Sport and the Growing Good

 Practice is where teams come together and hone their ways of playing together. Coaches play a central role in creating effective practices. 1.     When looking for players, what should we be looking for? Winners. What kind of record do they have and what role have they played in it?2.     “One of the great things about the Lakers and the Bulls teams was their acknowledgement of how important practice was. The effort that went into practice and how competitive it was.”3.     Keeping practice competitive: Balance talent in practice to replicate what you’ll be facing in the game.4.     Pat Summit: “A winning gym is a noisy gym.”5.     “Gyms are noisy places…I tried to mute sound so that your voice could be heard. I think it’s really important for a coach to have a voice that’s understandable and recognizable.”6.     Silent practices to mix things up.7.     “Just basketball terminology practices.”8.     Music or not in practice? (Coach Jackson’s preference was not.) 9.     Physical positioning of the coach in practice. “Move through practice with the team…I think it’s really important for you to be close to the action.”10.  Coach Jackson’s practice plan. Connecting it all to the system.11.  Coach Bill Fitch: 28 two-a-days in 29 days!12.  Neuroplasticity.13.  Repetition. 14.  “How do you keep the flow going? How do you keep the energy going?...That’s fine…but you can be hurrying to a lickin’ if you have such energy that become unintelligible…You need to play under control. Controlled frenzy. Controlled chaos.”15.  How did you communicate with coaches throughout practice? Meeting an hour before practice. Making sure all coaches had a role, had a voice.16.  “We all are fallible. But we are given the authority to teach and to coach.”17.  “Credibility comes from success. It comes from voice…And also, maybe vulnerability is too strong of a word. Maybe the word is approachable. We should be approachable.”18.  Using warm-up/stretching time to connect with players.19.  Habits after practice.20.  Naps to rejuvenate.21.  Pre-practice meetings. 22.  George Mumford and the “midpoint line” to gauge team mood.23.  How did you take pressure off the players? “Stop the outside noise.”24.  Keep the group protected. “It’s important that we stay small and tight.”

Christian Franck is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where, among numerous other projects, he serves as Director of the Center for Traumatic Brain Injury and the head of the PANTHER Project, which develops technologies for detecting and preventing traumatic brain injuries. Professor Franck’s work has significant implications in the area of athletics, where we are always striving to protect brains in better ways.  Professor Franck is a BIOS fellow, where we learn from him as a leading researcher contributing to the field of athletics. In this conversation we discussed:Christian’s focus: How the brain becomes injured and what can we do to better protect the brain?His pre-college experiences and how he applied for and matriculated to college in the U.S.People who helped him along the journey: undergraduate faculty and advisors. What he learned along the way: “Be curious.”Early interests in aerospace engineering, aircraft and flying.Research to make better helmets and materials to protect brains. Partnerships with U.S. military.The invisibility of brain injuries. “We want to be able to detect all brain injuries. Particularly ones that are asymptomatic.”“Just because there are no physical marks does not mean that there is not a physical injury.”Developing mathematical models in the area of brain injury: “We want to be able to be predictive.” It requires the integration of physics and engineering with the life sciences.Studying the safety of soccer headers in youth age 12-18. Head rotation as important factor.Developments in helmet materials. Light carbon-based, energy-absorbent materials. Translation of science into policy, 2 main steps: Clear evidence/data; Working with leaders to adopt new rules.The safest helmets reduce head rotation.How AI may improve helmets and brain health.How do we weigh risks. “Embrace your inner athlete!” (And “make the right choices.”) Empowering people with information when making decisions.

We will be learning in depth about the leadership of one of the world’s top sports organizations: FC Barcelona (Barca). Our expert guide is Professor Jordi Diaz Gibson, a top level scholar and former elite, national-level athlete in Barcelona. In this first episode, Professor Diaz Gibson discusses his own background, the role of Barca in local lives, the Barca book by Simon Kuper, and some of the lessons we can think about in the months ahead. What Barca meant to Jordi and others as he grew up near the stadium.The cultural importance of Barca.The influence of Johan Cruyff on Barca and the game of soccer. "Total futbol."Cruyff’s emphasis on talent and skill over size.Idea transfer within and beyond organizations.Lionel Messi. La Masia, the developmental program for Barca.Barca's unique leadership structure.Barca as an "innovation lab."

Coach Jackson delivered some foundational comments on the importance of coaching.When he first started coaching: “I realized that I had scant knowledge.”“As a coach, I learned that you had to set up a sequence early on when the people gathered together to tell them what was going to happen and how this was going to transpire.”“Until an athlete goes through the actual motion and activity, it’s not embedded in their body.”A Lakers player saying that practice, “Feels like being back in the 7th grade…I like it.”Two instrumental coaches in Coach Jackson’s life: a high school football coach who was a former Marine and a high school basketball coach who was a Lutheran deacon. "The two of the were drastically different...Both of them had great impressions in my life.”“A coach is something that lasts a lifetime. This is an opportunity to make a change in people’s lives and you have to approach it with that knowledge. You have to prepare yourself for that activity."“You have to master the details."

