Me, We.

“Me, we.”

—Muhammad Ali

Acknowledged as the shortest poem written, these profound words were delivered by Ali to a Harvard senior class commencement. They resonate true, for me, for a many reasons.

I recently left what many consider to be a “dream job“. And, for all intents and purposes, it was. With time, though, I began to realize that it just wasn’t my dream job – anymore.

I don’t say that lightly. I’ve learned much in my years in professional sports with the Toronto Raptors (NBA), Toronto Maple Leafs (NHL) and Detroit Shock (WNBA). I developed relationships with some wonderful people (i.e. coaches, players, executives and other sharp business minds). And, without their support, encouragement and guidance, I know that I would not have the legs to stand up as I step out on my own.

I trust that those relationships will continue as I move forward and strive to dive into the international coaching and player development scene in the coming years.

One of my goals in developing “me,” is that I will be able to serve the “we” in a way that I previous would not have been able to.

I begin the next step, this weekend as I head across the pond to Serbia and then Slovakia for the U19 men’s and women’s world championships. I can’t tell you how excited I am to see the calibre of ball and exchange ideas with other coaches while there.

Check in on theLLaBB periodically as I blog my experiences and insights over time. What you’ll find are a lot of ideas; some will challenge conventional ‘wisdom,’ others you might find zany, but all will hopefully provoke thought and challenge you to (re)assess the what, when, why and how of your coaching, teaching or training.

This will be the place that will give you level-headed, distilled information. You’ll find everything you need to know about the wild and wonderful aspects of player development – both the art + science. And believe me, if you share my passion for personal/professional growth, details, hard work and the pursuit of excellence, you’ll enjoy it!

I’ve learned so much from some awesome people, and could never give it all back in any other way. This is, I guess, is my way of “Paying it Forward.” It’s a way of creating a legacy effect – which I hope will transform your approach to basketball and life.

The fountain flows freely. Jump in and frolic!

/sef.