THE GREAT ONES WANT TO BE PUSHED

If anything, some thought, Dean Smith was a little harder on Michael Jordan every day in practice then he was on other young players, as if accepting his greater possibilities and his own limitless ambition and holding him to it, setting higher standards for him than for the others. Roy Williams was also always pushing Jordan to work harder in practice. “I’m working as hard as everyone else,” Jordan answered.

“But Michael, you told me you wanted to be the best,” Williams once reminded him. “And if you want to be the best, then you have to work harder than everyone else.” There was, Williams thought, a long pause, while Jordan pondered that. Finally he said, “Coach, I understand.”

From "Playing for Keeps" by David Halberstam

SHANE BATTIER: I AM WHAT I LEARN

THE THRILL OF COMING TOGETHER AS A TEAM

“There’s a lot of reasons to love football. The ones that come to mind right off bat are the unbelievable sense of camaraderie. Bill Walsh used to tell us, “What greater thing in the world than people from all different backgrounds, all different races, all different religions coming together. And you go out there on Sunday, and everyone’s on the same team.’ I think it’s the purest game in the world. Every game is a challenge physically and mentally. It calls on you coming together as a unit and trusting your teammates.”

-Former NFL safety John Lynch

THINKING ABOUT LOSING IS IMPORTANT

"In my opinion, thinking about losing is one of the best motivators there is. I mean, don’t just toss out the idea, but really think about it. Turn it over and over in your mind. How will it feel to walk off the court having lost? What glee will the other team’s fans be showing off in the stands? What taunting will we have to swallow? What embarrassment? How will it feel going to class tomorrow, walking around campus, passing friends and strangers, all of whom saw the game and the failure? How will it feel knowing you let your family down, and your friends, and your coach and teammates? And yourself? That kind of negative thinking can be incredibly energizing."

From "Think Like a Champion: A Guide to Championship Performance for Student-Athletes"
By Dick Devenzio

JOHN WALL: "WANT TO BE KNOWN AS A GOOD PERSON TOO"

“It’s nice to be known as a good player.

But I want to be known as a good person, too.”

-Kentucky star John Wall-

During the summer, he achieved a 4.0 grade-point average – mainly, he says, because he made it a point to sit in the front row of each class. “Some of the best advice I ever got,” Wall says. “If you sit in the back, you can laugh and get away with anything. But if you’re in the front, you have to pay attention.” When he’s out in public, Wall says he never lets his pants sag below his waist, and he has no plans to regrow the braids his AAU coach made him shave when he was 14. Wall doesn’t have any tattoos. “I’m not trying to put down the people that have them,” Wall says. “But for me right now, it’s all about image. You can’t walk around looking like a thug. There are kids out there looking up to me. I’ve got to set a good example.” Yahoo! Sports (via Coach Eric Musselman)

CREATING YOUR OWN SHOT

A special thanks to Creighton Burns for passing this Andy Louder essay on to us.

So you've spent countless hours in the gym perfecting your shot. You've had a few breakout games but you are still struggling to find a way to consistently score more points. Sound familiar? If it does, you certainly aren't alone. There are lots of good players that go through this phase. The key is to understand that it's not a permanent phase and that you can move past it with the right training and understanding.

Here's one of the main things you need to remember... if you become a good shooter you can't keep it a secret for very long. The focus of a good defensive team is to try and force the other team to shoot the ball as far away from the basket as possible. To encourage this they usually sag off. They try and take away any opportunities you might have to drive towards the basket to get a closer shot. In other words, they encourage the other team to shoot jump shots. This is why when you first become a good shooter it's a lot of fun! You get a lot of open looks from the outside and have the opportunity to score a lot of points. However the honeymoon doesn't last long. Once a team figures out that you can hit the open shot from outside they completely change their strategy. Instead of sagging off they get up in your face and never leave you alone. This is where a lot of players fall apart. They get really frustrated by the pressure defense and can never get a shot off. To try and score points and contribute they end up forcing shots. Things get worse and worse because they miss most of their shots and start losing their confidence. They go from having a few games where they score a lot of points to barely putting up 4-6 points a game.

Write this down. If you are a one-dimensional player, you are very easy to guard. Unless you are over 7 feet tall you are going to have a very difficult time scoring points by just being a good shooter. You've got to be able to get by your defender and create your own shot. If you can do this, a world of opportunity opens up for you.

