Sport and the Growing Good

Coach Jackson and I were joined by Coach Sara Rohde, the multi-time state coach of the year and leader of three-time defending state champion Green Bay Notre Dame girls basketball program. 1.     Sara’s background in education, coaching, and playing. 2.     Sara’s system – rooted in man-to-man defense and motion offense. Fast-paced. 3.     Work ethic, preparation. Strength and conditioning. 4.     Relationships as one of the most important ways of being successful as a coach. 5.     The futures program. Introducing kids to the game at young ages. 6.     Social media rules. Putting phones away and being present. 7.     The importance of parents in setting the foundation for kids on a team. 8.     Finding roles for all kids beyond scoring. The “dog tag” award after games for kids who do the little things and the dirty work well. 9.     Defining roles for everyone. “What can you do to help our team be successful. 10.  Using a “list of all the things your team is really good at and constantly refer back to that.” 11.  Using visualization. 12.  Parents as examples of leaders – the habit tracking activity. 13.  Valuing practice. Gathering at mid-court before practice to talk about practice. 14.  The NBA’s one on one tournament – what it revealed about the Knicks’ social fabric. “Keeping the competitive edge without creating conflict inside the group.” 15.  The “virtuous cycle” on teams.  16.  Engaging and challenging players who “float.” 17.  Teams watching “how is the coach going to handle this?” 18.  Getting players to understand that they can reach another level. 19.  Keeping everyone engaged whether playing or not playing. Coach Jackson: “If players 9-12 are unhappy with their roles, you want to find another way to get them involved…Keep them happy, content, and involved. (Otherwise) it will create problems for the team’s chemistry.” 20.  The role of parents: Support the girls. Set clear expectations. Set a clear process. 21.  Getting ready for an opponent. Provide tendencies. Practice the plan. 22.  Coach Jackson: in scouting, distill it to three main points about a player and the essential idea that is the driving force of the other team: “This team does this really well. They have to this or else they cannot survive.” What is their essence? 23.  In preparing, sometimes focusing on mindset, hustle, rebounding – instead of being too technical.  24.  “Thinking is not part of playing. You can’t think and play. You have to be instinctive.” 25.  How Coach Jackson staying positive: practicing meditation. “Letting thoughts float away” and “flush it down the toilet.” 26.  Chad McGahee: differences for individual players in getting in right mental space for games. Getting the work done in advance. You can’t think and play, you have to be instinctive. “Get out of your minds and into your bodies. Your bodies are ready.”  27.  Wisconsin’s rich history as a “basketball haven!” 28.  Coach Jackson taking summer’s off to rejuvenate and connect with family. Spending the last part of summers visualizing the year ahead.  

1.     Reading your team when things are going well. Understanding them. “Getting out of their way.” Winning gets to be habitual. 2.     The example of the Texas Rangers post-season run to the World Series championship. 3.     Little inconveniences bringing a team together in new, deeper ways (hotel example in bad weather). Maintaining a positive orientation: “Life’s an adventure, let’s go get it!” 4.     You can’t count on just “replicating what we had before.” Examples of players having off-season surgery that change what you have coming back on a team. 5.     You have to maintain vision for your team. 6.     “Dance of the wounded egos.” Guys overvaluing their roles on the team. 7.     “It’s all of us. It’s about how we all fit together.” 8.     As a coach something to think about: “Where does this person think he fits into our team effort? How can I make him feel important but also that we will go on regardless?” 9.     Getting away from the game after the season. Focusing on family.  10.  Also using the off-season to envision what the team would look like. 11.  “We always held something back.” Reflecting in the off-season: “What are we going to do differently this year?” 12.  Allowing veteran players to teach newcomers what it means to be part of the group and “earning his credibility.” 13.  Losing assistant coaches to head coaching positions. 14.  Dividing players into groups with a particular coach who they’d get to know intimately. A mentor who would help them to get better. 15.  Jordan and Kobe having specific things they worked on in the off-season. Setting the model for other players. 16.  Keeping pace with a changing game. Growing as a coach.  17.  Phil Nevin on rules changes that affected coaching baseball. 18.  Responding to the analytics movement. 19.  Mark Sweeney on staying in the game “mentally and physically” as he prepared each game.  20.  Davey Lopes as an important coach to Mark. 21.  Maintaining “drive” on winning teams. Finding new motivations.

