IN PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE

IN PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE
By Michael Jordan
Condensed from I Can't Accept Not Trying

Michael Jordan is the most extraordinary athlete of our time.  In 1993, after leading the Chicago Bulls to three consecutive NBA Championships, he  retire from professional basketball to chase an improbable dream of making it in pro baseball.   “I’m not afraid of failing,” he said at the time, “but I can’t accept not trying.”  Here, in his own words, Michael shares the rules he has lived and achieved by.

1.          Set Goals & Visualize

I always had the ultimate goal of being the best. But I approached everything step by step, setting short-term goals. As I look back, each success led to the next one. When I got cut from the varsity team as a sophomore in high school, I learned something: I never wanted to feel that bad again.

So I set a goal of becoming a starter on the varsity. That's what I focused on all summer. When working on my game, that's what I thought about. When it happened, I set another goal, one that I could realistically achieve, if I worked hard.

Each time, I visualized where I wanted to be. As I reached those goals, they built on one another. I gained confidence every time I came through.

2.        Find Fuel in Failure

To achieve anything, I have to be aggressive. Once I'm in the game, I think only about what I'm trying to accomplish. Any fear is an illusion. You think something is standing in your way, but nothing is really there. What is there is an opportunity to do your best and succeed.

If it turns out my best isn't good enough, then at least I'll never be able to look back and say I was too afraid to try Maybe I wasn't good enough There's nothing wrong with that and nothing to be afraid of either. Failure always made me try harder the next time.

That's why my advice has always been to "think positive" and find fuel in any failure. Sometimes failure gets you closer to where you want to be. If I'm trying to fix a car, every time I try something that doesn't work, I'm getting closer to finding the answer. The greatest inventions in the world had hundreds of failures before the answers were found.

I can accept failure. Everyone fails at something. But I can't accept not trying. That's why I wasn't afraid to try baseball. I can't say, "Well, I can't do it because I'm afraid I may not make the team." That's not good enough for me. It doesn't matter if you win, as long as you give everything in your heart.

3.        Pay the Price

I believe that if you put in the work, the results will come. I don't do things halfheartedly. Because if I do, I can expect halfhearted results.

Part of the commitment is taking responsibility. That's not to say there aren't obstacles or distractions. But obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.

4. Master the Fundamentals

I don't care what you're trying to accomplish; you can't skip fundamentals if you want to be the best. There are plenty of people with great abilities, but if they don't know how to apply those skills, what good are they? You can't compose a masterpiece if you never master the scales. The minute you get away from fundamentals -- whether it's proper technique, work ethic, or mental preparation -- the bottom can fall out of whatever you're doing.

You have to monitor your fundamentals constantly, because the only thing that changes will be your attention to them. The fundamentals will never change.

5.     Lead by Example

I've always tried to lead by example, never by talking, because words never mean as much as action. They always say a picture carries a thousand words. So I tried to paint a picture of hard work and discipline.

A leader has to earn that title. You aren't the leader just because you're the best player on the team. No one can give you that title, either. You have to gain the respect of those around you by your actions.

And you have to be willing to sacrifice certain individual goals, if necessary, for the good of the team. You also have to stand up for what you believe, and hold on to your convictions.  All the people I admire do that.

But you don't have to play a professional sport to be an effective leader. Every home, every business, every neighborhood and every family needs someone to lead.

WHOEVER SAID......

WHOEVER SAID…..

"It's not whether you win or lose that counts"...
PROBABLY LOST!

There are winners and there are losers.

And if you choose to be one of the former, the journey through life
can be a little lonely.

When you're a winner, you have to set the standard for excellence
wherever you go!

You have to battle against fatigue, the intimidation, the human
tendency to just want to take things a little easier.

You have to be able to come up with, time and time again, one
consistently great performance after another.

High School vs. Private Strength Training… Why Choose?

