids

Glen was shocked by how early the parents are pushing for competitive games
Youth sports: It’s not about banners and wins, it’s about the kids. Teach them to love the game.
UPDATE on Travel Sports Math & # of Touches: USA Hockey has been implementing ‘Cross-Ice’ to create more small area games and increase touches

My Cringe Moments

Glen put both of his hands on a kid’s shoulders and was talking to him – the kid was laughing . The kid’s parents were watching and thought he was shaking their child and thought the kid was crying. Glen learned that as a coach you are in a fishbowl so be wise with all of your actions.

Teaching Skills

The curse of knowledge – sometimes it’s hard for athletes to remember how to go back and teach the most basic skills.
If you have many different skill levels – breaking kids into developmental groups can help all the kids stay challenged. Creative names for the groups helps also: Superman group, Batman group, etc.

Mental Toughness/Achieving Peak Performance

P&R – Patience & Repetitions
Glen had a kid who couldn’t understand the concept of offsides, even after 3+ years of coaching. Glen knew the kid played an NHL video game, so Glen asked the kid to turn the Offsides option on while playing the game. The kid did it, and totally understood the concept going forward.
Glen saw another coach berate his 13 year-old son for trying a new type of pass, so Glen focuses on encouraging the kids to be aggressive and that mistakes when trying something new are great.

Culture – Discipline/Rewards/Teambuilding

3 standards his teams have:

1 – Don’t be late

2 – No profanity

3 – Respect each other, your parents, your teammates, your officials, your competitors

Rewards – After games the kids go around and compliment something the person next to them did well.
MVP – Don’t just give MVP rewards to your leading goal scorers, recognize kids doing the dirty work

Connecting with and Impacting Kids

Glen coached a kid whose father passed away at the beginning of their season, very tough season but the young man really connected with the team and with Glen.

The One that got away

Seek first to understand. Get to know what makes each kid tick. Glen had a problem whose behavior was really disruptive, and after exploding in a game – they talked in the locker room and Glen found out the kids parents were going through a divorce. Glen made the decision to let him back on the bench – but the referee came over and told him he wasn’t allowed to come back to the bench. Glen regrets he didn’t stick to his guns and went against his own gut.

Best borrowed/stolen idea

‘When you steal a drill, the first time you have to give credit, after that it’s yours.’
Keep things simple, don’t overcomplicate things.
You’re not developing an athlete, you’re developing a person

Best Resources

Drill Draw – drilldraw.com – Great for practice planning for hockey
Hockey Canada – Samsung drill hub: hockeycanada.ca/en-ca/Hockey-Programs/Drill-Hub
TeamSnap – teamsnap.com – Organizing your roster and communicating with parents

Favorite coaching book/quote

Quote: ‘What you are as a person is far more important than what you are as a basketball player’ – John Wooden
Book: Peak – by Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool – About the 10,000 hour rule. Deliberate practice is more important than 10,000 hours.
Book: Legacy – by James Kerr – One of best culture and teamwork books.

Paradigm Sports & Changing the Game Project

Glen is a speaker with both Paradigm Sports and Changing the Game Project

Parting Advice

Focus on the players more than the game. Ask the kids why they play. Ask what they like and dislike about playing.

–

Related Episodes

Episode 42 – John O’Sullivan – C hanging the Game Project

Episode 39 – Dr. Michael Phillips – Long Term Athlete and Coach Development

–