Think about this... You get the ball and the guy guarding you knows you are a good shooter but also remembers the last time you had the ball you crossed him up and got a lay-up. How is he going to guard you? He knows that if he leaves you enough room you'll just shoot a jump shot over him but if he guards you tight you'll get around him for an open shot. Now you're in the driver's seat. This is a much better situation to be in than just hoping somebody sets a good pick for you or that the defense will play a soft zone so you can get an open three-pointer.

Here are some great NBA players to watch who all do a phenomenal job of creating their own shot: Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady, Dwayne Wade, Deron Williams, Chris Paul and Allen Iverson. Watch them on television and pay attention to how they break down their defenders when they pressure them. They don't just score their points when someone passes to them while they are wide open. They have the ability to make things happen.

How to Get Started
Start simple when begin trying to create your own shot. The worst thing you can do is get so excited about it that you play out of control and force the issue. If you do this you'll end up committing turnovers and taking bad shots and that is never good. The key is to start small by practicing just one move. Once you master one specific move that allows you to get open, then you can start leaning others. Maybe your one move starting out is just a quick jab-step or a cross-over dribble. It doesn't need to be fancy at all, it just needs to be something that puts your defender off-balance so you can make a move to get open. You'll be amazed how much a difference just knowing one move can make.

It's also important to note that you should never attempt anything fancy until you have it mastered in practice. So once you decide on the first move you are going to learn, don't do it in a game until you've done it in practice several times and had success doing it.

LEADERSHIP IN ACTION

Detroit Lion's Matthew Stafford showing leadership in Lions comeback victory over the Cleveland Browns.

ARE YOU A CATALYST FOR YOUR TEAM

As a player are you a "catalyst?" Webster's defines catalyst as: "something that causes an important event to happen." In sports, a catalyst is someone who effects the game in a positive manner. They can be a starter or a substitute. We've had players at LSU that were a catalyst in practice -- they effected the outcome of a game without playing in the game.

Characteristics of a Catalyst:

1. Intuitive: A catalyst senses an opportunity.
2. Communicative.
3. Passionate
4. Talented: Talent knows what it takes to win. You can’t take the team to the next level when you haven’t mastered the skills it takes to succeed on a personal level.
5. Creative: Catalysts think things that others do not think. “Creativity involves taking what you have, where you are, and getting the most out of it.” -Carl Mays
6. Initiating: While all creative people have more than enough ideas, not all of them are good at implementing those creative thoughts.
7. Responsible: “If it’s to be, it’s up to me.” -Truett Cathy, founder of Chick-Fil-A
8. Generous: Catalysts give things that others don’t give. A true mark of people’s taking responsibility is their willingness to give of themselves to carry something through. They are prepared to use their resources to better the team, whether that means giving time, spending money, or sacrificing personal gain.
9. Influential.

From "The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork" by John C. Maxwell

MICHAEL JORDAN'S BREAKFAST CLUB

He was a good student working with a good trainer. The most obvious thing about Michael Jordan, Grover (Jordan's individual trainer) thought, was that he was willing to pay the price of his ambitions. He was not only a great practice player but unusually faithful to his workouts. He didn’t cheat. At first, they scheduled the workouts after practice, but Jordan drove himself so hard in practice that he was too tired to do them properly afterward, so they switches their sessions to the mornings. Eventually, it became known as the Breakfast Club. By the late nineties Ron Harper and Scottie Pippen worked out with Jordan at the gym in his home every morning when the team was in Chicago, and then they had a breakfast prepared by a chef according to Grover’s specifications.

"Playing for Keeps" by David Halberstam

"HE'S MADE UNSELFISH KIND OF A COOL THING"

The following is an excerpt from an article by Pat Forde from ESPN.com on Tim Tebow that the quality of his character:

We can vigorously debate Tebow's place in college football history as a player. What's not up for debate is his unparalleled ability to provoke the deepest of feelings in fans of the sport.

He said afterward that he wants the fans to remember him for "how much I cared." The fact is, fans have never cared so much about a player before.

"I've never seen anything like it," Florida coach Urban Meyer said. "… He's made unselfish kind of a cool thing."

None of us has seen anything like it. What makes Tebow unique in the 140-year history of this game is not just his unquenchable spirit. It's his generosity of spirit.

