Character and Work Ethic

Quote from Kansas City GM Scott Pioli. I think this applies to all sports:

“Here is what happens in this game: As we all know, there are good times and bad times,” Pioli said. “In bad times, you have to be able to have people that you can depend on, rely upon, that instead of jumping off the ship, they are going to try to find a way to rally together. The more successful teams that I have been a part of in high school, college or professional football, the most successful teams at their core had a lot of people with strong football character and strong work ethics.”

Slapping Pride in the Face

“I could say I want to go for that 10th Gold Glove. … But sometimes you’ve got to slap pride in the face and all that individual stuff – the Gold Glove stuff – you can let that go. All I care about is winning. … If this makes the team better, I’m going to do it.”

-All-Star Torii Hunter on moving from CF to RF in order for the Angels to bring up a minor league prospect.

It goes back to the process

Good article on ESPN.com about the structure that new FSU head coach Jimbo Fisher has installed into his program.

Fisher said the most important thing he wanted to change was the team's attitude.

"It goes back to the process," he said. "If we want to win, what are we doing to prepare to win? How are we preparing our bodies, how are we preparing our minds? How are we preparing to be a teammate and understanding what being a teammate is? If those things take place, the big things come. We have talented players. Do we have the most? I don't know that, but I don't think we have the least. I think we know we're pretty good. Getting the mind right, and getting them to understand and care for each other and take ownership of each other, that's crucial."

From quarterback Christian Ponder:

"A lot of people are going to be surprised by the way we look once the season starts," Ponder said. "A lot of people have changed their bodies. We've always had the talent to win games, and we have the talent still, it's just the small details that needed to be changed. That's what this whole process has been that Coach Fisher has brought."

Kevin Eastman’s 4 Whats to Create Value

1.What does my team need most (offensively, defensively, in the locker room, etc)?

2.What things am I good at that I can become great at AND meet my team’s greatest needs?

3.What are the little, nameless, oft unnoticed acts that I can do, that no ones wants to do – between the lines and outside the lines?

4.What things should I avoid – both on and off the court? (What things should I add to my stop-doing list as a basketball player, teammate or person?)

Character Counts

Here is an article in the USA Today about 49ers QB Alex Smith and the adversity that he has overcome since being drafted with the #1 overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft.

Here is what head coach Mike Singletary says:

"The next step is that leadership," says 49ers coach Mike Singletary, mindful of the morale-boosting effect of performance. "Being able to take an offense that might be stuck at some point in the game and being able to rally those guys together into believing in what we're going to get done."

Asked why he ultimately settled on Smith, Singletary said, "I believe in him. It's just as simple as that. He'd been through hell, but he's never complained. He's stood up against all obstacles and in my mind has overcome them.

"I'll go with character, and we'll go from there."

100 % 'In'

From Kevin Eastman:

Been thinking about areas where your players, your staff, and anyone associated with your group have to be 100% "in." There's no room for partial involvement when it comes to any of these areas:

1. Trust
2. Loyalty
3. Commitment
4. Truthfulness

The Butler Way

1. Humility - know who we are, strengths and weaknesses

2. Passion - do not be lukewarm, commit to excellence

3. Unity - do not divide our house, team first

4. Servanthood - make teammates better, lead by giving

5. Thankfulness - learn from every circumstance

Alabama All-Access: Motivational Meeting

Here is a video clip of an Alabama All Access Motivational Meeting:

Shanahan Brings Discipline to Redskins

Article in the New York Times on the structure that new Redskins coach has brought to the team. Here is an excerpt:

The Redskins were so mired in chaos that linebacker London Fletcher called it the worst season of his 12 years in the N.F.L., even though he played for a 4-12 team his rookie year in St. Louis. Players were late to meetings, ignored treatment appointments and did not study. The coach’s authority was publicly undermined by the front office, and a dreadful season ensued. The Redskins finished 4-12, including a loss to the Detroit Lions, despite an easy schedule.