Athletes increasingly seem to have a throwing guy, speed guy, hitting guy, or strength guy. This can present a frustrating situation for the strength coach. In the high school setting, we typically get athletes for an hour during the day (or potentially after school) and can be limited by how many athletes we train at once, the training space, time available, or other factors. Even if we can get an athlete in the weight room 3-5 days/week, there is typically more that we feel that the athlete could benefit from. Then, we hear that the athlete is going to a private trainer after school and doing more of the same training. Even though these athletes can recover quickly, our training programs become less effective (both the high school and private trainer). I have been on both the private and high school sides of this coin and know the arguments from each about why one of the two settings is better for the athlete. What if there was another way? 

In the past, I was brought on by a high school baseball team to serve as their strength and conditioning coach. Before writing a single day of a training program, the first thing that I did was talk with the high school strength coach, as most kids on the team were training with him during the day. We talked through his general weekly plan as well as what I envisioned the guys on the team doing during team training sessions. Once I knew what his program looked like, I was able to build a complimentary program for the team that filled in the gaps that he and I had identified. By working together, we were able to keep athletes healthier and improve their strength, power, and speed to a greater extent than just lifting in class would allow. During that season, we had fewer sore arms and arm injuries than any season since the coach had been at the school. All of this was delivered to the athlete with no extra work to the strength coach other than communicating with me.

Strength coaches in general want to improve the performance of their athletes while making them more durable and educating them in the process. If high school and private strength coaches develop a relationship with one another, this can be achieved to a greater extent than either one of them doing it alone.

Tyler Dundore

Head Strength Coach

Elite Baseball and Softball

Grand Rapids, MI

When technology in training goes from helpful to hindering

I want to thank all my mentors who have not only invested in me as a coach, but also as a person. Coach Court, Coach Higgins, Coach Hoke, Coach Guess, Coach Mannie, Coach Vorkapich, and Coach Burgardt have all played a huge roll in my young career and I cannot thank them enough for everything they have done for me.

Today’s strength and conditioning coaches are constantly bombarded with new technology and ideas that they should be learning and implementing into their training. Companies are always claiming “the next best thing” and “prevention of injuries” if you purchase their device or expertise to oversee your program. The truth of the matter is: 1. The “Best” things have already been discovered – squat, bench, deadlift, pull up, and sprint 2. The best athletes and programs still have injuries. As strength and conditioning coaches our job is not to prevent injuries, but to mitigate the risk of an injury occurring through proper training of the physiological system. So, these claims are abundantly false.

Young Coaches

Young coaches are consistently told the importance of learning technology and applying it to training. I completely agree, but what happens when the technology is all that they know? A lot of internships boast about the opportunity to learn and use different technology. In reality, they work on excel all day looking at numbers in which they do not fully understand. This use of technology is not helping them learn how to coach, program, build relationships, or be a part of a staff on a daily basis. Young coaches must be taught how to be a part of the bigger picture and actually coach and correct technique. To simply look at the value that is provided by the technology is doing the athlete and the coach a disservice.

Technology Limitations

I am not against technology and all the great things it can provide, however, it can be misleading. When looking at technology that calculates bar speed, power production, and movement analysis, we tend to think it is insightful and groundbreaking. However, you should be able to identify good bar speed simply by watching your athletes train. If the bar isn’t moving at the capacity at which you want, have the athlete drop the weight or increase the intensity of training. Coaches should not need to rely on technology to recognize adequate performance. If someone is able to jump high or far, you can say with great confidence they are powerful. When working with athletes coming off injuries, you should not need to rely on a computer to tell you that they favor one side when they squat. When I hear coaches talk about the amount of money they continue to spend on new technology that they don’t understand or know how to use I feel bad for the student athlete. Those resources could be spent on something simple like food, new equipment, or even a new staff member that could assist with training.

