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One of the greatest pains to human nature is the pain of a new idea. - Walter Bagehot

One of the reasons the internet has revolutionized the world is because it contains the collected wisdom of the western world.  If you want to know the roster of the 1934 St. Louis Browns, a little work on Google and you have your link to Ski Melillo.  What’s on the New York Times bestseller list?  Go to Amazon and you can find out, then buy what you like.  How about following your favorite team when you live 800 miles away?  No problem thanks to the internet…

But as great a resource as the internet is, it’s not the only place you can learn.  It’s still important to utilize whatever source is available; and one of the most important, and often overlooked, source is the people around us.  Monday’s Chicago Tribune had a good article from Barbara Rose profiling Thomas Kemeny, a 23 year old breaking into the advertising business.  What struck me about Kemeny was his approach to success in a competitive industry.

One thing about Kemeny, he puts himself out there. He’s willing to ask anybody anything.

It’s more than natural curiosity. It’s part of a drive to figure out his place in the world while learning what it takes to practice his craft at the highest levels.

I’m sure Kemeny devours copywriting books and has a feeder full of advertising related blogs, but he also realizes great advice is specific to the situation and great advice comes from the best people.  So if you can get specific advice from the best people in your industry, it’s probably going to be worth listening to.

"When you’re a student, you can ask anybody anything, and as long as you follow it up by saying you’re a student, it’s totally acceptable."

He called it "student immunity," and he invoked this right often.

The one place I’ll disagree is that it’s only acceptable to ask people questions when you are a student.  People love to talk about subjects that interest them.  If you approach people with a sense of curiosity and genuine interest they will usually share their expertise with you. 

Go get your student ID and start asking some questions.
 

Be thankful we’re not getting all the government we’re paying for.  - Will Rogers
My mother used to say that it would take an Act of Congress to get me to practice some days.  I guess I was just pre-occupied with other things.  But thanks to the change to Daylight Savings Time in the United States, holding an outdoor practice won’t mean leaving work so early this spring.

Among many other energy initiatives, the Energy Policy Act of 2005 mandated a change to Daylight Savings time.  Starting this year Daylight Savings Time begins three weeks earlier and extends one week later.  This year Daylight Savings time begins March 11th and extends until November 4th.

I always enjoy spring season because it marks more time outside and less time bundled in sweaters and coats.  Even though the weather is still iffy, I knew it was only a matter of time until it was shorts and T-Shirts weather.  But the problem was always getting practice in before dark in the first couple of weeks.  I would start the year with practice at 5:00 and get complaints about how difficult it was to get the kids to practice on time — as if I just magically appeared…  Then two weeks later I would change practice time to take advantage of the longer sunlight hours…. and you can fill in the rest of the story from your own experiences, I’m sure.

Whatever the flaws in this system, it’s a definite plus for any coach planning a spring practice schedule.   Take advantage of the longer sunlight hours — your boss will probably appreciate the extra productivity…

Losing a game is heartbreaking. Losing your sense of excellence or worth is a tragedy.  - Joe Paterno

I subscribe to a soccer coaching newsletter.  It comes out a couple times a week throughout the year and always contains good ideas and interesting drills.  If you’re a soccer coach, get yourself to FineSoccer.com and subscribe to at least one of their newsletters…  you’ll be glad you did when your struggling to figure out what drills to run at practice…

The  FineSoccer.com Kid’s Newsletter arrived in my inbox today and contained a  good article on the importance of keeping bench players mentally "in" the game.  That’s a hard thing to do.  If it’s a competitive league, the bench players may think they aren’t ever getting in the game, so why pay attention.  In a rec league, where playing time for all is required, many players still get distracted by friends, family, butterflies, clouds…

Too often, when a player isn’t one of the starting 11 in a game, they end up sitting on the bench (or in many cases, the ground) sulking, mad that they aren’t on the field.  Then, when it’s finally their turn to enter the game, they are mentally and physically unprepared.

Instead of sitting on the bench sulking, the players should be watching the game, looking for the strengths and weaknesses of the opposing team as well as for the players they are most likely to be matched up against.  This way, when it’s time to go on the field, the player is ready.

