Thanksgiving

Ok, so I was going through some clinic notes from over the summer, and came across something from Don Meyer (check link on side). He has 3 rules...

1. Learn about yourself
2. Find your unique talent and develop it
3. Give your gift away, every day

At the time, it was just something that he said that I wrote down. But looking back I can really feel the depth of them. You definitely need to fully understand yourself first. You need to know what you believe in, how you work, what your strengths are, your weaknesses, etc... Once you understand yourself, then you know what you can do and can't do, what you're good at and not good at. Once you know everything there is to know about yourself, you will be able to notice something that is unique and something that you are passionate about. Once you know what it is, then you can develop it further and it can be your mark on the world. But once you have obtained all this knowledge, it's useless if you don't give it away! Show someone else what you already know so that your knowledge starts to permeate the culture that is around you. What good is knowledge if it is not shared?
I know that over the past 3 years I have really shaped my view of basketball and life. It is something completely different than what I started with. Most of it has been formed through going to clinics, reading books, searching the internet, going to college, and just simply being around people with positive attitudes that care about the game of basketball.
Due to the fact that it is Thanksgiving weekend, here is a link to another of Coach Meyer's wonderful free handouts that deals with Thanksgiving. Handout
Happy Thanksgiving!

Team First

The ultimate team player? To me it's someone that is a little surprising. When you think of a team player who do you think of? The guy who does all the dirty work, makes nice passes, will go get the offensive rebound because no one else is going to, the lock-down defender who doesn't score more than a bucket a game, the guy who will lay his body out to get a loose ball? Have an idea yet? What if I put a restraint on it and said it had to be a Major League Baseball player. Does that change the criteria for a team player? It has to be the guy who is hustling for an extra base? The outfielder who dives or hurls himself into the wall to bring back a homer? The first-baseman or catcher who lets nothing pass by them? Well, in this day and age of professional sports, does Curt Schilling make the bill? He is pretty much automatic in the post season. Which equals lots of wins. He has proved himself over and over. He pitched with a bloody sock. He should have gotten some huge deal for what he's worth right? Wrong, Schilling realized that he has made over 100 million dollars because of baseball. He knows that he is set for life. He took only 8 million for his one year deal. I know this is amazing numbers to you and I, but look at it this way; he could have got a lot more somewhere else. He chose to help out his own team, whom he loves playing for. He is letting them use his money on someone that could help his team. In this age of money and salary caps (which in baseball is there, but not there) this is a true class act. As much as Kobe claims to not have any players around him, do you think that he would take a huge pay cut to let the Lakers bring in some quality players? I am not knocking Kobe at all, he just always seems to be wanting to get out of L.A. all the time. Wouldn't it be great if all the big money guys did this? I think Phil Jackson tried to have the same salary for one of his CBA? teams. It didn't go over too well, I wonder if people thought they were actually better than they were? This would definitely be something to look in to. I am amazed at Curt Schilling for this and applaud him. Leave a comment about the same salary for every player on a team question. I think it's an interesting topic. Have a good day!

Every Day

It’s been a while, so I thought that I would write a little something. The NBA season has begun; I am pretty pumped about the Pacers. I don’t know why. I just think there is a little different “air” surrounding the team. Coach O’Brien will play at a faster pace – which I think will be better suited for his personnel. When I think of coaching philosophies, I think that the best coaches always start with what they have and go from there. As a coach you have to be flexible, always changing. I don’t mean changing your philosophy, but playing to your strengths. Each person has their own strength, and the coaches that find that strength and tweak, not overhaul, their systems to utilize that particular strength always seem to have great seasons. Being in coaching for a few years, I have my own definition of a good coach or a bad coach. I think I am more impressed by a coach, who can take a team, and have those players play to their potential, than a coach who has great players and just simply stands there. I have really shaped my thoughts over the past years and I have found that winning and losing is not really important. It’s more important that you get better than you were the day before. Sure, there are going to be extremely good players that are naturally talented, but if they don’t continue to improve I don’t necessarily see them as a success. I would take a player who wants to work hard and get better every day over a player who thinks he is good enough for today. For at the end of today, is tomorrow, and if that player didn’t do something to get better yesterday, then there is no today, and inevitably, no tomorrow. As practices and teams are forming for the season, remember to do something to make yourself better everyday. Drop a comment! Have a good rest of the week!

Improving The Off-Hand

I know it's been a while, but my wife and I are trying to get a side photography business up and running. There is a link on the right if you want to check it out.



Ok. This basketball topic popped into my head earlier this week and I want to share this with everyone. I think back on all the times that you see the one-handed dribbler, the player that can only dribble with his dominant hand. When you see the player going left but dribbling with his right hand, not only does it look awkward for the player, but I just get this feeling that it is going to get knocked away to the other team. So, since the player hasn't built up the confidence to use his off-hand. I have come up with some things that will help in the development of his off-hand.


1. The best way to aid in developing the off-hand would be to pick up the nice orange ball and let your left hand actually feel it for once and try to get comfortable with it.


2. Hordes of dribbling drills - the player obviously did some of them with the dominant hand but somehow forgot he had two hands. You would have to do twice as much with the off-hand to bring it back up to speed.


