The power of your voice

This blog post is not going to sit well with some of you due to the mature and harsh language that will be used, so I urge you to use caution when looking at this.  However, there are coaches who have humiliated others, publicly and privately.

This intense pressure needs to be addressed and I am going to as my son asked me this weekend as we were watching ESPN and the interview with Jadlow and his new book and the issues with Bobby Knight.  My son asked me if I ever had a coach like that?  It forced me to dig deep into trying to help coaches understand what resides in their control.

You have to remember that as a coach at any level, you have extraordinary power in the lives of the athletes that you interact with, or as I like to say, those under your supervision.  Your position in their life, your presence; you hold their dreams in your hands.  You are the person who is going to help them fulfill what they believe to be their destiny.

If you believe in them, if you support them, if you reach deep inside of yourself and give them a sense of empowerment, they can and will do extraordinary things.  You will be an enormous force in their life.  However, with that same power, you can tear them apart just the same and in some cases they are never going to be the same.

Listen to the interview Todd Jadlow and Bobby Knight life out of control.

Bobby Knight Halftime Speech

There is also an extremely powerful movie that I have seen from time to time to remind me and others of what happens when you are out of control.  The movie Whiplash is intense and the scene that I am about to provide, has intense scenes, language, and should be viewed in light of what it brings to you, the emotions that are evoked.

Whiplash, intense scene.

Remember a couple of poignant facts that the coach is pushing them to be all that they can become.  And in the movie when he draws the line in the sand by saying this is what winners are and what losers loo like well that was for his own needs.  You see many coaches do this to feel that they are successful.  For their reputation.  It's wrong.  I speak about this all the time here in US and in other countries where it is looked upon that a coach who yells and screams must be a good coach.

Most coaches have no clue of the power they have in the lives of the people that they teach.

Remember that every word, behavior, tone you use goes not just to the one person that you are directing that to, it's to the entire team, whether they are being spoken to directly or not, including staff members who listen to it as well.

I agree with the premise that most coaches believe in pushing their athletes beyond their limits.  That process is difficult to say the least, but it doesn't have to get abusive.  Couldn't you challenge another way?  Couldn't you challenge your athletes without using fear?

One thing to keep in mind in the movie, the drummer is driven, even if the coach wasn't there.  But it was so extreme, he was driving himself crazy.

When you coach players that have this drive that is over the top because they want to be successful, the question you need to ask yourself is, is that drive from within because they are trying to be something?  Or is it to make themselves feel more important because there is something lacking inside of them?

Why do people endure the emotional abuse in order to get to the next level?

That answer that my son asked me, was yes, I did play for a coach like that, who challenged me, pushed, demonstrative.  But I took the time to know him, to learn that he had care for me, that he loved me, and that he accepted me for who I was.  This was demonstrated off the court by him taking the time to talk to me, put his arm around me, be there for my Dad's funeral as I was one year removed from his coaching me.  Thus I was able to understand that his ranting and raving on the sidelines was only pressure and that I was able to withstand that better knowing that I could be the one having the calming effect on him.

I would be the one to accept responsibility for the actions of our team.  This allowed me to help them simply play for each other on the court.  It allowed my coach the outlet for his frustration to me, as I was able to take it.  No one ever said it would be easy, but we all found a solution that worked for us all.

Pursue your Passion!
Coach John Saintignon

We all have fear and failure

You know that we all have fear and failure.  Sometimes we get fixated on just winning championships and while we are very proud of that, sometimes those wins are empty.  As I suggested in the earlier blog, what do we become as a result of the chase?  How did you get there?  How did you treat your players during that time?

Here's some of the best advise that I can share with you that was shared with me a long time ago.  Know that there is a 1/3 of the people that you meet that will be trying to drag/bring you down.  They will be trying to take the life out of you.  Selfish people, trying to only look out for themselves.
There is also the middle 1/3.  These are the ones who just go with the flow.  At the beginning of the season for example they are at the top 1/3.  When you are undefeated, when everyone is starting the game, going to be all league performer, they love the coach, the team, the school, the whole world!

But during the middle part of the season it isn't going so well.  That middle 1/3 now go to the bottom 1/3.  A person not starting anymore, goes to the bottom 1/3.  Your at the bottom of the conference race, they go to bottom 1/3.

Then you have the top 1/3.  These are the players that go out and give you all they have each day, they give you energy every day.

