Practice and Play with the Poise and Intensity of a National Championship Team

While I played in college, we had a stairway from our locker room to the gym floor. On the wall at the turn in the stairs there was a quote that said

Practice and Play with the Poise and Intensity of a National Championship Team


Playing for entire college career and seeing that quote every day you would think that it would have some meaning to us as players. I don’t know if my teammates, the players before or after I played thought about the quote very often. Like most things that you see over and over you take for granted. The college coach I played for was one of the most respected coaches in the profession, Don Meyer, and he is still coaching at Northern State University in Aberdeen, SD.

As a kid you do not take full advantage of the things that are available and definitely most kids today just like when we were kids do not understand to full blessings of life. We can all fall into the trap of taking things for granted like solid relationships, a caring mate, a friend you can share anything with and being able to be healthy enough just to walk and run around.

I put the sign up in our stairway here at Belhaven College just as we had while in college. What does that mean, “Practice and play with the poise and intensity of a national championship team”? Maybe I could word it different, but in respect for my coach I made the sign say exactly what he put on that wall over 25 years ago.

Poise
To practice and play with poise and intensity. Poise means self-assurance, composure, self-control, dignity. I know our coach was more concerned with us as people than he was at winning a national championship team. He was not a win at all costs coach and he didn’t try to cut corners. He wanted your best. Whatever you could give that’s what he wanted. Was he hard to play for? Did he push us hard? Did he yell? Yes, yes, and yes. Not a player that played for him would disagree, but probably those of us that made it through four years of playing for him would ever say he was unfair, that he cared only about himself, or that he only played favorites. That is tough to do in coaching, teaching, running a business, pastoring a church or anything else.

How do you push, yell, and be hard to play for but you are fair, care about others more than yourself, or play favorites? I do not know how he did it because I struggle as a husband, parent, and coach to do the things Coach did and coach the way he coached. Our styles are different and our personalities are not the same, but he taught me a lot about myself.

Why am I sharing something with you that happened 25 years ago? I say these things to let you know I was sharing with someone recently about Coach Meyer and how he was hard to play for at times, but always fair. Most people ask what it was like to play for Coach Meyer because he is so well known around the country as a fantastic coach. I usually answer, “It was a great experience” To be honest sometimes I leave out the word “great” and just say “It was an experience, but one of the best of my life”.

It was an experience that I am not sure I have ever fully appreciated or will ever fully appreciate. But here is the thing I have just recently realized: He never made things personal. We were not “stupid” “idiots” or any other downgrading you can think of to call someone. He was on us hard and never let up, but I look back and see that you never left practice or a game defeated or dejected. You might not have like the outcome, but he had the ability even when he chewed you out that you the entire time he was correct and you deserved whatever he was going to dish out.

All of his former players laugh now about being singled out and may have caught the brunt of his displeasure a time or two. The funnier thing is that we usually deserved everything he dished out to us and we look back and realize that time he really got us was well deserved.

I know this is a real area that I am trying to correct in not making other fell attacked personally. Whether it is my wife, my own kids, or anyone associated with our basketball program. I want to be able to push and motivate others to give their best, but not at the expense of tearing them down. Hopefully I someday turn the corner and not get disgusted when others let me down or don’t give their best. I can still find ways to communicate without making others fell lower and making myself look better. Even though he was animated on the sidelines and any one that played for him can give you a great story about being chewed out by him about something he had that POISE. He had poise to know when to push and when to let up. He had the poise to teach and emphasize with us what it meant to have class and carry ourselves a certain way. He made you want to be better. Even today he instilled in me the desire to keep trying to improve to not be satisfied and to have the poise and belief that I could get better.

Intensity

Intensity means strength, concentration, passion and power. Coach had unbelievable intensity when it came to working. He was relentless. We knew he would always be prepared and if a game came down to coaching we would have a great chance of winning because Coach was going to put us in position to win. Even if we lost on the scoreboard Coach would have us leave thinking we were winners because he stressed being intense about how you played. I have tried to bring those positive aspects of intensity in how I am as a mate, a father and coach.

It is amazing how important intensity is to having success. Intensity is the ability to do what you are supposed to do even when you don’t want to do whatever that task may be. He taught me how important it was to have that intensity and desire.

