Getting Started

It is always important to beginning thinking about goals we have in mind for the upcoming year. I plan to collect a group of fourth and fifth grade girls and turn them in to a basketball team.

I like to begin with the end in mind. I will fast forward to the end of the year and decided how we want that year to end and then, I will look at what it will take to make that happen. This is a writing exercise to help me think about personal and team goals for the year. To get the most out of this assignment, I have to put myself in the moment and allowing my imagination to work.

I will take a moment and let my mind fast forward to the end of the year. The team will have just walked off the field after our last game. I will think hard about how I want  the year to go and be very detailed in my writing.

    * Where will we be?
    * Who are we playing?
    * What does the team look like? (uniforms, gym, opponent, etc.)
    * What does it sound like? (fans, swish of the net, pop pop pop of the dribbling ball)

Goals need to be broken into small attainable and controllable bits. Ultimately want to win the National Championship! I cannot spend too much time thinking about that without having a daily goal that will put the in position to reach the ultimate goal. I have to stay in the present moment.

My along the way, my goal is to provide a high-quality experience to every athlete on the team.
    * Every one will have fun playing the game
    * Every one will feel that she is an important part of the team regardless of performance
    * Every one will learn “life lessons” that have value beyond the court
    * Every one will develop and learn as an athlete with a deepening understanding of the skills, tactics and strategies of the game

I will be a Responsible Coach helping the players to master their sport by Filling "Emotional Tanks" to improve performance and instill love of sport. I have always placed education and character development before wins. I will use the ELM approach with my team. A simple way to remember the three keys to the Mastery approach is the acronym, ELM, where ELM stands for Effort, Learning and Mistakes:

   1. Effort -- always give 100%
   2. Learning -- improve constantly as you gain more knowledge
   3. Mistakes are OK -- mistakes are how we learn.