Meyerisms

“You can measure somebody’s character by how they treat people that can’t do
them any good or can’t fight back.”
“You don’t have to win a championship to be a champion.”
“A fool despises instruction.”
“People don’t like you for what they see in you but what you see in them.”
“The greatest feelings are expressed in silence.”
“You can play with all the intensity of a mad dog in a meat house but if you aren’t
smart, sooner or later you’ll get a bullet between your eyes.”
“Start slow, get a rhythm, go fast enough to make a mistake.”
“Make practices tougher than games.”
“Confidence comes from demonstrated ability.”
“Champions don’t look at it like a sacrifice;
champions do what needs to be done.”
“When the pupil is ready, the teacher will appear.”
“It’s not what you achieve, it’s what you become.”
“Know who you are and what your game is.”
“What you accept in victory, you accept in defeat.”
“Do the ordinary things extra ordinarily well.”
“Make practices like games and games like practices.”
“Happiness begins when selfishness end.”
“We have met the enemy and he is us.”
“We must practice and play with the intensity and poise of a national
championship team.”
“Sometimes a good enemy is better than a good friend.”
“It’s not what you teach it’s what you emphasize.”

Don Meyer Thoughts

It's How You Play the Game: Mental Discipline
1. Communicate with teammates vs. talk with opponent (or officials, opposing
school crowd, opposing coaches, etc... They all have the same mental effect.)
2. Taking a charge vs. backing away from a charge.
3. Calling out and communicating assignments on the freethrow lane vs. violations
at the freethrow line.
4. Take charge or block shot to a teammate vs. wild leaping or goal tending.
5. Smart foul vs. dumb foul
6. Intense position pressure defense vs. wild lunging defense.
7. Poised offense vs. anxious offense.
8. Use the glass or grab the ball vs. don't use the glass or tip.
9. Inside game vs. outside game perimeter lapse.
10. Make lay-ups vs. miss lay-up and they score.
11. Positive one; look for ways to win vs. negative one.
12. Great effort each possession vs. great play syndrome.
Don't let weak people bring out the weakness in you.
Intensity and technique lead to hustle plays.
Play against the game.

Don Meyer-12 Absolutes

12 ABSOLUTES OF DEFENSIVE AND OFFENSIVE BASKETBALL

            Regardless of the style of basketball you play-full court, half court, motion offense, or a structured continuity type of offense, man defense, zone or match up, I believe there are 12 ABSOLUTES (6 defensive and 6 offensive) you need to accomplish at both ends of the floor if you wish to be successful in that phase of the game.  I believe these ABSOLUTES need to be clearly communicated to your players and they need to learn these ABSOLUTES and be able to tell you these without hesitation as they apply to your system or style of play. 

DEFENSIVE ABSOLUTES

• NO  EASY BASKETS whether in transition or the half court.  Make the opponent work and ear everything they get.
• NO 2^ND SHOTS of any kind.  Too may good defensive efforts are wasted because of failure to get the defensive rebound. This can be actually demoralizing in many situations.
• NO UNCONTESTED SHOTS- this goes back to #1 somewhat in that we don’t want to allow easy and free looks at the basket.  Don’t allow mediocre shooters to become good ones because you don’t contest the shot.
• NO PENETRATION into that paint/post area.  This means no penetration off the pass as well as the dribble. When the ball enters the middle of the floor and in particular the post area there are too many options available for offense. Try to limit the thins they can do by keeping it out of the middle.  If it does get in there then attack the ball and dig it out as quickly as possible.  Offensive rebounding is also a way a team can get the ball in this area and we have already said in #2 that can’t happen.
• PRESSURE THE BASKETBALL as much as possible. #3 certainly implies pressure on the shot.  Pressure the dribble, the pass, and the catch as well in order to take the individual or team out of their comfort area.  Making the people dribble, pass or catch going away from the basket is a good rule of thumb.  How much you are able to pressure may vary from game to game or year to year depending on your personnel, but going back to #1 were the opponent must earn everything they get is critical.  Make them work!
• COMMUNICATION kind of pulls it all together.  It lets you know that your players understand what it is you are trying to accomplish.  It creates a team cohesiveness and promotes unselfish play.  It says you are in this together and it takes everyone doing there part to be successful.

