University of Michigan's Court

I'm currently watching Illinois vs. Michigan. I am in love with their floor. My brother, Nick, is watching with me. He says it's an new-school look with old-school flavor. I love the subtle change of the different stains used. It's not overkill, just right. The large M in the middle is nice as well.

This is the last year for the floor. They have used it for 60+ years. So, since they are getting a new one, they are are going to cut it up and give it to everyone who has played for Michigan over the years. A nice touch I do believe.

Wearing Pink

I came across this article by way of the Uni-watch.com blog. Basically, a HS girls team in the Omaha area wore pink uniforms to raise money for a charity. The unis were to be auctioned off after the game. The first half of the game goes as planned. When both teams come back out for the 2nd half, the opposing coach asks the officials about the rule for not wearing white jerseys for the home team. The officials agree that wearing predominately pink unis is against the rule. The refs issue a technical foul for wearing the pink jerseys. Ok. I get it. They broke the rules. Now, why in the world did it take the refs until the 2nd half to enforce a technical foul? In the article, the opposing coach is quoted as saying, "But when you want to maintain the integrity of the game, you've got to play by the rules.'' Wow. The uniforms have absolutely nothing to do with upholding the integrity of the game. They wore them for one game. They were helping people out. You had a chance to teach your players a nice life lesson and you worried about taking advantage of the situation. What you should have done, was 1. probably not even asked about the uniforms. 2. If they do issue a technical foul, then you instruct your player to miss both free throws. 3. If the other team had the ball, you take a 5 second count and give them the ball back. As far as the referees go, if you're going to give a technical foul for uniform infractions, it needs to be given at the beginning of the game.

HOOP THOUGHTS: THE IMPORTANCE OF WINNING

Really good article from Coach Bob Starkey on Winning and Losing. I know that at times, I am really quick to dismiss a loss and move on. This lets me think of winning and losing in a different light. You'd want a doctor or lawyer to win for you. Read on to find out more.

HOOP THOUGHTS: THE IMPORTANCE OF WINNING: I head an interesting conversation with Coach Greg Brown this morning -- one of the great perks of working here at UCF. We were talking ab...

John Maxwell on the word VISION. Enjoy "A Minute With Maxwell" www.JohnM...

Win Or Lose

WIN OR LOSE - by Jon Gordon

Only one team wins the Super Bowl.

For each player on the NY Giants going to Disney World after the game there is a player on the New England Patriots going home disappointed without the joy of victory.

It's a lot like life.

Sometimes we win, sometimes we lose.

Sometimes we win the account, the game, the job promotion, the award and sometimes we lose the very thing we want most.

Winning matters. Losing matters. But in life what matters most is what we do with our wins and losses.

When we win do we become complacent or stay humble and hungry?

People often say that success breeds success but often it breeds complacency. After a win people think they can just show up and achieve the same result, forgetting the effort, determination and mindset it took to achieve the win.

To continue winning it's essential to turn the euphoria of winning into a fire of burning desire that fuels your continuous improvement, passion, and quest for excellence.

Even more important than what we do after our wins is how we respond to our losses.

Do we give up or come back stronger?

Do we allow the loss to act like a cancer that eats away at us for the rest of our life or do we turn it into a learning opportunity that leads to our healthy growth?

I certainly know what it feels like to lose. I've lost many arguments with my wife. : ) The Energy Bus was rejected by the first 30 publishers. As a sales person years ago I lost as many accounts as I won. I lost too many games as a Lacrosse player at Cornell and now I watch my children lose tennis matches and lacrosse games.

Everyone loses but the key is to make the loss stand for something and in my family LOSS now stands for:

LOSS (Learning Opportunity, Stay Strong)

When we lose we ask what we can learn from this loss and how we can improve because of it. Then we stay strong and work harder to come back and try to win.

This leads to more wins in the future...and also eventually more loses...and more learning opportunities and opportunities to stay strong and develop our character.

Through this process of winning and losing we learn the greatest lesson of all:

No matter how hard we work and how much we improve there will be times when we experience the worst of defeats instead of the greatest of victories. But ultimately life is about more than winning or losing. It’s about the lessons we learn, the character and strength we build and the people we become along the way.

Whether we win the Super Bowl or not, when we realize this we will surely be a winner in the game of life!

What are your thoughts about winning and losing? Join the conversation, leave a comment on our blog or Facebook page.