They are absolutely right, but the question is how??  It’s certainly true that with the right perspective a player can learn a lot about the game from the sidelines.  It’s easier to see what the other team is doing and how passing and movement works to create scoring opportunities.  But players are usually thinking about how long it is until they get back into the game and coaches are focused on the action on the field.  Besides, it’s almost impossible to coach the kids on the field and the ones on the bench without shortchanging either side.

Rather than trying to do two things at once, I’ve found it’s better to give the kids something they can do on their own, without intervention from a coach or parent.  Assigning the kids a job, or getting them to play a sideline game focused on the actual game provides a lot of benefits.  There are many things to do, but  my personal favorite is a team building tool I learned from the Positive Coaching Alliance called Positive Charting.  Positive Charting involves tracking the things kids do right during a game, then recounting them afterwards.  Some teams have specific actions they chart, others define   Sometimes it’s tough for a coach to see everything, so having a few extra eyes — and perspectives — is a big plus…

Getting the kids involved in positive charting not only keeps them in the game when they are on the sidelines, but it creates a better team atmosphere.  The kids are literally searching for the good things the other kids are doing — they want their teammates to succeed even when they are on the bench.  I like that better than "When am I getting back in coach?" every 13 seconds…

Give them something constructive to do on the sidelines and you’ll make bench time more productive.

Enthusiasm is the mother of effort, and without it nothing great was ever achieved. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

I’ve written about Harvey Mackay before, but he’s such an interesting person I’m going to write about him again… 

If you don’t know who he is, he owns an envelope company in Minnesota, the Mackay Envelope Company. 

Now, I couldn’t have made him sound more boring, safe and conservative if I had posted a picture of The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit.  But his story is actually very inspiring.  You could call him a successful Willy Loman, and considering he is very much alive and - by all appearances, rather wealthy, a VERY successful Loman… 

Harvey bought a failing envelope company in 1959 and today it’s a $100 million company.  I’m sure he worked very hard to build the company, but that begs the question, how do you grow an envelope company?  I mean, aren’t envelopes pretty much the same?? 

Not if you listen to Harvey Mackay.  Growing an envelope company is no different from growing a soccer team and that’s no different than building a bio-tech company.  It all has to do with motivation, and motivation comes from loving what you do.  He believes that so deeply, his company’s motto is "Do what you love, love what you do and deliver more than you promise."  Good advice for any endeavor.

Harvey has a weekly article which always has a few motivational nuggets.  This week’s article is entitled "Enthusiasm is the spark that ignites our lives".  The entire article is wonderful, but there is a paragraph I want to highlight, especially right before the spring seasons start.

If your switch is off more than on, it’s time to examine what’s making you less than motivated. Is it the job itself? Find something to love about it, or find a different line of work. Is it the fear of failure? Then you haven’t been paying attention: Failure is an opportunity to learn and improve—and boost your enthusiasm. Are you bored? Burned out? Ready for a different challenge? Jump at the chance to try something new. Life’s too short to hate what you are doing! Find something you can be passionate about, and work at it until you can’t imagine doing anything else.

Those of you who are regular readers will know I perked up on the line about "fear of failure".  "Failure is an opportunity to learn and improve — and boost your enthusiasm".

I love that line.  Especially how he added "– and boost your enthusiasm."  Failure naturally drains enthusiasm, not boost it.  That’s because nobody likes to fail, nobody sets out to screw up a business deal — or a relay throw from the outfield.  But it happens and, as coaches, we need to help kids understand how to deal with that failure.

The first place to start is with our response to the failure; accept the mistake for what it is — proof you are still needed!  From that perspective you can help the kids to take advantage of the "opportunity to learn and improve" so they — and you — can feel the boost of enthusiasm.

It is impossible to travel faster than the speed of light, and certainly not desirable, as one’s hat keeps blowing off. - Woody Allen
There are a bunch of interesting things out there on the web.  Probably the best newspaper coaching story I’ve read was in the New York Times last week.  Unfortunately it’s not publicly available anymore, so unless you are a TimesSelect member, use this link to Deadspin.

