I reinvented my program from the inside out, starting with me, and the winning showed up.
This one is a fan favorite.
Something so often said, “you just need to work a little harder” and you’ll get what you want or reach your goals.
Likely you said this to yourself before.
It sounds so simple, like a done deal.
Work is often a part of the solution, but working harder we know is not always the answer.
How can you ask yourself some questions that might allow you to see things from a different angle? How can you take your foot off the gas and maybe make things flow more smoothly?
Just like the rest of the world, coaches are “judgy”. We think that the way we do things is the best way (otherwise, why would we do it that way?) and we find reasons to poke holes in other ideas.
So many people doing “weird” things are having great success. Is this because of the idea, the implementation, the personnel, or a combination? Hint: it’s almost always a combination.
What do YOU do that you think other people think is “weird” or outside the box? Do more of that.
Coaches, we hear, “know thyself” all the time. Starting by doing the work to know what we value, our team’s strengths and holes in our game can certainly help you in preparing your team for a competition.
Also, know your opponent. On the face of it, a good scouting report on their players can be helpful on game day.
Dig deeper, however, watch your competition with a holistic eye. Pay attention to the undercurrent, feel the ebbs and flows of their style and energy. Aim to see holes where they don’t even know they have them.
Find the “secret” to their game, the go-to or the “hope not”, the points in a game where they are most vulnerable or lose their positive energy…see those and attack them there and then.
in some sports “the defense” scores points, although their main role is to stop the other guy from scoring points. In some, like softball and baseball, there is no way to post on the scoreboard when your team is in the field.
You can only win when you attack. On offense. Find a way to have a strategy on offense that you love, that everyone is bought in to, that speaks “we’re in control”.
Defense is a tone setter, but not scorer. Even if you’re great on D, you can only be totally in control if you have a strategy that allows you to control on attack.
Get to work.
We are flooded with information. There are so many great books, articles, journals, lectures, videos and other material produced by smart, experienced and successful coaches and leaders in all areas that it’s easy to get overloaded by others’ thoughts and tactics.
We need to take action! Develop your own strategies (feel free to steal them, but make them your own at the same time) and clarify your voice and ideas. Consider what’s important to you and then get to work executing those plans. Just like you tell your people: it’s ok to fail. Get to work determining where you’d like to go and how you think it’s best to get there. Devise an action plan and GO!
Coaching Made Easier 