Final Thoughts

I want to emphasize, I am not against technology. If you want the technology, purchase it. But make sure that you know how to use the program, what the numbers mean, and how to implement it into your training beforehand. You should not change what you do STRICLTY based off what the unit says. The technology should fit your program just as much as your program should fit the use of technology. Make sure you have the proper funding and support so use the technology. Some institutions across the country have a WHOLE team dedicated to looking at sport science data. I would encourage a two person staff to stay away from investing in new technology, instead, use those resources to hire another coach. Some programs don’t even use the data generated from the units and purchase these programs simply to say that they have it. If this is the case, use the funds instead on something more meaningful to the program. To collect information and not use it is a complete waste of your time and resources. Coaching is an art and opportunity to invest in young people from all ages, but if you are not able to coach the basic movements with great confidence then stay away from technology and focus on coaching.

Dustin Tripp

Strength Coach

Purdue University

Fundamental Suggestions from Awesome Experiences

What a great read from Adam Stoyanoff at West Catholic High School, take notes on this one. Adam thanks for all you do for this profession. - Rick Court

This year will mark my 18th year Coaching and the 23rd school I’ve been blessed to be a part of.  Coming into a new school, there’s a checklist of fundamental criteria that I’ll typically use when piecing a program together. 

With the following points, please understand, they’re a general guideline.  Even if they’re in the same conference, make no mistake, every high school is extremely different.  To look at one program and compare it directly to another is foolish. 

1. Choose the Safest Exercises for the Environment and Athletes

I’ll use Olympic lifts as an example. I personally enjoy the lifts and think they’re of great value, however, there’s a specific time, place, and group of trainees they may be most appropriate for.  Understand that there are uncontrollable constraints in place that should lead our decision making. How many kids do we have? What is their training age? What their biological age? What is their emotional IQ or maturity level? 

If we’re looking for a an efficiently taught or loaded triple extension movement, there’re plenty of options other than the Olympic lift. It’s our job to choose the safest and most effective one for our environment.

2. Choose Exercises That We Can Teach

We need to be able to teach an exercise before we implement it. Lately, I’ve been making a strong case for the argument of; if we as coaches don’t train the exercise, we shouldn’t be teaching it.

The bottom line is, we need to have coaching cues that will elicit the responses we need. Furthermore, a cue and its delivery may work for one kid but not remotely for another.

We must be fluent in the cues and tones we’re using.

3. Select Exercises That We Have the Resources For

If we have 30 kids, 20 minutes, and two squat racks, we’re probably not squatting. Experience, patience, and creativity will really need to come into play in these situations. 

Weight room resources are not just about the equipment. It’s the logistics or workout-flow of an hour, a day, a week, a month, or a year of working out. Time management is a key resource.

4. Use Exercises with an Adequate Rate of Loading

It’s imperative to incorporate a systematic progression for exercises, but we’ll never have the luxury of planning the perfect year of periodization. Sometimes we have a month or two to get kids as strong as we can, safely.

Looking past the idea of hinging versus squatting, if we must choose a lower body pressing movement for a one-month block, and our resources include the trap-bar deadlift or a squat, it may be in our kids’ best interest to use the trap-bar.

I’ll choose the exercise that I can overload in minimal time. In my experience, we’ve been able to put more weight on the trap bar in minimal time versus working on the squat, which may be more technically demanding.

5. Choose Exercises or Derivatives That Can Be Performed Year-Round

If the group can’t do the exercise or a derivative in-season, it may not make sense to spend any time with it.

6. Choose Exercises That We Can Quantify Progress With

We’re not going to record every single set, rep, or weight, but we’re going to choose a handful of structural or core exercises that we can measure our progress with and be goal-oriented with.

At his point in my career, I’m a big fan of the squat, trap-bar, strict overhead press, strict chin-up, and bench press.

7. Use Purposeful Exercises

Of course, occasionally, we must choose a sort-of filler exercise in order to keep the traffic flow moving, but even then, we need to be looking into that exercise toolbox and do our best to choose something that has a good, relative purpose for the objective in mind.