The story is about a youth soccer team in Clarkston, Ga.  The team, The Fugees, are a group of three select/travel teams.  What makes the story interesting is that the team is drawn from refugees resettled in a small Georgia town 10 miles northwest of Atlanta.  The personal stories of every player is filled with heartbreak and hope.

The hometowns on the roster reads like a roundup of all the bad news from the past 10 years.  Afghanistan, Bosnia, Burundi, Congo, Gambia, Iraq, Kosovo, Liberia, Somalia, Sudan…  They are all a long way from a soccer field in Georgia.

Things aren’t all rosy however.  Clarkston has become a town targeted for refugee resettlement, which has caused resentment from the locals.  This means the team has to fight for a place to play and acceptance from the town.  You can learn more about the Fugess on their website — fugeesfamily.org

This next story isn’t about great coaching.  In fact it’s about someone always thought of as un-coachable.  "Pistol" Pete Maravich was the original run and gunner.  He never saw a shot he didn’t like and if he liked it, he usually took it…  His statistics are amazing.  He played college ball at LSU from 1968-70 and averaged 44.2 points per game, leading the nation in scoring in each of his three varsity seasons.  He scored 50+ points 28 times and was a three time All-American.  In short, the guy can fill it up — and a new video on Yahoo Video shows him filling it up for over 6 minutes.

But it’s not just Pistol Pete running and gunning.  There is a short clip of a very young Don Criqui (Buffalo native) interviewing Maravich.  Stockton asks Maravich how long he practiced dribbling as a kid.  Starting at 12 years old, Maravich dribbled the ball eight hours a day in the summer and four in the winter.  Yes he was a hot dog, but he spent a lot of time perfecting that recipe.

Enjoy the video — I did…

Coaches who can outline plays on a black board are a dime a dozen. The ones who win get inside their player and motivate. - Vince Lombardi

Sunday was an American National Holiday.  A holiday in the sense that the Super Bowl brings families together across generations and makes fast friends out of relative strangers.

The party I went to had my seven year old daughter and my 85 year old grandfather.  Because we are in Chicago, there weren't any Colts fans, but in previous years I always met a new friend rooting for the same team I was — and someone who was passionate about the other side… But that is what makes it fun.  The heights of joy followed by the depths of losing, hopefully capped off with a great comeback.  At the end of the night your team is either up or down but the world is still spinning and life goes on…  Although Chicago will be in a deep funk for at least the next couple of weeks - at least we have our weather…

With all the hype surrounding the Super Bowl, there were two men in the eye of the storm who maintained incredible poise throughout.  The head coaches, Tony Dungee and Lovie Smith are similar types of leaders.  I've written several times about my admiration for Lovie Smith's style.  Where many NFL coaches attempt to instill fear into their team, both Smith and Dungy command respect.

That's what the great coaches do, and the rest of us ask how.  How can a coach get grown men to sacrifice themselves to a common goal.  The cynic would say professional athletes have millions of reasons to want to win, and that's true as far as it goes.  But the crucial difference is that Dungy and Smith (as well as other great coaches) have high, but reasonable, expectations for each player and hold the players accountable to those standards. 

Unlike many coaches, ahem Tom Coughlin, the players are held accountable in the context of the team, not the media.  Rex Grossman cost the Bears some games this year, but you'll be hard pressed to find a negative quote from any Bears player or coach about him.  I can guarantee that doesn't mean it's been sweetness and light at Halas Hall this season.

The same is true in Indianapolis.  My 84 year old grandmother picked up 100+ yards against the Colts run defense at the end of the year.  The toughest thing Tony Dungy said, publicly, about them was "we have to get better."  I'm guessing they got the message in another way.  I'm also sure that because of their respect for their coach, they looked at themselves and held themselves to a higher standard than any coach could rightfully expect.  They didn't want to let coach down, they didn't want to let each other down.  And now they are Super Bowl Champs.

We were lucky to have two role models for positive, constructive coaching in the biggest game of the year.  I live in Chicago, so I was rooting for the Bears.  But going into the game I knew that great coaching would be the ultimate winner.  As a fan I hoped it would be the Bears, as a coach, I couldn't lose.

Congratulations to the Colts, it couldn't happen to a better man — except maybe Lovie