Live to Love, Love to Live

"Material possessions, winning scores, and great reputations are meaningless in the eyes of the Lord, because He knows what we really are and that is all that matters."
-John Wooden

This quote struck me very much, not because I am a follower of Jesus so much, but that John Wooden is not necessarily an out spoken believer in Jesus. For a man that probably achieved more of his goals than most of the people out there he says something amazing.

My friend keeps a secret list of people. These people are not his heroes, idols, or even people he looks up to. He keeps a list of men who have achieved great success, but have made huge character mistakes. His list is compiled of preachers, athletes, presidents, etc... Anyone who has accomplished so much, been such a huge role model for so many kids, a leader for so many, and looked up to by just about everyone. But, also that they made a huge error in judgement and destroyed their reputation almost forever. He looks at this list every so often to remind himself what it costs people that make huge character mistakes and how they are remembered. So he does not become one of them.

My coach once said growing up that the best player's in the world are not the one's that do not make mistakes. No, the best player's in the world are the one's that make "good" mistakes. Now, we are all human and WILL make mistakes in our respective sports and lives. Knowing that tidbit of information helped me be the player I am today. But, I like to use what my coach said for life more. Because, as we have seen with Tiger Woods is that no matter what he has done on the golf course he will always be remembered by the countless acts of adultery. Is this forgivable? Oh yes it is very forgivable, but is it forgettable? No, and that is the power of a huge error that so many like Tiger have made. The things these men and women have done are not forgettable. Their errors will live on in their storybooks as a title to their lives.

My friend and I keep a close watch on each other so that we do not come near any sort of "bad" mistake. Now, remember we will make mistakes, but choose not to make that "bad" mistake. Your reputation, your legacy, and all that you are will be written down with a big asterisk for what you have done. If you have already done something then spend the rest of your life making up for it and maybe it will be forgotten by your ongoing good deeds.

As coaches, we have kids, adults, and player's constantly looking to us for advice and leadership. Focus on the training's, the games, and growing those kids. But, focus more on your life, your family, and how you will be remembered and thought of as to the Lord. Because even those things unseen will come to light. Be that man or woman that held true their morals, values, and integrity. There is not much more I would give then to be known for a man that loves Jesus, but also that lived out his words and did not make that list of people that made a "bad" mistake.

"It's the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen."
-John Wooden

John Wooden would start out each and every pre-season with teaching his player's how to tie their shoes. He said this quote concerning such things as tying shoes. He knew that if his player's did not tie their shoes right they not only would have to retie them, but their focus would be deterred from playing.

During my pre-season at Indiana University Coach Jerry Yeagley would say to us all the time to stop walking barefoot. He said, "Your feet are like surgeons hands, you cannot afford to mess them up with a little piece of glass on the ground". It was so true, but as young adults we thought it was silly. He was right and he taught us many other things along those lines.

Good coaches teach their kids the things they can control. They teach them how to tie their shoes, to not walk around without shoes/sandals, to eat breakfast in the morning, to eat all three meals, to address pain when it arises, to stretch properly, to train hard and then leave everything out on the field, and to be a good team mate.

John Wooden focused on the little details and in doing that his player's controlled the things they could control and the things they could not control they left out on the court everyday. Be a teacher of the game and through your lessons your player's will use those fundamentals of success for not only on the court/pitch/field but in their life after sports.

A coach is a lot like a Father and for some, like in my case, more of a Father than some have ever known.

"It’s mostly the comportment of the coach on the sideline that caught Wooden’s eye. Brad Stevens is a calm, collected presence on the bench, a guy who strives for positive interaction with his players and projecting an image of confidence amid the storm."
-In a yahoo article

What an amazing NCAA tournament this has been. I do not think we have seen so many number one teams fall to such lower seeded teams. There have been so many games that I was just in awe with the intensity and how they came down to the wire. Sorry to everyone and how there have been so many bracket busters. But, it has been a pleasure to see Butler beat so many teams and do so well. It has also been very cool to hear and see Brad Stevens coach his Butler Bulldogs. The night before his final four debut against Michigan State he held a fundraiser for coaches against cancer. Brad is just a good guy to put it plainly.

I think it is so cool to see John Wooden come out and say that Brad is someone he reminds himself of. A man that demonstrates positive thinking and encouragement amongst his player's. The coolest part of all is how the player's love him and play so passionately. Those kids buy into his whole system and they do whatever it takes to get the job done. He has had his team out play, out work, and he has out coached all the other teams.

It is cool to see all this happen while he breaks the mold of most basketball coaches in college. Brad sits back says some things here and there, but ultimately just let's his player's play. When stuff happens he positively reinforces the kids and brings back their confidence.

“If you’ve done your job as a coach, you shouldn’t have to jump up and down and work for all that attention,” Wooden said Friday. “If you’re the teacher, the game is the test and you never see teachers running around the classroom during the test. They shouldn’t have to.”

His assistant coach says that he does get into player's , but in a different way, "He’s not above getting after a player on occasion, but even then, “it’s positive reinforcement, just at a little louder decibel,” joked Butler assistant coach Matthew Graves.

Now, as I have said the past two weeks. These are the coaches that player's love playing for and will do anything for. Be this type of coach and not only will you be remembered as a good coach, a success, but a person that is well loved by his team mates for a lifetime.

Question of the Week: If you could have one of your senses magnified ten times then what it already is, what would it be and Why?

"A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment."
-John Wooden

To play on last weeks topic of inspiring player's, I wanted to talk about motivation and teaching.

I have coached hundreds of times and with all ages. The one good quality I have seen with good coaches is that they find a way to say something so the player they are saying it to will not resent them for that whole practice or week. As I was saying last week in choosing your words wisely, it is something that I want to talk about this week also. Now, when a person is in practice, the midst of coaching, it is tough to control their words or how they react to situations. Let me give you an example through my own life.

Growing up I used to swear on the field a lot. I swore at my players and other players. Let's just say I was not the most encouraging team mate. I realized that had to change. I slowly trained my mind and mouth to stop swearing. I made myself be conscious of the words that came out of my mouth. So, I would catch myself a lot and slowly but surely I stopped swearing on the field. My demeanor changed to be more kind and encouraging towards my players. I had to find a way to criticize/teach other player's without destroying them.

There are two types of coaches I believe. Those that player's resent after training and those that do not. You can get a winning coach even if he is someone who creates fear in his player's through his word domination. I like to call it word domination, because the coach creates a dominating force over player's in belittling them. The player's then come to focus very hard, but only because they know the coach will lambaste them if they do not get it right. These player's may think the coach is great, but they do not like him and will not really talk to their coach much after they play for them. I encourage coaches everywhere to be the coach that motivates through positive criticism and finds ways their player's will not resent them at the end of the day.

Our minds are powerful in that we can control the way we think and say things. If we create an environment that cultivates creativity and being comfortable at training, then we will be on the right track. I do not know about you, but I want my player's to love talking to me. I want them to remember me and want to stay in touch with me. I not only want to be a successful coach on the field, but a coach that is successful off of it. Create that environment that not only teaches player's about soccer, but about growing as a human being. Use the way you talk to them and interact with them as an example. They will look up to you, but make it because they want to be like you and not fear you.

QOTW (Question of the Week) for tomorrow: post your answers on the comment board and I will put the best one's up for tomorrow...
---If you could be any animal, what would it be and why?---