The numbers and awards are all impressive and voluminous, but they're not what have made the quarterback a historic figure in Florida and beyond. That's due to the winning attributes, the leadership qualities, the endless acts of charity performed off the field, the ability to graciously lead a heavily scrutinized life.

You just don't find all those things in a single college-aged package.

Tebow long ago entered another dimension of stardom, as his impact went viral. He is the most polarizing college athlete ever, by a wide margin, engendering the deepest of feelings across the culture.

Read the entire article: http://bit.ly/6Xnn0y

THE SECRET TO INTENSE FOCUS

The following comes from Chris Widener and speaks to an area that is often under taught by coaches and not fully understood by student-athletes. The ability to concentrate...the ability to focus...for extended periods of time has always been what separates good players and good teams from the rest of the field. Here is what Chris has to say about it:

One of the common elements you see in almost all successful people is focus. They saw what they wanted to achieve, and they focused in on it like a laser. Then, when they become famous, and we, the common folk, know their name, we are amazed at the focus they have.

Focus will set two people apart who have equal skills.

What I am about to say may appear to be blasphemous to some: Tiger Woods is not that much more highly skilled than the other top PGA players! No, I haven’t lost my marbles. Take any of the big names, stick them on any course and on any given day, and they can shoot a 65 for 18 holes. You see, it isn’t whether they can—they all can—it is whether or not they do. And that is determined mostly by F-O-C-U-S.

Watch Tiger sometime in a close race to the finish. Watch when he hits a bad shot. Does he fall apart and grumble to anyone who will listen? No! In fact, it is almost eerie to watch him lock back in, even more focused than ever. That is what makes him a champion. I truly believe it is Tiger’s focus that has distinguished him from the rest of the field to become the best golfer ever.

The same is true with others who achieve great things, even in crucial and highly tense situations. Think John Elway in those final minutes of those games he brought the Broncos back in. Think of all of those last-second shots that Michael Jordan took (that everyone in the entire arena knew he was going to take—including the other team). These are classic examples of focus.
So what can the average person do to increase their focus? There are some things you can do to train yourself. You may never be Tiger Woods on the golf course or in the office, but you can increase your focus to where it needs to be to give you the success you desire.

In the remaining part of this article, I want to show you how to stay away from a common mistake and turn toward a discipline of focus that will be the first step in greatly enhancing your ability to focus. I will show you a practice technique that will greatly enhance your focus and your performance.

The myth is that, to focus, we must push other things out of our mind. For example, people will say to an athlete, “Don’t listen to the fans.” Or someone will say to another, “Don’t think about…” This doesn’t work! For example, right now, do not picture your car. You thought of it, right? Exactly. This myth actually gets you to focus on exactly what you don’t want to focus on!

Instead, the secret to intense focus is to set your mind intently on what it is you want to focus in on. For example, let’s say you are standing over a 10-foot putt. (I’m hoping we have some golfers here—and if not, make the changes you need to, but you should get the point.)
What do you want to focus on? Making that putt! So what are the elements you should be aware of? Focus on them. But go beyond mere observation. Most people just look at the line of the putt, take a guess on how hard to hit and then fire away.

Here are some other things to do: (Remember the process here is to get you highly aware of your surroundings and to focus with intensity.)

Look at the hole. Is the plastic cup even with the top of the grass or is it sunken in? How much? Bet you never noticed that before. Does the grass tip in at the edge or is it even? How long is the grass between you and the hole? Does it waver in length from foot to foot?

Is there sand along the way in your path? How much? What color? What size? Is it even or just for a section?

Are there any bugs sitting on the ground between you and the hole? Does the hill go up or down at all? Not significantly—you would have already noticed that—but even slightly?

Is there a slight wind? Can you feel it blowing on your face?

Lastly, imagine that ball rolling along that path, curving slightly if it has to, and falling in the hole. I mean, really create that movie in your head and watch it!

You may ask, “Chris, is this the secret to making your putts?” No, but it’s an example of how to focus. Be observant. Notice. Focus. Lock into your focal point(s).

The myth of most focus advice is to try to not focus on bad things.

The secret to intense focus is to focus to a higher degree than you normally do on the “good things”—the things you are trying to accomplish!

