Leading Narratives

In communicating with the players on the court, I find it extremely helpful to precede constructive criticism with praise. I use what I like to call the ‘sandwich technique.’ First, I compliment an aspect of the player’s performance, then I slip in the constructive comment, and then I top it off with more praise. An example of this is, ‘Hey, Bill, great rebound! But you didn’t look up. And if you had, we had someone wide open who could have triggered the break. But you did a great job of protecting the ball, and that at least assured us of the possession.’ The two things people like to hear the most are the sound of their own name and a compliment — preferably together. So when talking to your players, if you call their name and pay them a compliment, you know you’re going to have their full attention. And that is communication as it’s best. —Adapted from Morgan Wootten’s Coaching Basketball Successfully Coaching Basketball Successfully - 3rd Edition

What equals 100 percent? What does it mean to give 100 percent? What determines 100 percent in all of your endeavors? This formula provides an interesting answer. If you take: ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ And represent it as: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Then: H-A-R-D-W-O-R-K 8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 = 98 PERCENT And K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E 11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5 = 96 percent But A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E 1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 = 100 percent ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Coach Yourself: A Motivational Guide For Coaches And Leaders About This Book Coach Yourself is a unique book, compiled exclusively for coaches to provide you with physical, mental and spiritual motivation throughout the season. In his follow-up to A Season In Words, veteran coach Dan Spainhour arms you with quotes and motivational ideas to help you achieve peace of mind throughout the

When your team is going through change, good communication is essential. Try the 5 x 3 method--offer your message 5 times using 3 different communications vehicles. Repeat the message 5 times in different ways—team meeting, one-on-one, text message, etc. to ensure your message is received. –Adapted from Leadership and the art of transformation by Stephen Ekstrom __________________________________________________ Print Edition $24.99 Instant Download &19.99 Print & Download $31.99

Author Alex Haley, had a picture in his office, showing a turtle sitting atop a fence. The picture was there to remind him of a lesson he learned long ago: “If you see a turtle on a fence post, you know he had some help. Any time I start thinking, wow, isn’t this marvelous what I’ve done! I look up at that picture and remember how this turtle—me—got up on that post,” Haley often said. _____________________________________________________________________ A Season In Words by Dan Spainhour $19.95