Opportunity

March madness is such an exciting time of year especially for basketball players, coaches and fans.  This time of year is thrilling because it is no longer about records or what you did yesterday.  The winner will be who can win now and today!  There is something exciting about one chance, one opportunity and winning the big game!  It is what every team prepares for all season long. 


As a coach, I always encourage my players to make the most of their opportunity because you never know when you will get another one.  This is one of the most challenging tasks to get accomplished but also one of the most valuable for any team.  The opportunity to play college basketball is not something that every high school athlete gets to experience.  In fact, according to a recent study by the NCAA only 3% of high school athletes go on to play college basketball.  So the opportunity to sign, get a college education and play the game you love should be appreciated!  When you watch NCAA basketball, you will see arguably some of the best basketball on TV because these players are hungry, they are trying to prove themselves and they are fighting for the coveted championship! 


Only one team will win the national championship and it is not always the best team in the nation.  It is the team that makes the most of their current opportunity!  Each game is an opportunity broken down by each possession that are multiple opportunities for a team to execute, work together and accomplish everything they have worked for up until this point.  Is it all just a game?  Players who understand appreciating an opportunity will seize it!  They understand that failure is not in losing the game; instead failure would be not recognizing that this is an opportunity to do what you love with your team!  This stage is where stars are born and teams make history!  Each game you will see players overcome their fears and let go of their inhibitions in order to have that one opportunity to be the champion!  There will only be one.

As for the other teams that do not win, they will go into the off season training and preparing to position themselves again next March to win again.  They hope to learn from their mistakes, improve as a team and begin again more wisely as Henry Ford stated.  Opportunity - athletes prepare for it all year long.  The question is, how long are you willing to prepare for your opportunity?  Will you be ready to take the risk, let go of your inhibitions, forget your fears and go after what you want?  Win or loss, recognize and appreciate each opportunity and live a life that you can be proud of!

Effort & Energy

One of the hardest things to do is getting your team's best effort and energy.  Those are two words that coaches hate to discuss because most of us feel it should be an automatic.  Although it may seem like it should be automatic, the habit must first be formed.  Giving constant effort and energy first as a coach is a great way to set the tone.  Second, having a coaches meetings before practice to communicate how you need your staff's energy spent for the day will help them know how to give their best effort.  Third, effort and energy must be a standard at every practice and meeting so that the players understand to bring their best every time they step into any environment.  When my team struggles with effort or energy, the next practice we address it immediately because that is a non-negotiable.  The players need to understand they have to take ownership and if they expect the best results, they need to first give their best energy and effort!


The truth is, you will not always get their best energy and that is because you are still teaching them to form the habit.  As long as they can admit they could give more, then they should be willing to get after it in the next practice.


Sometimes the best cure for a lack of effort or energy is a break away from the normal routine to try something new.  I sometimes like to throw something different at our players to keep them on their toes.  One day I told them to come to practice with their favorite sunglasses.  When they showed up we had music and literally had a dance off on center court before practice.  Our manager voted on the winning team and the girls had a blast!  The icing on the cake was them seeing me - their head coach get out and dance too and it made them all laugh.  Practice that week was full of energy and effort....our team had fun getting better.