It seems that some of the best advice you can hear comes in the press conferences given by top college coaches after a game. In those moments you will hear unscripted words from the heart, driven by the emotion of a game—win or lose.
These four tweets of college coaches sharing their thoughts drew a lot of attention on our twitter feed. If you missed them, take a few minutes and watch each video. Powerful stuff.
Geno Auriemma, was hired as head coach of the University of Connecticut Huskies women’s basketball team in 1985.
“On our team, we put a huge premium on body language and if your body language is bad, you will never get in the game. Ever. I don’t care how good you are. I’d rather lose than to watch some kids play the way they play.”
Another one from Geno Auriemma
“I try to identify those kids, when we go recruiting, who have a tremendous interest in being great teammates. I’ve still had my share of players who were hard to coach, and you can trace the problem back to the parents, without question.”
Coach Frank Martin, has been head coach for the University of South Carolina men’s basketball team since 2012.
“Watch what happens when a kid asks the best question in the post game press conference to Coach Frank Martin, head coach for the University of South Carolina men’s basketball team.”
Bobby Kelsey was the head coach of the women’s basketball program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for 5 years. She is now an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Sparks.
“You can’t nap your way to being a good shooter. Put the phone down, stop FaceTiming, stop Tweeting and get your butt in the gym. There’s no magic formula or secret potion you rub on your hands.”
The advice in these tweets needs to be heard by all youth sports parents and young athletes.
There’s a reason that coaches like this make it to the top in their sport. They don’t sugar coat that success takes hard work, they look for athletes who are coachable, and they recognize that they are not out to be people-pleasers; they are out to help their teams reach their potential and be the best they can be.