Be the example.

Human primarily learn through mimicry – seeing and copying others.

The most effective teaching method is to embody the traits that we wish to teach. If we want players who trust themselves and their teammates, who take initiative, who work hard – we must embody these traits ourselves.

Love is acceptance.

Each person on the team is unconditionally accepted for who they are, regardless of their current playing ability. 

And in order to fully accept others, we must accept ourselves.

Coach the whole person.

There is no separating who we are on and off the court.

It is our responsibility as coaches to acquire the tools, skills, and vocabulary to coach the whole person.

It’s not about winning.

It’s about wanting to win. It’s about never giving up. It’s about using competition as a tool to change you, to elevate your spirit and resolve.

The thrill of victory is too short-lived for it to be a coach’s North Star. It must be about the teaching. It must be about building leaders.

Do the work.

Life is a journey and learning should never stop.

Doing the work means to expand our awareness, heal our inner child, raise our communication skills, continuously seek to educate ourselves, push past mental and physical plateaus. To serve, and to help others on their own journey.

It means changing the outer world by changing our inner world.

Coaching is a sacred trust.

“A leader, especially a teacher or a coach, has a most powerful influence on those he or she leads, perhaps more than anyone outside of the family. Therefore, it is the obligation of that leader, teacher, or coach to treat such responsibility as a grave concern.

I consider it a sacred trust: helping to mold character, instill productive principles and values, and provide a positive example to those under my supervision.

Furthermore, it is a privilege to have that responsibility, opportunity, and obligation, one that should never be taken lightly.”
~ John Wooden