Motivational Speaking

KBJ Academy is now booking motivational speaking for teams, youth groups or businesses looking to bring in professionals to prepare your team to win.  We will create engaging activities for your team and teach practical lessons that are going to make your group be more committed.  Some topics that we cover are teaching how to unite, buying in, developing team goals, effective communication, building team chemistry, conflict resolution and learning through wins and losses.

If you would like a quote please e-mail kbjacademy@gmail.com with your ideas on what areas you would like your team to improve on and we will send you a quote with no obligation.

Working Relationships

Are you struggling with a current working relationship or maybe struggling with ending a relationship? I am here to let you know that there are plenty of ways to maintain a great working relationship with others and also there are ways to end a relationship with others. In this post I want to share with you a breakdown of ways to maintain a great working relationship from the leaders to the ones working with them.

Maintaining A Relationship
Great working relationships are very vital to the success of an organization and also can be very nurturing for the individuals involved. Now, some of you may have heard these elements before but some elements that I have always attempted to implement in my working relationships are: Trust, Respect, Empowerment, Sincerity, and Love. Let's look at each element here in a little detail.

 1. Trust - Any kind of relationship will struggle without trusting the person you are working with. Trust works both ways, the leader has to have trust with those who are working under them and the ones that are working under them need to trust the leader as well. So many times trust is slighted in only one direction which is usually in the direction of the leader. There is nothing wrong with this because everyone wants to be around people they can trust but you as a leader need to be trusted as well. Trust both ways will produce balance in the relationship but just remember that trust is earned both ways.

2. Respect - What a great word Respect is! Without respect there is no relationship. It's easy for a leader to be respected by the ones under them but it's not as easy sometimes as a leader to respect the ones that are under them. Respect has to go both ways. "I respect what you do, you respect what I do." Mutual respect in a relationship can limit jealousy which is something that tends to just ware down a lot of working relationships. Mutual respect can also keep both individual's confidence levels high which can lead to massive productivity.

3. Empowerment - I have always been a firm believer in empowering the ones I work with or ones working under me. A leader already has the "power" in a sense, but the ones who work under them have to be empowered. I like to think of it this way, I empower my leader to lead me in a positive way that I am growing and confident that I am doing my part to achieve our goals. As a leader, I empower others ideas, gifts, and their specialties which are going to be used to blossom our overall task or goal.  I know that will help them grow and be confident as well. Empowerment can link so many positive elements in a working relationship. To Empower is to give ownership.

4. Sincerity - Be sincere about about your relationship. This element is important because this will block hidden agendas with people. Leaders be sincere to those under you and those who are being lead should be sincere about your leader. A sincere person does not want to see anyone fall but only to rise. If both parties thought this way, rising together and the overall success of the organization can surly be attained. Sincerity is a true strength in a working relationship and will allow you to fight for each other instead of against one another.

5. Love - Oh the glorious word of Love! The type of love I am mentioning is Agape Love. As a leader, my love is: I love to see those under me be successful. I love to see others blessed in their families. I love to see others accomplish things beyond their wildest dreams, and I will go the extra mile to help them rise. Towards my leader, I love to see them rise. I love to see them be blessed. I love to see their vision be brought together, and I don't mind giving them my best effort to help them. This kind of love can only make a working relationship grow and be successful. If it's not for love, why do you do what you do? Love both ways in a relationship can set the tone for your environment and system.

I hope this post was some help to those of you that needed some direction on maintaining a great working relationship with others. Even if the working relationship is coming to an end, I am a firm believer that the relationship does not have to end on bad terms but can still end with the five elements mentioned in this post on how to maintain a relationship. I am a believer that if you are the type who always have to end a relationship on bad terms that you may have never had any of these elements involved in your relationship and should try some of them to come to better solutions. All in all, relationships matter and great relationships can make things thrive and I encourage you to evaluate your relationships and set them up to thrive.

