Coach Buzz

I had the opportunity last year to sit next to Coach Buzz Williams at a high school game.  Great guy.  Was genuinely interested in Division 3 basketball, how our conference tournaments work in the MIAC and WIAC, and where those of us sitting around him had coached.  Last year Coach Buzz did a series of videos in the preseason and in to the early part of their schedule.  Coach Buzz cares immensely about his players and is just as proud of turning them in to quality young men as he is of turning them in to great basketball players.  This video illustrates that a little bit.  If you get a chance to read anything about Coach Buzz Williams or watch any videos like these, you will be better off because you did. 



The Palestra

To Win The Game is Great

To Play the Game is Greater

But to Love the Game is Greatest of All.

From a plaque in the lobby of the Palestra in Philadelphia.

The Palestra is one of the 5 oldest basketball arenas in the United States.

Training Days

Just got done watching the ESPN behind the scenes special Training Days:Oklahoma Football on YouTube.  It airs tomorrow (Aug. 23) on ESPN in its entirety. 

A couple things that stood out:

- The attention to detail by the coaches which filtered down to the players

- Competing on every single play

- Great Quote "Invest in the Process"

- The intensity and the tone is set from Day 1

- The Pride and Tradition

- How much I love college football.

To expand a little bit on the attention to detail, football probably does it better than anyone (the good programs at least).  Football coaches are very detail oriented and they don't let one miscue slide by.  Football is able to get 11 guys to consistently be on the same page, both offensively and defensively.  Why can it be so hard in basketball at times. 

Below are the different segments of the show.  Great stuff from Coach Stoops and his staff.  Worth the time to sit and watch.  Coaches from all sports can learn from specials like this.  I hope ESPN continues to do this in years to come.

Part 1



Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

The following is an excerpt from an article written by Andy Katz of ESPN before the NBA Draft when Derrick Rose was taken #1 overall.  We have an autographed picture from D Rose hanging in our locker room that says "Go Cardinals".  He's got great work ethic and he continually is trying to get better.  He's worked extremely hard on his jump shot and teams now have to respect that which allows him even more opportunities to play in the paint.

"I just hate losing, and I know on the next level I'll have to get used to it [and] hopefully I won't tear up more at the next level," Rose said after his workout for his hometown Chicago Bulls Thursday morning. "I'm really competitive. If people say I can't shoot, then in a drill I'll try to out shoot them. I just hate losing. No matter what it is, I'll do it to win. Winning is the goal for me."


Thanks to our baseball coach Nick Winecke for the assist and sharing this video.

Tenets of Good Leadership








The following is from the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks front office.

John McDonough is the President of the Blackhawks and a Saint Mary's Alum.  I had a chance to listen to him speak on campus last year and he shared the following from their organization.











TENETS OF GOOD LEADERSHIP

1. First and foremost, we're in the people business.

2. Relationships and personality will take you further than anything else.

3. People like to be thanked.

4. Hiring is the most underrated executive skill.

5. Be interesting and interested.

6. Business cards make a statement.

7. Dress like you mean business.  There is nothing casual about achievement.

8. Address sensitive issues immediately.

9. Become familiar with change.

10. Remember that failure, while never welcome, is the residue of creativity and innovation.

11. Leaders are never afraid to take blame or acknowledge the success of others.

12. Be bold and be innovative.

13. Inspect what you expect.

14. Never stop teaching.

15. Personal meetings "weigh more" than phone calls.

16. Be well read.

17. Listening keeps you informed.  Being informed helps you make good decisions.

18. Once is a trend.

19. Never be satisfied.

20. If you stop to admire what you have accomplished, you've stopped.

21. Always be hungry: Never enough.

22. The signature of our franchise will be winning and communication.

23. Fitness matters.

24. Express sincere compliments.

25. There will be only one Chicago Blackhawks.  We're all in this together.

26. There will be a Blackhawks way of doing things.



No Days Off

"No matter how much you improved over the summer, what are you doing NOW to ensure that you maintain or even raise it to another level"

- Mike Jones

  Head Coach at DeMatha High School

The Good Ones Always Add To Their Game

The following is from a Sports Illustrated article/interview with LeBron.

He's working out twice a day, trying to erase some of the sting that's still there after the Heat lost to the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA finals.

"Right now I've just been focusing on being a better player, working on my game every single day," James said at a news conference before the AP interview. "Like I said, the Dallas Mavericks were a great team and they deserved to win that championship. And I'll just use that as motivation coming into this season."

He's also trying to deliver on his vow to be even better whenever the Heat resume play, saying he's been in Houston at times this offseason to learn post play from one of the game's all-time greats, former Rockets star Hakeem Olajuwon.

"I look at what he was able to do throughout his career," James said. "Unbelievable talent. Multiple champion. Just to see how he was able to dominate in the low post, for me as an individual, I just try to look at some of the things I feel I need to get better at and hit home at it. Our team becomes better if I continue to get better and that's what it's about."

Entire Article: http://bit.ly/oouFdD

Doc and the Celtics





The following are some quotes from Doc Rivers (via Jay Bilas) from the Coaching U Live Clinic in Orlando, Fl.  Probably the best coaching clinic out there today.  There is a reason the Celtics have had success with this group of players and coaches.

Rivers on the importance of roles on a team.

"To be successful, you need to have everyone embrace being a "star in his role." And a player's role does not stay the same from year to year. In order to win, a player may have to accept a role he does not like, but that is imperative for his team to win."

Celtics Assistant Kevin Eastman on the development of a bench:

"Eastman spoke of the development of a bench mentality, and urging the bench to make a difference, not just give the starters a blow. Your reserves can win you a title, but they can also keep you from winning one."

The video is a group of some of my favorite clips from the ESPN series The Association: Boston Celtics. 

You can read more from Jay Bilas at his ESPN blog here:

http://insider.espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/blog?name=bilas_jay&id=6839542

I would also highly recommend following or checking Coach Kevin Eastman and his Twitter page daily.

http://twitter.com/#!/kevineastman

Football Practice kicks off

This is a video from a special ESPN did on Alabama football last fall.  This video is just one segment but I love their strength and conditioning coach.  The guy gets after it and the players respond and feed off of him. Quarterback Greg McElroy calls him "The lifeline of our program"

The following quotes are some of my favorite from Strength Coach Scott Cochran

"Take Pride In What You Do"

"If you're satisfied, If you are not hungry, you better check yourself"

"If it feels good, you ain't doin it right"

"Make Today Count"

"You ain't cheatin me you're cheatin you"

Camp Season

While the NBA is in a lockout, it was nice to see Stan Van Gundy (Orlando Magic Head Coach) take some time to stop by camp.  The message in this video (MAGIC: Camp Van Gundy: Speech Part 1 )
 is very good and is something players of all ages should listen to. 

Here We Go

The main purpose of this blog will be to share information with others.  A good amount of the information will not be original and I will give credit where credit is due.  I have found certain blogs to be very helpful and informative.  My hope is that I can pass on information, links, videos, ideas, etc and people can use this as a resource as well.

The second purpose will be to keep people updated on our team throughout the season, things our staff is doing throughout the winter and summer months, and have this blog just be another way you can follow us and learn more about our program (staff, players, school, etc).

Some other ways you can follow myself and our program are on Twitter and Facebook.

www.twitter.com/SaintMarysHoops

http://www.facebook.com/SaintMarysHoops