You must learn to build armor.  Protect yourself from the bottom 1/3, the people that talk negative, the school administration, maybe even your own team.  Don't bring that bottom 1/3 home with you.  Everything that you have done that day is going to be second guessed by the bottom 1/3 that day.

Key to remember to enjoy your coaching:
A.  Don't let the bottom 1/3 drain the life out of you.
B.  The middle 1/3 are interchangeable, they will go with the flow.
C.  The top 1/3 will always give you the energy on good and bad days.

Ask yourself who are you going to protect yourself from personally and professionally?
How are you going to do that?

Each of us have a strong voice and weak voice.  I was thankful that early in my life I was surrounded by people who taught me to believe in myself.  You have to master this ability to have a strong voice to stay at the top of any profession.  But each of us has a dark side that we have, that weak voice.  Things like I want to quit, I am horrible, I don't look good, we can't win, etc.

Ask yourself are you contributing to your players weak voice?
How can you help them build that strong voice?

So here is the trick, to know when this is happening to the player and give them a solution on the spot so that they can correct during each of their moments in their lives.  For example, I provide each of my players during a workout for example, when things are tough, I want them to ask themselves a better question.  I want them to listen to the weak voice, I don't want them to ask themselves bad questions, like why am I missing the shot?  Their weak mind will tell them dark things, like you are too slow, not quick enough, you don't want to be here, why are you here?  Instead, I want them to ask themselves a better question.  Such as, what can I do to make this basket?  Now their mind will listen to the strong voice, the one that is providing solution, it will come up with solutions, like shoot the ball higher, snap the wrist, quicker.

Our real goal is to provide our players with a belief in themselves.  We have to create conditions for them to do that.  We have to give them a blue print to follow.  We must convince them when they can't see yet.

I know each of us have done this in some form or fashion, you probably didn't realize it, but you were giving your players a blue print for how to handle things, like the creating of belief in the pressure moments:  Something like this has gone on in each of your locker rooms.

We have been here before.  This helps your players reflect on the past and to know what each of them do well.
You are here again.  Reminding them of their good , why they have earned the right to be proud of where they are at.
Now let's go out there and show them.  Let's have some fun.  Giving your players the right to belief, and know that everyone will celebrate on the other side of reaching this success.

I also spoke in one of the earlier blogs as well about failure and how much of a role I believe it played into each of my practices, learning from it daily.  We as coaches get comfortable talking about winning no problem, but we can't really talk about the failures with such ease.

I wanted to make sure that each day in practice there was a built in disadvantage in practice where we were going to have to focus on failure recovery.  We had to learn how to handle it, not only by being placed in difficult situations but to each other, by saying my bad, next play, and perhaps a fist pump to signify that we are moving on, teammates saying, we got you.

I used a 2 minute drill in practice where there was going to be a clear failure recovery system in place and the pace would just dictate day to day who was feeling better, who shot better, attrition was in place, you name it.  If you want more details just email me and I will send to you:  Coach Saintignon email

The last thing I want to leave you with is the notion of leaving a lasting legacy.  We all hear of this?  What is it?  You know that we each get a sentence out of our life that will be summed up by our players.  Think about someone who has died, and you walk up to them and ask them who was it, they will give you and entire life of that person who lived, summed up into one sentence.  Coach Bob, he was a great coach.  So you get the idea, we only get one sentence.

I have been on the journey.  You will be remembered by how you treat those players that were under your supervision.  How you think, act, speak, that is your pattern of behavior.  That becomes your character and thus your legacy.

What's your sentence going to be?

Coach Saintignon
OC Magic Basketball

Volunteering

I had the honor of being able to volunteer at my son's high school, Mater Dei High School to assist in a wonderful program that they offered which was called Senior Interviews.  It is a huge undertaking requiring parents to come and volunteer to sit and listen to a senior who is in professional dress and must come to the table to personally interview with you.

Each senior would have 6 minutes to answer questions, then move into the next 4 minutes to have dialogue, tell them how they did, or have the student ask questions.

These students came prepared, resumes to hand in, professional dress.  The firm handshake, the eye contact, the appearance all provided a great first impression.  I have always told our athletes that you only have 7 seconds to make a great first impression.

I wanted to not just ask questions of the students, I wanted them to share with me their story.  I wanted to convey to them that upon interviewing that when they left the interview that I wanted them to have felt that they at least were able to share their story and walk out of the interview satisfied with that.

