“That System Won’t Work”

It happened again.  The University of Virginia Men’s Basketball team made another early exit from the NCAA Tournament by falling to Colorado State 67-42. UVA’s performance was dreadful and left many wondering why they even got in the tournament in the first place. The Cavaliers and their head coach Tony Bennett face some well-deserved criticism …

Coaching Styles: Internal and External Focused

Coaches are humans and they come preloaded with differing viewpoints on how to do the job. Demeanors are different. Personalities vary. Coaches have different opinions on what should be prioritized. That’s ok! There is room for many coaching styles.   One of the differences in coaching styles is whether a coach is more internally focused or …

Five Tips For Playing Like The Pros

I am often asked whether specific X’s and O’s from the NBA are applicable to lower levels of play. The rules and the skill level are different from other levels of play and that surely impacts the applicability. If you hang around the sport long enough you’ll notice that things trickle down. College coaches study …

Coaching Superpowers: Cueing

Note: This is the fourth and final post in a series on the “superpowers” coaches can add to level up in the coaching profession. Previous entries: Coaching Superpowers: Drill Creation Coaching Superpowers: Simplification Coaching Superpowers: Mental Strength In the video game world, an adept player earns “superpowers” which help them advance to higher levels in …

Coaching Superpowers: Mental Strength

Note: This is the third post in a series on the “superpowers” coaches can add to level up in the coaching profession. Previous entries: Coaching Superpowers: Drill Creation Coaching Superpowers: Simplification In the video game world, an adept player earns “superpowers” which help them advance to higher levels in the game. Perhaps, through skillful play …

Coaching Superpowers: Simplification

Note: This is a the second post in a series on the “superpowers” coaches can add to level up in the coaching profession. First entry: Coaching Superpowers: Drill Creation In the video game world, an adept player earns “superpowers” which help them advance to higher levels in the game. Perhaps, through skillful play and experience, the …

Coaching Superpowers: Drill Creation

Note: This is a the first in a series on the “superpowers” coaches can add to level up in the coaching profession. In the video game world, an adept player earns “superpowers” that help them advance to higher levels in the game. Perhaps, through skillful play and experience, the character in the game earns x-ray …

How To Make Losing Disappear

Every January I select a topic to focus my reading for the upcoming year. All of the non-fiction books I read in that year share a common theme. In years past I have selected topics such as History, Politics, Leadership, Travel and Behavioral Economics for example. The topic not only frames my non-fiction reading for …