Every Coach Needs A Coach

I have lost count of the number of emails and conversations that start with ‘i dont want to be that guy/girl/parent/ref/coach/patient/doctor)..and then the proceed to go be that thing. If you really didn’t want to be that guy…YOU WOULDN’T DO IT. I think a much better way to have that kind of conversation is, ‘It makes me uncomfortable to have this conversation with you because I don’t do it a lot....

I signed our team up for lead em up this year, that’s a program run by Adam Bradley designed to help build great followership and leadership in an athletic program. The program starts by defining what ‘green’ is. Green is the money team. Green is good, relaxed, flowing. Ultimately , we want to be green, build green. The first thing we do is sit down as a group and define what our green standards a...

This is a love languages episode. Every year I ask our players how they feel most appreciated. I want them to know that I want to try and make them feel like I appreciate them. People feel loved and appreciated in different ways though. Some love a high five. Some love public praises. Some love a little note that no one else knows about. Some want their picture on the team instagram. Some want the...

Yesterday we talked about dedicated, protected time. Along that line, we seem to never have enough time. But what if instead of saying ‘we don’t have time for that’, we rephrased it as ‘that’s not a priority right now’. That simple phrasing will help you and your staff and your team understand where your priorities are at. Think about the last thing you said you didn’t have time for (in the contex...

One of my business coaches challenged me that in order to grow my clinic, i need to have dedicated, protected time in my schedule every week that i take away from treating patients, and focus solely on my strategy to improve my business and grow it. That phrase, dedicated, protected time she used 3-4x in our conversation. She did that deliberately, because we all know how it goes (i’ve done it so...

This is a story that popped up on my facebook feed a few days ago.  My daughter starts middle school tomorrow.  We've decorated her locker, bought new uniforms, even surprised her with a new backpack.  But tonight just before bed, we did another pre-middle school task that is far more important than the others.  I gave her a tube of toothpaste and asked her to squirt it out ont...

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” ― Howard Thurman I am in the start of soccer season, and although coaching throws my schedule and life into some chaos, man, does it make me come alive. I get excited, and frustrated, and enthusiastic, and driven to be my best when I coach. I think that’s the b...

"To laugh often and much; win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; To find the best in others; To leave the world a bit better; whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived; This is to have s...

Why not make this universe the one where you’re the best version of you? Last week we were driving back from the beach, and we listened to a podcast featuring the physicist Michio Kaku. Stay with me on this because it gets kind of deep and trippy. The idea of a multi-verse is that there are infinite universes, with infinite versions of infinite possibilities. At least that's my understanding of it...

In 2016 my new year’s resolution was to make 50 three pointers a week. At that point I was studying for my board exams to become a physical therapist, working full-time as an intern. And knowing that my health and mental health were important, but not necessarily taking the time to take care of those things. I love basketball, and a New Year's resolution forced me to do something that I loved, tha...

I was just in the grocery store, and I needed to find toll house cookie dough. I searched for a few minutes, and the moment I asked for help, it came in the form of an employee who didn’t know exactly where they were, but pointed me in the right direction. I just find it funny that as soon as I asked for help, what I needed made it self available. That’s the way the world works. When the student i...

250 - speak it into existence Have you ever noticed that you text someone, and they say ‘hey i was just talking about you’. That literally just happened to me. I texted a patient last night to check in, and she wrote me back this morning about how she was telling a coworker about me. And then proceeded to offer me some speaking gigs and training for some younger coaches in town , and remembered th...

https://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2010/12/07/3085614.htm "The oft-quoted frog-in-boiling-water myth. It claims that frogs cannot sense a slow change in the temperature of the water around them.  If you plunge them into boiling water they'll immediately jump out. But if you place them into room temperature water and slowly heat it to boiling, the frog won't notice and will slowly cook to...

That’s not exactly right. I did a little research because I’d heard this somewhere and wanted to do an episode on it. It turns out, 90% of a rocket’s weight is it’s fuel. ( https://howthingsfly.si.edu/ask-an-explainer/how-much-fuel-would-it-take-shoot-rocket-out-atmosphere ) Now, i found an answer that said that the most fuel is used to lift the rocket the first few feet. Doesn’t tha sound familia...

Desiderata Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit. If you compare yourself with othe...

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may...

Here is a poem by William Martin, called, 'Do not ask your children to strive' Do not ask your children to strive for extraordinary lives. Such striving may seem admirable, but it is the way of foolishness. Help them instead to find the wonder and the marvel of an ordinary life. Show them the joy of tasting tomatoes, apples and pears. Show them how to cry when pets and people die. Show them the in...

I saw a clip where a mother of a 11 or 12 year old girl asked Gary Vanyerchuck about her daughter’s self confidence. He told the mom that if he could advise her daughter, it would be to build her self esteem. Now , if you google Gary V self esteem, you’ll get a slew of videos and posts from years ago. His point is that self esteem needs to be the most protected entity for our young people (especia...

“We rise by lifting each other.  “ TJ at the 30:00 mark , episode 376 of the hardwood hustle. My first year as a head coach, I had a junior and 2 sophomores who didn’t play much in games. In practice, they were the players who forced our starters to get better. They raised the energy level of every drill. They brought our team together by giving 100% in every chance they had. They were celebr...

We went to see Zac Brown Band last night, and as he performed he told the story of how every member joined the band. When they were all introduced he said something that stuck with me. He said I encourage anyone who is trying to build something great to find people who are better than you. You should be the worst one in the group

“How you did it, and who you did it with will matter much more than what you did” -TJ Rosene I have a business coach who likes to say ‘who you become along the way is much more important than what you achieve’.  Later, in that same episode, TJ says, “Who is in your corner, and what are they made of?” I have been blessed with an absolutely incredible assistant coach. She is honest, straightfor...

I want to have my players be able to run practice without me. I want my captains to be able to run the show in such a way that I don’t need to be there. I want to teach my kids the strategy behind our game and the rationale behind my decisions, so that if I were to disappear, or my voice goes out, or suddenly I can’t SEE what’s going on, they would be completely fine without me. I want to treat th...

A giant ship's engine broke down and no one could repair it, so they took it to a Mechanical Engineer with over 40 years of experience. He inspected the engine very carefully, from top to bottom. After seeing everything, the engineer unloaded the bag and pulled out a small hammer. He knocked something gently. Soon, the engine came to life again. The engine has been fixed! 7 days later the engineer...

My first year coaching freshman basketball, I ran into a situation that I haven't run into since. One of my players was taking terrible shots. I'm talking first pass in, highly guarded, out of her range shots. I finally asked her what was up. And she said that her dad would give her a dollar for every point she scored in a game. Relating to what we talked about yesterday, that was a recipe for dis...

This farmer, who could understand what the animals said to each other, did linger in the farm yard each evening just to listen to their words. One evening he did hear the ox bemoaning to the ass the hardness of his lot: 'I do labor pulling the plow from morning until night. No matter how hot the day, or how tired my legs, or how the bow doth chafe my neck, still must I work. But you are a creature...