Wednesday, July 27, 2011

IT'S HALFTIME (PART 3 OF 3)

As halftime draws to a close and you prepare to head back out onto the court, there’s one last question that needs to be addressed;

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO DO IN ORDER TO WIN?

The immediate response that comes to mind is simple; play harder & smarter, but often times that’s not enough. You can play extremely hard, but just hustling isn’t enough. Don’t mistake motion for action. It is when you rush success that it blows up in your face. True enough, in order to win, we must have a sense of urgency, but that urgency must be controlled. Preparing for your return onto the court the following must be in place:

1.Hold yourself accountable first and admit what you’ve failed to do
2.Communicate the expectation you have for yourself and your teammates
3.Commit to your role on the team
4.Ask them for help before you need it

January through June has been what it will be. No do-overs. There’s nothing you can do about it now except prepare to do everything in your power to either enhance history or keep history from repeating itself depending on how the first half went. If you had a good first half, then congratulations are in order. Celebrate, but stay focused. Do your best to replicate the behavior that has brought you success. Maintenance is required in order to match good but deliberate elevation is required to turn good into great. If you had a bad first half then halftime is the most important part of the game. You must experience intentional amnesia regarding what went wrong, then start over. Do a meticulous self-analysis prior to the end of the halftime speech. Re-train your mind to focus on hard work, teamwork, and winning. Correct your body language in such a way that is contagious and conveys a message of a champion who is ready and willing to do whatever it takes to help the team win. Let the words that your prepare to speak challenge, motivate and direct your team to victory.

So as you call your team into the huddle, remind them of what the expectation is, what the focus is, what every member will commit to, and remind them the following rules:


Think the game one possession at a time
Systematically put together possessions that help build momentum
Encourage your teammates on good and missed plays
Leave everything on the floor.

Halftime is over. The 2nd half is the half that is the most meaningful. Return to the floor and expect and prepare to win.

REBOUND. RESET. RELEASE.

IT'S HALFTIME (PART 3 OF 3)

As halftime draws to a close and you prepare to head back out onto the court, there’s one last question that needs to be addressed;

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO DO IN ORDER TO WIN?

The immediate response that comes to mind is simple; play harder & smarter, but often times that’s not enough. You can play extremely hard, but just hustling isn’t enough. Don’t mistake motion for action. It is when you rush success that it blows up in your face. True enough, in order to win, we must have a sense of urgency, but that urgency must be controlled. Preparing for your return to the court the following must be in place:

1.Hold yourself accountable first and admit what you’ve failed to do
2.Communicate the expectation you have for yourself and your teammates
3.Commit to your role on the team
4.Ask your teammates for help before you need it

January through June has been what it will be. No do-overs. There’s nothing you can do about it now except prepare to do everything in your power to either enhance history or keep history from repeating itself depending on how the first half went. If you had a good first half, then congratulations are in order. Celebrate, but stay focused. Do your best to replicate the behavior that has brought you success. Maintenance is required in order to match good but deliberate elevation is required to turn good into great. If you had a bad first half then halftime is the most important part of the game. You must experience intentional amnesia regarding what went wrong, then start over. Do a meticulous self-analysis prior to the end of the halftime speech. Re-train your mind to focus on hard work, teamwork, and winning. Correct your body language such that it is so contagious that your teammates correct their body language. Allow your body confident and intimidating body language to send a message of a champion who is ready and willing to do whatever it takes to help the team win. Let the words that your prepare to speak to your teammates challenge, motivate and direct your team to victory.

So as you call your team into the huddle, remind them of what the expectation is, what the focus is, what every member will commit to, and remind them of the following rules:


Think the game one possession at a time
Systematically put together possessions that help build momentum
Encourage your teammates on good and missed plays
Leave everything on the floor.

Halftime is over. The 2nd half is the most meaningful half. Return to the floor not just to expect and prepare to win, but to work until you win.

REBOUND. RESET. RELEASE.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

IT'S HALFTIME (PART 2 OF 3)

2) WHAT HAS YOUR TEAM DONE POORLY OR NOT DONE AT ALL?

