Muscles are a lot like life

This is great!

"You can’t change the muscle without fatigue, and it’s impossible to really fatigue the muscle without pushing it. The only way it gets transformed is by pushing it beyond what’s comfortable.
It’s kind of like life. Our lives don’t really change until those moments where we were pushed, and that’s where we grow the most and our life becomes more rich. If you don’t push your body beyond what it’s comfortable with, nothing changes."

Having a Plan

Acronym for setting goals is SMART

S- Specific Ex: I want to be a 40 % 3pt shooter. Specific would be to work on your shooting skills

M-Measurable Ex: “Everyday I will make 25 3 pt shots from all 5 spots along the perimeter

A- Achievable Ex: The goal is reachable and within your control

R- Realistic Ex: It’s believable

T- Time-Bound Ex: There is an accomplishment date. A goal is a dream with a timeline. Every goal needs a target date for completion

USC Football Philosophy

These are the philosophies of the #1 ranked football team in the nation. When it comes right down to it, team sports are very simple. It's all about hard work, accountability, playing smart, and playing together. It doesn't matter what sport it is; these are the deciding factors that produce championships!

Vision:

Do things better than they have ever been done before

Style:

Play with great energy, great enthusiasm, and play smart

"It's all about the ball":

Take care of the ball on offense- create turnovers on defense

Compete:

Everybody in our program is in a relentless pursuit for a competitive edge

Finish:

Finish every drill

Finish every play

Finish every game

3 Rules of Football:

#1 Protect your team

#2 No whining, no complaining, no excuses

#3 BE EARLY!

How the Best Get Better and Better

This is an excerpt from the Harvard Business Review titled "Leadership & Strategy"

According to the author:

"The real key to excellence in both sports and business is not the ability to swim fast or do quantitative analyses quickly in your head; rather, it is mental toughness. Elite performers in both arenas thrive on pressure; they excel when the heat is turned up. Their rise to the top is the result of very careful planning—of setting and hitting hundreds of small goals. Elite performers use competition to hone their skills, and they reinvent themselves continually to stay ahead of the pack. Finally, whenever they score big wins, top performers take time to celebrate their victories."

Based on his work with elite athletes, he outlines how the "best of the best get better and better."


1. Learn to love the pressure. "Top sports performers don’t allow themselves to be distracted by the victories or failures of others. They concentrate on what they can control and forget the rest." (A think forward mentality!)

2. Set long-term goals, then outline short-term objectives and action steps. "Much of star athletes’ ability to rebound from defeat comes from an intense focus on long-term goals and aspirations. At the same time, both sports stars and their coaches are keenly aware that the road to long-term success is paved with small achievements. The trick here is to meticulously plan short-term goals so that performance will peak at major, rather than minor, events."

3. Compete against the best in order to improve. "If you hope to make it to the very top...make sure you train with the people who will push you the hardest."

4. Seek constructive criticism, feedback, and advice. "How do you motivate yourself to embark on another cycle of building the mental and physical endurance required to win the next time, especially now that you have become the benchmark? [Elite performers have] an insatiable appetite for feedback. They have a particularly strong need for instant, in the moment feedback."

5. Work hard; play hard. "Elite performers...put almost as much effort into their celebrations as they do into their accomplishments. Celebration is more than an emotional release. Done effectively, it involves a deep level of analysis and enhanced awareness. The very best performers do not move on before they have scrutinized and understood thoroughly the factors underpinning their success. Dwelling on success for too long is a distraction and, worse, leads to complacency. Celebrate—but push on."

6. An intense desire to compete. "What drives all elite performers is a fierce desire to compete—and win. That’s what truly separates elite performers from ordinary high achievers. It takes supreme, almost unimaginable grit and courage to get back into the ring and fight to the bitter end."

The Transformation of Kobe Bryant

Throughout his career there have been few questions on the talent level of Kobe Bryant. He has been without a doubt one of the top 5 players in the NBA for the past 10 years. Nobody trains harder in the offseason than Bryant. However, questions have come up about his ability to lead and be a great teammate. Teammates and NBA players have had negative perceptions about his attitude, suggesting that he was basically a 'me first' type of player.

This past year, Kobe has stepped up his leadership to a level in which he has gained the respect of teammates, opponents, and fans. Bill Plaschke of the LA Times wrote an article recently on the respect that Kobe has gained. Here are some great comments from the article:


*Players speaking glowingly of him. Players speaking kindly of him.Players who once universally distrusted him, well, they like him. They really like him.

*Every game, Bryant has been the first player in a defensive stance, the first guy guarding the opponent in the backcourt, squatting and straining alone in front of four guys who have no choice but to imitate.

*"He gives it his all on every second of every play. You see that and you're like, you've got to do the same thing," said center Chris Bosh. "You see a guy playing that hard, you'll do anything not to let him down."

*As recently as a year ago, you couldn't write a story about Kobe Bryant's impact on a team without talking to Kobe Bryant. His teammates never had much to say, and when they did, they seemed to say it with fear.This time, though, there are no Bryant quotes. There is not enough room. His teammates said plenty.

This sums up what every player should strive for: to be the best teammate possible and to gain the respect of your team through hard work and unselfishness!

Make sure to read the entire article which is linked above!

Thoughts from Steve Nash

Courtesy of Santa Clara Basketball:

* A player should always want his coach to be critical--it is an opportunity to learn or opportunity to overcome adversity.

* A point guard sets the table for everybody; he makes other players believe in themselves. If the point guard is not "fun" to be around and if he is not respected, he will have a difficult chance becoming a good point guard.

* Everyday work on all of the shots you will use in a game.

* No one is going to be in better shape than me.

* I don't want to dribble just to dribble...but I don't want to give up my dribble and give my defensive man an advantage.

* Know your teammates and where they want their shots.

* Early in my NBA career, I worked out after a game.