This year’s speakers will again help us reach our goals for CU LIVE. We have assembled a group that’s all about giving EVERYTHING they have in the time they are allotted. They understand that this clinic is different…that jokes and stories can waste precious learning and development time, and that’s just not a part of our Coaching U LIVE events. We want to give you as many bullet points of helpful coaching information as possible. We want to make sure that your hands hurt from all the note taking. We actually had someone count the bullet points our first year and it exceeded our goal of 700!

I live by the adage, “Seek wisdom from those who came before you.” Our speakers will definitely provide additional wisdom to all of us! That search for wisdom can be found right here at Coaching U LIVE. Personally, I can’t wait to hear them speak!

So if you are looking for an event that will help you improve your coaching and teaching, please consider attending Coaching U LIVE 2012. It will be an investment in your future, and well worth your time. We hope to see you there!

The importance of our decisions, our actions, our thinking — no matter how small they may be on a given day — all add up to something significant. When we think that a detail or decision is insignificant, we need to remember that it’s not just this detail or this decision this time that’s important. It’s this detail or decision in addition to the hundreds of other details and decisions over time that add up and help us in the pursuit of excellence.

Our careers and our success are a direct result of the accumulation of the single decisions we make every day (and for that matter the decisions we put off each day). While these decisions may not seem important at the time, they will often take on greater importance relative to the other decisions we have made or will make in the future.

Even within a game, players have to understand this concept. If they will embrace it, then they are more likely to see why a coach may get upset over their turnover or their mistake on a defensive coverage. When we add up all the turnovers or mistakes in a game, they often will have an effect on the outcome. A player will see it as just “one turnover” or “one mistake.” Coaches understand that 22 of these “one turnovers” will often lead to a loss. So the accumulation and the effect of the accumulation is what both the coach and the player have to keep in mind.

What seems like a single insignificant action or decision today will many times be a contributing factor to future success or failure. We all should have a greater awareness of this as we move forward in our careers!

We have already lined up a great staff and will have more information on that soon. The quality and amount of content you will get by attending this year’s CU Live will be off the charts! We pride ourselves on being the best when it comes to the speakers we get and their willingness to share EVERYTHING on their topic. Check back again that first week of February! Click for more about previous Coaching U LIVE events.

That means some will get better and some won’t. Whether a team improves will depend how players approach the “process.” Improvement is a process; success is a process; becoming the best is a process.

The outcome is based on the mindset the players have as they approach the process. Some will give in to fatigue and boredom through the course of a long season. Others will believe in the power of the process and almost have a team mantra that they will “never get bored with the process.” These are the teams that will put themselves in a position to be successful.

Three things about success: (1) it does not exist in a vacuum…championship teams believe in teamwork (2) it takes time and (3) it’s hard!

Play “as” a team and “through” the team.
Be mentally prepared to grind your success out.
Get past hard.

Let the process begin!

Doc has a great statement about the pre-season that is so simple, yet it hits home with our staff and our team. He says, “Guys, this time of year is about getting it right.” It’s about coming in everyday and working to make things better, make things right, make things even more right.

We want our players to “get from” practice not just “get through” practice. Losing teams come in with no energy, no enthusiasm, and no commitment to improve. They just want to come in and get the practice over with. We want no part of that!

We want them to learn what we need to do. That’s our responsibility as coaches. Then we want them to “get it right,” which is their responsibility. They need to listen to what we want done and how we want it done. Then they need to have a commitment to executing this to perfection in each and every practice session we have. That’s how they “get from” practice.

The key piece to the puzzle is that they collectively understand this and hold each other accountable for doing it. That’s what separates the great teams from the rest. They understand the importance of practice and the importance of repetition and how it relates to success. They make sure they attack each day with tremendous focus so they know that each day they’ve made an investment in their future success. They got something “from” the practice!

For example, when teaching screening I use three key bullets:

• take your screen to the cutter’s defender
• can’t get low enough or wide enough
• put your back to the area of attack

For shooting, I use:

• be ready on the catch
• 10 toes to the rim
• perfect follow through – up and over front of rim

There are so many ways to teach this game, but I have found the best way to get points across to players today is to be simple and direct. Of course, within each of these “bullet points” are explanations that need to be made to the player. Once these are made and understood, I have a quick and easy vocabulary to use when working with the player or team.

I encourage you to put some thought to this as you have time during your day. It’s a great exercise, and not quite as easy as you would think. I know this: players like things simple!

…sitting in the stands at Coaching U Live taking notes and sharing information were current and former NBA head coaches, NBA assistant coaches, college coaches, high school coaches, NBA front office personnel, NBA scouts and college and pro administrators. NBA head coaches were taking notes when college coaches spoke, and when NBA assistants spoke. The voice and opinion of a high school coach was valued as much as any coach in attendance. The clinic wasn’t about levels; it was about knowledge and substance.
Click here to read the entire blog.

The Pain of Discipline
Being disciplined is a great characteristic to have, but a difficult one to maintain over time. It’s not easy to work out day after day after day. It’s not easy to get in the weight room day after day after day. It’s not easy to do go to work and grind it out day after day after day. There is a pain factor involved — physical pain, mental fatigue (brought on by boredom of doing the same hard things over and over again), emotional pain from sometimes working your tail off every day and not being successful. The types and intensity of the pains will vary, but the constant is that they will be there!

In our careers it’s not easy to keep reading and studying the books, articles and reports or to continue to figure out how to become a better coach, salesperson, manager, CEO. Success is a disciplined process, not an overnight miracle.

Speaking from personal experience with our team, I think one of the reasons for our success is that we are willing to recognize and deal with that pain, to work through that pain, to invest in and commit to the grinding process that you have to go through to become successful in any meaningful challenge. For every NBA team, that challenge is to become the World Champions!

The Pain of Regret
Simply put, when all is said and done, if you haven’t invested in the discipline needed to be successful, you will look back and regret not having done everything within your control to make the outcome a successful one. This is the ultimate pain of regret. We know lots of people who do this — the ones are constantly saying things like, ”I wish I had” rather than ”I’m glad I did…”