As I played my four years in college I looked at the sign too many times to count and walked by it many time without even thinking about the sign. I was one of the fortunate ones that came through the program and my last year we did win the National Championship. It was not with talent, but with Poise and Intensity and also practicing and playing like that all the time. The more interesting thing is that although we had a good team we were not the most talented team coach ever had, nor the most intense, nor the most poised, nor the most athletic. It is just for that season it all came together. The players before us that built the program and the ones that came after to continue the tradition were just as important as our team was in winning the National Championship.

What I learned most was that it took a group of individuals committed to a goal, determined to follow leadership, and a willingness to put aside individual attention.
To do the saying “Practice and play with poise and intensity of a National Championship team” means to give to something bigger than yourself.

Halftime

I feel as if I am the halftime of my career (being 45 years old) and that makes me think I have come into the locker room of life. I have played the first half and made many mistakes, but fortunately, I still am in the game. Now I get ready to come out of the locker room for the second half of life hopefully.

For me I want to win that National Championship and get the glory of being perceived as a successful coach. I want to be able to say I played on a National Championship team and coached a National Championship team. That goal still sits in the back of my mind. More important now is how I coach the young men I encounter the remainder of my career. I have made more mistakes than most during the first half of my career, have regretted decisions, was too hard on certain players, too distant with some players, allowed outside influences distract me from the goal of developing my team and young men.

My vision now is to make the next half count. To adjust the game plan of my career a little bit I am saying I will make decisions and decide:
1. To be more passionate about developing the young men in the program
2. To make each guy feel important
3. To be more passionate about sharing God’s love with each member of our program
4. To help each player find out what his gift is in life and to help him pursue his dream.
5. To be a coach that sees development takes time and is not always determined by the won-loss record
6. To relax and let God be God and for me to serve Him

I want to be where God is working and He is working here in our program. It is not always visible, but it is happening and I want to help people see the vision and see what can be done when a group of coaches and players all strive to play for the same goal. That goal is to glorify God in what we do and in how we play. I am thankful for each day I have to be a coach, to be someone that is the trenches in helping young men find their Spiritual meaning and what God has for their life, to help them grow academically so they can be successful in what their chosen field or profession may be and to challenge them athletically. It is not easy and it takes a lot of determination, but I know there is a pay off down the road. I tell people the great thing about my job is that “I have no idea what I am doing”. I mean that I have no idea what of these young men that come through our program are going to do in life one day. I have no idea how they are going to turn out during their time with us and once they leave. I pray we invest in their lives enough and pour ourselves into them that they benefit a great deal by being part of our program. Even with the uncertainty, I am sure excited about seeing what will happen with them one day and what they will become. There is great joy in this journey.

Transitions of Life #1 Listen to Your Parents"

1. Listen to your parents.


This is one of the key strategies and skills in reaching your potential. No matter what differences you have with your parents your ability to listen to them for guidance and advice is a key in the transitions of life. You will be frustrated, mad, angry and an assortment of other emotions with your parent’s. They were probably the same way with their parents. You follow this one piece of advice and it will keep you from big problems down the road.

If your parents or parent are asking you to do things that are against the law or against what God says, you can disregard point #1. Otherwise, this is key advice for you on how to reach the goals you have in life.

You have heard before again and you will hear it again. Your parents have your best interest and know you as well as anyone. They have been around you for a long time.
Because of these reasons they love more than anyone and they want to see the best for you even when you can not see it yourself.

Most people go through a typical progression of life when we hit different ages. Usually the pattern goes something like this:

Ages 1-11 “My parents are great, they can do just about anything”.
Age 12 “I think my parents are starting to get weird”.
Age 13-17 “My parents are weird and they don’t know a whole lot. Plus they embarrass me in front of my friends and they say goofy things”.
Age 18-22 “My parents are just out of touch with the real world. They don’t what it is like to be in the real world today”
Age 23-24 “I wonder if my parents will let me move back home?”
Age 25 “Maybe my parents knew a thing or two.”
Age 26 (or once you are married) “My parents were actually pretty smart”
Age 27 and up (or once you start to have kids) “How did my parents do all they did for me? They are great people and I count on them for advice”

As one who did not think my parents knew much, it was not until later that I realized that my parents did know a thing or two about life. It probably took me to the age of 22 or 23. For some people it does not take long and some people it takes longer. The sooner you listen to your parents the better.