“Last year, by Week 4 or 5, I’m thinking: My goodness, I still have 11 weeks of this? This is awful,” Fletcher said. “It can take the life out of you. You got 40 to 45 doing it the right way and 8 not doing what they’re supposed to do, but those 8 guys you’re depending on on Sunday. The trust factor is not there.

“Seemed like every week was something new that we were creating, some kind of situation and distraction. It made it tough to come to work. We were defeating ourselves on Wednesday, before we even had the chance to play the game.”

Fletcher added: “The inmates were running the asylum. That has changed. You definitely know he’s in charge.”

Heels' freshman Harrison Barnes a leader in the making

Great article from the Charlotte Observer on the work ethic and leadership qualities of high touted North Carolina recruit Harrison Barnes:

North Carolina freshman Harrison Barnes was practicing moves at the Smith Center on July 3 when he spotted strength and conditioning coach Jonas Sahratian.

“So, are we going to do a workout tomorrow?” the top incoming recruit in the nation asked.

The next day – a holiday Sunday – the 6-foot-8 wing completed his 9 a.m. solo session with Sahratian with a similar question: “What time tomorrow?”

“Then the next morning, he comes in at 8:30 a.m … with Kendall [Marshall], Will Graves and Dexter Strickland,” Sahratian remembered. “I said, ‘I thought you were coming by yourself.’ He said, ‘I can’t do it all alone.’

“Right then I said, ‘OK, we’re going to be all right.’ ”

Barnes – projected as the No. 1 overall NBA pick next summer in several mock drafts – is already known for his smooth outside shot, athletic rebounding, and honed court smarts. But the Iowa native also boasts an intangible quality that might be even more important as the Tar Heels try to ricochet from the worst season in the Roy Williams era: leadership.

One of the things Williams lamented about last season’s freefall – when the reigning national champions finished 5-11 in the ACC, failed to make the NCAA tournament and only managed to win 20 games because of an NIT run – was his team’s failure to consistently work hard.

He won’t have that problem with Barnes, whose summer session dorm room boasted a pile of basketball books but no TV; who can be found working on his dribbling skills in the weight room if the court is taken; and who has become a pied piper, of sorts, when it comes to working out.

“[Coach Williams] is not going to call him a leader, because he’s a freshman,” said Strickland, a sophomore guard. “But actions speak louder than words. You don’t have to say anything, you can play, you can work out, you can set an example – and the way you present yourself can make you be a leader, alone.”

Competitive youth

Barnes has been showing those leadership qualities for years. Off the court, he was an honor roll student through high school who plans to major in business administration at UNC while, he has said, pushing for the top GPA on the team. He played soccer and the cello as a youth and still occasionally dabbles on the saxophone.

As the son of former Iowa State basketball player Ronnie Harris, who left the family when Barnes was young, basketball has always been a part of his life. But he has often credited his mom, Shirley – who works in the department of music at Iowa State, and raised him and his sister alone – for instilling his love of the game. And for keeping him humble and cementing his focus. Efforts to reach her were unsuccessful.

Team rules prohibit UNC freshmen from talking to the media once they reach campus, until after they play in their first game.

But Vance Downs, Barnes’ coach at Ames (Iowa) High, said of the player’s mother: “She’s very driven. And I’m not sure she sleeps – she’s the type of person that’s always doing so much, I wonder if she ever goes to bed. … Without a doubt, she’s unbelievably strong, and she’s instilled that work ethic in Harrison.”

It showed early on.

Barnes’ fifth-grade coach, Jafar Azmayesh, sensed the player’s maturity the first time they met.
“That first day, we showed up to nine 10-year-olds standing there for practice, their behavior, their actions, how they carried themselves, were all on par with what 10-year-olds do,”
Azmayesh told the Iowa State Daily. “Except Harrison was more like a 17- or 18-year-old.”

His competitive spirit only grew as he did, as he worked to be the best at everything – be it eating the most spaghetti at dinner with friends or burying the most free throws at practice.

“With Harrison, the simplest drill becomes a cutthroat experience,” Downs said. “It just spreads, everybody becomes challenged. And the team gets better.”

