Carol Dweck in her book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success speaks to what she calls a “fixed mind-set” versus a “growth mind-set”. Her work has been instrumental in outlining the transformational power that comes from changing how we – as coaches and athletes – think about failure. Watch this short video that shows the …
At the end of each season, most of us are going to have to CHOOSE to be bitter or get better. And, at some point in our basketball careers, most coaches – and dedicated players for that matter – will struggle with team commitment. It’s natural. Are you struggling with feelings of lack of commitment …
As a fan of the game and even more so as a coach, I believe there are very few acceptable responses after a made basket. Further, to a special player, there’s really only one winning habit after a score: an immediate and automated reaction focused on the next best action. Coach Don Meyer called this …
SOURCE: John Wooden Course – www.woodencourse.com March 15, 1963; Provo, Utah — Arizona State defeats UCLA 93-79 in the first game of the NCAA Western Regional Tournament . . . and the final score made the game sound closer than it was. Arizona State was leading 62-31 at halftime. That season was John Wooden’s 17th at …
Beware of great plays. Common sense might seem to tell you that great plays make the difference between a good player and a mediocre player, but most coaches would disagree. More often, they would say, great plays (or the attempts to make great plays) are what make good players mediocre. Many players are mediocre because …
The teacher-coach that I am now is substantially different from who I was in the 1990s and early 2000s. When asked recently why that is, the response comes easily: Mario DeSisti. Granted I’ve had a number of basketball mentors (see: Mike MacKay) who have had – and continue to have – a profound impact on …
Thought by many to be the greatest tennis player of this generation, Rafael Nadal‘s story is atypical to that of most stars in sports. The “great irony” of Rafael Nadal, as journalist Jeff Pearlman calls it, is that he’s a “singularly relentless player… But it’s not his forehand or his backhand; it’s his will. He …
To me there are four (4) pillars that must be developed in any athlete participating in competitive team sport: mental, physical, technical and socio-emotional. The latter of the bunch is, in my opinion, the most under-taught yet most important skill that will lead to championship performance. That is, a player’s or coach’s ability to effectively …
During World War II just before the Americans entered the war they were studying the big guns of the Germans. They found that they could fire a shell every 10 seconds. The best the Americans could do was one every 30 seconds. They assigned a Colonel to study the matter. He found that the gunners …
A quick hitter that’s worth the watch as legendary sport coaches Bobby Bowden (former head football coach, Florida State), Pat Summit (Tennessee women’s basketball), Lute Olsen (former men’s basketball coach, Arizona), John Wooden (former UCLA men’s basketball head coach) and George Horton (Cal State Fullerton baseball head coach) share insights on what it takes to …