Yes, your parents are out of it sometimes and are not up with the latest fashion, fads and friends. They do want the best for you and really want you to have it better than they did. We will talk about it later in the book, but you have to try to understand your parents just as much as they have to understand you. It is communication. Sometimes you have to filter out the loud voices or the angry voices and understand what your parents are trying to communicate.

Do not forget that experience is not the best teacher. Other people and their experiences are the best teachers. If someone else can make the mistake and you don’t have to pay for it that is better than you having to suffer the consequences.

Your parents offer you a lot. They offer you the chance to learn from their past mistakes. That is a key to being able to listen to your parents. Understand their heart and where they are coming from when they try to tell you something.

Allow your parent or parents to make their point and voice their opinion without arguing with them. In the long run, you will be better off. They can keep you from making dumb decisions and will help you out a great deal. They know about many things. Many of the things they teach you are going to be from their experiences and past mistakes. Do not come up and make the same mistake they have made after they gave you numerous warnings. They can keep you out of trouble and heartache if you just listen to them.

My dad one time gave me advice once when I was struggling as a young coach with a particular situation. It was tough and was dominating my thought process. Looking back I was an immature young coach that did not know enough. Instead of seeking others advice and listening to people I tried to figure it out all by myself. That was a quick lesson for me in the coaching and teaching profession. Seek others advice and wisdom. This is where my dad came in to help me with the situation.

After listening to me lay out the situation he took it all in and didn’t try to tell me what to do, but he made me think of the ramifications. He said, “Imagine you are giving a talk on this subject 10 years from now at a coaching clinic. How would you advise someone and what kind of steps would you give for someone going through the exact situation?” Immediately he gave me the ability to think long term, not short term. Some of us are long term thinkers and some of us are short term thinkers. With parents and kids it is usually the kids are short term thinkers and want it fixed right now. Parents have the ability to think long term and see the big picture.

I can vividly remember lying on my bed talking to my dad over the phone. What he gave me was the ability to look at the problem from another point of view. What he gave me was a bird’s view to look at the situation and to take my emotions out of the equation. I would not have had that kind of wisdom because I was a young coach and inexperienced in dealing with personnel issues. My dad is a lawyer who has to deal with issues of people working together all the time. It was great advice and helped me tremendously. I still think of that conversation and how it changed my perspective. Now I use the “Think 10 years down the road” advice when trying to help other people.

My mom also gave me great advice at a critical juncture in my life. After my junior year of playing college basketball, I had the opportunity to graduate and go out into the real world. We had a good team coming back and our entire starting five from a team that went to the National Tournament the previous season. I was thinking about quitting and going on ahead to graduate. I would go out and get a job in broadcasting or some type of job in the sports journalism area.

My mom told that she did not think I had reached my full potential as a basketball player. “Give it one more year to play and see what happens” she said. To her she saw someone that had worked so hard to get to this point that she did not want to see me quit just yet. She can remember all those summers working on my basketball game. All the times when it may have been raining, cold or snow on the ground, but I would still go out there and shoot baskets. She had watched me develop and thought I still had some growth as a player. It was great advice. I went back to school and got ready for a great senior year.

For me it was an incredible year. I had a spiritual awakening in the fall of my senior year and became a Christian, played my best year and we won the NAIA National Championship in the spring. I am glad I listened to my mom.

Do not forget that the one commandment of the Ten Commandments that talks about honoring your parents comes with a promise

Exodus12:20
"Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.”


“When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years.”
Mark Twain

1. Listen to your parents.

This is one of the key strategies and skills in reaching your potential. No matter what differences you have with your parents your ability to listen to them for guidance and advice is a key in the transitions of life. You will be frustrated, mad, angry and an assortment of other emotions with your parent’s. They were probably the same way with their parents. You follow this one piece of advice and it will keep you from big problems down the road.

If your parents or parent are asking you to do things that are against the law or against what God says, you can disregard point #1. Otherwise, this is key advice for you on how to reach the goals you have in life. You have heard before again and you will hear it again. Your parents have your best interest and know you as well as anyone. They have been around you for a long time. Because of these reasons they love more than anyone and they want to see the best for you even when you can not see it yourself.

