PLAY TO WIN

"You'll always miss 100% of

the shots you don't take."

-- Wayne Gretzky

UTILIZATION OF GOOD BODY LANGUAGE

The following comes Rahel Smith via Crieghton Burns:


Body language can be described as how one uses gestures and body movements to communicate. Body language can give insight into what an individual may be thinking or feeling. On a basketball court players frequently send messages to coaches, teammates, referees, opponents and crowds.

Below are four ways to exhibit positive body language on the court:

1. Look your coaches in the eye when receiving instruction. nod your head to show them that you are paying attention.

2. When your teammate makes a bad play, keep your head up, give them an encouraging look and keep playing hard. The selfish, immature thing to do would be to whine, roll the eyes or pout at a team mate.

3. Look enthused and energetic in practice and game situations even when you don't feel that way.

4. If your team should happen to be losing in a game, keep a stone face. Show a confident demeanor and don't let opponents see you rattled.

WANTING TO WIN

         "I'm not a very skilled player. I'm not

         that talented.  For me, it's about wanting

         to win more than the other person.

         That's what makes me different."

         -Joakin Noah

(Thanks to Coach Eric Musselman for passing this on to us)

WHY PLAY IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BE THE BEST

Bulls Derrick Rose on improving:

“I really don’t know,” Rose said when asked about his ceiling. “There’s no point in playing the game if you’re not trying to be the best. Right now, I’m just hooping and trying to be the best in the NBA. Like I said, there’s no point in playing this game if you’re not trying to be the best. If that was the case, I should just retire and start doing something else. I know I love this game, man. I think, as an individual, if you’re not trying to be the best at your career then you should give it up and try something else.”

Thanks to Coach Eric Musselman for passing this on to us.

COACH DON MEYER: HOW TO TELL A WINNER FROM A LOSER

1. When a winner makes a mistake, he says "my fault"; when a loser makes a mistake, he throws the blame on someone else.

2. A winner credits his "good luck" for winning on being fundamentally prepared; a loser blames his "bad luck" for losing on bad breaks even though he is not fundamentally prepared.

3. A winner works harder than a loser and always finds time to do what is expected of him; a loser never finds the time and when he does, he works on the wrong things.

4. A winner makes commitments and sets goals with his heart and sets out to accomplish them; a loser makes "promises" with his mouth and never sincerely means to keep them.

5. A winner shows he's sorry by making up for mistakes; a loser says "I'm sorry" but does the same thing next time.

6. A winner thinks, "I'm good, but not as good as I should or could be." A loser thinks, "I'm not as bad as some of the others."

7. A winner would rather be admired for his ability than liked, although he would prefer both; a loser would rather be liked than admired because he knows he hasn't worked hard enough to be admired.

8. A winner hates to lose; a loser could care less although he may put up a good front.

9. A winner is fundamentally sound in all aspects of the game; a loser is not!

10. A winner knows that strength, agility and quickness are the keys to success in athletics and works hard to attain those things; a loser may know, but never attains.

11. A winner takes constructive criticism from the coach, realizing that it will help him and the team; a loser pouts and thinks he's being picked on.

12. A winner thinks of the team first and never wants to let the team down; a loser thinks of himself first and the team last.

www.CoachMeyer.com

REBOUNDING IS ALL A MINDSET

Thanks to Coach Clarence Gaines for pointing me to this article in GQ with thoughts from Kevin Love on his rebounding attitude:
"For me, rebounding is all a mindset. My dad told me back in the day that there is no such thing as a selfish rebound because it's a team stat. If you have to fight one of your own teammates for a rebound, do it—as long as you get it. Also, I studied the greats. Dennis Rodman had it figured out: he knew that most shots are going to come to the other side of the rim. So that's how I position myself. And Bill Russell always used to say that 80 percent of rebounds are below the rim. I'm not the kind of guy who's going to jump and touch the top of the square every time. I use my body for positioning, and I work relentlessly underneath the rim. You don't have to be the most athletic guy in the world to get a bunch of rebounds, so I just try and take what my dad said to heart, what Rodman said to heart, and most importantly what Bill Russell said to heart. He's got 11 championship rings so I think he knows what he's talking about."

Read More http://bit.ly/9tn70g

THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM

“When you’re in the locker room before the game starts, and you’re sitting there and there’s still silence, almost like a silence sweeping over the locker room. You don’t know what it is. You can look in the eyes of your teammates. Sometimes you get to see the other team. A lot of times I look in their eyes. You can see fear. You can see excitement. You can see nervousness. It’s that before-the-game moment. In my mind, it’s like everything is silent. It’s like another realm, another world. It’s like, ‘This is it, it’s all on the line.’ For me, every game, it’s all on the line. Just that little moment, knowing it’s all on the line, right now, there’s no second chance on this game, there’s no getting a player over, that’s something that excites me. I love to see other players, especially defenders, if they’re nervous. Yeah, that gets me excited.”

-Former All-Pro running back Curtis Martin

12 SIMPLE YET SIGNIFICANT WAYS TO HELP YOUR TEAM ON A DAILY BASIS

Thanks to the http://www.CoachingToolbox.net/ for sharing this list from Coach Steve Smiley of Sheridan College. Steve is a former point guard for Coach Don Meyer and doing a great job of coaching.