OFFENSIVE ABSOLUTES

• BEFUNDAMENTALLY SOUND in the basic skills of the game of basketball.  This means the ability to dribble , pass, catch, shoot and rebound the ball without mistakes.  It also means to ability to cut and screen, and space yourself properly.  If you cannot execute the fundamentals of the game it makes no difference what you try to do offensively, you won’t be successful.  John Wooden has always said you need to “quickly and properly execute the fundamentals of the game.”
• GET EASY BASKETS whenever possible.  This would apply to both transition basketball and half court basketball.  This can have a devasting effect on the opponent if you are able to get easy baskets time and time again and then they have to work to get any thing at the other end of the floor.
• SHOT SELECTION is a critical importance.  Take the shots you want, when you want, where you want, and who you want to take them.  Players need to know their roles, accept their roles and fulfill there roles to the best of their ability.  Basketball is not an equal opportunity sport!
• OFFENSIVE REBOUNDING can make up for a lot short comings.  Crash the boards with aggression and get at least 50% of all offensive rebounds available to you. It will have a demoralizing effect on the opponent.  Rebounding is how you win championships. 
• GET THE BALL INSIDE for the higher percentage shot.  The obvious way to get the ball inside is to feed the post.  However, driving the ball to the basket, getting into the lane area in transition, passing the ball to a cutter cutting through the lane, offensive  rebounding are other ways to get the ball inside.  All are excellent scoring opportunities that put constant pressure  on the defense.
• MAKE YOUR FREETHROWS whenever you get to the free throw line. Many coaches make it a goal to make more free throws that the opponent gets.  There is nothing wrong with that, but regardless of whether you are able to do that or not, you have to make your free throws when you get to the line.  It’s been said that 20% to 25% of a teams scoring opportunities come at the free throw line.  This is especially true at “crunch time” of the game.

These ABSOLUTES are not met to be a system of play.  They are meant to guide your thinking as you put together your system or style of play at both offensive and defensive ends of the floor.  As I have studied and watched teams and programs play over the years, it has become apparent to me that the successful programs, regardless of “style” incorporate the above ABSOLUTES into their offensive and defensive thinking and the result has been good, sound, successful basketball. 

Don Meyer Thoughts

 The three items below are thoughts we believe will be of value to coaches, players, and teams. 

     How To Avoid Grievances contains thoughts written by Coach John Wooden in a book called the Art of Living by Wilferd Peterson.  Coach Wooden has many thoughts inscribed in the book but these were some we thought would mean the most to coaches and players.  This book is on our top five list of books we suggest all coaches purchase.  To find the other four go to our website www.coachmeyer.com and punch the coaches corner and go to the must read book section of the coaches corner.

     The Mundanities of Excellence was taken from a clinic given by Paul Patterson of Taylor University at Valparaiso University.

Each fall Coach Keith Freeman and Coach Steve Bruce host a clinic for coaches and each year it is different in it's approach.

Coach Patterson is one of the finest coaches and men that I have ever had the chance to compete against and learn from.

His teams always exceed expectations and he does a better job out of getting more from less than any coach I know.

     The Creed of the Pack is a statement by the players on our 2002-2003 Wolves Basketball Team as to what is important to them and what they stand for.  Until a team can define WHAT'S US & WHAT'S NOT US it will never really have an identity.

Many of the basic thoughts for this creed come from 1st Corinthians 13:1-8. 

     Each of the three items in the newsletter speak in some way to team building.  There are basicall three things a coach does at any level.                      

