I know we are just getting started with this Spring AAU season and the road ahead will be filled with many ups and downs and filled with difficulty but remember one thing: it’s only difficult when it’s unfamiliar.
When it gets familiar it becomes normal and when it becomes normal, we get better. Then, it’s our duty as coaches to increase the details & increase the difficulty – and then it gets unfamiliar again – and thus we have more of an opportunity to raise our normal, grow, and reach a higher level of better.
And the mindset of “how do you think about it” is a skill that will carry you in every aspect of your life – for the rest of your life. So while your coach may seem “tough” and “unfair” and “harsh” – pretty soon you see it as “love” and “fair” and “real” because that’s the end result once the difficult becomes the normal.
So when you finally get to understand that perspective – you come to the understanding of the privilege – the privilege of “get to”
Now I know no one is Jayson Tatum and this isn’t the pros, but anytime you get to be a part of ANY team – it’s a privilege.
Whether you’re in the band and you’re 1st chair saxophone or 3rd chair saxophone
Whether you’re in theater and you’re the lead role, secondary role, or stage crew
Whether you’re doing a class project and you’re the group leader or not
Everything we do at STACK is to be for YOUR best interest to enhance growth & development and while it may not seem like it in the moment, rest assured that to have the most success in basketball (if that’s your goal) then you have to be able to “play the right notes” or “remember your lines” or “do your part of the project” because it affects the team if it’s not done correctly.
As coaches – we face our own level of difficult – the responsibility of leadership (https://www.youtube.com/
1) Hard decisions that negatively affect people you care about
2) Disliked despite your best attempt to the best for the most
3) Misunderstood and not only have the opportunity to defend yourself
We accept those costs because deep down, we know it’s what is needed. As coaches we are not always perfect, but we “get to” hold ourselves to try and achieve that standard. Trust me when I tell you how hard it is when we see one of you struggling – how we would like to want to be softer or slow it down, but sometimes we cannot…at least not right away for so many reasons.
It’s just like being your parents who you have no idea how much they love you and how they wish they could give you everything, protect you from everything and make you as happy as you can be…all while they have to make tough decisions and parent you in tough ways for what is best for you in the future – a future you just possibly cannot see nor comprehend at this time.
We are all in this together and we learn and grow together – the question is – do we think about it in the same way?
—