Fantastic sharing of their stories came out, each of them had a Hero's Journey to share at some point during the interview.

Yesterday was my turn to be interviewed on the Fireside Chat with the special invitation of Bryce Brown who I had the honor and privilege of recruiting as a student athlete.  I have said as a coach, you never know what impact you have as a coach until 10 years later when you see those that were under your supervision and seeing what they are doing with their life.  Did they use basketball as a tool to get an education?  Are they using those skills now in their professional lives.  He most certainly is.

Listen in :  Fireside Chat with Coach John Saintignon

After this broadcast, I had to turn around and complete a full day of helping students, by being an Ambassador for the University of California at Santa Cruz at the Anaheim Convention Center.  It was a great time to this time answer questions from students, parents, event some administrators within the Anaheim School District about the University of California, admission requirements, what it is like to live on campus, how far away from Orange County, what is the most popular major, but the best question I received was this.  Will UCSC bring out my inner voice?  This was someone who wants to be able to share their story.

Take the time to reach out and volunteer, you will be amazed by what you gain by offering your time!

Pursue your Passion!

Coach John Saintignon
Orange County Magic Basketball

A Hero's Journey

60-or-so years ago, a writer named Joseph Campbell traveled the globe researching the greatest "Heroes" in our history:  People like:

Moses

Buddha

St. Anthony

Prometheus

Osiris

People like that. Legends.

Mr. Campbell broke down the common paths that every single one of those Heroes followed on their way to legend-status.  And created what we now call "The Hero's Journey."

Here's the basic idea:  At some point in our lives, we are all "called” to do something.

It might be to travel.  It might be to write a book.  Or, it MIGHT be… Basketball.

Doesn't matter:

We are ALL hard-wired to feel this "call" deep down inside of us.   Something pulling us into action, pulling us to become who we are "meant to be."

We don't have a choice in this, either.

It's been programmed into us through decades of  rituals where:

• A young man is sent into the jungle for the first time - alone - to bring back food for his tribe, or die in the process.

• An apprentice travels far and wide to meet "the teacher", who then puts him through dozens of intense trials before he is finally allowed to learn his craft.  I can relate to this one with my Karate Sensei’s, :)

• A boy living under a set of stairs gets a letter from an owl summoning him to a world-famous school of witchcraft and wizardry where he continuously battles a series of dark and powerful forces, before finally defeating the un-nameable superpower who threatens to destroy the world if no one stops him. 

This "call to action" happens to everyone, whether we like it or not. 

Those who REFUSE the call never get to go through their own personal series of trials; Never conquer their own "Hero's Journey.” And are now stuck in purgatory for the rest of their lives:

Never quite becoming who they ARE, deep down.  Never quite realizing their dreams.  Never experiencing the life they could have lived.

Actually, here are Mr. Campbell’s exact words:

"Often in actual life, we encounter the dull case of the call unanswered; for it is always possible to turn the ear to other interests. Refusal of the summons converts the adventure into its negative.  Walled in boredom, the subject becomes a victim.  His flowering world becomes a wasteland of dry stones and his life feels meaningless. Whatever house he builds, it will be a house of death. All he can do is create new problems for himself and await the gradual approach of his disintegration.”

- Joseph Campbell

The Hero with A Thousand Faces, 1949

Harsh - and wise - words.

And here's where you come in:

Someday, you're going to be "called" to do something.

I can't tell you what that thing is.  But if you're here, reading this right now, I'm guessing you've already had your first call and it won't be your last.

The future holds many, MANY more adventures.

And when those calls come, just remember:

The journey is NOT optional.

Not for a True Elite.

But your journey today:

Finding the best training and coaching available seeking out the best players to match up against.  Like this Saturday at J Serra High School at 10 a.m., where we have NBA players, college and high school players all playing on the court; on their quest to be the best.  Exposing yourself to high pressure game situations drilling yourself every single day, alone, in the gym never backing down from a single challenge along your path.  And, finally becoming the player (and PERSON) you're meant to be. 

Like I said:

If you're here, right now, reading this.  Your call to action has already come!

All you have to do now is take it.

We have a few of our players on that Hero's Journey right now, Gage, Luis, Ivan, Gianni, Ryan, Andre, Clarissa, Julia, Spider, Amazon.  

Coach John Saintignon

Coach John Saintignon

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Orange County Magic Basketball, Inc.

Pursue your Passion!