// archives

Archive for August, 2009

Follow Your Bliss

One of our graduated players has taken the time to email, saying she loves her new school– Duke University. I envy her. On her campus is one of the great coaches in the world, Mike Krzyzewski. He not only coaches the university’s men’s basketball team, but he also led the United States men to a […]

It’s What You See

Back in my sports writing days, I always tried to sit next to one particular person in the pressbox because he seemed to see so much in the game. He was WATCHING the same thing the rest of us were, but he always SAW more. Listening to his insights, and hearing him pick apart the […]

Your Strategic Plan

Yesterday one of our graduated players came into the gym to say goodbye before heading off to college. By now she has probably spent her first night there. As she left the gym, I suggested she write herself a letter. In it she would describe her feelings on the eve of this adventure. Then she […]

Trying the Impossible

Inspiration comes from the oddest of places. Yesterday our practice was flat and unproductive. I thought I had all the people in the right places, but nothing worked. Then last night (it was difficult to sleep) the words of Sherlock Holmes came to me. He said, “When you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter […]

Improving Your Odds

Lottery Fever has struck the New York metropolitan area, with a jackpot of $252 million at stake on Tuesday. Millions of people will buy tickets, even though the odds are long and there is no way for them to influence the outcome. That’s the strange fact about lotteries and rooting for sports teams. People spend […]

Finding Value

Thus morning my wife and I went shopping, trying to find as much value as possible for our money. You see more and more of that in the recession. If only you saw the same urgency to find value in the gym! If coaches spent their grocery money the way they spend their precious practice […]

Finding Hidden Talent

Some visitors — relatives of one of our players — walked into practice yesterday. Afterward, they remarked on the sense of spirit they felt. This is always nice to hear about your team, and we want to keep up that feeling. Part of our success (after only two days) comes from what some people call […]

Positive Expectations

What a year 1969 was! Man on the moon and the Mets as World Champions. Back then it was hard to say which was more of a miracle; for centuries man had gazed at the moon in wonder. And for seven years, the Mets were a baseball joke, never finishing higher than ninth place in […]

Brett Favre

What’s your opinion of Brett Favre’s decision to come out of retirement — again — and play for the Minnesota Vikings? I’m even more intrigued by why any team would WANT him. Nothing personal. Strictly business. Let’s leave aside Favre’s age and the fact that in the last few seasons he has faded badly late […]

Being a Finisher

Nothing quite matches the excitement of Day One of training camp. Seeing old faces, learning new ones, getting ready for all the challenges, facing the unknown … it sounds a lot like New Year’s Eve, just without the bad driving. It’s got more buzz than Kourtney Kardashian’s pregnancy. Only one thing takes away from the […]