MORE IMPORTANT THAT THE TEAM PLAYS WELL

"I think any player will tell you that

individual accomplishments help your ego, but if

you don't win, it makes for a very, very long season. 

 It counts more that the team has played well."

 

-David Robinson

TEAM: LEAN AND SUPPORT

"No body is a whole team...We need each other.  You need someone and someone needs you.  Isolate islands we're not.  To make this thing called life work, we gotta lean and support. And relate and respond.  And give and take.  And confess and forgive.  And reach out and embrace and rely...Since none of us is a whole, independent, self-sufficient, super-capable, all-powerful hotshot, let's quit acting like we are.  Life's lonely enough without our playing that silly role.  The game is over.  Let's link up."

-Chuck Swindoll

WORK ETHIC & MATURITY -- HOW TO IMPRESS YOUR COACH!

Do you want to know how to impress your coach?  Here is how Blake Griffin impressed his new coach Doc Rivers:

“One guy that has stood out to me is Blake. Just sitting in my office up there and looking down on him and watching him work. I knew he was a worker. I didn’t know he was the worker to the extent that he’s worked this summer. He’s put in a lot of time. I’ve been impressed with his scheduling. He does a lot of stuff and nothing gets in the way of his basketball, and that shows me a great sign of maturity.”

-Doc Rivers

STOCKTON "LOVED TO COMPETE"

In 19 years, John Stockton never once lost a suicide drill in practice. Well there was one day.  But he was sick and he still ran it.   That’s the important thing.  John didn’t need all the attention that comes with making the all-star teams or getting his name into the headlines. He just loved to compete.”

-Jerry Sloan (Stockton’s coach at Utah)

 

LeBRON ON COMMITMENT

“Commitment is a big part of what I am and what I believe.  How committed are you to winning?  How committed are you to being a good friend? To being trustworthy? To being successful? How committed are you to being a good father, a good teammate, a good role model?  There’s that moment every morning when you look in the mirror: Are you committed, or are you not?”

-LeBron James

 

KNOW YOUR CIRCLE

PASSION NEVER SLEEPS

Young, aspiring coach Nick Grant takes a couple players through a great workout -- Passion Never Sleeps!

KD35'S WORK ETHIC

Scott Brooks on Kevin Durant:

 

"He works like he has no talent. 

He works hard everyday like

he wants to make the team."

THE IMPORTANCE OF INTERNAL LEADERSHIP

Thanks to Matt Weikert for sharing this...great look into internal leadership both verbally and through effort in workouts and how it transfers to game action.

WHAT IF EVERY DAY WAS A TRYOUT

Check out the slogan on the back wall of the video room at the University of Michigan.  How good could you be if this were your attitude?  What if everyday you went to practice you felt you had to play hard enough, execute well enough, show the right type of attitude, and display a measure of mental toughness just to make the team?

KEEP THE WINNING SPIRIT ALIVE

There will be days when it is difficult to muster enough to be our best.  We may be tired or frustrated or in a bad mood.  There may be unforeseen circumstances and distractions, setbacks and injuries.  Professional or personal issues may arise.  Nevertheless, these are the times when it is most important to push onward and stay focused.  We do not want to give in to a belief that we are victims of circumstances.  Even in our darkest hours and toughest challenges, we must give it everything we have if we wish to succeed.

The winning spirit is kept alive by living and performing in the moment, visualizing success, finding the support of a coach and inner circle, making a personal commitment to excellence, living a discipline life, affirming our truest values -- all while believing in our ability to achieve our goal.

From "The Winning Spirit" by Joe Montana

MJ ON LEADERSHIP

But a leaders has to earn that title.  You aren't the leader just because you're the best player on the team, the smartest person in the class, or the most popular.  No one can give you that title either.  You have to gain the respect of those around you or by your actions.  You have to be consistent in your approach whether it's basketball practice, a sales meeting, or dealing with your family.

A leader can't make any excuses.  There has to be quality in everything you do.  Off the court, on the court, in the classroom, on the playground, inside the meeting room, outside of work.  You have to transfer those skills, that drive, to whatever environment you're in.

And you have to be willing to sacrifice certain individual goals, if necessary for the good of the team.

From "I Can't Accept Not Trying"

THE ARCHER'S MENTALITY

"When an archer misses the mark he turns

and looks for the fault within himself.  Failure

 to hit the bull's eye is never the fault of the target. 

To improve your aim, improve yourself."

 

-Gilbert Arland

THE COMPETITIVE NATURE OF KOBE BRYANT

An article that ran on BusinessInsider.com gave a list of examples of the competitive nature of Kobe Bryant.  Click here to read the complete list:

He decided to lose 16 pounds for the Olympics in 2012
Kobe has never been out of shape, but he decided to change himself as a precautionary measure. He told the Guardian: "With summer basketball leading directly into the season — and I'm expecting to play until next June — I have to take some load off my knees. I've got to shave some of this weight."

Showed up at 5 a.m. and left practice at 7 p.m. ... in high school

He'd make high school teammates play one-on-one games to 100

He used to practice by himself without a ball, says Shaq

Shaq wrote in his book: "You'd walk in there and he'd be cutting and grunting and motioning like he was dribbling and shooting — except there was no ball. I thought it was weird, but I'm pretty sure it helped him."

He counts all of his made shots in practice, and stops when he gets to 400

He goes through super intense workouts on game days
From ESPN's Rick Reilly: "Among a dozen other drills, Bryant does suicide push-ups. At the top of the pushup, he launches himself off the mat so hard that both his feet come off the ground and his hands slap his pecs. He does three sets of seven of these. This makes me turn away and whimper softly."

He had Nike shave a few millimeters off the bottom of his shoes in 2008 to get 'a hundredth of a second better reaction time'
He is on a crazy strict diet right now
He has eliminated sugar and pizza and only eats lean meat.  He told ESPN: "There aren't really any supplements that I'm taking from that perspective. What I've done really is just train really hard and watch my diet. I think that's the thing that catches guys most. They don't do self assessing."

He ices his knees for 20 minutes three times per day and does acupuncture so he doesn't get hurt

He watches film of himself at halftime
According to ESPN's Jackie McMullen in 2010: "He often corrals teammates, fires up the laptop, and shows them precisely how they can carve out easier shots for themselves."

He trains for four hours a day during the season, and more than that in the offseason

He keeps players after practice as "guinea pigs"
In 2008, Sports Illustrated reported that Kobe will keep random players after practice so that he can try out new moves on them. Similar to what he did to bench warmers in high school.

This quote from an NBA scout in 2008: 'Allen Iverson loves to play when the lights come on. Kobe loves doing it--- before the lights come on."

This quote about how he wants to be remembered: 'To think of me as a person that’s overachieved, that would mean a lot to me. That means I put a lot of work in and squeezed every ounce of juice out of this orange that I could.'

MASTERY

Coach Mike Kryzyzewski on LeBron James

"I’ve seen him grow from a great talent to an outstanding player to the best player; he’s the best player.”

”He’s in a position right now in our sport, which I call Mastery. In other words: he can guard any position, he can play any position, he’s brilliant, he’s an amazing leader, has a great leadership voice, easy to coach, and when you’re just with a group of people, he’s as funny as can be.”

”If you would see his preparation every day, and what he puts into the game, it would knock people out.”

”He’s 6’9’’ 260 and he runs like a deer, he thinks like a wizard, he leads like a general, he’s got it in every way. I’m proud of him.”