#BeBlessed

KBJ Academy 2016

Focus

As team members and leaders of a team, we need to engage in all meetings, practices, work outs and games with a focus.  Even the 30 second time out needs to have a focus.  Without focus - there will be a ton of discussions but no direction.  Here are some ideas to evaluate your own focus and begin to have more clear communication within your team or organization:

Define the purpose of the meeting, practice, game, etc. which could include:

• Feedback from an evaluation, practice or game
• Communicating goals for the upcoming week
• Resolving conflict
• Giving praise for an outstanding performance

Once you as the leader have defined a purpose - be sure to communicate this purpose to your team members effectively.  Take into account that there might be different learning styles and you want to present information in a way that engages the diversity that you have.  

Set a time limit for the meeting, practice, work out etc.  For coaches, I believe this is a huge key to success!  If you constantly say practice will be 1 hour but you always go over using an hour and a half or maybe even 2 hours - this is a clear sign that there is not focus or goal to what you have outlined in your practice plan.  When game time comes, do not be surprised when players struggle to reach goals or perform within the game time because you have not prepared them to do so. 

As simple as that may sound - setting a time limit not only prepares team members to execute goals within the limit, it also gives everyone involved a sense of urgency.  As a coach, I can remember running practices for 2-3 hours then watching film for another hour and could not figure out why my players would look sleepy or tired.  I used to always say - they don't love basketball the way I do.  During the off season, I attended some clinics and other coaches practices and realized how much more efficient they were because they had a FOCUS and goals for each drill which allowed the team to complete goals and move on instead of just shooting for 10 minutes straight and having no concept of the percentages made or missed.

Going into the next season - every drill had goals and a focus was outlined for every practice.  We even had weekly goals that we wanted to complete by the end of our pre-season.  Our main goals were to be great man to man defenders, aggressive rebounders and able to score the ball in high volumes by forcing turn overs.  We wanted to advance the ball on the pass - not the bounce unless necessary.  We wanted to teach players to cut and screen away from the ball and work together to score high percentage shots which would open up long range shots.  So with these goals in mind - each week would build upon these foundations.  Here is an example of how we would break down our preseason work outs:

Week 1 = Basic Man to Man Defense 

 1 on 1, build up to 2 on 2, build up to 3 on 3, 4 on 4 then 5 on 5.  Help Defense.

 Then we would practice defending 6 or 7 players - disadvantage situations. 

 Communication, stance, timing and active hands are key contributors to our pressure defense.

Week 2 = Relentless Rebounding

 Teaching players how to keep their eyes on the ball and their man

 We always say "Pursue with Two" = box out with your butt then use two hands to get the ball.

 We drill rebounding all the way through the outlet to half court.  This eliminate turnovers. 

*See Relentless Rebounding blog post 8/7/15.

Week 3 = Conversion

 From our defensive drills we focus on getting stops = forced turnover or rebounding a missed shot.

 All week we would practice converting on all stops pushing the ball up the floor for a lay-up first.  

 Once the defense slows down our transition to the hole, then we will spot up for a shot.

 At the same time, we are working on transition defense too --> its a 2 for 1 special!

Week 4 = Transition

 This focus would be on full court passing and running lanes.

 Teaching players how to run their lanes needs to be a daily emphasis - spacing is crucial.

Week 5 = Half Court Sets

 Now we are getting more game like and teaching our secondary break - if transition is not open.

 We teach how to cut effectively using angles to create space to catch the ball.

 Then we teach setting and using screens effectively.

 Drill the details of ball movement, ball reversal, seeing the floor, reading defenders, etc.

Don't be a slave to your practice plans - if your team is learning something by the middle of the week, make an executive decision to move on and begin teaching the next concept.  

Repetition will give you a chance to sharpen up each skill and create the habits for competition.  Repetition also yields more confidence and cohesion.  I read in an article that Geno Auriemma said "most teams practice until they get it right, we practice until we can't get it wrong."  That speaks volumes of how valuable repetition is. 

We do the same thing with weight work outs and conditioning - everything has a focus and goals. Everything is competitive and they are learning how to see opposition, but trust the process of defeating it.  This comes in handy when its game time so when we call a time out to bring them back into focus, they are used to trusting our processes and trained to execute. 

Hope this helps with your upcoming season and if you have any questions or maybe want to see a sample practice plan from us, just e-mail us at kbjacademy@gmail.com and we will be sure to get back to you.  

#BeBlessed

Giving Back!