Coach Phil Jackson shares insights on embracing change and experimentation as a coach. Topics include commemorations with teams, the balance between rigidity and constant change, evaluating outcomes, starting practice with skills and drills, sociological concepts in coaching, regional influences on sports, and the power of language in coaching.

1.     A recap of some topics we’ve covered in past weeks. 2.     Circling back to the Shivas Irons quote on coaching as a “serious and solemn act.” 3.     Being settled personally before being able to coach a group. 4.     “You never can step in the same river twice…Every incident, every process, every relationship with a team is always new.”  5.     Being flexible and in the moment. 6.     Michael Jordan’s competitiveness and the associated challenges of keeping back-up guards. 7.     The Lakers wilting when attempting to finish games. Speaking about it directly. No response from team… so directly addressing it again the next day. Kobe defending himself.  8.     “Sleeping on problems.”  9.     Anger as “an opportunity.” 10.  Team play emphasis when coming through conflict. “We can do this together.” 11.  Role modeling during periods of conflict. 12.  Having conversations on the team about world events and things going on in society. 13.  Getting rid of ego. 14.  Demonstrating putting yourself second to players. “I sat in the front of the bus, but I got in the back of the line.”  15.  Self-control is a leadership quality. 16.  Knowing when to step back as coach. Bill Cartwright’s example of leadership. 17.  Narcissism is challenging. 18.  Feeling alone as a leader.  19.  Taking care of ourselves physically and mentally as leaders.  20.  Doing the right thing at the right time. “Appeasing the basketball gods.”  21.  Having someone who’s not part of the leadership who can be a valuable sounding board or pressure release. 22.  Coach Ron Ekker’s call for coaching education over the years.

Milwaukee Bucks VP of Security, Adam Stockwell, discusses the importance of leadership in safety and security. Topics include: the seven pillars of Adam's work, the value of players, interactions with players, game-day routines, arena and event security, communication strategies, technology for communication on game days, balancing risk and customer experience, Adam's background in the Secret Service, partnering with law enforcement, and the value of breakfast meetings.

1.     What characteristics in a leader facilitate voices being heard? Listening. Having a vision, seeing things that other people don’t see. “Look at not what a team is, but what they can become.” 2.     Creating a safe environment where different perspectives will be respected and valued. 3.     What’s made Joe better? Having children. “Give them a foundation and then let them learn.” 4.     Observing and listening to other teams, including multiple levels to learn “What’s this generation like?” 5.     Coach Popovich. Creating environments where conversation naturally flowed. Critical thinking and healthy debate. “It’s ok to disagree.” 6.     Putting a leadership group together on the Great Britain National Team. “It was a microcosm of the entire team.” 7.     In leading a conversation, direct questions to specific players. It’s not a rhetorical question. 8.     Kevin Garnett as a skilled and nuanced player leader. 9.     Differences in player leadership depending upon the competitive context. David Robinson. Tim Duncan. Avery Johnson. Paul Pierce. Kevin Garnett. Joe Johnson. 10.  Getting better every day. On the personal side. “Did I do the right things by my family today?” 11.  Peaking at the right time.  12.  Analytics paired with history and feeling. 13.  The stock market as a metaphor for the long-term growth of a team. 14.  The impact of behind-the-scenes things going on for teams. 15.  Work ethic. Dirk Nowitzki. Working relentlessly on unorthodox things. “The fadeaway, one-legged shot that is now a statue did not just happen.” 16.  “Knowing you can apply X, Y, or Z is not as important as being able to know when to apply X, Y, or Z.” 17.  Having 27 years of experience vs. one year of experience 27 times. 18.  “Sometimes the best thing you can do as a leader is to step back and let them lead.” 19.  Learning from players.

