🏀 The absolute best ways for any person to succeed in anything
Welcome to the 308 new readers of The Basketball Academy.
This is the day you become a better player or coach.
Today’s Basketball Academy takes 3 minutes and 33 seconds to read.
The Basketball Academy is brought to you by Changing The Game
Changing The Game is the first-ever completely women-led coach development conference.
They've brought together some of the greatest minds in leadership, biomechanics, practice design, culture creation, skill adaptation, player development, motor behavior, applied performance, sport psychology... and more.
The vision is to multiply the value coaches currently bring to their teams, their families, and their colleagues.
The mission is to flip a culture.
Join them for two days of powerful speeches, on-court demonstrations, engaging panels, and networking opportunities for those on the front line of the change.
WHEN
Apr 04, 2024, 8:00 AM EDT – Apr 05, 2024, 4:30 PM EDT
WHERE
North Ridgeville,
7717 Victory Ln, North Ridgeville, OH 44039, USA
Follow them on Instagram - @Changingthegamefinalfour
SPECIAL GUEST
Billy Oppenheimer
Billy is a writer and research assistant based in Austin, TX. He does research for Ryan Holiday, also helps write, edit, publish, and market 5 books, grow his email lists by 500,000+ subscribers, and publishes an article a week read by who knows how many people.
Billy does an incredible job deep-diving into many successful people and talks with us about how sports and his research work together.
One of our favorite newsletters he’s posted was about his Note Card System. Take a look at it here ⬇️👇
The Notecard System 🗒️
Here’s what we’re serving up:
🏀 #1 - Best thing we heard 🗣️
🏀 #2 - Favorite Action 🎥
🏀 #3 - Proving People Wrong 💭
LET’S DIVE IN ⬇️
Manifesto 🗣️
Preparation is key 🔑
Billy shares how he got his foot in the door with Ryan Holiday and the things he learns from him daily to add skills to his life.
Steve Kerr Manifesto
According to Chris Ballard from SI, while Kerr was a TV analyst for TNT, he began keeping a Microsoft Word file on his laptop where he compiled: notes, plays, philosophies, workouts & team policies.
He then expanded from 📝 , to full video 🎥.
Kerr began collecting plays as well, pausing games at his home in SD whenever he saw an Action he liked- he’d then shoot an email to a friend & coach at a nearby Torrey Pines High (and now a Warriors advance scout). (Davis, BI).
Footage was pulled using iMovie, week by week Kerr’s file named ATOs grew.
By 2014 the video library had over 50 plays and the word doc was a detailed PowerPoint presentation. Kerr had gotten the idea from former NBA coach Jeff Van Gundy, and Kerr began adding team philosophies, practice schedules, and travel policies.
When the time came for coach Kerr’s interview with the Warriors, he was more than ready.
Ryan Holiday has a quote from Sir Winston Churchill in his book “Courage is Calling” that ties into this perfectly:
“To each, there comes in their lifetime a special moment when they are figuratively tapped on the shoulder & offered the chance to do a very special thing, unique to them and fitted to their talents.
What a tragedy if that moment finds them unprepared for that which could have been their finest hour.”
In Kerr’s moment, he was not only prepared but overly prepared. He thought of scenarios long before they were needed and did so in solitude. He capitalized on his “finest hour.”
Especially for coaches, the improvement is usually slow but should be self-documented as there is nothing more valuable than an evaluated experience.
Or as said in Sun Tzu’s “The Art Of War”:
“Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.”
It’s all about slow improvement over time and aggregating that growth.
Must Add Action 🎥
Creighton offense v Central Michigan
“Horns RIP DHO”
“Horns PNR”
Common Themes Of Successful People 💭
Success is not an accident.
Most of the people Billy has studied have gone through a lot of adversity throughout their lives.
Another thing is a lot of these people were told “Don’t waste your time with this.”
Next time someone is convincing you not to waste your time with something you believe in… Go prove them wrong!
The Work has to be the win.
Creativity & adaptability are inseparable.
Seinfeld: Your blessing in life is when you find the torture you're comfortable with.
💥 Bonus: Don’t let the Demons in 💥
• “If I’m on a treadmill and I’ve told myself I’m running 10 miles & I cramp on mile 9 I have to limp the last mile. Even if no one is watching. Because that won’t let the demons in.”
• If I let the demons in (quit)…. in a big fight in front of 50k ppl I will give up when I’m tired.
The commitments we keep to ourselves & what we do when NOBODY is watching is the most persuasive evidence that governs everything we do from thereafter.
How we do small things is how we do all things.
Until next week.
Best games of the weekend: 📺
Friday 12/15
7:00 pm PT - UConn vs Gonzaga on ESPN2
7:00 pm PT - Portland vs Stanford WBB on PAC12
Saturday 12/16
9:00 am PT Louisville vs UConn WBB on FOX
1:30 pm PT Arizona vs Purdue on Peacock