Most people go through a typical progression of life when we hit different ages. Usually the pattern goes something like this:

Ages 1-11 “My parents are great, they can do just about anything”.
Age 12 “I think my parents are starting to get weird”.
Age 13-17 “My parents are weird and they don’t know a whole lot. Plus they
embarrass me in front of my friends and they say goofy things”.
Age 18-22 “My parents are just out of touch with the real world. They don’t what
it is like to be in the real world today”
Age 23-24 “I wonder if my parents will let me move back home?”
Age 25 “Maybe my parents knew a thing or two.”
Age 26 (or once you are married) “My parents were actually pretty smart”
Age 27 and up (or once you start to have kids) “How did my parents do all they
did for me? They are great people and I count on them for advice”

As one who did not think my parents knew much, it was not until later that I realized that my parents did know a thing or two about life. It probably took me to the age of 22 or 23. For some people it does not take long and some people it takes longer. The sooner you listen to your parents the better.

Yes, your parents are out of it sometimes and are not up with the latest fashion, fads and friends. They do want the best for you and really want you to have it better than they did. We will talk about it later in the book, but you have to try to understand your parents just as much as they have to understand you. It is communication. Sometimes you have to filter out the loud voices or the angry voices and understand what your parents are trying to communicate.

Do not forget that experience is not the best teacher. Other people and their experiences are the best teachers. If someone else can make the mistake and you don’t have to pay for it that is better than you having to suffer the consequences.

Your parents offer you a lot. They offer you the chance to learn from their past mistakes. That is a key to being able to listen to your parents. Understand their heart and where they are coming from when they try to tell you something.

Allow your parent or parents to make their point and voice their opinion without arguing with them. In the long run, you will be better off. They can keep you from making dumb decisions and will help you out a great deal. They know about many things. Many of the things they teach you are going to be from their experiences and past mistakes. Do not come up and make the same mistake they have made after they gave you numerous warnings. They can keep you out of trouble and heartache if you just listen to them.

My dad one time gave me advice once when I was struggling as a young coach with a
particular situation. It was tough and was dominating my thought process. Looking back I was an immature young coach that did not know enough. Instead of seeking others adviceand listening to people I tried to figure it out all by myself. That was a quick lesson for me in the coaching and teaching profession. Seek others advice and wisdom. This is where my dad came in to help me with the situation.

After listening to me lay out the situation he took it all in and didn’t try to tell me what to do, but he made me think of the ramifications. He said, “Imagine you are giving a talk on this subject 10 years from now at a coaching clinic. How would you advise someone and what kind of steps would you give for someone going through the exact situation?” Immediately he gave me the ability to think long term, not short term. Some of us are long term thinkers and some of us are short term thinkers. With parents and kids it is usually the kids are short term thinkers and want it fixed right now. Parents have the ability to think long term and see the big picture.

I can vividly remember lying on my bed talking to my dad over the phone. What he gave
me was the ability to look at the problem from another point of view. What he gave me
was a bird’s view to look at the situation and to take my emotions out of the equation. I would not have had that kind of wisdom because I was a young coach and inexperienced in dealing with personnel issues. My dad is a lawyer who has to deal with issues of people working together all the time. It was great advice and helped me tremendously. I still think of that conversation and how it changed my perspective. Now I use the “Think 10 years down the road” advice when trying to help other people.

My mom also gave me great advice at a critical juncture in my life. After my junior year of playing college basketball, I had the opportunity to graduate and go out into the real world. We had a good team coming back and our entire starting five from a team that went to the National Tournament the previous season. I was thinking about quitting and going on ahead to graduate. I would go out and get a job in broadcasting or some type of job in the sports journalism area.

My mom told that she did not think I had reached my full potential as a basketball player.“Give it one more year to play and see what happens” she said. To her she saw someone that had worked so hard to get to this point that she did not want to see me quit just yet. She can remember all those summers working on my basketball game. All the times when it may have been raining, cold or snow on the ground, but I would still go out there and shoot baskets. She had watched me develop and thought I still had some growth as a player. It was great advice. I went back to school and got ready for a great senior year. For me it was an incredible year. I had a spiritual awakening in the fall of my senior year and became a Christian, played my best year and we won the NAIA National Championship in the spring. I am glad I listened to my mom.

