Basketball Training: Skills, Speed, and Strength » basketball motivation

Some Thoughts From Pat Summit

Rich — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 10:51:53 +0000

There is no such thing as self respect without respect for others.
Individual success is a myth. No one succeeds all by herself.
People who do not respect those around them will not make good team members and probably lack self esteem themselves.
Being responsible sometimes means making tough, unpopular decisions.
Admit to and make yourself accountable for mistakes. How can you improve if you’re never wrong?
Loyalty is not unilateral. You have to give it to receive it.
Surround yourself with people who are better than you are. Seek out quality people, acknowledge their talents, and let them do their jobs. You win with people.

Value those colleagues who tell you the truth, not just what you want to hear.

Communication eliminates mistakes.

We communicate all the time, even when we don’t realize it. Be aware of body language.

To make sure that they are getting her message, Coach Summitt has asked her players to respond to a correction in practice by saying “rebound,” and to being praised by saying “Two points.”

Make good eye contact.

Silence is a form of communication, too. Sometimes less is more.

Discipline yourself, so no one else has to.

Self discipline helps you believe in yourself.

Group discipline produces a unified effort toward a common goal.

Discipline helps you finish a job, and finishing is what separates excellent work from average work.

Do the things that aren’t fun first, and do them well.

See yourself as self employed.

Put the Team Before Yourself.

When you understand yourself and those around you, you are better able to minimize weaknesses and maximize strengths. Personality profiles help.

Success is about having the right person, in the right place, at the right time.

Know your strengths, weaknesses, and needs.

Be flexible.

Teamwork doesn’t come naturally. It must be taught.

Teamwork allows common people to obtain uncommon results.

Not everyone is born to lead. Role players are critical to group success.

In group success there is individual success.

Make Winning an Attitude.

Combine practice with belief.

Attitude is a choice. Maintain a positive outlook.

No one ever got anywhere by being negative.

Confidence is what happens when you’ve done the hard work that entitles you to succeed.

Competition isn’t social. It separates achievers from the average.

You can’t always be the most talented person in the room. But you can be the most competitive.
There is nothing wrong with having competitive instincts. They are survival instincts.

It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts the most.

Change equals self improvement. Push yourself to places you haven’t been before.

Handle Success Like You Handle Failure. You can’t always control what happens, but you can control how you handle it.

Sometimes you learn more from losing than winning. Losing forces you to reexamine.

It’s harder to stay on top than it is to make the climb, Continue to seek new goals.

Here are some links to some video segments of Coach Summitt teaching:

Each time you click on a link, you will probably need to scroll down the page to see the video segment.

Tennessee Women’s Conversion to Defense Drill narrated by Coach Pat Summitt.

In this clip from Building a Championship Team with the Definite Dozen, she discusses a little of what she feels the purpose of basketball is…

In this video clip, Coach Summitt describes how she handles teams that trap the first pass: Mastering Special Situations

In this video clip, Coach Summitt describes how they prepare their offense to play against the upcoming opponent’s defense and how they start practice each day.

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What Makes A Basketball Player Tough?

Rich — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 10:58:36 +0000

There should not be any doubt that Jay Bilas is one of today’s foremost authorities on college basketball so I am always intrigued by what he has to say throughout the course of a game. This weekend as I watched the end of the Duke/Georgia Tech basketball game, a game Bilas was calling, I heard him mention some characteristics that make a basketball player tough. Characteristics like diving on a loose ball or making key free throws down the stretch (something Georgia Tech did in their upset victory) define tough players. Nonetheless, hearing Bilas mention these tough plays reminded me of an article that he wrote last year entitled Defining Toughness in College Hoops. If you have not read this article, it is a must read, and if you have read it, reread it. This article’s value is limitless and can be used at all levels of basketball. So do not hesitate and click on the title above and pass it on to those whom you think would benefit.

Are You Afraid to Shine?

Rich — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 12:35:27 +0000

Coach Carter is one of the best sports movies of all time and one of my favorite basketball movies along with Hoosiers. Throughout the movie, there are many lessons to be learned but ultimately, it defines what it takes to be successful not just on the court, but in life. During the movie, Coach Ken Carter keeps asking his players, in particular Timo Cruz, “What is your deepest fear?” The players do not understand, at all, what Coach Carter is talking about or why he is asking them that question until this scene takes place.

If you really listen to Timo Cruz’s explanation of what their deepest fear is, you can understand that this happens far too often in today’s society. Young athletes and students are afraid to shine for fear that it is not the correct thing to do. It is not that they cannot shine, they just chose not to. It is tough to determine why this choice is made. Is it because they are afraid to make others feel bad because of their success or is it that being able to do things that others cannot is not “cool”? I have seen the latter happen quite often when a student gets a paper returned to them with a good grade and then gets picked on for doing well. As a result, that students chooses not to do as well in the future in order to avoid the harassment. Overall, this can only be bad for our society because it prevents someone who has a bright future from actually living up to their capabilities.

On the other hand, Timo Cruz has other thoughts on people’s deepest fear. Cruz feels that people are afraid to shine for fear of making others feel inadequate, that doing well will make others feel badly about their own shortcomings. However, it is what he says after that, that is most striking. By doing well, you empower others to follow your lead and in turn they will also want to do well. This type of thinking can be contagious and can be the foundation of success. By shining through our own actions we encourage others to do the same, and if they do, then can we be liberated from our deepest fear…being powerful beyond measure.