One of the most beneficial gifts we can attain on this earth is wisdom.  The actual pursuit of knowledge is a life long process but as we grow and learn, we should not forget to give back to others.  So to continue growing our business - KBJ Academy and giving back to other coaches or players that might be seeking answers we are in the process of building on our services to offer.

We offer consultations to coaches, players and player's parents that can include information about: recruiting, motivation, career advancement, deciding to pick to right school, developing skills and playing professionally.  Your time is valuable to us so if you can e-mail us the best time to reach you along with some brief information about your situation, we will be sure to connect with you within 36 hours.

We are also booking motivational speaking engagements through 2016.  If you have a team retreat, camp, clinic, practice, workshop, banquet or a big game that you want to bring us in for, please e-mail us your dates and time needed so we can send you the application form.  We will make sure your event will be one to remember for years to come!

We are offering marketing services for players and coaches looking to "build your brand" to be recruiting or to attain a specific job.  We will work with you to discover your niche and how to elevate yourself above the rest and how to effectively use social media to your advantage.

Our company will soon be expanding to hosting team retreats and workshops for you on site.  Your response back to us has been heard and we are looking forward to your support and ideas as we grow.  Feel free to leave a comment below with suggestions of what else you would like to see from KBJ Academy.

#BeBlessed

People Builders

Why did you decide to become a coach?  Is it to help people?  Is it to win games?  Is it to be in authority? Is it simply out of a love and passion for the game?

Whatever your reason, have you began to develop your purpose on a deeper and more fulfilling level?  If you have been coaching for more than five years, I hope the answer to this is YES.  Hopefully by now you see the effect you can have on players, coaches and community members and you choose to use that in a positive way.  Our young people are the future leaders for our world and we have to prepare them to take this opportunity to serve, lead and uplift others.

The new trend of players speaking out against coaches has risen concern for several fellow coaches but the truth is, if we commit to building people in a positive way - there is nothing for them to speak out about.  Yet instead they will tell their friends and family about how much they enjoy being pushed to be great when they know it comes from a loving place.  Now this concept is rare to find because most people are about themselves.  Its ok - that is human nature!   As we grow and become more aware of our purpose, and how valuable it is to give someone hope rather than tear them down then we have reached a richer and more meaningful way of living.  As we continue in this light we can see our surroundings improve because we are giving so selflessly to the betterment of others who will intern give back to us.

So I circle back around to the question - Why did you decide to become a coach?  And I add on to it - Have you made the choice to use the position to build people around you?

Leadership: Part 2 - Create a Leadership Team

Leadership has many definitions according to Webster, Wikipedia but more importantly to each person.  Defining leadership can be an activity that you choose to do with your staff and eventually with your team.  Start by first identifying what good leadership looks like to you and how you want to see leadership on your team.  By communicating what expectations are for leaders within your program, you will minimize or even eliminate confusion.  

Once you have developed your desired leadership for your program then begin to discuss: how will this leadership be developed? About my 5th year into coaching, we developed a "Leadership Team" for our program. This was in addition to the 2 captains that the players voted on.  The leadership team was a part of organizing team bonding activities with the coaches. This gave them the opportunity to get engaged and feel a sense of ownership.  It also helps the coaches stay in tune to what kinds of things the players really wanted to do and stay current on their likes or dislikes.  The Leadership Team's Meetings were a safe place to open up about current issues going on with the team and discuss positive ways to resolve any issues.  The meetings were always full of energy and we normally started each meeting with a reading from a Jon Gordon book or a John Maxwell video to spark the conversation.

The players really enjoyed these meetings and other players not on the leadership team began to ask me what they needed to do to become a leader on this team.  This is where positive peer influence came into play and we began to start a trend of players wanting to not only get better on the court, but become better people and choose to lead.

How did we go about choosing the leadership team?  We let the players vote on the captains that they felt would represent the team in the best way on the court and communicate effectively to game officials.  We as a coaching staff choose the leadership team and it started with 5 players that we saw potential in and wanted to see them grow.  They were NOT our starters, our best players or leading scorers but instead the people that had influence on their teammates.  Those were the ones we needed to corral, build up and guide them in the way we needed them to lead their team.  As the season goes on, we may add players to the leadership team that begin to show positive qualities.