A key charge for coaches is bringing their teams together to form a collective identity. Team identity formation is a complex process that can shape the group’s journey in profound ways. In this session, Coach Jackson offers some insights on team identity formation.1.        Setting the tone for a new season: Speaking with the team about pressure.2.        Visualizing the new season ahead. What did Coach Jackson visualize? Pre-mortems. “How do we incorporate new people into the system? We start with their habits. How to build skill sets…Doing that goes through some basic drills to get your body in shape.”3.         What intangibles do you look for in getting the individuals you want for your system? Looking at how individuals handle mistakes. “We used to watch players’ demeanors on the floor.”4.        Dennis Rodman’s impact upon team identity: “He was going to extend the effort.”5.        Off-seasons can create individuals who are isolated or even egotistical. “As a coach, you want to get that taken care of. To make them part of the group.” 6.        Functional diversity. Valuing different roles on the team.7.        The “dark night of the soul.” Leading teams through difficult times.8.        A team bonding through its punishment by the coach.9.        Building incremental evidence of a team’s identity.10.  Punctuated equilibrium. Rapid and radical identity change of a group.11.  Group identity formation being impacted by the competition. “It’s a standard that your group has to live up to.”12.  Responding to the Pistons’ intimidation attempts. “We’re standing our ground. We’re not going to be intimidated by you. But we’re not going to make a big issue out of it … We’re peaceful Warriors. We’re going to contest you and resist you. But we’re not going to stand up and get in a brawl. That’s not necessary… Those are little things that you see as a coach that you’ve got to have some resolve and some ideas about how you want to present yourself as a team.”13.  Identifying the “essence” of our opponents and ourselves. Pressure as a key construct in one’s essence. Talking to players, “How do you feel about pressure?” The coach has to be able to discuss this. A team must be able to “join together to collaborate under duress to be successful.”14.  Being able to sell what you’re going to teach.15.  The coach as “horse rider” metaphor. Understanding the student and how they best learn.16.  John Wooden: “My coaching was done in practice.” Players led the way during games because they’d been coached.

1. Why Coach Jackson spent a moment of reflection before each game.2. How the Bulls embraced Scottie Pippen when he was going through a difficult family time.3.  “Non-action.” Not getting involved from an ego perspective. Step back from the initial reaction. 4. Group intelligence. Smart teams. NASA example.5. Letting a team fail. “Sometimes it’s good to fail…rather than inserting my impression of how to reset.”6. The intelligence of the group is not correlated with the average intelligence of the individuals.7. Why did Tex Winter say that some of the most troublesome players were the ones who came from engineering?8. “Mind smarts” vs. “body smarts.”9. Smartest teams: members contributed equally to discussion, they were able to read each other’s emotions, collective intelligence can be improved.10. Not judging a team too soon.11. Eye contact – differences found in some native communities.12. Touching. How it can help some players relax, be reassured.13. Allowing voices to be heard on teams. Calling on players who are not stars during meetings and video sessions. “What do you see here?”16.  Player leadership. “It portrays itself on the floor…It’s pretty easy to see, because they see themselves as responsible for the other members on the floor.”14.  “What kind of energy do you bring to the floor?”15.  Motivational strategies. 16.  “We’re playing this game for ourselves. For who we are…We want to dance together.”17.  Developing a smart staff. Giving coaches voice in choosing who they work closely with.18.  Strategically dividing up the time-out periods. Everybody participated.19.  Keep showing the players that the staff is a team, working in concert with each other.20.  “One breath, one mind.”21.  Increasing meditation time periods at various points of season – including the beginning of the season. “It becomes contagious.” Relaxing into the group. Being absorbed.22.  Building bonds through skills and drills. Using motion as a rhythm.

