Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Bill Cartwright on Sacrfice and Trust



"Most teams have guys who want to win, but aren't willing to do what it takes. What it takes is to give yourself over to the team and play your part. That may not always make you happy, but you've got to do it. Because when you do, that's when you win."

"A great basketball team will have trust. I've seen teams in this league where the players won't pass to a guy because they don't think he is going to catch the ball. But a great basketball team will throw the ball to everyone. If a guy drops it or bobbles it out of bounds, the next time they'll throw it to him again. And because of their confidence in him, he will have confidence. That's how you grow."


From "Sacred Hoops" by Phil Jackson and Hugh Delehanty




Friday, April 26, 2013

Jon Gordon's The Energy Bus


As I finish typing up my Jay Bilas Toughness book notes, I will be starting on my next set of book notes: The Energy Bus by Jon Gordon.

Our Head Coach Joi Williams assigned our players and our staff to read this book during the year. Everyone loved it! Jon Gordon's books are simple reads with a powerful message. It takes you through a story about man who's struggling to find happiness in his daily life. But once he hops on the "Energy Bus" he begins to see things turn around.

As I type of my book notes I will be sharing some of my favorite thoughts.

Eric Thomas: The Hip Hop Preacher



One of my favorite things to do is research and listen to motivational speakers. Their messages always seem to hit home, but the reason I really enjoy listening and watching the speeches is the passion you hear in their voice or even see in their body language. Eric Thomas, to me, is the epitome of the word passion. Every Monday morning he releases a new video on YouTube. His series is entitled "T.G.I.M.", Thank God Its Monday. He just wrapped up season 6 and is currently working on season 7. Here is a preview of what season 7 of T.G.I.M has in store. Enjoy!!!



Thursday, April 25, 2013

Jay Bilas on Preparation


Chapter 2 of Jay Bilas' Toughness is all about preparation. The book I'm currently reading The Power of Negative Thinking by Bob Knight also talks a lot about the importance of preparation. Not everything in the chapter is about preparation. Throughout the book and in each chapter, Jay Bilas always adds his thoughts on different topics. 

Here are some of my favorite thoughts and quotes from the chapter:

"Instead of "getting through” a workout, players to need “get from” a workout – to get the most from it and the most from themselves."

"If my preparation is up to a standard of excellence, I am more likely to reach my highest level of execution. How can I possibly expect to be excellent if my preparation is not up to the level of excellence?"

"I suppose preparation can be seen as an obligation, but I don’t view it that way – at least not anymore. I want to prepare , and I have come to really enjoy the preparation and enjoy the process."

"Nothing is different in my preparation and execution when the stakes are bigger to outsiders. No rung on that ladder is more or less important than any other."

"Preparation is multifaceted. It is about hard work, but it also about concentration, in planning and execution, and it is about how you frame things in your mind. The toughest people stay in the present and concentrate fully on what is in front of them."