Everything we do has a purpose, if we execute it the correct way, we’ll fulfill the purpose.

8. Use Exercises That Have Regression Options

Let’s not leave our kids in a helpless situation. While at a school in Boston, I asked about 100 elementary school kids if they’ve ever been told to do a push-up by a teacher, coach, or parent. Most of them raised their hand.

I then asked the same group if they had been taught how to do a push-up before being asked to perform one and again most of them raised their hand. We did a push-up, and it was clear that the majority of them weren’t strong enough to perform a proper one.

All exercises should be taught before they are performed, and regressions are required in almost every case. Every lift has regression options.

Like I mentioned earlier, we’re big into the strict chin-up.  If our kid can’t do 1 strict rep, they have a specific program they follow in order to get there.  Every small step is noticed, acknowledged, and celebrated.  Now we can enjoy the process, instead of leaving them with no recipe for success.

Be prepared with a system of regression exercises for kids who can’t perform the minimal amount of weight that the majority is using. The first thing we bought when I got to West Catholic, is a 15lb aluminum barbell for each rack. Now all of our kids can be a part of a fundamental and inclusive program.  Nobody is left out. 

Please remember that there isn’t a one-size-fits-all training protocol, and these are just some general suggestions based on a few successes and countless failures over my career. While building our strength and conditioning program, we can’t go wrong by beginning with weight that’s seemingly too light and then always be available for the kids…keep the doors open.

Training High School Athletes

1. Train consistently, you can can still train if you are a multi-sport athlete

2. Progression - your training has program has to have progression - weight, reps, time under tension

3. Do body weight strength exercise: Push ups and pull-ups,… even if the exercise is difficult…STILL DO IT!

4. Perfect Basic Strength Movements, the athletes will gain confidence

5. Let them run, jump and have fun. Don’t get too specific too early.

6. Educate on basic habit, sleep and eat

7. Preach multiple sports, if they don’t play multiple sports then have them involved in athletic development on top of strength training.

8. They need volume, they need to train hard and strain and understand why.

9. Train crawling, rolling, cartwheels, jumping, landing, etc

10. They need an invested coach to teach, demand and have a high standard of performance

BURINING DESIRE TO WIN

A long while ago, a great warrior faced a situation which made it necessary for him to make a decision which insured his success on the battlefield. He was about to send his armies against a powerful foe, whose men outnumbered his own. He loaded his soldiers into boats, sailed to the enemy's country, unloaded soldiers and equipment, then gave the order to burn the ships that had carried them. Addressing his men before the first battle, he said, "You see the boats going up in smoke. That means that we cannot leave these shores alive unless we win! We now have no choice — we win --- or we perish!

They won.

Every person who wins in any undertaking must be willing to burn his ships and cut all sources of retreat. Only by so doing can one be sure of maintaining that state of mind known as a burning desire to win, essential to success.

Wishing will not bring success. But desiring success with a state of mind that becomes an obsession, then planning definite ways and means to acquire success, and backing those plans with persistence which does not recognize failure, will bring success.

There is one quality, which one must possess to win, and that is definiteness of purpose, the knowledge of what one wants, and the burning desire to possess it.

Common Denominator of Success

Like most of us, I had been brought up on the popular belief that the secret of success is hard work, but I had seen so many men work hard without succeeding and so many men succeed without working hard that I had become convinced that hard work was not the real secret even though in most cases it might be one of the requirements.

And so I set out on a voyage of discovery which carried me through biographies and autobiographies and all sorts of dissertations on success and the lives of successful men until I finally reached a point at which I realized that the secret I was trying to discover lay not only in what men did, but also in what made them do it.

I realized further that the secret for which I was searching must not only apply to every definition of success, but it must apply to everyone who had ever been successful. In short, I was looking for the common  denominator of success.

And because that is exactly what I was looking for, that is exactly what I found.