All teams face the grind, the mundane, even the doldrums, throughout the course of their time together. How can coaches keep spirits up, and "even make the mundane sacred?” Coach Jackson and Professor Miller discussed:1.        The responsibility that players have for playing.2.        The coach can bring some fun and joy to the season.3.        Times of the season that can become a drag.4.        Giving out books to players. 5.        Giving players a “shield.” “Name your hero. Who motivated you? Favorite music?…”6.        The “bulls-eye.” “What’s your relationship to the team? Where do you fit on the team? Using the bulls-eye as a discussion point. “Why did you place yourself outside of the circle?” Getting a personal relationship with the players.7.        Collected silly fines as winnings for shooting games. Fun and competition. “It changes up the day or gives them some little incentive... just something different."8.        Had rookies read "20 principles of good behavior.” Then got to know players’ reading levels and gave other books.9.        Formal meditation session before videos.10.  George Mumford assessing, “How are we doing as a group (in relation to the mid-line)?” Conversation starter. Get to know lives of teammates.11.  Relating the 8-fold principles of Buddhism to the offense.12.  Inserting comedian clips into the video. Bring humor into it.13.  Theme videos for particular opponents. Drawing from certain movies, etc. 14.  Having players grit their teeth on pencils to demonstrate aggression. Led to laughter.15.  Tai Chi in front of big mirrors. Be willing to try new things!16.  Seeing an eagle fly by.17.  “Be patient with me, because I’m going to try different stuff.”18.  Giving players Sundays off. “It’s a day for you family. A day for your spiritual recovery.”19.  Working closely with trainers to gauge players’ recovery and readiness.20.  How to handle long lay-offs and keep players fresh.21.  The Thanksgiving practice routine: Turkey Trot game. Keeping things fresh and fun.22.  Using symbolism: “The Way of the Warrior,” “The Chase for the White Buffalo”23.  Shields, arrows, prayer arrow, headdress all in the team meeting room.24.  What is your space? How do you respond when someone comes into your space? Retaliation? Fight mode? Being centered.25.  Rubber band snap for re-centering.26.  Knowing Awareness Training (KAT). Players were having difficulty learning. 27.  A simple touch to a player to re-center him, relax him.28.  “I liked finding things that were unique… out of the ordinary. It was kind of experimental.”

What does it mean to “have a system?” Why is it critical to build from the ground up?1.        Having a system is not unique to basketball. It applies to most all sports (e.g., rowing). “It transcends basketball, no doubt about it."2.        How Tex Winter used a system successfully at Kansas State and eventually brought it into the NBA.3.        "The system is important — but you have to be really patient. There are certain things about the system that require bonding of the players.”4.        "Systems are one of the necessary items, because it brings people together and gives direction... it’s not about you… it’s about the system.” (e.g., evaluation and critique can be de-personalized — so can successes)5.        "You need to have a system that you believe in.”6.        Bill Fitch.7.        “The whole is greater than the sum of the parts. But you can take a system apart and teach parts of the system. And the skills and the drills that we would run brought all of those things into play. They were all connected.”8.        "Everything has to be simplistic enough that it can be taught…And player must know that they are not going to disrupt everything just by making a mistake.”9.        Some principles of a sound offense. It’s a full court game played from end to end. You need to play with speed but still under control. Spacing is one of the most important things. Offense should incorporate the skills of all players — shooters, passers, rebounders, screeners, etc. (avoid baseline drive — one of the only “don’ts”). Move the ball after two beats. Penetrate the defense. Practice drills were set up around all of these things.10.  Building up from the ground. Show the system, what happens in the system. And then take it apart and teach the parts. 11.  Peer pressure in getting buy-in to the system. Veterans who understand it. Keep the standard. The standard is the key. The coach must uphold the standard.12.  The Celtics had only six plays for many years and kept winning. The system endures as individuals come and go. Sustainability. The Bulls second three-peat only included two of the same players as from the first three-peat.13.  Getting players that fit your system. Recruiting, assessment. AAU and college games are “raw energy.” Hard to see who has poise and understands the game. The system requires deeper skillset. Steve Kerr. He was a great fit for the system.14.  The system provides a clear foundation and direction that sets basis for spontaneity. Coach’s illustration (Suzuki's Zen Mind, Beginner Mind). “We have a certain structure that we use. But inside that structure there’s a freedom of movement and opportunity to do things that are spontaneous.”15.  “The offense was not built for Kobe or Michael Jordan. They don’t need an offense. The team needs an offense. The team needs to have that structure that is defining for them. So that they have a standard to live by. Something that you can mark up against. Something that you can teach, if you are a veteran, to younger players that are coming in that gives you a certain sense of participation. There’s ultimately an esprit de corps that comes from that. There’s a certain unity in group that comes from having to go through that exercise of doing maybe mundane parts over and over again.” 16.  Doing something at least seven times for neuron forming and muscle memory to occur. Golf in the Kingdom. "The inner self." It’s not a thought process. You don’t have to think it out. Your body knows what to do.” 17.  “You’re not thinking alone. You’re thinking together. It’s a team thought.” Using meditation and mindfulness with the team. “One mind, one breath.” That’s what we want to play with: one mind. There’s a higher mind. That mind is the system.”18.  Freedom through discipline. “Have a sense, what are the parameters, and then inside those parameters you have freedom for spontaneity and creativity.”