Now, fans are hoping that carries over at UNC, as well.

In just the couple of months Barnes has been in Chapel Hill, sophomore John Henson said, teammates have seen him staying after pick-up games to shoot – and they stay, too.

Roommates hear him getting up early to work out, and they do, too.

His drive is so tangible that it has drawn comparisons to Tyler Hansbrough, UNC’s all-time leading scorer who helped the Tar Heels surpass expectations his freshman season in 2005-06, and ultimately pushed them to the 2009 national title.

“He is the high school version of Tyler in some ways, because he’s the most focused high school player I’ve ever recruited, the most disciplined high school player I’ve ever recruited,” Williams said. “Tyler was that way and took it to another two or three levels after he got here.”

A ‘workaholic’

Now the question is: Will Barnes do the same?

Like Hansbrough in 2005, the 205-pound wing joins a team with question marks. But unlike Hansbrough in 2005, he’s been dubbed the preseason savior – something Williams thinks is far from fair.

The coach has insisted he doesn’t need Barnes to be the team’s leader. Instead, “I need him to play his rear end off.” But asked if a freshman can lead, he gave two prime examples. There was Jacque Vaughn at Kansas, to whom “everybody listened, and if Jacque said it was sunshiny – and it could be raining like crap – 13 people believed the sun was shining.” And there was Hansbrough, who didn’t talk much early on, but set an example by scoring 40 points against Georgia Tech his freshman season and outworking everyone in the weight room.

“That’s the reason he was a good leader,” Williams said, “because people watched him and said, ‘He’s pretty good, we’d better play ourselves.’ ”

Sound familiar?

“[Harrison] is a workaholic, he wants to get better, and that factor alone drives me,” Strickland said. “His work ethic alone should motivate everyone on the team – not, ‘I want to be as good,’ but ‘I want to be better [than him].’ So I look at it as a motivation tool. … And hopefully, it will make all of us better.”

Barnes, who joins point guard Kendall Marshall and Reggie Bullock in a star-studded recruiting class, is expected to start – and put up impressive numbers from the outset. But it’s the tone he is setting off the court now that could impact UNC’s season the most.
D
owns, his high school coach, likes to tell the story of the time that, as a 14-year-old freshman, Barnes phoned, begging to use the team’s weight room – even though Downs had given the team a week off for spring break.

“Coach,” Barnes told him, “we aren’t going to win state championships by taking a week off.”
So Barnes didn’t take the week off. And he went on to score a school record 1,787 points, and help the Little Cyclones win back-to-back titles, before he graduated.

Singletary just might have saved Vernon Davis.

Saw an article from Peter King of Sports Illustrated talking about the transformation of 49ers TE Vernon Davis from a selfish me-first player to a team captain. Two years ago head coach Mike Singletary kicked Davis out of a game after receiving several penalties in what Singletary saw as selfish acts.

Here is a good video of the incident and the transformation that has taken place from nfl.com

Here is the article from King:

Always wanted to ask one of the best young tight ends in the game how he felt about being shown up/embarrassed/clapped in the face by his new coach, Mike Singletary, a couple of years ago.

You remember Singletary banishing Vernon Davis from the sidelines during a game after a thoughtless Davis penalty, ordering him to the locker room and not to return.

"Best thing that ever happened to me in my life,'' Davis told me. "Woke me up. I was all about Vernon, not about the team.''

Davis also revealed Singletary told him if he wanted to fight, that was fine with him. They'd fight. "He pushed me to the edge,'' said Davis. "I needed that. When you're a first-round pick, and everyone's telling you how great you are, sometimes you need a guy to tell you that football's a team game. Here he is, one of the greatest players ever. So I had to change. Now, I'm all in.''

Davis caught 103 balls in his first three seasons, including that troubled third year, with nine touchdowns. Last year, he caught 78 passes with 13 touchdowns, most in the league for a tight end. When I asked Singletary about Davis, he smiled. "One of the most misconstrued guys in the league,'' Singletary said. "He raises the level in practice every day. He raises the work ethic. He's done everything I've asked.