                                      1)  Recruit

                                      2)  Team Build

                                      3)  Skill Development

We recruit when get the gym open in the evenings, on Saturdays, in the summer, and make our program special and unique.

Team building is an every day job and is the biggest thing we can ever do for the individuals in our programs.  Getting them involved in something bigger than themselves will teach lessons that will last a lifetime.  Skill development involves the fundamentals of the game on both ends of the floor and the mental approach to take the individual skills and perform them properly and quickly for the good of the team.

     We believe that there are four things essential for team building.     

                                                                                     1)   SHARED OWNERSHIP

                                                                                     2)   SHARED SUFFERING

                                                                                     3)   INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY

                                                                                     4)   COLLECTIVE PRIDE

    The reason we like our Creed of the Pack is because it is our players.  They worked through it together and they own it.

Any time we can have our players lead by the veterans on our team make decisions we find that those decisions are well thought out and followed with a greater commitment because they own those ideas and decisions.   No, we don't let them drive the bus but we let them help decide how we will feed the team, warm-up before a game, clean up the locker room on the road, and clean up the bus when we get home.

     Shared suffering is key because it pulls us all together.  It is always we, us, and our vs. me, my and mine.  It is our team vs. my time.  The tough tasks and times in life teach the best and longest remembered lessons.  The strength gained by helping and carrying a teammate through tough times helps many a player when he encounters tough situations with his life and/or family.

     The only time we like to use the word individual in our program is when the word responsibility is tacked on the end of it.

We must all be accountable for our attitude and effort for the program to succeed.  This starts with the coaches and then on down from the internal leadership of your team to the rawest rookie.  We would like for each man to be his own captain.   We stress buddy work and buddy coaching with veterans responsible for one or two rookies but each player is ultimately responsible for the work ethic, work habits, and choices he makes on and off the floor.

     Collective pride simply means that team success is what gives us pride.  There is a saying I am fond of that says, "The only thing that can save us is humility".  In looking at the Creed of the Pack the word proud scared me some until I realized that the pride in the pack was an outgrowth of service and unselfish acts of  love listed in the lines above.

     HOW TO AVOID GRIEVANCES

1.   Get all the facts:  what went wrong…not who is to blame.

2.   Stay Calm:  find the solution together.  Do not permit emotion to take  

over.  Reason

3.   Criticize in private:  Listen if you want to be heard.  Disagree without being disagreeable.

4.   Commend before and perhaps after you criticize.  Help save face. 

5.   Keep your criticism constructive.

-Criticism is to correct, help, improve and prevent…not to punish.

-Treat all people with dignity and respect

When in charge; ponder

When in trouble; delegate

When in doubt; mumble

Looking back it seems to me

All the grief that had to be

Left me when the pain was ‘oer

Stronger than I had been before.

Handwritten inserts in John Wooden’s copy of THE ART OF LIVING

By Wilferd Peterson

The copy is forty years old.

CHAMPIONS AND THE MUNDANITY OF EXCELLENCE

Mundane:  Ordinary

Excellence:  Consistently Superior Performance

WHEN LEVELS CHANGE, DEMANDS CHANGE

The changes required to move to a higher level of performance are not quantitative. 

They are QUALITATIVE.

Higher Quality.  Much, Much, Higher Quality.

There is no surplus of quality

QUALITATIVE DIFFERENCES TO PRODUCE EXCELLENCE

1.   TECHNIQUE

Champions are ordinary people who do ordinary things extraordinarily well.

2.   DISCIPLINE

Make the practice like games, and the games like practices. 

Coach’s job is to replicate game situations in practice…  Joe Paterno

3.   ATTITUDE OF A CHAMPION

What are they eager to do?  Not willing but eager is the key.

Champions don’t look at it as a sacrifice.  Champions choose to live as champions.

CHAMPIONS BECOME CHAMPIONS BECAUSE THEY DO WHAT CHAMPIONS HAVE TO DO!