This list is adapted from legendary Coach Pat Summitt.
I feel that many of these concepts can be adapted for your football program
TO STAY HERE:
- BE COMMITTED TO YOUR ACADEMICS – Know your catalog … make a plan … get a degree. Go to class every day. Be on time. Sit up front. Take good notes. Do all extra work possible. Plan ahead and talk to professor when we travel or you are having a problem. Get tutors when you need them.
- BE COMMITTED TO HAVING CLASS – Treat teachers, trainers, support staff, chapel workers, Marriott workers, and all you meet with respect. Treat other people the way you want to be treated. Moody people are rude. Remember to smile, to say please, thank you, yes sir, and yes ma’am, and give people the benefit of the doubt.
- BE COMMITTED TO DOING THE RIGHT THING – We have plenty of school rules … know them. Realize if you just try to do the right thing you will be OK. Try to do the next right thing right and you are as close to perfect as any person can be.
- BE COMMITTED TO THE PROGRAM – We realize that our players are in a fish bowl at lipscomb. Every word and action will be watched. Our program’s reputation provides many opportunities yet brings many responsibilities. We must be committed to build on to the tradition of our program and respect those that have gone before us and paid the, price to build the program.
TO PLAY HERE:
- BE COMMITTED TO HARD WORK – Our program is built on the concept that hard work pays off. We believe that we work harder than anyone else … and because of that we always deserve to win. There is a reason we are the best … we work at it.
- BE COMMITTED TO BECOMING A SMART PLAYER – Our players must be ready to learn. We believe we work smarter than anyone else … We must develop players who understand the game. Our players must be good listeners andlearn by watching. We must make good decisions, we must play with poise. We prepare mentally for practice and games.
- BE COMMITTED TO OUR TEAM ATTITUDE CONCEPT – We must have players who believe in our team concept. Our program is built on the concept that the team/program is bigger than anyone player … We need unselfish players.
- COMMIT YOURSELF TO A WINNING ATTITUDE – Our players must be-committed to winning but understand we don’t measure our success by winning alone. Each time we play we evaluate ourselves on reaching our potential. The test for our team is to play against the game not just our opponent. We never quit. We always are looking for a way to win.
TO WIN HERE:
- BELIEVE IN OUR SYSTEM – commit yourself to our philosophy, to our system of play. Be a sponge and soak up the con cepts of how we play. learn your role … then accept your role and do it the best you can.
- BELIEVE IN YOURSELF – Play with confidence … think positive … realize you are a great player in a great program. Don’t get down when you play poorly … you were chosen to be here … be a leader. lead by example.
- BELIEVE IN YOUR TEAMMATES – Communicate with each other … help each other. Remember the strength of the pack is the wolf and the strength of the wolf is the pack. Encourage each other and support each other. Don’t ever forget the importance of the shell around the team. Be a friend. We understand that we are all different – be tolerant of team mates and others.
- BELIEVE IN YOUR COACHES – Understand that your coaches are trying to help make you better people and players. Ask questions … don’t whine and complain. learn to take tough coaching.You must believe that the coaches are doing what they think is right for the team and you.
I hope these thoughts Pat Summitt quotes will be a useful resource for the team building and leadership aspects of coaching basketball.
There is no such thing as self respect without respect for others.
Individual success is a myth. No one succeeds all by herself.
People who do not respect those around them will not make good team members and probably lack self esteem themselves.
Being responsible sometimes means making tough, unpopular decisions.
Admit to and make yourself accountable for mistakes. How can you improve if you’re never wrong?
Loyalty is not unilateral. You have to give it to receive it.
Surround yourself with people who are better than you are. Seek out quality people, acknowledge their talents, and let them do their jobs. You win with people.
Value those colleagues who tell you the truth, not just what you want to hear.
Communication eliminates mistakes.
We communicate all the time, even when we don’t realize it. Be aware of body language.
To make sure that they are getting her message, Coach Summitt has asked her players to respond to a correction in practice by saying “rebound,” and to being praised by saying “Two points.”
Make good eye contact.
Silence is a form of communication, too. Sometimes less is more.
Discipline yourself, so no one else has to.
Self discipline helps you believe in yourself.
Group discipline produces a unified effort toward a common goal.
Discipline helps you finish a job, and finishing is what separates excellent work from average work.
Do the things that aren’t fun first, and do them well.
See yourself as self employed.
Put the Team Before Yourself.
When you understand yourself and those around you, you are better able to minimize weaknesses and maximize strengths. Personality profiles help.
Success is about having the right person, in the right place, at the right time.
Know your strengths, weaknesses, and needs.
Be flexible.
Teamwork doesn’t come naturally. It must be taught.
Teamwork allows common people to obtain uncommon results.
Not everyone is born to lead. Role players are critical to group success.
In group success there is individual success.
Make Winning an Attitude.
Combine practice with belief.
Attitude is a choice. Maintain a positive outlook.
No one ever got anywhere by being negative.
Confidence is what happens when you’ve done the hard work that entitles you to succeed.
Competition isn’t social. It separates achievers from the average.
You can’t always be the most talented person in the room. But you can be the most competitive.
There is nothing wrong with having competitive instincts. They are survival instincts.
It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts the most.
Change equals self improvement. Push yourself to places you haven’t been before.
Handle Success Like You Handle Failure. You can’t always control what happens, but you can control how you handle it.
Sometimes you learn more from losing than winning. Losing forces you to reexamine.
It’s harder to stay on top than it is to make the climb, Continue to seek new goals.
By clicking on this link, or the image at the cover, you can read some excerpts from her book.
Reach for the Summit
