#uracoach when you keep it simple...

‪#‎uracoach‬ when you make complex ideas simple because like Bear Bryant said: it's not what you know, but what they know that counts.


Coaches sometimes get complicated.  Often it happens on accident and because taking complex ideas and making them simple takes a significant amount of skill.  This is a skill coaches get better at as they grow their skills.

Sometimes, though, coaches keep it complicated because they're insecure in what they know and are trying to prove their worth or knowledge to themselves and those around them.  

And sometimes, they just lack the disciplined to iron out their lessons to just the things the players need to know to be successful.  

At any rate, as you grow your skills - remember for the good of your players' development - KEEP IT SIMPLE ALWAYS.  Find new ways to keep it simple.  Find fun ways to keep it simple.  And then, end practice by keeping it simple! 

Happy Coaching!

‪#‎uracoach‬ if your players know you love them

‪#‎uracoach‬ if your players know you love them

This seems pretty straight forward, but so many coaches get it wrong.  Coach, you cannot just say you love your players, they have know it without a doubt and they can only get there when your actions tell them.  Why do you have to love them?  You don't have to love them, but if you want your team to reach the highest level possible, you sure better be genuine in your care for them.  

Whether you're a weekend warrior coach or someone hoping to climb the coaching ladder to make this your profession, trust me when I tell you to go find Simon Sinek's books and watch video of him speaking - ASAP!  Some much information from him and so little time...  One of Sinek's key topics is the importance of safety for our brains to operate at an optimal level.  

When you come from a place of love, and again this doesn't mean 'the I'm soft and have low standards for my players' kind of love, you will start to feel synergy.  Synergy is what happens on teams at times when everything and everyone clicks. It's like a magic school bus appears to drive your team directly over every opponent and piece of adversity in your way.  It's the result of every member of the group feeling like every other member is a trusted and important spoke in the wheel and instead of 1+1 equaling 2 it equals 3 trillion.  That all starts when your players know, regardless of their performance on the court, that you love them as a people. 

Some of the toughest, meanest, most hard core coaches in the world talk openly about how much they love their players.  It's not a crutch or a sappy admission of weakness.  It's a the most powerful driver of human greatness.  

#uracoach when you set a standard....and hold it...regardless of how it will affect the game...

#‎uracoach‬ when you set a standard for behavior based on great character and hold every player-especially your most gifted players - to that standard regardless of how it will affect the game

The standards spoken about above come from your personal values and vision for your program and your way of coaching.  It's when you don't come from your values or roots that you get yourself into trouble.  You see, there are too many decisions that happen day to day to address short term success that will trip you up, as a leader, if you aren't acting from a deep rooted and articulated place of value.  

From Daniel Goleman's book, Focus: 

If a leader is to articulate such shared values effectively, he or she must first look within to find a genuinely heartfelt guiding vision.  The alternative can be seen in the hollow mission statements espoused by executives but belied by their company's (or their own) actions.

Just some of the possible reasons you as a coach are enticed into not holding team standards:

1. Avoidance of unrest, as in avoiding the parental outburst that will surely come if you uphold the child of the wrong parent. (hey parent genius - your kid probably needed that standard the most and now she won't learn the lesson because her out of control mom just 'got her back' - What is that?!  You're not her friend, Mom!  And you just robbed her of the chance to learn a lesson that might have prevented her from getting fired from the 10th job she's had. Way to go 'Mom of the year'!)  You are literally preventing coaches from helping your child go through the rigors of life so that he or she can one day fly independently.  Your reward will likely be a child-adult at home with you for life so you'll have that to look forward to at least.  Assume the best of your child's coaches and teachers - the vast majority are trying to help.
2. Loss of a game.  Oldest one in the book.  This is on you, coach.  You have to determine if you're about winning first or teaching lessons first.  This is where the roots and values being your deeply held beliefs come in handy - when you're willing to deal with a loss and even a loss of a job to hold a kid to a standard - you are coaching for a purpose.  If you find yourself rationalizing a way to get that kid in the game when you know they shouldn't, you're just coaching to coach.  It's different.
3. Team unrest.  If you built your team standards on solid ground.  The rest of the team will appreciate and respect you for upholding the standard so team unrest will be short term at best.
4. Administrator overreach.  You players will respect you more if you leave rather than let an overreaching administrator dictate your actions.  Living on principle isn't easy, but at least you'll have definite peace of mind.
5. Be the cool coach - have players like you.  Listen they might like you in that moment if they get to have fun or fly below the level of a high team standard, but you better believe that all things being equal they will respect a coach who makes them better far more than they will ever like a cool coach that let's them coast.  I asked a player one time who was giving me a hard time about not ever goofing off in position training, 'would you rather make funny videos or be awesome?' They choose awesome every single time.

Bottom line.  There are a lot of reasons to undercut the standards so arming yourself with indisputable reasons to hold your players to the standards will help make extremely hard decisions, easy.  You don't have to have 100 page rule book if your why is right and you coach from that why regardless of the outcome.

For more on this- get yourself signed up for the August 3rd Intentional Coaching Workshop in Big Rapids, Michigan.  After June 17th the price goes up so get everyone on your staff in right away!!!  www.treerootsllc.com

Happy Coaching!