Sport and the Growing Good

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.

1.     Daily and weekly routines with his staff. 2.     Each player’s support team. Weekly reports. 3.     “The number one thing with them is trust. That you know what you are doing and that you’re preparing them…There’s different layers of trust.” 4.     Troy’s discussions of readiness with coaches and staff members. 5.     Discussing player health and HIPPA. 6.    Troy’s innovation: wearable technology. 7.    Using data to get a feel for player load. 8.    The most significant changes with data and technology. 9.    Hawkeye technology: a new era of 3D biomechanical models. 10.  Troy’s background working with Australian Olympic teams.  11.  Learning to distill huge amounts of data into usable messaging for the coaches and players. “It’s really important that you don’t overwhelm them with lots of graphs and tables.”  12.  “The art is finding out what to give them and what not to give them.” 13.  Individualized programs for each player. 14.  Actuaries on staff. Predicting fatigue. Identifying trouble spots. 15.  Evaluating progress. Is your team healthy and available? Bucks moving from the most injured team to the healthiest team. “The healthiest team usually wins the championship.” 16. “Everything they do is measured.” 17. “At the end of the day, are the athletes happy with the services they’re provided.” 18. Taking the work on the road. 19. Troy’s personal growth and development. Conferences. And, even more, “Bringing the experts to us.”

1. How do young players’ paths differ in places like Serbia compared to the typical AAU player in the U.S.? 2. How do players work through their national teams and how do find or know where to look for these players? 3. How do players get into professional academies like Real Madrid? What implications does it have for these young players? 4. Overuse injuries in these players who are playing 4-5 basketball games. every day at such a young age? 5. Ryan’s typical rhythms and routines. 6. How do you react when you find talent? 7. Synthesizing data and information for the GM and coaches. 8. What distinguishes Bucks scouting (humble, hungry, smart). 9. The game expanding to Africa. 10. Risk mitigation in international talent evaluation. 11. Have superstars like Giannis and Jokic changed how the game is played in other parts of the world? 12. How Ryan’s college coach stepped in at a critical turning point…and how Ryan seized the opportunity.

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: The responsibility that players have for playing. The coach can bring some fun and joy to the season. Times of the season that can become a drag. Giving out books to players.  Giving players a “shield.” “Name your hero. Who motivated you? Favorite music?…” 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. 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." Had rookies read "20 principles of good behavior.” Then got to know players’ reading levels and gave other books. Formal meditation session before videos. George Mumford assessing, “How are we doing as a group (in relation to the mid-line)?” Conversation starter. Get to know lives of teammates. Relating the 8-fold principles of Buddism to the offense. Inserting comedian clips into the video. Bring humor into it. Theme videos for particular opponents. Drawing from certain movies, etc.  Having players grit their teeth on pencils to demonstrate aggression. Led to laughter. Tai Chi in front of big mirrors. Be willing to try new things! Seeing an eagle fly by. “Be patient with me, because I’m going to try different stuff.” Giving players Sundays off. “It’s a day for you family. A day for your spiritual recovery.” Working closely with trainers to gauge players’ recovery and readiness. How to handle long lay-offs and keep players fresh. The Thanksgiving practice routine: Turkey Trot game. Keeping things fresh and fun. Using symbolism: “The Way of the Warrior,” “The Chase for the White Buffalo” Shields, arrows, prayer arrow, headdress all in the team meeting room. What is your space? How do you respond when someone comes into your space? Retaliation? Fight mode? Being centered. Rubber band snap for re-centering. Knowing Awareness Training (KAT). Players were having difficulty learning.  A simple touch to a player to re-center him, relax him. “I liked finding things that were unique… out of the ordinary. It was kind of experimental.”

1.     Coach’s home golf course in Williston, ND. 2.     Giving players books: Why did he do it? How did he decide which book to give to each player. 3.     Shaq’s book report. 4.     Talking to Kobe about being a leader. 5.     Going from coaching in the CBA to the Bulls, Jerry Krause wanted him to wear the championship ring as a symbol, “I knew what it took to win a championship…I had some credibility.” 6.     Giving associate coaches room to speak. 7.     The impact of Tex Winter and Johnny Bach: “I learned a tremendous about about the history of the game from them.” 8.     “A lot of coaching depends on voice, on essence, on how you speak, the control that you have of the language, your ability to deliver a message, your ability to be a salesperson about what you are trying to have your team do.Those are the things that I think garner respect.” 9.     When correcting a player, “it’s not that I’m correcting you. I’m correcting the act that you need to change. I’m not demeaning you.” 10.  “You need to deliver messages with the respect that contains who you are.” 11.  The importance of building a “fraternal type of atmosphere where it’s brotherly or sisterly…You want them to have an atmosphere that’s warm and welcoming.” 12.  One of the most difficult things for humans is that you are not anything more than human. You make mistakes. And the mistakes you’re going to make are sometimes how you endear yourself to your community…The little things, stumbling over a word or how you dress…” 13.  Wearing a tie dye shirt to practice…and how it accidentally brought about relatability. 14.  “Maybe I can get a birdie on this hole…” 15.  Red Holzman. Alertness. “Being in the team, with the team.”  16.  Simple lessons from Coach Holzman. “This isn’t rocket science.” 17.  Coach Holzman: simplicity and giving players voice. 18.  Coach as teacher. 19.  Turning point: Coach Holzman brought Coach Jackson in to help during and injured period (When Coach Jackson was only 23). Learning the middle path. Staying consistent. Bring energy. 20.  Knowing how to handle players who were injured, including the mental side of injury. 21.  “What is the purpose of the game?” Love of the game. Giannis, Jokic as good models. 22.  What’s most important thing to look for in a coach?  23.  Lessons learned from coaching Horace Grant. Staying positive. Transformational. “Coaches that stand on the sidelines and yell at players are probably not going to be successful if they’re berating their players. But the ones who can teach and want to teach it, are the ones who generate the most interest to me as people to hire as coaches.” 24.  Earning players’ respect. 25.  Growing up in a home with morning devotions. “I’ve maintained that type of practice my whole life.” 26.  Getting centered and fully present every morning. 27.  The importance of having a system. Having everyone play within the system.  28.  Every player in basketball – like jazz – has a role, has a moment. 

Coach Dave Perkins led Verona High School to the state championship in 2022. He was also named the WSCA Coach of the Year and, in 2021, the Big Eight Conference Coach of the Year. Dave has a long track record of success playing and coaching at multiple levels, including club, college, and high school. Dave joined SGG to discuss his leadership journey, including what he's learned along the way, why he coaches, and what he aspires toward as a leader of young people.

Coach Caitie Ratkowski is the 2022 state champion (Division I) volleyball coach at Divine Savior Holy Angels (DSHA) High School in Milwaukee. She was honored as the 2022 AVCA Girls high school coach of the year. Among Caitie's many other awards was her 2016 induction into the DSHA Athletics Hall of Fame in 2016. Beyond her impressive success on the court, Caitie is committed to leading the people in her program toward holistic life success. She's impacted many lives through her coaching efforts.