What do you do when you have a player that won't seem to buy in?  We all have had several players that tend to test boundaries more than others.  One player in particular, I had join the Leadership Team on a probationary status-meaning she was invited to leadership meetings but was not able to join in discussions, just had to watch and listen.  She was put in charge of cleaning up before and after each meeting, making sure we had pens, paper and my Ipad was set to go on the video we would watch before each meeting.  She was given an extra hour of study hall with me in my office, because as you may have guessed, her grades were not where they needed to be.  She was in charge of making sure we had all supplies out for practice and everything was cleaned up after practice with me.  Each day I saw her I would greet her with a smile, a hug and motivational quote and as she and I went through preparing each day together, I saw a change in her body language.  She began to feel wanted......needed even. As the weeks went by, I would open up the door for study hall and she was there greeting me with her A she got on her test.  Proud as could be and wanted to show me first.  She changed being around the leadership team by hearing positive thoughts, ideas and conversations and actually began to buy in. I saw a change in that kid's behavior on and off the court.  At the end of the semester she wrote me a long note saying how much she appreciates my tough love and not giving up on her like everyone else did.  I say all of this to encourage you to pull those rebels closer to you because that is usually a cry for help.  Now looking back, the leadership team not only benefited us as a team but made those players feel empowered to be accountable, hold each other to a higher level of expectation and respect one another for their unique gift that they bring to our team.

Leadership is a tough subject and after talking to several coaches, I began surveying some coaches and players on the definition leadership to try to identity it within a team.

As we continue to discuss leadership, I would love to hear your thoughts by completing this short 5 question survey at the following link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/DPKH22F

Leadership Part 1

Part 1: Developing Real Relationships To Lead

Leadership is something that everyone has in them and we all use them in different ways.  Some for good and others for things that are not relevant! Here is a blog post about turning negative leadership into positive leadership within a team through relationships and trust!

Leadership is defined simply as influence! It's that simple, if you can influence just one person then you you have leadership capabilities! Now the key to leadership on a team is developing it to accomplish a common goal - winning! 

Every coach and player can agree that at some point or another you have had players on your team decide to get together to go out and party or maybe a group of them miss curfew. Clearly one of them had the bright idea to go out and the others followed! So I love when this happens early in the preseason so I figure out who my leaders are and who players listen to!  They become my project because I truly believe if they are willing to stand up against the rules, it's simply a matter of getting them to buy in. 

How do you get them to buy in?

(See last blog post about buying in, it has great ideas from Kevin Jackson)

In this scenario when there is leadership but it's used to break a rule: First of all, punish them and see how serious they are about fixing their mistake. Spend more time with them teaching them about why commitment is so important to success. Learn more about them, their story and their motivation! 

Talk to them about how this will not only benefit the team but also explain how commitment and sacrificing now will pay off in their future. Give examples from your own personal experiences so they get to know you the person - not just the unrealistic image of you "the perfect coach."  I tell my players all the time about mistakes I made as a player and the lessons I learned from them to show them I am human and that I overcame it! 

In practice if I make a mistake, I will apologize sincerely and show my team that this team is a safe environment for us to all work together, make mistakes, be accountable and get better together! They usually look weird when I do it the first time but maybe the second time, they respond back to me the same way I respond to their mistakes "It's ok coach, you got it next time." This is a sign that they believe in you as a leader and this kind of rapport is when you will be positioned for success! 

Now I'm into coaching hard and tough and building mental toughness but I never make an "example" out of a player who actually takes responsibility for a mistake especially if it's openly in front of the team. Most players don't realize they are making mistakes so that's where we coach them and teach them. How we criticize and coach our players in front of the team is how they will lead each other and how they will reciprocate accountability to us! Do not try to embarrass or throw anyone under the bus because they will begin doing it to each other, then eventually to you! Instead teach them how to lead, influence them to take responsibility and work together and they will do just that! 

Buying In

"Buying In" is something coaches say around the world to players on their team or program. That statement is one of the hardest things we deal with today when it comes to our teams and maybe even staff members. You ever ask yourself, "what is it I need to do for my team or staff members to buy in to the vision I am trying to put forth?" 