Give it a try for a week. Focus intensely on what you want to accomplish. Bring yourself to a much higher degree of awareness of the surroundings, etc., and see for yourself the power behind this methodology!

Then, when you have taught yourself to do this for practice, it will become a part of you and you will start to do it naturally, and that will be an incredible day!

KOBE: DEFENSE AND REBOUNDING

Kobe Bryant on the 2008 USA Olympic Basketball Team:

“No matter where you play - if you’re playing here, if you’re playing on Mars-if you can shut somebody down and rebound the basketball, you’re going to win no matter who you’re playing against. And I think that’s a standard we have to set.”

ARE YOU READY WHEN CALLED UPON?

“The sixth man has to be so stable a player that he can instantly pick up the tempo or reverse it. He has to be able to go in and have an immediate impact. The sixth man has to have the unique ability to be in a ball game while he is sitting on the bench.”

-Tom Heinson

THE IMPORTANCE OF YOUR ASSOCIATIONS

While take a basketball coaching class at Marshall University, the instructor and head coach for the Thundering Herd Stu Aberdeen, spoke to us about our associations in life. He talked about people that either made deposits or withdrawals in our growth. The great thing about it, he told us, is we had complete control over who we associated with. He told us if we wanted to be coaches to associate with good coaches. If we want to be in business, associate with the best business leaders. I remember that particular class because I tried to follow that advice and I've been fortunate enough to have proven Coach Aberdeen's theory correct. Along those same thoughts, here is a recent writing I read from Jim Rohn:

If you were to evaluate the major influences in your life that have shaped the kind of person you are, this has to be high on the list: the people and thoughts you choose to allow into your life. My mentor Mr. Shoaff gave me a very important warning in those early days that I would like to share with you. He said, “Never underestimate the power of influence.” Indeed, the influence of those around us is so powerful! Many times we don’t even realize we’re being strongly affected because influences generally develop over an extended period of time.

Peer pressure is an especially powerful force because it is so subtle. If you’re around people who spend all they make, chances are excellent that you’ll spend all you make. If you are around people who go to more ball games than concerts, chances are excellent that you’ll do the same thing. If you are around people who don’t read, chances are excellent that you won’t read. People can keep nudging us off course a little at a time, until finally, we find ourselves asking, “How did I get here?” Those subtle influences need to be studied carefully if we really want our lives to turn out the way we’ve planned.

With regard to this important point, let me give you three key questions to ask yourself. They may help you to make better analysis of your current associations.

Here is the first question: “Who am I around?” Make a mental note of the people with whom you most often associate. You’ve got to evaluate everybody who is able to influence you in any way.
The second question is: “What are these associations doing to me?” That’s a major question to ask. What have they got me doing? What have they got me listening to? What have they got me reading? Where have they got me going? What do they have me thinking? How have they got me talking? How have they got me feeling? What have they got me saying? You’ve got to make a serious study of how others are influencing you, both negatively and positively.

Here’s a final question: “Is that okay?” Maybe everyone you associate with has been a positive, energizing influence. Then again, maybe there are some bad apples in the bunch. All I’m suggesting here is that you take a close and objective look. Everything is worth a second look, especially the power of influence. Both will take you somewhere, but only one will take you in the direction you need to go.

It’s easy to just dismiss the things that influence our lives. One man says, “I live here, but I don’t think it matters. I’m around these people, but I don’t think it hurts.” I would take another look at that. Remember, everything matters! Sure, some things matter more than others, but everything amounts to something. You’ve got to keep checking to find out whether your associations are tipping the scales toward the positive or toward the negative. Ignorance is never the best policy. Finding out is the best policy.

Perhaps you’ve heard the story of the little bird. He had his wing over his eye and he was crying. The owl said to the bird, “You are crying.” “Yes,” said the little bird, and he pulled his wing away from his eye. “Oh, I see,” said the owl. “You’re crying because the big bird pecked out your eye.” And the little bird said, “No, I’m not crying because the big bird pecked out my eye. I’m crying because I let him.”

It’s easy to let influence shape our lives, to let associations determine our direction, to let pressures overwhelm us, and to let tides take us. The big question is: Are we letting ourselves become what we wish to become?

NO BETTER FEELING

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning:

“To me there is no better feeling than when you really bust your butt all week long, studying tape, working extra time in the weight room or on the practice field and then winning the game on Sunday. It truly is a great feeling.”