1.     What did he look for in putting together his staff when he was head coach in Portland? Complementarity. “A little bit of everything.” 2.     Enjoying time with his staff in Portland. “The best part of my days were the coaches meetings. We enjoyed talking basketball and having a good time…The staff had a good blend of work ethic and sense of humor and knowledge and camaraderie. And I think the team felt that as well.” 3.     Differentiating roles on coaching staffs. Learning from Rick Carlisle. More and more teams specializing on staffs. 4.     Off-season time with the staff. Taking breaks. Giving autonomy. Making sure the gym was covered. 5.     Connecting with players at least once during the summer at their locations in order to develop relationships. “It definitely is more about relationship building. And, they are getting good work in too.” 6.     Routines with the staff during the season. Staying consistent so staff could organize their days. 7.     What is unique about Milwaukee? “It’s a first-class organization.” The facilities and arena “send a loud message to everyone…it speaks to the professionalism.” 8.     The importance of the physical design of the building in shaping how people interact in a team organization. (Propinquity.) 9.     “Sweat equity.” Tim Grgurich, pioneer of player development. “You’re building trust so that down the road you’re able to coach them better.” 10.  Differentiating relationships with players and coaches. “Some of it is organic.” 11.  Giving players space to vent. Assistant coaches as confidants. Players going through assistants to get message to the head coach. 12.  Coach Grgurich: “Players knew they could trust him.” 13.  “It’s nuanced. You have to do it your own way.” 14.  The personality of the team. In college, based on the coach. In the pros, based on the best players. 15.  Using humor. Playing games on the court. Keeping things loose. Reading the mood of your team. 16.  Mentoring. George Karl. “A lot of what I learned was from him.” 17.  The value of asking questions. “A lot of young coaches want to show how much they know rather than how much they want to learn.” 18.  Learning from different types of coaches and at different stages of your career.

1.     De-personalizing the feedback. Disassociating the person from the action when providing feedback. 2.     Players can be offended and defensive when receiving feedback. The system is the overriding key. “This doesn’t fit into what we do as a group.” 3.     “It goes beyond words.” Players physical responses matter. 4.     When providing feedback, you’ve got to be at the point of the action. Going up and down the court with the team in order to give immediate feedback. 5.     Video sessions. There can be tension. Be purposeful about defusing the tension – perhaps inserting short humorous film clip. 6.     Timing of feedback. Intuitive feeling.  7.     Coaches who talk too much. There are 5,000-7,000 meetings that a player has with an NBA coach in a season… so, “There’s a lot to knowing the spirit of the activity. Knowing when to step in and when to allow.” 8.     When and when not to give praise. “There are players that need it and thrive on it… and others that it goes right over their head.” 9.     Issues with using the word “but” when giving feedback. “Sometimes it’s best to get right to the point.” 10.  The importance of periodic tactile feedback to connect. 11.  What makes a teammate effective at giving others feedback?  12.  Sometimes with criticism, “just accept it.” 13.  Bill Cartwright’s subtle leadership when competing with Michael Jordan. 14.  When players are ready for feedback. The example of Kobe in game 7. “Just let it happen.” 15.  Active listening. Taking graduate courses in psychology. 16.  “It’s a valuable thing for coaches to just open things up and allow.” 17.  George Mumford as a valuable third party listener.

1.     How do you Put together your staff? Three “Cs”: Character. Values into action. Integrity. Doing the right thing. Competence. “You’ve got to know your stuff. That’s where you get credibility with the players.” We have to be great teachers now. Creativity. Keep players engaged. (and courage). 2.     Competence. Finding specialists, those with expertise in specific areas. Offense, defense, special teams. Giving them autonomy and freedom to do their jobs. 3.     Agreeing to disagree in meetings… but being united once we step on the floor. 4.     Value of being an assistant coach for many years. “I know the pitfalls and challenges facing assistant coaches.” Giving them responsibilities and empowerment. Autonomy. 5.     Value: Connection. What does it look like in practice? Thinking in “actionable behavior.” Fist bump, around them, pulling them aside. Birthday texts. Putting measures in place. 6.     Building relationships with players so that you can coach them.

1.     Building data systems and models that inform decision-making. 2.     Working with the GM, head coach, five analysts (draft, evals, tracking data, coaching support). 3.     Tools of practice: R, Sequel, Python. 4.     “As a group it’s important that the message we have is the same across the board. As a group we meet and discuss what are the pillars about what we want to measure, what we want to study.” 5.     “I want to hire people who are fully living the data that they’re working with.” 6.     How data use has changed. 7.     Data discussions with the coaches. 8.     Using data to put players in the best spot to succeed. Individualizing their programs. 9.     The complexities of basketball – and the possibilities of geospatial data. 10.  How much variance in the league is there in how teams use data? Impacts of leadership. 11.  Obstacles in getting data fully integrated into basketball operations. 12.  AI: How can it make day-to-day decisions more efficient? How can we leverage large data systematically? 13.  Game theory. 14.  Collaborating with Troy and other members of the support team to learn about players: bringing different expertise’s together. 15.  The Bucks Analytics Hackathon. Bringing in fresh eyes. Identifying young talent. 16.  The sports data science pipeline.  17.  How does TJ continue learning? Talking to people from other sports, different industries. Monitoring broader advances in the industry – learning the new tools.