Never Tough Enough!

I have never heard a coach at the end of the season say we (their team) was just to tough.

Jay Bilas has written a great book about toughness that I was very impressed with. I purchased several copies and gave them away and you know how tight us coaches are!

It may be easier to explain what I mean by toughness by explaining what I believe toughness is not: I greatly dislike players who ask for the crowd to cheer or become demonstrative after taking a charge or making a key basket. The best players I ever coached often separated themselves by being very poised. It did not matter if we were up by twenty or down by twenty. Their demeanor did not change. They could have missed three shots in a row or made three shots in a row and their nonverbal communication was unfazed. Just an editorial comment .... Why do college and professional athletes play to the crowd with on the floor and on the field demonstrations for doing what they are supposed to do? Seeking attention does NOT make you tough.

Somethings You Just Don't Share!

Tough players usually don't talk about being taugh. They show it in the way they play. They run the floor HARD whether it is going from defense to offense or offense to defense. Always bothered me to have players who will sprint from defense to offense but when going from offense to defense they were much less motivated. Tough players do not allow the officials to influence their play. Tough players do not allow their opponents, their mistakes, or other outside factors influence their play. One of the greatest examples of being a tough player is found when you are up or down by a significant amount late in the game. Truly tough players only focus on the possession at hand. They want to win every single possession. The previous possessions are history and the truly tough player lives in the present. Tough players are coachable and understand their coach wants them to be the best they can be. Tough players don't make excuses nor are they interested in the excuses of others. Tough players accept responsibilities for their actions and the actions of their team.

One of the areas a coach can gather a great deal of understanding about the players he is coaching is before and after games and practices. Players who spend a great deal of their time communicating with others by using the personal pronouns "I". Makes me think about how insecure they really are and it concerns me about who they are most concerned about ...... themselves or the team?

Can you make your team tougher? Yes, I believe you can, but it isn't necessarily done by running them until they puke or accomplished by verbally questioning their toughness. As their coach, you need to talk to them about not making excuses, not complaining, and not being negative. Toughness can be caught, if you as their coach, demonstrate what toughness is. If you complain about the officiating, if you lose your poise whenever a player makes a mistake, if you refuse to take responsibility for your own actions then don't be surprised when your players do the same.

I won't get on my "soapbox" but blaming others has become a national pastime, and is in my opinion, a definite sign of a lack of toughness. If you spend anytime at all on social media, you will quickly find the blame game is alive and well. One of my least favorite comment I heard from students was .... "I got an A or He/She gave me a D." Notice the shift in responsibility.

Funny I never heard students say I earned a D. It seems to me that tough people don't make excuses, don't whine and don't complain.