Do not forget that the one commandment of the Ten Commandments that talks about
honoring your parents comes with a promise
Exodus12:20

"Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the
LORD your God
is giving you.”

“When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to
have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at
how much he had learned in
seven years.”

Mark Twain

Belhaven Winter Basketball Camp

Belhaven Winter Basketball Camp Dates!!!

Friday January 2nd 9:00am to 12:30pm
Saturday January 3rd 9:00am to 12:30pm

More information to come

J.I. Packer quote

"Once you become aware that the main business that you are here for is to
know God, most of life's problems fall into place of their own accord".

J.I. Packer

update on Coach Meyer Sept.19

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=3598245

Andy Katz espn.com Sept. 19

article on Coach Don Meyer from ESPN

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=3580219&name=katz_andy



Great Article from Sept. 11 on espn.com by Andy Katz

Coach Don Meyer

Coach Meyer taught us…..

Coach taught us to not have a job or simply go to work, but to have a passion.
“You must have a passion for what you do. Be part of something that is bigger than yourself”
If you played for coach you knew what it meant to have passion. No one thought about his team more, his occupation more and how to improve things more than Coach.

Coach taught us not to win, but to give our best effort.
“Play against the game”
Winning was very seldom mentioned, but playing against the game was important to him. He knew that if you played the game correctly that you would come out ahead more times than not. He could take the pressure to win off of his players by constantly emphasizing that you needed to play against the game and not your opponent.

Coach taught us not to be religious, but to be Christ-Like.
“I’d rather see a sermon, than hear one any day.”

Coach taught us to not feel like we deserved or were entitled to anything, but to be dedicating in striving to make things better.
“Pick up one piece of trash a day”
Every day when I bend over to pick up my one piece of trash a day, I think of coach saying those words. I am not sure if I have ever bent to pick up a piece of trash and not said those words.

Coach taught us to not treat people the same, but to help those who needed more help and attention than others.
Coach’s friends or the people he talked to the most were just the regular type person. He was not a “political” person at all. He talked to the ones he liked and he never looked down on anyone. His friends were the ones that might be the low man on the totem pole or the worker that did not have a high profile position. It almost seemed the lower someone was on the social or economical ladder the better he treated that person. His hard working personality did not mean he ran over people. To us he showed that everyone had purpose and a special place. He taught us not to look at social standing in judging or treating someone.

Coach taught us to have good habits, and to do the right thing and look for new ways to do old tricks.
Coach must have changed day planners and time organizers more than anyone in history. He was always coming up with a new way to be better organized. He did not let himself get in a rut. If he taught things a certain way he would still look for a better or more effective way to teach.



Coach taught us to not be pretty or look good, but to be real and authentic.
For coach it was about being real. He did not ever make it look like he had more money or power than other people. Even when he was making very good money with his camps and videotapes he never tried to look like a big spender. He wore the same clothes, ate at the same places and drove the same kind of car. He never tried to look the part of someone who had made it big.

Coach taught us not to be knowledgeable, but to be teachable.
For coach one of the most important things was finding out how teachable someone was going to be and if they could take correction. It did not take long to find the ones that were not teachable were the ones who would not last with Coach. Being teachable was up there with almost any character trait he would discuss.

Coach taught us not how to be better basketball players, but to be a better teammate.

“If it is a decision between you and the program the decision has already been made”
For coach it was about the team. He never pumped the play of individuals, but wanted the emphasis to be on the team. He knew that the only way his team would have success would be the organization and willingness of players to put the team first and their own goals second.

Coach taught us not to be winners, but that attitude was the one trait that you needed to have to be what you could be.
“Attitude is one of those things that may be hard to define, but you know it when you see it”
Anyone associated with Coach and his camps would have to come away with a better understanding of what the word attitude meant. For most of us we saw the acronym so many times we should be able to recite it word for word.

A was for Awareness
T was for teachable
T was for tenacity
I was for intensity
T was for technique
U was for unselfish
D was for discipline
E was for execution

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