One Thing
I saw the movie City Slickers in the theater when I was 15 years old. Billy Crystal was 43 then, and he might as well have been 83 from my perspective. His character in the movie was 39. The movie was entertaining enough ("I made a cow!"), but at age 15 there was...
How to W.I.N. 100% of the Time
Perspective has an enormous impact on the ability for athletes and teams to perform at their potential. Keeping the proper perspective, then, something that all Coaches must help their teams/athletes maintain. The best example I have ever heard of a Coach helping his...
Baseball Joe
In Lesson 2 of Module 3 in the Coaching With Purpose lessons that we use in Coaching Life Groups, we read this quote: Although I was a reasonably good guy, I was relating to many of my players as if our relationship was a business deal. I would care about them and...
The Greatest Motivation?
Coaches don’t play the games, players do. How’s that for an obvious statement? Despite how obvious that statement is, it is worth repeating because it leads to one of the greatest challenges and opportunities that a coach faces - motivating players. As a Coach, you...
Attitude Check
Last night I went to the first grade musical at my youngest son's elementary school. If you've been to a first grade musical anytime in the last 20 years, you know how it goes. It's kind of cute, but there's not a whole lot of entertainment value beyond that. But...
Ice On the Concrete
I am a big believer in positive attitudes and feel like complaining is one of the most powerful enemies of joy and success. As a result, there are very few things that I allow myself to complain and whine about. However, cold, snow and ice all make the list. Maybe...
Coaching Bad
Last night I was watching a basketball game on TV with my kids and a commercial came on for a new TV series called "Coaching Bad". Spike TV is teaming up with Ray Lewis to "shine a light on the ever-growing issue of coaches and their anger issues", according to...
Youth Sports – What’s the Point?
This past week I came across an article called The Race to Nowhere in Youth Sports, published by Changing The Game Project. It’s a fantastic article that you should read. I’ll link to at the bottom of this post. That article got me thinking about the simple question,...
Nuisance
Grant Wiggins writes a blog about education and just a few months ago posted this -- an account of a veteran high school teacher who decides to shadow two students for a day to get a better feel for what it's like to be a HS student. The post is a terrific read for...
Want To Connect? Tell a Story.
So after nine years away I am back in the classroom again. And after 8 years of teaching high school in my past life, this time I find myself teaching 6th grade. To begin the day I put the 1st period schedule on the whiteboard. I want my students to know what to...