- Jon Gordon

Parents Driving Coaches Away

Really great article on the impact of today's parents on coaches.

http://www.newsleader.com/article/20120205/SPORTS/202050332

The other day at lunch after one of my kids had earned a reward and chose to eat in the classroom with 5 of his friends we watched ESPN's Sportscenter together. The conversation turned to their basketball game last night and how they felt the refs were cheating them. One quote I heard was "Yeah, it was like we were playing 7 on 5." You know, the opposing team + the two refs. I think kids hear that from somewhere. I then tried to dig deeper. "Did you touch the other team at all?" I asked them. Then, they got defensive about it. I tried to talk about owning up and taking some responsibility, but they wouldn't have any of it always bringing the attention back to the overzealous referees. Parents, please don't put on the Parental Blinders when talking to your son/daughter about their abilities. Be as real as you can without making them feel insignificant. When you aren't you are setting them up for failure later on in life. Telling them to focus on daily improvement and the process is where it should be. It should never be about playing time, points, or someone else's kid. 

From a coach's standpoint - if your child is a stud, do you not think a coach would want to play him/her? I mean come on. Why wouldn't a coach want to play a stud? There is no reason, unless it involves discipline. Coaches use discipline out of love. No one wants to discipline someone else for just cause. It doesn't make sense.
I think this is a really good quote. "Parents do not tell the truth to their kids like we coaches do. We now live in a politically correct world and people are not used to hearing the truth. They want to not face what is real and make excuses when things do not go their way. Rules are wonderful until they affect my kid. Then we want something else to be done."

Thoughts on this?

Super Bowl Running Blog

I'm picking this up with 3 minutes to go in the first half. My player of the game so far is the Giants' kicker, Weatherford. His 3 punts have been stupendous.

Who would've thought New England's first play would have been a safety? I wonder what the odds on that would have been?

The Pats seem fairly out of sync so far. They can't really get in a groove.

Mr. Quiggly Skechers commercial was pretty funny. Cuban touch was nice.
Favorite commercial so far has to be the Doritos Dead Cat and the VW new bug commercial.

2:00 to go in the half - Pats driving and have completed 3 straight passes. Make that 4. How tall is Woodhead again? Can he get into the fetal position and fit inside Wilfork's stomach? I would say yes.

1:00 to go - 3rd and 4 from the G's 45 - Completed to Hernandez. How about that head wrap takedown by 54 of the Pats? I kept waiting for him to give JPP a noogie.

:28 to go now - Doritos' grandma baby slingshot: cute. What's the deal with all the alienfied films lately. Can we not make just normal films anymore?
"Justin Tuck's facemask is killer until he tries to put in his mouthpiece." Quoted by my brother, Tyler.

:18 to go - JPP with a heck of a play on Woodhead. Collinsworth just said he is not a "normal human being." I think people could say the same about him.

:08 to go - If you have all the time in the world anyone can make that pass. Nice drive. Just erased the safety they gave up early on.  Giants needed to add at least another score in the first half besides that first TD score.

:04 to go - great hit there by Fletcher. Wanna get known as a special teamer? Knock some heads on a kickoff.

Halftime - Can't wait to see the adjustments made by both teams in the second half. I'm not too excited about seeing Madonna perform. I'm just not a fan. I'm not really a Mellencamp fan, but I think he should have got the job because of his Indiana roots. (While in college at IUPUI, he had an art exhibit on display at the Herron School of Art that I wasn't too impressed with. He should probably have kept to writing music.) Hulu Plus commercial with the doctor's mini skullett at the very end was pretty funny-lookin.

Madonna - Over excessive Greek"pullers," How bout Pegasus' wings. I think she should have struck a pose  a little more. Guy dancers during the "Music" part stole the show from her. LMFAO just brought it down another notch. I don't even call what they do music. It's more like white noise. Wanna know why our kids have such a hard time spelling today? You just got the answer....LUV. Best part so far is the stage. That's pretty cool. Cee Lo was worrying about how he looked and if his costume was on ok. So....Madonna's home is beneath a stage? I'm confused. Nice touch with the World Peace except I don't think any of the songs were about world peace.  Kind of reminded me of Sandra Bullock in Miss Congeniality when she just throws that in there because its the thing to do to appease people.

Eastwood - tells it like it is. Finally, a commercial with a real message about real things and real life. Speaking of Eastwood in car movies, you should see Gran Torino. One of my favorite movies.

2nd Half starting - If the Pats keep rolling like the ended the half, it could turn quite quickly. Brady went 10 for 10 to end the half and he's up to 12 in a row now. Benjarvus Green-Ellis, The Law Firm and all the associates, used to run the ball for IU. If you would have told me that he would have been the starting RB in a Super Bowl, I would have probably slapped you in the face and walked away. I never would have thought that.