Sometimes people want all the good news first because they believe that hearing good news will ease the pain and take away the impact of the bad news. Well, to each his own and to each coach his own. Often times we have to endure some pain and criticism in order to get better. In those moments of pain and criticism is when you discover what motivates you to play. As I write this, I think back to games in which I vividly remember starting halftime with the “bad news” first to remind my players of the expectation(s) we had for ourselves as a team and furthermore to reiterate the very fine details we reviewed, prepared for and practiced leading up to the game.

The halftime speech is a preliminary character exam, a gut check pop quiz and/or a dissertation of deference that’s worth 100% of your grade. Pointing to the shortcomings or areas of improvement are absolutely imperative. My question at halftime is never, “what’s happening out there?” Rather, my question is; what have you prepared for and focused on during practice?" When your team is doing poorly there are several things that possibly contribute to their poor performance;

Poor Defense- not protecting your goal, not communicating, not calling for helpside defense, not helping on helpside defense, and not fighting through screens is a sure fire way to lose sight of your team's goal.

No Hustle- someone can be more talented than you, but never let them out work you. The opponent who outthinks and outworks you, rules you. Hard work beats talent.

Poor Shot Selection-your decisions are your power. Recognize that deciding to take certain shots, including those in your range, aren’t meant for you take on every possession.

Not Sharing the ball- utilize your teammates in order to get a better view of the goal. Make the passes that are sensible and in the best interest of your team. Passing the ball is your way of asking for help. Involve your teammates and they will involve you. If u can achieve your goal alone, the goal is too small.

Unforced Turnovers- you’re not holding your dreams and aspirations close enough to your heart. As a result, your dreams are easier for others to take from you.

Poor Rebounding- you’re not boxing out and fighting for the very thing that you claim to love and want. Sometimes you gotta do the dirty work. If you fight for it will eventually give you opportunities to take and make second and third-chance shots.

Sound familiar?

Whether you’re the coach, the point guard or the franchise player you’re not above criticism. Investigating what your team has done poorly or not done at all during halftime reiterates the importance of expecting and preparing in the heat of the battle. Whether you’re winning, losing or tied success and failure leave clues. During halftime, I challenge you to turn wrong into redemption.

REBOUND. RESET. RELEASE

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

IT'S HALFTIME (part 1 of 3)

Here we are at the midpoint of 2011. Guess what? It’s halftime. What do most people normally associate with halftime? A time to take a breather, get some snacks and relax. RIGHT? Well, if you’re a world-class spectator in this life, then the answer is yes, but if you are a champion, then the answer is an emphatic “NO”.

Halftime is the opportunity to analyze the stats from the first half and put together a winning strategy for the 2nd half. Whether you’re winning big, losing big, trading buckets in a close one, or tied, no lead or any series of bad plays are permanent. In fact, halftime reminds us of our responsibility to lead, follow or get out of the way. No matter how prepared, focused, and consistent you’ve been, the reality is that the first half is just a scrimmage. Therefore, you gotta acknowledge it, celebrate it briefly then get back to work. When have you ever heard someone talk about their overall success of an entire game or season when it’s only halfway done?

As you make your way into the locker room take note of the atmosphere in the arena, the body language of your teammates and coaches, how the fans are greeting you and what the commentators are saying. Most importantly pay attention to how you're making your way to the locker room; Are you running? Jogging? Walking? How you carry yourself can be an indicator of what contribution you've made to the team and are willing to make to the team consistently or what element you've taken away from the team consistently.

That said, let's review the first half from January to June. I want you to be completely honest with yourself in your halftime analysis. It’s absolutely imperative that you use halftime to ask ourselves 3 questions:



1)WHAT HAS YOUR TEAM DONE WELL?

The What: name those things you’ve done well and those things you take pride in having accomplished.

The Who: name the teammates who have been instrumental to and supportive of you achieving your goals.

The When: name the time when you saw your strategy working for you

The Why: name the little things that have contributed to your success

The How: name the process and path that is responsible for your success

During the first half of this year you’ve had success in one or several areas. Whether you deem that success to be minor or major, it's a step in a positive direction. Write down the accomplishments (expected & unexpected) that you've made this year and identify the what, who, when,why and how then distinguish which accomplishments are most in line with your team's philosophy, vision, and objectives.

Check back in tomorrow, Wednesday, for It's Halftime (Part 2 of 3)

REBOUND.RESET.RELEASE.