Front-end effort pays off big

Posted Monday, May 3, 2010 at 5:00 pm

“The more you do on the front end, the fewer problems you’ll have on the back end.”  This is one of my all time favorite Jack Clark quotes. California defeated BYU, 19-7, Saturday night at Steuber Rugby Stadium to win the 25th national championship in program history. The Golden Bears finished the year at 26-0, their first perfect season since 2002, refusing to allow BYU to repeat as champs in the two teams’ fifth straight meeting in the title match. “There is a lot of trust and a lot of commitment,” Clark... [Read more]

Coach – Put Your Pet Peeves Out There

Posted Wednesday, March 17, 2010 at 6:13 pm

No matter how long we coach, no matter how much we grow as people, some of our athletes will still bug us!   I loved it when my athletes became juniors and seniors – they finally knew how best to deal with me.  The first few years were often an arduous training process on how to best interact with one another. I am all about shortening the learning curve whenever possible.  In my recent Inside World Class Coaching interview with Cal swim coach Teri McKeever, I discovered a brilliant way to address our pet peeves with our... [Read more]

Every Body Says Something

Posted Tuesday, March 9, 2010 at 3:36 pm

Flying home yesterday on Southwest, I came across an article about the book What Every Body is Saying, by Joe Navarro. Joe’s been studying non-verbal behavior for over 30 years – Twenty-five were spent in the FBI catching spies. I loved reading what my different poses mean to other folks. Knowing that a large percentage of our communication with our players is non-verbal, I became fascinated to learn how I could be more intentional with my physical messages. Here are a few examples: Standing With Hands on Hips Use It When... [Read more]

True Team Culture Gets Cal Share of Pac-10 Title

Posted Tuesday, March 2, 2010 at 3:10 am

If a team is a reflection of its head coach, then the Cal men’s basketball team is in great hands. Smart. Steady. Calm under pressure. Professional. These are just a few of the characteristics I’d use to describe Cal head coach Mike Montgomery. He has certainly put his mark on the program in his first two seasons as the Golden Bears head coach.  I was one of the fortunate ones crammed into Haas Pavilion on Saturday to watch the Montgomery led bears end a 50-year wait for a Pac-10 title.  It was awesome. As much as I enjoyed... [Read more]

Every Team Leaves a Clue

Posted Thursday, February 11, 2010 at 11:15 pm

I just had an awesome 7-Minute Clinic interview with Kevin Grimes, coach of the Cal Men’s Soccer team.   The first words out of Kevin’s mouth were, “Every team leaves a clue”.  I’d never heard this line before.  I was instantly intrigued. I caught Kevin coming off a very UP and then a very DOWN season.  He and his staff are right in the middle of completing their post-season evaluation.  This is not some chit chat over a beer.  The coaching staff conducts a top to bottom review of the previous season – what worked,... [Read more]

Be an Incessant Seeker

Posted Thursday, February 4, 2010 at 10:43 pm

Successful coaches are passionate about mastering their craft – not just the Xʼs and Oʼs of their sport. Sport specific knowledge is important, yet it doesnʼt separate average coaches from great coaches. There are a lot of brilliant people in every sport who canʼt coach a lick. Great coaches realize that there is so much more to their craft. They study and understand group dynamics, motivation, personal growth, goals, communication and so forth.  They love the game, they love learning about the game and this feeds how they... [Read more]

Success starts with recruiting

Posted Monday, February 1, 2010 at 8:43 pm

National Signing Day for football is right around the corner.  The airwaves are a buzz with top recruiting class lists and school rankings. Teams, businesses and organizations are only as good as the folks they have “on the bus.”  Effective recruiting is critical to coaching success. Talent is a given in the recruiting equation.  It’s the easiest factor to assess – so most recruiting methods focus on it.  But don’t stop there.  Your recruiting plan needs to go beyond talent assessment. Some things to consider: Remember... [Read more]

Coaching is Coaching

Posted Wednesday, January 27, 2010 at 2:55 pm

I recently had the chance to spend an evening listening to legendary football coach, Lou Holtz.  Ok, so there were about 2,000 people in the room – I still felt like Lou was talking directly to me. I’d never given much thought to the skinny, bespectacled coach before that night.  Yet Lou Holtz, the only coach in the history of college football to lead six different teams to bowl games, made a lasting impression on me that night. Here are some of the insights that will stay with me: “Coaching is coaching.  You get... [Read more]

Lighten Up!

Posted Wednesday, January 13, 2010 at 2:48 am

We can get so consumed with our sport that we forget to have fun. Even before we reach high school, many of us are taught to repress fun as we go about the serious business of scholastic sports. Yet the physiology of fun is a close profile to the “zone.” Laughter, humor, and play are powerful forms of recovery. They enable you to move almost effortlessly from negativity into a positive energy state. Laughter is a natural breathing technique, and it has a cleansing and revitalizing effect as well. It originates in the solar plexus,... [Read more]

Does team building lead to better teamwork?

Posted Thursday, January 7, 2010 at 3:13 am

Teamwork is always a hot topic in sports.  Some coaches scour the land looking for the latest tips on team building while others feel team building games are a waste of time.  So the question remains, “Do team building activities lead to improved teamwork?  It depends. It depends on what stage your team is in.  Sport psychologists often refer to four stages that teams go through. These stages are typical of most teams and groups. Surprisingly one of the normal stages teams experience is fighting! The four stages, “forming,”... [Read more]

Top 10 Questions for a FRESH Start

Posted Tuesday, January 5, 2010 at 2:49 am

I love this time of year for a reflection on what passed and what’s to come. Here are some questions to help you review 2009 and set goals for 2010. These are also great questions for your team to discuss when they return from break! COMPLETING THE OLD YEAR: 1. What was your biggest triumph in 2009? 2. What was the smartest decision you made in 2009? 3. What was the greatest lesson you learned in 2009? 4. What is your biggest piece of unfinished business in 2009? 5. What are you most happy about completing in 2009? 6. Who... [Read more]

New 7-Minute Clinic

Posted Saturday, November 21, 2009 at 3:59 pm

This week we feature Dave O’Neill, Head Coach for the top ranked California Women’s Crew Team. Dave shares his best team culture building tips in 7 minutes or less! This is MUST see advice that you don’t want to miss! Share this:  Read More →