The 5 Core Concerns of Every Teammate

From the Academy of Sports Leadership. Thanks to Scott Shepard at HoopSource for sending this out.




Dear Team Captain:

As a team leader your task is to evoke excellence in others. Great leaders are eager to help someone else improve at what he or she wants to do. The key question you should ask on a daily basis is "How do I contribute to a teammate's competence in a respectful, dignified, and effective way." The answers will help you become an effective team leader.

Here are five core concerns that you should be aware of as you work to build respectful relationships with your teammates.

Concern #1: Appreciation: Every member of your team wants to know that their thoughts, feelings, and actions are valued by the coaches and teammates. Everyone on the team puts in a tremendous amount of time and energy to achieve shared goals. Try to find ways to show your teammates appreciation for their commitment to the team. Encourage teammates to demonstrate appreciation for each other.

Concern #2: Association: Your teammates wants to be treated as an integral part of something meaningful. They want to be valued by teammates and not excluded from team functions away from the playing field. That is, each student-athlete will make a deeper commitment to the team when they feel a strong sense of association.

Unfortunately, sport teams all too often breed an in-group out-group mentality. Injuries too can seem alienating to team members. When teammates can't participate because of injuries be sure to keep them close to you and the rest of the team.

Concern #3: Self-Management: Student-athletes want to be respected for their ability to make decisions in their best interest. Most of your teammates will possess a desire to be self-directing. However, this does not mean they don't want your help. It just means you need to help them set their direction and stay on course.

Concern #4: Status: Every team member is concerned with his or her status on the team and their "relative position" to teammates. Bench players, in particular, want to be given recognition and not to be treated as inferior to others. While it is generally evident who the best players are on the playing field, the contributions others make in the various roles should not be relegated to second-class status by you and your teammates.

Concern #5: Role: Each of your teammates desires a role to play and truly wants that role to be fulfilling. It's common for athletes to perceive their role in an ambiguous way. Through patience your guidance can help teammates understand, accept, and grow in their respective role. You can point the way by helping teammates make sense of their role on and off the playing field. Your teammates will be seeking and serving in a variety of roles throughout the season. Some more vital than others. Always pay attention to your teammates and help them to find value in their role.

In summary, each teammate will have a different perception of how his or her 5 Core Concerns are being met. Perceptions should be visible in their various behaviors, attitudes, emotional reactions and thought patterns. Your leadership task is to continually work at identifying underlying problems and find solutions. This is best done when you actively engage in honest conversation with your teammates building solid relationships. Great leaders care to know their teammates.

Coaching tips from the Nike camps this summer:

From Coach Wilkes:

* In their eagerness to play the game fast, players do things toofast or too early, e.g., coming off screens. It is better to be latethan early.

* Coaches must introduce their players to their feet. In other words,teach footwork.

* Best shooters in the NBA shoot with their feet under their shoulders.

* Don't teach long 2s. It is a mistake to shoot the ball an inch or so inside the 3 point shot line.

* Good shooters should get to the free throw line at least eleventimes a game.

* When a shooter goes up on a drive, he should try to come downin the same place.

* Kevin Garnett wants to be the best player in every game, and to be the best player in every practice.

* It is unbelieveable the importance of making lay-ups in college and pro basketball. This should be stressed to high school players since so many of them miss many lay-ups.

* When a shot goes up, every player should move with a purpose. Some to block out, some to go to the offensive glass, and some to be ready for transition defense.

Stockton/Malone

Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan on Stockton/Malone:

"They wanted to work and really didn't like being around people who didn't want to work."

Kevin Eastman on Leadership

Boston Celtics assistant Kevin Eastman (pictured right) on leadership:

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!

DON MEYER: A PLAYBOOK FOR WINNING BASKETBALL

Harangody Speech

Here is a link to a great speech that All-American forward and current Celtic draft pick Luke Harangody gave this summer to campers at the Notre Dame camp:

Harangody Speech