We have a veteran team here in Boston, but we still want our guys to have a beginner’s mindset. We want them to be like beginners when we’re teaching them in practice, coaching them in a game, or talking about stuff in a team meeting. The reason this is important is that we have found that beginners are open; experts are closed. Experts are closed to new ideas, closed to new ways, closed to a different concept, generally closed from everything except what they’re already comfortable with or want to keep doing.

Beginners are always open to new ideas, new ways to do things, new ways to improve. Where this comes into play is when we are teaching and coaching our players. We want them to trust that we have spent countless hours and years perfecting our way of doing things and that they are the best ways for our team that year. The players and teams that never reach success are the ones that challenge, oppose, or distrust everything their coaches put out there for them.

So if we have our choice, we want the beginner’s mindset. We want our players’ minds to be open and ready to absorb and execute what we have thoroughly thought through and believe to be the best for our team that year!