Kevin Eastman Basketball » coaching philosophy and career enhancement

Update

wendy — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 20:38:48 +0000

Coach Eastman has been traveling extensively for Nike, Coaching U LIVE, and other events. We will catch up with blog posts, NBA plays, and newsletters in the next week. Thank you.

George Steinbrenner and Coaching

wendy — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 09:36:10 +0000

I’ve read a number of articles on George Steinbrenner these past few days. We all know that he’s either loved or hated and not much in between, but we can learn a lot from his leadership practices. As with any person you study, you can learn what to do and what not to do.

A common thread when he dealt with all employees is a great reminder to keep things simple. And make sure everyone knows what is expected. In its simplest form, he demanded the following from all who worked for him:

talent
work ethic
accountability

There are many things we have read in all of our leadership and team building books and articles, but this gets back to the basics. It’s a great reminder that we need to continually let those who are part of our team know that there are clear expectations if they are to work for us or play for our teams!

Make Things Happen

wendy — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 00:01:27 +0000

A good coaching friend of mine, Tates Locke, is a great guy to get around if you want to soak in his vast experience. He has a saying (and you may have heard it already) that is worth using not only with our players but with our staff:

Tates used a few different words here and there, but the point is there truly are all three types out there. The first question to ask yourself is, of course, “which one am I?” Try to make sure you’re in the “make things happen” category everyday!

The second question is, “Why would you even want those that watch and those that don’t even know what’s going on on your team?”

Sometimes these old quotes are great reminders. Every time I hear Tates use this one, I go into that two questions mode and make sure I remind myself of the answers I want to hear. Just some food for thought!

*** PS: as you know, I do blogs, NBA sets, and a newsletter 50 weeks a year. Well, last week was one of my weeks off. I’ve been on road almost constantly since we lost game 7 in LA back in mid-June. But now I’m back!

On another note, please know that each yearly subscription ends on August 31. But, as has always been the case, all subscribers have access to archived posts for the entire year, no matter what date they subscribe. Stay tuned for a possible new format for next year that I think everyone will like! Thanks so much for your interest. Let’s keep learning and spreading the word about this great game of basketball.

Keep Eyes and Ears Open

wendy — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 10:29:51 +0000

I direct the Skills Academies for Nike and our goal is to hire the best teachers out there for these elite High School and College players. In doing that, it’s almost a mini clinic for me as I go around watching and listening to the different coaches at the different stations.

A few observations about these coaches:

they know a lot but are always looking to learn more from the other coaches here
they are very creative in their drills; you can tell they have thought long and hard about each drill — the variety keeps the players engaged
they teach with passion!
amazingly, they are drenched when the 2-hour workouts are over; they invest as much energy and effort as the players!

The only reason I blog about this today is that it is so energizing and uplifting to enter a gym where every person in there is invested…WOW!!

True Leadership

wendy — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 22:22:44 +0000

There are so many players in so many fields that want to be in a leadership position but don’t want to deal with the toughest part of leadership. To be an effective leader, you must be able to tell the truth.
Sounds simple, but there are lots of factors that go with this statement. First and foremost, a leader can’t discriminate as to who he leads. If you’re a leader, your job is to lead everyone, on your team, whether you like every person or not.

The hardest part often becomes: can you tell your best friend(s) the truth…especially when the truth will hurt their feelings and could jeopardize your relationship? Truth and leadership must work hand in hand! In order to be able to tell the truth, you have to be observant enough — and know enough — about what needs to be done for your group and that person to be successful. Before you can tell the truth, you must know what the truth is. True leaders are effective because they know and live what is right and wrong…on the floor and off the floor.

Are your leaders strong enough to deal with the truth? If not, they are simply filling a position of leadership and not executing the role of leadership!

No Plays Off

wendy — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 20:18:36 +0000

When going after a championship, I’ve found that the hardest of all to accomplish is this: neither players nor coaches can take any plays off! Championships are won by the team that stays in every possession. There can be no “plays off.”

The average person or coach may say: “it’s only one play,” but what if that play were the game turner! What if that one play gave the opponent just the confidence they were looking for and needed! What if that one play changed the momentum!

Championships can’t afford those “one plays.” Champions must have the focus to stay in every play, every possession, every second! The great teams understand this concept and work very hard to maintain that focus when they’re working to accomplish something this big.

From personal experience, I can tell you that if you take a play off against a good coach or good team they will exploit you…and beat you!

Staff Construction

wendy — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 14:54:50 +0000

Putting together a staff requires a tremendous amount of thought. The staff you have is a big part of every Head Coach’s success. Here are some things about our staff that, I believe, make it one of the best around:

Loyalty: We all believe in and truly want to see Doc be successful.
Ego-less: We all understand this is not about us. There are no personal agendas; it’s about helping the players get better and helping them and Doc win games.
Work Ethic: We spend long hours making sure we do our parts to make the Celtics successful. We give whatever time it takes.
Role Fulfillment: We have each been given a role and we accept it and attempt to execute it every single day. We understand that in Doc’s eyes, the role he’s given each of us is what’s best for all of us to be successful.
Do your job: We all understand that the job we have as an assistant with the Boston Celtics is the most important job we have. It’s not about the next job; it’s this one. We work very hard to do this job to the best of our ability every day

So some may say Doc is lucky to have us, but I think if you ask him or anyone on our staff we would all say the same thing: we are lucky to have each other. That’s what makes staffs in any business successful!

Preparation

wendy — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 22:52:36 +0000

Many have probably already read that one of our assistant coaches, Tom Thibodeau, has been named the new Head Coach of the Chicago Bulls (to be official after the Finals). I have had the pleasure of working with Tom over the last three years and have learned a lot from him.

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Resolve

wendy — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 12:41:50 +0000

The NBA Finals pits two teams that have made winning a championship a priority. It’s two groups that have come together and understand that any group of players can wear the same uniform, but only those who sacrifice their individual goals for the betterment of the group can be called a team!

To get this far each team has gone through tremendous highs and some very tough lows. Both of us have experienced losing this season. Both of us have experienced brotherly issues. Both of us have experienced doubters.

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We’re Not Getting Younger

wendy — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 14:43:58 +0000

After our series with Cleveland ended, Lebron James and Kevin Garnett got together near mid court to exchange some words of respect. We all know that Lebron has some big decisions ahead. One of the things Kevin said (I am paraphrasing here) to Lebron was that it’s hard at times to get your youth back.

Well intentioned for Lebron but also a great lesson for all of us. The one thing “time” does better than anything else in this world is it keeps moving forward and it does not discriminate. We all know that we have 24 hours in each day. But the message here is that you can never get it back.

The direct lesson is twofold, in that we should not allow ourselves to (1) waste any of it or (2) misuse any of it.

Start today to be who you want to be; accomplish what you want to accomplish; do what you really want to do!

The underlying message was to never look back with regret. And that starts with taking care of things now. Make the right decisions with your time and your choices!

Answer these questions: Where would you be if you used your time better than everyone else? Is it a place you would feel good about being? Then get there!