1. Be the hardest worker at practice today.
Without fail, one of the quickest ways to impact a team is with your own work ethic. Choose to be one of the hardest workers on your team today. Not only does it set the tone for the work ethic of your program, it is also one of the best and quickest ways to enhance your leadership credibility with your teammates and coaches.

2. Be a spark of energy and enthusiasm today.
Let your passion for the sport shine through today. Spread a contagious energy and enthusiasm amongst your teammates. Think about how lucky you are to be able to play and compete. Remember back to when you were a young child and reconnect with the joy you played with back then. Make your sport fun again for yourself and your teammates.

3. Model mental toughness today.
Because your teammates will look to you under pressure, adversity, and stress, be sure to model mental toughness today. Bounce back quickly after errors to show your teammates how to respond to negative situations. Maintain your poise and optimism despite any mistakes you might make so that your teammates can trust and rely on you to get them through the tough times.

4. Connect with a teammate today.
Leadership is all about relationships. Invest the time to build and strengthen the relationships you have with each of your teammates. Inquire about their day, challenges, and goals. Make a special and ongoing effort to get to know every athlete on your team, not just your friends and classmates. The relationship building you do each day will pay off immeasurably down the road.

5. Compliment a teammate today.
Be on the lookout for teammates who are contributing to your team. Call out a teammate for making a hustle play, pushing through a weight workout, recovering quickly from a mistake, getting an A on an exam, etc. Praise the actions and attitudes you want to see repeated. As Mother Teresa once said, “Kind words are short and easy to speak but their echoes are truly endless.”

6. Challenge a teammate today.
Challenge at least one of your teammates today. Positively push them and yourself to make the most of your workout. Make a friendly wager to see if they can be successful at least 4 out of 5 times in a drill. See if you both can improve your times in conditioning. Offer to stay after to help if there is anything they want to work on. Good leaders consistently invite, inspire, and sometimes implore others to greatness.

7. Support a teammate today.
Odds are, at least one of your teammates is struggling with something today – it could be a performance slump, a rocky romantic relationship, a disagreement with a coach, an unglamorous role, struggling with a class, or a sick family member. Good leaders are consistently on the lookout for teammates who might be struggling and are ready to offer an ear to listen, an encouraging word, a pat on the back, or a shoulder to cry on.

8. Constructively confront negativity, pessimism, and laziness today.
As a leader, have the courage to constructively confront the negativity, pessimism, and laziness that will crop up on your team from time to time. Instead of fueling the fire by joining in or silently standing by, be sure to refocus your teammates on solutions rather than dwelling on and complaining about the problems. Left unchecked, these problems can quickly grow to distract, divide, and destroy your team.

9. Build and bond your team today.
Team chemistry naturally ebbs and flows throughout the course of the season. Take the time to monitor and maintain your team’s chemistry. Let your reserves and support staff know how much you appreciate them. Stay connected and current with each of the natural sub-groups on your team. Douse any brush fires that might be occurring and continually remind team members about your common goal and common bond.

10. Check in with your coach today.
Invest the time to check in with your coach today. Ask what you can do to best help the team this week. Find out what your coach wants to accomplish with today’s practice. Also discuss if there is anything your coach is concerned about regarding your team. Discuss your collective insights on your team’s chemistry, focus, and mindset. Work together to effectively co-lead your team.

11. Remind your team how today’s work leads to tomorrow’s dreams.
 It’s easy to get bogged down during your season with monotonous drills, tiring conditioning, and demanding workouts. Remind your teammates how all the quality work you do today gives you a distinct advantage over your opponents. Help them see and even get excited about how today’s hard work is a long-term investment in your team’s goals, rather than just a short-term hardship or sacrifice.

12. Represent yourself and team with class and pride today.
Leaders have the awesome privilege and responsibility of representing their teams. Take advantage of this opportunity by representing your team with class and pride today. Hold a door open for someone, sit in the front rows of class and actively engage in the discussion, say please and thank you, dress in respectful attire, etc. These tiny pushes represent you and your team with class and distinction. And they ultimately set you up for a lifetime of respect and success.

THE CHOICES YOU MAKE DEFINE WHO YOU ARE

This is a passout we gave to our team today:

Each day, as a student-athlete, you make personal choices that help define who are you are and what you want to be. Because you are part of a team, often those choices you make can effect not just you but your teammates as well. It should be a enough to motivate you to give thought to those decisions and to understand why it is so important to your future. Here is what the late Jim Rohn has to day about this topic:

Personal success is built on the foundation of character, and character is the result of hundreds and hundreds of choices you may make that gradually turn who you are at any given moment into who you want to be. If that decision-making process is not present, you'll still be somebody-you'll still be alive-but you may have a personality rather than a character, and to me that's something very different.

Character isn't something you were born with and can't change, like your fingerprints. It's something you must take responsibility for forming. You build character by how you respond to what happens in your life, whether it's winning every game, losing every game, getting rich or dealing with hard times.

You build character from certain qualities that you must create and diligently nurture within yourself, just like you would plant and water a seed or gather wood to build a campfire. You've got to look for those things in your heart and in your gut. You've got to chisel away in order to find them, just like chiseling away rock to create the sculpture that previously existed only in the imagination.

But the really amazing thing about character is that, if you're sincerely committed to making yourself into the person you want to be, you'll not only create those qualities, you'll strengthen them and re-create them in abundance, even as you're drawing on them every day of your life. That's why building your character is vital to becoming all you can be.