Sport and the Growing Good

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. 

Coach Andrew Selgrad led Columbus High School to a 14-0 record and the division 4 state championship in 2022. For his efforts, he named Wisconsin Associated Press/Packers High School Coach of the Year. Coach Selgrad has a long track record as a coach in the state -- and even grew up on the sidelines when his father was a head coach. With a motto of "keep building," he focuses on "teaching the why," learning, trusting and growing every day.

Coach McDonnell leads the 2022 Wisconsin State football champions at Kettle Moraine High School. He is also a special education teacher at the school. Coach McDonnell focuses on treating the members of his team well. In doing so, he's cultivated a successful program where young people can thrive on and off the field. He joined us on the SGG podcast to discuss his journey and his perspective on coaching.

Coach Roehrig is a social studies teacher and the head softball coach at Kaukauna High School in Wisconsin. His team rides a 51 game winning streak and has won back-to-back state championship. Coach Roehrig's impact goes beyond softball victories. He's shaped a thriving community around softball. He develops rich relationships with players and families. Opportunities flow in, through, and beyond the Kaukauna softball program thanks to his leadership. We enjoyed a great conversation on the SGG podcast. Thanks, Coach Roehrig! 

Bill Schultz is the founder and leader of the Miracle League in Dane County, WI. He joined us to tell his own story of growing up with physical disabilities, staying resilient, and ultimately impacting many lives in positive ways. The Miracle League provides children with disabilities -- and their families -- with opportunities to play sports and have fun together. Bill's story is inspiring. Our SGG conversation included conversation about: 1. Bills sports experiences when he was young. 2. The coaches and adults who impacted him growing up. 3. His experiences as a manager in college. 4. His career. 5. How the Miracle league came to fruition in the Madison area. 6. What happens at Miracle League games. 7. A couple of "miracle stories." 8. What comes next.

George Dohrmann is senior managing editor for enterprise and investigations for The Athletic. Previously at Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Times and the St. Paul Pioneer Press, where in 2000 he won a Pulitzer Prize, he is the author of multiple books. Play Their Hearts Out, George’s book stemming from a ten-year immersive journey with an AAU team, was winner of the 2011 PEN/ESPN Award and was named by GQ as one of 50 best books on literary journalism. On this SGG episode, we discussed: 1. There’s a picture of you coaching kids in soccer on your website. Do you coach? What’s your coaching style? (2:40) 2. What drew you to the topic of your new book, Switching Fields? (5:25) 3. Historically, what have been some of the signature differences between how men’s and women’s developmental systems have worked in American soccer? (7:47) 4. How UNC coach Anson Dorrance created a successful soccer program (10:27) 5. What was noteworthy about the development of American soccer in Southern California? (14:30) 6. Why have there historically been so few Black soccer players in the USA program? (20:40) 7. Who else has been left behind… and why? (21:30) 8. You documented some really horrible coaches in PTHO. But it sounds like you’ve found hopeful coaching models in these years that’ve followed. In soccer, what are the promising youth coaching practices that you’ve found? Would these translate across sports – including to youth basketball? (25:05) 9. Latino influence on coaching (29:10) 10. You’ve long been advocating for “junior NBA/WNBA leagues.” Why? Is this a logic of talent capitalization? How can we concurrently democratize healthy, high-level sport opportunity? (34:20) 11. Looking back on what you know now, would your analysis of the PTHO kids’ world change in any noteworthy ways?  What are the “big questions” we should be asking to make youth sports better in the US? (39:53) 12. What would he do differently if he could do Play Their Hearts Out again (43:10)

We continue our SGG conversations with Sidney Moncrief, whose perspectives on leading for justice are rooted in years of competing, leading, and learning at the highest levels. In this episode, we discussed: What Made Don Nelson special: he understood the value of having a good support team and he made sure to be authentic during his interactions with both his assistant coaches and his players to create sincere relationships with them. (9:08) “The wisdom that I had when I played came from humility and self awareness” (13:30) “When he became a leader on the Bucks he eliminated hazing because he wanted the new players to be able to come to him and not be looked down upon or pass judgment… he would just give them the facts” (15:23) “It’s easy for anyone to become insecure about a number of things and as a coach you really need to guard against that.” (19:38) The negative effects of social media on athletes. (24:47) His perspective of diversity, equity, inclusion throughout the sports landscape while playing at Arkansas. (28:30) Learning from his experience playing tennis with Sam Walton. (32:27) “When you're in your 20s you really don’t have the wherewithal, it’s all about ‘me’ and … you are not leveraging potential relationships to do good things for others” (36:00) “I don’t care how famous you are or how many followers you have, always speak from an educated perspective know both sides.” (38:24) You have to use both your public and your private platforms. (39:58) Learning from his conversation with Senator Kohl. (41:33) Learning about intentionality as a part of his GRIT concept. (43:00) How sports give him the platform today. (45:47) “Our job as older players is to make ourselves relevant… take current issues and collaborations to make things better. (46:39) The effect of his mom keeping composure during times of crisis. (48:28) Why coaches have to guard their players too much information. (52:23)