First thing is you first have to distinguish between buying in to you the individual and buying in to the program. As much as those two categories are similar, they are very different but both very important. A big difference between buying in to the individual and the program, is the individual sets the vision and the program is the vision and also will still be established or around if the individual who sets the vision has gone elsewhere. It's not enough to just give commands and expect to be standing with a victory of buy in at the end of the day. However, showing banners and trophies is not enough either. One tip I can give you to get the "Buy In" you want for your program is a simple word called invest. 

I encourage all coaches who are trying to build a strong culture with everyone from the staff members to the players on one accord to invest into them. If you show investment in others, others would invest in you and that would make it much easier to get the "Buy In" you are looking for. If it's a staff member, invest some of your time in them. Invest your open mind. Invest your trust in them. If it's a player, invest some of your time in them. Invest your trust in them. Invest the encouragement of them taking ownership in their team. Invest in them that you care if they are enjoying playing the game they love. 

Being a coach is so hard at times. As a coach, we all know we wear so many different hats added to just the pressures of wanting to win, building great programs, and building a great legacy. However, when it comes to that phrase "Buying In" we must never forget the investment it takes to accomplish this and we can't be stuck in our ways so much that we miss out on the things that caused us to have a vision for our program.  

 

Four Days With The Marine Corps

I wanted to take the time to talk about the awesome experience I had with the Marines and other coaches around the country at the WBCA/USMC Leadership workshop in Quantico, VA. I also wanted to let others know about some of the great leadership topics that were covered and to encourage others to be great leaders and develop great leaders.

The experience that I went through at the Marine Leadership Workshop was priceless. I am one of very few that can say they have been through the life and a day of a marine in training without actually being one and I did with others that are coaches from various sports such as women's basketball, men's basketball, track & field, baseball, golf, swimming, strength & conditioning, and a athletic director. I did everything from marine lectures, critical thinking exercises, field exercises to accomplish squad missions, to combat with pogo sticks, hand to hand combat, and training on obstacle courses.  All things were with a purpose to provide different insights to leadership tactics while working with other people and helped us to truly form a bond. I honestly don't know how anybody can go through an experience like this and not come back changed in a great way.

First thing, I was really impressed with how the marine corps set a standard of excellence. I have never witnessed a group that has such a passionate attitude about the job that they do and also the discipline and attention to detail that they practice with everything they do in their everyday walk of life. One of the first things the marines instructed us on is their definition of leadership; which is the art of influencing and directing others to obtain their obedience, confidence, respect, and willing cooperation to accomplish the mission. We as coaches can use this definition with our teams and staffs in our programs. All of us want to have a successful program and be winners but sometimes we need the right balance of different elements to achieve that like those that are in the marines definition of leadership. We have to always remember when we are trying to develop great leaders within our team and our staff is that "you have to know how to be a great follower before you can lead."  The marines pointed out some great leadership points for us all to keep in mind when we are thinking of an approach to building leaders:

1. You will not become an effective leader in a one seminar or overnight. You must practice the techniques that you learn consistently.
2. Ask yourself are leaders born or developed? or Both?
3. Hold your people to a standard.
4. When in charge, take charge!
5. Good leaders care for their people. You can not fake this; they will know.
6. Have a good balancing act. (mission accomplishment vs. troop welfare)

The marines core values are: Honor, Courage, and Commitment. What are your team core values? Values such as these provide a foundation to build on when the marines are building their platoon and are great for when we as coaches are building our teams. Coaches, we have to stay committed to what our core values are and believe in them. Get your team to have a sense of pride in them and don't let them waiver from it. The marines also talked a lot about legacy. What do people say about you? What does your team say about you? That is probably something we as coaches think about from time to time, I know I do. One of my desires as a coach is that I hope that whenever I am done coaching, I have affected each and every one of my players lives in a positive way to be life changers. I understand that if I want to have this affect on them, I must teach them how to be life changers. Coaches, understand that we can not have a standard for something on our team if the players don't know what that standard is. Be the example.

The things that I have discussed on this post are only a small portion of my experience with the marine corps and there is much more information I could share and will at a later time. However, I do want to leave you with one last food for thought. "Who you are, is how your team will act."