The distribution of leadership. Getting a strong staff, getting to know each other. Trusting each other and giving everyone meaningful roles. 1 The small room at the Chicago Bulls facility where Coach Jackson developed bonds with Coaches Bach and Winter. Three desks, two doors. Monitors.  2 Scouting upcoming teams. Making videos with the video machine.  3 Doug Collins (head coach) would be working out and rehabbing his knee. Other coaches would be in the room for three hours in the morning and more hours in the afternoon. 4 Conferring with each other, sharing knowledge. Conversations together about the game, its history and evolution. 5 Tex believed the players needed to develop deep knowledge of the game. 6 Exchanging “tricks of the trade” with each other (like letting air out of the balls to fit playing style). 7 Johnny’s zone trap. “We’d go through the mechanics of the game." 8 Johnny Bach named defensive coordinator, Tex Winter offensive coordinator.  9 “The exchange of ideas was a lot of fun.” 10 Tex Winter, Coach Jackson, and the evolution of the Triangle offense. 11 Coach Jackson asking Coach Gardner about how the Triangle played a role in their success. 12 "All these stories just geminated" in that room. 13 “I was curious and would listen to these guys who had been watching the game evolve since they were kids." 14 Doing videos with Johnny.  15 “We had an exchange that was very genuine.” 16 What we organized as a system was “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” 17 Teaching players the skills that would operate in the system. Drills and skills that fit into the system. “Everything fit into the system.” 18 Defensive drills in the system. 19 Knowing each other so well that trust was present. 20 How his ran a time-out. “Going to your safe spot on the bench.” Assistants go to huddle. Then everyone stands and Coach Jackson addresses them. “Assistant coaches get to manifest their knowledge of the game." 21 Allowing for and valuing disagreement. But then going forward with one voice. 22 Why it’s dangerous when trying one-off copying of what others do instead of staying with your own set of rules. 23 Our basic principle on offense was “go away from pressure.” 24 “Be in the flow.” 25 Using video tape to imprint ideas. (e.g., The way of the peaceful warrior). How to value your opponent to bring out your best self. Lakota perspective. “We’re lucky to have the opponent that’s creating more thoughtful play out of what we’re trying to do. And we don’t have to do it through resistance or overpowering or retaliation. We can do it in another way." 26 Letting go. Scottie suggesting Ron Harper should guard Hardaway instead of Jordan. “That suggestion was perfect…That was a player stepping in…They know each other well.”

Coach Jackson joined us to discuss how and why coaches should build self-awareness.  Notes:1.        “I always thought there was something more to basketball than basketball.”2.        Standing at the center circle before the start of practice. “When people come to the center circle, everything has to be in order.”3.        Metacognition: how do we think about thinking. How do we monitor our own thoughts.4.        During coach’s first experiences coaching in the CBA, what were his thoughts about himself as coach? “I was going by instinct.” Also drew from some past experiences. “I didn’t know what I wanted to teach.” 5.        “How am I communicating with the players?” Focus on how energy affects players.6.        “You can’t fake it. You’ve got to be yourself.”7.        “Coaches need to have their own life in order.” Setting a behavioral model for the team.8.        Authenticity is more than our personality.9.        Coaches can fall into traps – threats that undermine metacognition: a) Stress. b) “Uncritical perceptions of our own fluency – we think we know more than we do.” c) dogmatism – rigidity.10.  Uncertainty is a good thing. But how can we embrace the “good elements” of uncertainty with still being a strong leader?  Examples from Red Holzman as he took over the Knicks – he focused on defense (what he knew), but left offense more to the players. “He made himself transparent.” 11.  “Give the team a voice.”12.  Recognizing players with insights and calling on them. “He (Red) gave up authority.”13.  Only about 15% of people are fully self-aware. But metacognition can be developed. Three strategies: structured reflection/journaling; feedback loops; mindfulness meditation, prayer.14.  Self-awareness helps us regulate our behavior. 15.  Feedback loops with the coaching staff.16.  The importance of confession – time to speak openly and freely about struggles.17.  Mindfulness meditation. Sitting with yourself. “I thow it out there as a value, ‘but you can’t lead a horse to water.’”18.  Zen and the Art of Archery. Implications for coaching.19.  Coach Ron Ekker’s book. Having a player go through visualization during a period of injury. “When he got back, he didn’t miss a beat.”20.  Tex Winter’s relaxation and visualization routines. “There’s a skill in relaxing the mind…This involves allowing yourself to stop thinking…I am just a transmission for what’s going to happen on the floor.”21.  Using the time during the national anthem to not think. 22.  “How do you see yourself as a coach?...What’s your role?”23.  Reflecting after different phases of the season.24.  On visualizing before the competition: “Not only do you have to be in the now. You have to be in the before now.”25.   You had to suffer the shipwreck through your efforts before you can seize the life raft that I threw you.” 26.  “The coach must allow the players to find the teaching.”27.  A coach’s dream: Players teaching each other.