12:35 3rd - Pats rolling on 3rd and IN. First Down. Giants have to get pressure on Brady if they want to be successful tonight. Pats score. That looked way too easy. Were the Giants even out there on that drive? My brother, Nick, wondered why the Giants kick-off kicker can't kick off into the endzone for a touchback.

Xfinity commercial - I guess those houses had wifi, since they were on wheels?

11:00 3rd - Good run back. Wilfork kisses people? I don't believe it. No one can get that close. That gut is in the way.

7:28 - I thought Nicks was going to keep that one tucked in. Nice hit by Chung.

7:10 - Wasn't that 3rd and 10? Why only a 5 yard pass?

7:00 - Tynes - at least the Giants got on the board this time.

Fiat commercial - totally had me on that one!! The only problem is that no one would ever think that about a car that me and a couple of my buddies could pick up and move with our bare hands.

Pepsi Max commercial - Coca-Cola hasn't done anything to bring their ultimate competitor down in their ads so far. Why did you have to put another company down.

Oikos Greek Yogurt - Never heard of it. Nice commercial. I bet John Stamos will remember it though after that headache. Have Mercy! Ha. Full House reference.

6:26 - JPP down. Not a good sign for the G-Men.

5:50 - first sack of Brady. He's like Peyton. If you get to him, he's not nearly as good. I'd contribute the throw away and the sack to the secondary coverage.

Bridgestone - good stuff with the football and basketball commercials comparing their tire tread. Nick said it was cool they used Duncan and Nash as opposed to like Bron Bron and Black Mamba. I would have to agree on that.

4:00 - FUMBLE. Gotta keep your hands around the ball.

3:28 - Good seeing Jacobs run straight ahead for a first down.

:35 - Bradshaw horrible job of running on the one that Collinsworth pointed out. Giants needed a TD there. they need TDs over FGs in the red zone. How do the Giants not stop the 3 guys rushing. 5 on three there guys.

:32 - Deion Branch is the Pat's best receiver and you don't matchup with him? I'd like someone to explain this logic to me, because I'm missing it.

Beginning of 4th Qtr. - The stage is set. What is going to happen? I'm saying Giants will pull it out.

14:00 - INT by Blackburn 40 yards downfield. I can't believe he could run that far. Way underthrown by Brady.

13:50 - Fumble!!! Giants lucky there right after they just picked it off. Good start to the final quarter. Making it a little exciting.

Great CPR commercial by Hyundai. Wonder how much money Hyundai dropped on all these.

Here Wego - I could definitely insert this into my daily vocab. Actually, I do say it a lot in my classroom, although, a dog never brings me anything.

10:58 - Manning to Manningham. What a bullet! Nice encore from the pass before that to Cruz.

9:35 - Manningham ran right out of bounds. Perfect ball from Manning. You caught it in bounds and then stepped out. Giants are burning their timeouts like they've got 12 of them.

9:24 - HUGE NO CALL ON THE INTERFERENCE. I don't know how that wasn't called. I know it's easy to miss those in real time, but seriously. You have to get these right. Weatherford again pooches a nice kick.

5:00 - Giants can't make the stop on 3rd downs. Now the Pats are going to run some clock.

4:00 - Welker just missed a fair catch there. Collinsworth with the words of wisdom "Welker makes that catch 100 out of 100 times." Michaels with the nice jab, "That must have been the 101st time."

3:46 - 88 yards to score or 98 for a FG (to the back of the end zone posts). Manningham makes up for his run out early. Nice way to get his feet in. Belichick is challenging. Stripes make the correct call on this one.

2:00 Minute Warning - Giants definitely in FG range now. I'd keep trying to put it in the endzone leaving as little of time left on the clock.

NBC really working their series commercials now.

1:20 - Nicks should have stayed inbounds and kept the pressure on the Pats.

:57 - I think Bradshaw thought someone was going to hit him on the 2nd level there. NEXT QUESTION - WHERE IN THE WORLD WAS BRANDON JACOBS ON THE 2 POINT CONVERSION?

:56 - Pats ball - Giants escaped one here by Phillips tipping it.

:52 - Drop by Hernandez. Right in his hands. Brady put it right there. A pass isn't a pass unless it's caught.

:46 - Sack by Tuck. Must be the facemask. Pats out of TOs.

:32 - First down to Branch with :39 left. Another First Down.

:09 - 12 men on the field. Ran off time though.

:05 - Last play of the game. Hail Mary. And it's going to be............

:00 - Giants survive!!!! The game was fairly uneventful, yet drama-filled in it's own right.