3. Do common everyday things with your off-hand.

a. brush your teeth with your off-hand

b. open doors with your off-hand - car doors included - and any door for a lady.

c. apply deodorant with your off-hand - hopefully you do this with your dominant on a regular basis. This one is tricky and requires a flexible elbow

d. use the TV remote with your off-hand

e. write your name with your off-hand

f. work your cell phone with your off-hand

g. try typing every letter on the keyboard with your off-hand one letter at a time.

h. eat only with your off-hand

i. this is kind of weird but when you drop a #2 - wipe with your off-hand

j. when you are reading a book hold it open with your off-hand

k. put on all your clothers with your off-hand

l. Top off your outfit with putting on a belt with your off-hand

m. If you use a calculator use it with your off-hand

n. clip your toe/finger nails with your off-hand

o. when you use scissors use your off-hand

p. when you use a knife use your off-hand - do this carefully!

q. if you wear contacts put them in with your off-hand

r. tie your shoes with your off-hand

s. if you play paintball play with your off-hand

t. brush your hair with your off-hand

u. If you're a girl and only if you're a girl, apply makeup with your off-hand

v. switch your computer mouse to the other side of the keyboard and click with your off-hand

w. open up a DVD or Playstation game case with your off-hand

x. Drink using your off-hand

y. if you play an instrument try to do it with your off-hand

z. pick up a basketball and dribble!

Basically what it comes down do is building up your confidence in your off-hand to perform as well as your dominant hand. Try to go through an entire day without using your dominant hand unless you have to. You are training your mind to treat your off-hand just the same as your dominant hand. Also, you are building up strength and hand-eye coordination.

With football, volleyball, and cross country season here, you dual sport athletes don't forget to pick up a round ball every now and then! But your mind should be on helping the team you are on to be the best that they can be and striving to give your best everyday. You are the only person who knows if you gave your best everyday - which means you are responsible for your attitude, actions, and your success. Just don't forget that what you are really doing is staying in tip top shape for the winter season :)

Drop Step Dunk

All-Star Recap, Dungy Excerpts, and Wrigley Field

The Indiana East/West All-Star Games were great! The fact that they reward all four classes is an accomplishment in itself and what they are doing at http://www.postyourt.org/ is outstanding! I met Coach Mike Walker who is the director and founder of Post Your Talents, he was a very genuine man and I want to thank him for contacting me via email, it is much appreciated! On a side note, Coach Walker has laryngitis and I know he would appreciate your prayers.



Some local awards given:



David Henry - Bethesda Christian HS - 1A West Kent Benson FCA Mental Attitude Award

Tyler Bruce - Tri-West HS - 2A Game MVP

Aimee Drabyn - Avon HS - 4A West Kent Benson FCA Mental Attitude Award



Congrats to all the players that were named and congrats on you high school career and good luck as you move on.



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I have got the new Tony Dungy book, Quiet Strength, and I am going to post a little blurb from it every now and then.



"Things will go wrong at times. You can't always control circumstances. However, you can always control your attitude, approach, and response. Your options are to complain or to look ahead and figure out how to make the situation better."



I find myself getting frustrated at work a lot and then when I realize that nothing good can come of getting angry, throwing something, or punching something. I just need to find a way to counter whatever went wrong and find a new way of doing it. Which flows right into this excerpt;



"What's important is not the accolades and memories of success but the way you respond when opportunities are denied."



It's how you respond to the situation that makes you who you are!



"If I want my players to remember something, one picture isn't worth a thousand words - it's better."



When I hear this, I think of how people learn differently and how as a teacher/coach it is our job to reach each person no matter how we have to do it. I can remember in math classes getting taught that there was multiple ways to do something, basically, whichever one you could understand the easiest. If there is a student/player who is not understanding things on the court, maybe a diagram might do the trick, or a special video clip that shows exactly what he/she should be doing. Man, you see those slow-mo cameras in every instant replay now, you can see so much just by pausing and rewinding. I think there should be a ton of "classroom" work in basketball too. Breaking down things and what not. Going over not only the other team's stuff but your own. Letting the players know what you want them to accomplish through doing this particular thing. I know there is not much time that you get on the court, but this could be something pre-practice or post-practice. Just my ramblings.

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Two weekends ago was my 1 year anniversary and me and my wife took a trip to Chicago to visit the Shedd Aquarium and to the hollowed grounds of Wrigley Field. The Aquarium was amazing and can be compared to the Ripley's Aquarium in Gatlinburg, TN. I recommend going to both of these aquariums. Ripley's was a little more hands on and touchy-feely, but I would say that the Shedd Aquarium was bigger and included an oceanarium with dolphins and whales. Pretty nifty. Then, the next day we attended the Cubbies vs. the Milwaukee Brewers in the last game of a 3-game homestand. Cubbies won 5-1! Game started with Cubs Jason Marquis getting hit in the face with a broken bat and I think that just made him mad because he was pretty good the rest of the way. Pretty Neat Experience I do have to say. One of my younger brothers is a big Cubbies fan, so he was/is mad that he didn't get to go. Lots of fun.



Oh... I don't really know how many people read this blog and I thought it would be interesting to see how many do or better yet, do not read this, so if you could just click on "View My Complete Profile" there is a little counter on there and it just adds it up. I am just looking to see how many people read this. As of right now, there have been 121 profile views. I know it won't be much, or any for that matter, but if you do take a look at this blog or somehow stumble upon it, it would be much appreciated. Thanks! and Have a Great Day! DSD