But this common denominator of success is so big, so powerful, and so vitally important to your future and mine that I'm not going to make a speech about it. I'm just going to "lay it on the line" in words of one syllable, so simple that everyone can understand them.

'The common denominator of success - the secret of success of every man who has ever been successful - lies in the fact that he formed the habit of doing, things that failures don't like to do."

It's just as true as it sounds and it's just as simple as it seems. You can hold it up to the light, you can put it to the acid test, and you can kick it around until it's warn out, but when you are all through with it, it will still be the common denominator of success, whether we like it or not.

If the secret of success lies in forming the habit of doing things that failures don't like to do, let's start the boiling down process by determining what are the things that failures don't like to do.

The things that failures don't like to do are the very things that you and I and other human beings, including successful men, naturally don't like to do. In other words, we've got to realize right from the start that success is something which is achieved by the minority of men, and is therefore unnatural and not to be achieved by following our natural likes and dislikes nor by being guided by our natural preferences and prejudices.

Perhaps you have been discouraged by a feeling that you were born subject to certain dislikes peculiar to you, with which the successful individuals are not afflicted. Perhaps you have wondered why it is that the most successful seem to like to do things that you don't like to do.

They don't! And I think this is the most encouraging statement I have ever offered to a group of individuals.

But if they don't like to do these things, then why do they do them? Because by doing the things don't like to do, they can accomplish the things they want to accomplish. Successful individuals are influenced by the desire for pleasing results. Failures are influenced by the desire for pleasing methods and are inclined to be satisfied with such results as can be obtained by doing things they like to do.

Why are successful individuals able to do things they don't like to do while failures are not? Because successful individuals have a purpose strong enough to make them form the habit of doing things they don't like to do in order to accomplish the purpose they want to accomplish.

*this is not written by me personally*

WHY YOU WIN AND HOW TO MAINTAIN SUCCESS

ELIMINATE THE HUMAN ELEMENT!  Failure is not an option and by eliminating the human element, failure is eliminated.  Each coach and player foregoes rights, choices and entitlements and embraces responsibilities, assignments and duties.  The team becomes the focal point for everyone and individual selfishness and attention is not allowed or tolerated and team goals and success is favored.  However, individuals who excel and perform at high standards within the team concept will be rewarded, revered and honored.

THE MOST INVESTED TEAM WINS!  You must be the hardest working, best-prepared team.  The attention to details will eliminate the margin for error.  Nothing is left to chance and you will be prepared to overcome every challenge that you will face.  Your physical superiority will be evident and you will be able to play at full throttle for the entire game.  Mentally, you will be coached in clear, clean, concise and direct manner to avoid confusion.  Actions are either taught or allowed and only those players that perform at the highest level will play.  You will work harder than you ever have in your lifetime, therefore you will be the most invested team.

Discipline is....

What discipline is:

            Discipline is: Educating and Correcting

            Discipline is not: Dismissal

            Discipline is: Anticipate and confronting potential problems

            Discipline is not: Being a coward and not getting involved

            Discipline is: Becoming a major influence in your player’s lives.  Developing a                         relationship that will continue beyond your players playing days

            Discipline is not: an 8-5 job

            Discipline is: Being Firm & Fair, taking ownership and handling the issue and    enforcement of that issue yourself

            Discipline is not: Handing issues to other people and having them follow thru                               with the system

            Discipline is: Daily reminders of Core Values, acceptable behavior, open

                                  discussion about issues. Honesty in your group.

            Discipline is not:  Fake Conversation

            Discipline is: Gaining the respect of your players - so they will talk honestly

                                  with you about issues.

            Discipline is not: Zero relationship with your players

            Discipline is: Creating a sacred ground in your meeting room.  Honesty,                            accountability and pride is what makes it work

            Discipline is not: A meeting room without respect, accountability, and chemistry           

Once you lose discipline in group, it is extremely hard to get back!