Manning will get MVP, I imagine. I think it should go to Weatherford. He kept the Patriots making long drives by his punts. Who would have thought that Eli would have more Super Bowl wins than Peyton. It just goes to say that having a defense has it's benefits.

And that's that. I found this very refreshing and fun to do this as the game played out.

What is Mental Toughness?

Great article here on Mental Toughness. I have always thought that mental toughness is more of a being able to execute what needs to be done under the most pressure-packed moments in time. I don't think being mentally tough is fighting through a long conditioning sprint. Yes, I will agree, that it takes take some mental toughness to fight through some pain and keep going, but I think mental toughness is more than just that and I think this article does a great job of breaking down mental toughness. What do you think is the definition of mental toughness?

Patriots vs Giants – Which Team Is More Mentally Tough?

by Pamela Enders|February 3rd, 2012

As we near Super Bowl Sunday and the much-anticipated rematch between the New England Patriots and the New York Giants, the talk is not only about which team will win but which one is more mentally tough.

This begs the question: what is mental toughness? Everyone from sports writers to fans throws that term around – sometimes incorrectly.

Sport psychologists coined the term years ago when they discovered that 50 to 90% of success in high-level sports could be attributed to mental factors, known collectively as mental toughness.

Ok, so what are those mental factors?

Well, first, let me tell you what they are NOT:

Mentally tough is not…

• Acting mean and aggressive
• Knocking the bejeezus out of another player just because you can
• Talking trash
• Thumping your chest or strutting like you’re “the man”
• Playing when injured (if doing so can cause further serious damage)
• Staring down your opponent in an effort to scare him
• Playing dirty

In other words, toughness or a display of toughness is not the same as being mentally tough.

Super Bowl Coaches Coughlin and Belichick have their own definitions which Mark Cannizzaro reported on in his article on mental toughness in the New York Post. According to Cannizzaro, Giants’ coach Tom Coughlin said; “I’m very impressed with our mental toughness. We preach it from Day One and try to explain what it is – a perfectly disciplined will that refuses to give in.”

Adding a slightly different spin, Coach Belichick of the Patriots referred to mental toughness as “…doing your best for the team even when everything’s not going right for you personally.” Pat’s quarterback, Tom Brady, said that the team has demonstrated resiliency over the season. “Even in the games we’ve lost we fought until the end. We’re always going to fight until the end.”

These are all elements of mental toughness, which is not any one thing but includes a number of mental factors. Sport psychologists have their own definitions of mental toughness. I like this one:

Mental toughness is the ability to consistently perform toward the upper range of your talent and skill regardless of competitive circumstances. It is the constellation of psychological and cognitive qualities that determine one’s competitive edge.

I’ve come up with 8 psychological and cognitive qualities that I think are associated with mental toughness. And by the way, mental toughness isn’t just for athletes. We can all work to strengthen our mental toughness. So, take a look at each factor and consider how you would rate yourself. Let me know what you think.

Mentally Tough Is…..

Championship mind-set

• Willing and open to seeking feedback about your performance
• Eagerness to learn and improve
• See critiques as information, not personal indictment
• Open to ongoing learning/coaching

Concentration

• Ability to get and stay focused on task at hand
• Ability to manage internal and external distractions
• Flexibility in shifting focus as task demands change

Composure

• Staying cool and calm in the clutch
• Poise and self-assurance even in high stakes situations
• Ability to perform well in high-pressure, competitive situations

Come-back from mistakes

• Ability to bounce back from set-backs and mistakes
• Ability to let go of disappointments
• Seeing mistakes as opportunities to learn and improve

Clarity about motivation

• Motivation gives purpose/direction to behavior
• Motivation is your “why”
• Not what you desire but the reason you desire it

Commitment

• Dedicating yourself to a course of action
• Clarity about your why drives action
• Creating SMART goals facilitates commitment
• Agreeing to be accountable for your actions

Confidence

• Your belief in yourself to perform well
• Positive expectations for favorable outcomes
• Sweet spot between arrogance and despair

Courage

• Quality of spirit that enables you to face danger
• Not absence of fear; triumph over it
• Heart, spirit

As the two teams meet on Sunday, we can be guaranteed of an exciting game. Both teams seem to exhibit great mental toughness skills but we will learn which team has the edge on Sunday.  What do you think…..which team has the mental toughness to win SuperBowl 46?

Same Set for BLOBs

Baseline-out-of-bounds (BLOBs) and Sideline-out-of-bounds (SLOBs) should be used to take an advantage of. Some teams just want to get the ball in. Others use the out of bounds plays as a scoring opportunity. My high school coach really stressed scoring out of BLOBs. Got this in my inbox today and wanted to share.
Same Set BLOB.