Handling Expectations

The following comes from a great piece written by Don Yeager for Success Magazine on maintaining excellence. The following are some thoughts he penned from UNC's Roy Williams:
"But I want them to have dreams, not expectations. I want them to have goals, not be concerned about what others say. I wanted them to realize from the earliest point that others who have lots to say have nothing invested. We will be successful if we make the investment and ignore the hype. If you have dreams and goals and are committed to them, are working toward them, it becomes easier to block those outside forces.”
“I recruit character as much as I recruit ability,” Williams says. “And if you’ve built a teamof character, they can handle moments that others cannot and they accept coaching on how tomanage pressure.”
“Most elite teams have elite players,” he says. “And when the guy others look up to also happens to be dedicated to constant development, that’s a dream situation.”
Williams used his preseason time with players to reinforce his message and offer his prescription. “I reminded each player that the way you deal with expectations is to focus only on today,” he says. “Yes we have a plan for the entire year, but it all begins with what we are going to do today. If you work to be the best you can be today, you’re preparing yourself to be the best you can be tomorrow. It sounds simple, but it’s not.
“If each of us works every day to be the best we can be on that day and then come back and do the same tomorrow, then we have a better chance of being our very best at year’s end. Will that be enough to win a national championship? That’s hard to say in college basketball today.
“But handling as high expectations as we are gives us our best chance for success.”

The Importance of Encouragement

Fourth side
You've heard of football coaches talk of doing well on “all three sides'' of the ball — offense, defense and special teams.

At Texas Tech, a “fourth side'' has been added.

“Our sideline is our fourth side,'' Tech defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill said. “If you participate in sports, having your teammates cheer for you is a big, big deal. And we make a big deal out of it.''

Red Raiders head coach Mike Leach ordered almost all benches removed from the sideline at home so his players would be forced to stand up and watch.

But just watching isn't enough.

“We're traveling with some guys right now who know they're not going to play one second,'' McNeill said. “Their job is to go through pregame and then make sure they cheer the team on.

“That's one thing Mike has done, and we've agreed to it as coaches.''

Encouragement

From Think Like a Champion: A Guide to Championship Performance for Student-Athletes By Dick Devenzio

When is it okay to encourage your teammates? I’d say anytime, always, now, tomorrow. It is always useful to encourage your teammates. And I would go a step further than that: if you fail to encourage your teammates often, you are failing to contribute to a significant aspect of team-building.

1. It is hard to overestimate the value of encouragement. Many people don’t show outwardly the effect encouragement has on them—how it lifts their spirits, makes them proud, and inspires them to put out extra effort—but few people remain untouched by it. Often, in fact, the people who seem least touched or least in need of encouragement are actually those who are most affected and most in need.

2. The major point here is don’t base your encouragement on the response you get, or lack thereof. If your encouragement is sincere and well-intentioned, it will hit its mark. It will be worthwhile. I earn to make encouragement an integral part of your game, of your everyday performance.

Thoughts from various coaches in sports.......

Great teams have great teammates -- how you interact with each other is critical to success as is how you talk to each other!

Good to great is more than a very good statement and requires a commitment to up your concentration; up work ethic; and up your creativity

KEYS TO HAVING A GREAT TEAM: 1. an unselfish offensive mindset; 2. an everyday commitment to defense; and 3. a committment execute to perfection system wide

Teams must understand: any group of players can put on the same uniform but that does not make a team; a team is about shared commitment

The great ones are committed to personal accountability; they often blame themselves first; figure out how they can get better at something

Who is going to lead the team this year in the hidden stats; # of times pulls team together; # of times motivates teammates, ect.

Successful people do all the things that the unsuccessful people don't want to do; don't feel they should do; or are too cool to do

Pre-season: when it hurts a little bit before the season; it usually helps A LOT during the season!!!

It's all about the team!

“I don’t get a big charge out of being
the leading scorer. The object of
competing is winning. I just try to do
what has to be done for us
to win. That might be anything at
the time — defense, rebounding,
passing. I get great satisfaction
out of being a team player.”

-KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR-NBA Hall-Of-Famer

Greatness.....

“Greatness is not about someone who has the ability to be great…Greatness shows up when someone might not have the ability but finds a way to succeed. They outwork their opponents, they outhit their opponents, they outfight their opponents. They want it more. Don’t give me the guy who’s supposed to be all-world and you’ve got to try and talk him into something. Give me the guy who has maybe just enough talent to be on the field but thinks he’s great, and who’s willing to do whatever he can do to contribute, to make the team better. That’s what I want…”
-Mike Singletary
Head Coach San Francisco 49ers