Develop Relentless Competitors
Developing
./
Relentless Competitors 5 strategies to push your players to match their potential By JEFF JANSSEN, Janssen Sports Leadership Center
T
trating loss, "I was embarrassed by the way we played, by the way we didn't compete. We did not compete the way we need to compete. Given the schedule we're playing, you need to compete every single night." Have you ever lost games and championships because your athletes didn't compete with the intensity and intelligence you needed them to? Coaches are becoming increasingly frustrated and disheartened by the lack of competitiveness shown by too many of today's athletes. With the current culture of entitlement that has evolved and overtaken today's youth, many athletesseem to expect that starting positions and championships will simply be handed to them, .rather than working hard and fighting for the very limited opportunities that are available. As Indiana men's basketball coach Tom Crean says, "In our entitlement culture today, young athletes grow up assuming they deserve things without having to work or compete for them. Then, when they enter the competitive arena, and things don't go their way, they blame someone else for their shortcomings. Such players give a team no chance to succeed." Taken from my new book How to Develop Relent-
confidence, character, men-
enhance and refine something that is already there than to try to create it from scratch. The best way to create competitors is to develop a key criterion for your recruiting and selection process. Thus, be on the lookout for competitors in your recruiting and tryouts. Purposely include highly competitive drills and see how the athletes respond to competitive situations. Of course you are looking for talent but also be on the lookout for competitors. Tennessee women's basketball coach Pat Summitt says, "I look for competitors when I am recruiting. I look for players from winning programs because I know they've been in competitive situations. They've won and they understand how to win." Create your own Competitive Cauldron to continually challenge your athletes. North Carolina women's soccer coach Anson
2
Dorrance says, "To improve and foster competitive drive, you must consistently push your athletes to places that aren't so comfortable. That's how you learn to steel and toughen players, and how to 'break' your opponent." Dorrance intentionally sets up a competitive culture with his team through his famous Competitive Cauldron, a practice environment where almost every drill is a competition. UConn women's assistant
basketball
coach
Shea
Ralph notices the same demanding style in Gena Auriemma. "He is the ultimate competitor. He puts the pressure on kids every day. He stays on them and that helps instill the competitive attitude. Because they know they are not getting away with anything. There is pressure
less Competitors, here are five proven strategies used by legendary coaches Pat Summitt, Gena Auriemma, Anson
on them every day to give their best." Are you positively pushing your players to test their
Dorrance, Pete Carroll and Roy Williams to transform your passive, soft and entitled athletes into fierce, focused and relentless competitors.
limits? The most successful coaches are highly demanding of their athletes. You have to find the fine line between pushing them to achieve their potential. ..without
1
breaking them. When they compete and surpass their previous expectations and barriers, they will have the
Look for competitors when
recruiting and assembling your team. Like any important intangible in the sports world
8
commitment,
tal toughness, unselfishness, etc.), it is much easier to
ired of dealing with too many wimpy, soft, entitled athletes who don't know what it means to compete? University of Connecticut men's basketball coach Jim Calhoun once lamented after a frus-
Jeff Janssen
(leadership,
Coach
AN/)
ArH~.rIC DllflfcrOIt·
October 2010
confidence to compete in the future.
coachad.com
~
3
erything we did. We had a white team vs. a blue team and everything we did was competitive. Establish consequences for winning and losing drills and contests.
Tuesday during the season the Trojans engaged in competitive drills and scrimmages. The first-team offense competed against the first-team defense. Players also created "Matchups of the Day" where receivers challenged cornerbacks and defensive lineman challenged
is at stake, establish some kind of consequences for the winners and losers of your drills a-nd contests. Assistant Tennessee women's basketball coach Dean Lockwood says, "After every competitive drill or practice segment, we reward the drill winners and 'penalize' the drill losers. The penalty may be a set of sprints, push-ups,
Make your practice drills
competitive whenever possible. . Current Seattle Seahawks and former USC football coach Pete Carroll emphasized competitiveness so much that he created "Competition Tuesday." Every
offensive tackles. The competitive environment ratcheted up the intensity of practices to a high level.
5
To continually remind your athletes that something
Track and post the results of your drills in practices and games. There is something about tracking and posting the results of practices and competitions that really brings out the competitiveness in people. North Carolina
crunches or some physical exercise of which they are least fond. We never berate the losers (we may chide them good-naturedly) but our players simply know tha t after certain drills there will be 'winners and losers.' This sends a very clear message that practice life is much better and more enjoyable when you win all
men's basketball coach Roy Williams says that one of the pivotal moments in his life came when his third grade teacher wrote the names of the 10 students with
competitive segments." Use these five proven ideas to ratchet up the intensity and competitiveness of your practices. By emphasizing
the highest grades on the blackboard. Williams says, "When I first saw that list, I was not on it. But when I saw that list and looked at it for six
and training your athletes how to compete in practice, they will learn how to be much better competitors come
4
game day.
!em
weeks, I made sure that the next six weeks my name was first on the list. And I made sure it stayed there the rest of the way." Learning lessons from this early
This article is adapted from jeff's two new books, How to Develop Relentless Competitors and the Develop Relent-
experience, Williams and his staff still meticulously track the results of practices and games and post them to motivate the team. Former Carolina player Tyler
less Competitors Drillbooh. Both can be ordered at www. jeffjanssen.com/coaching/resources.htm For more info on developing leaders, team
Hansbrough
building, and mental toughness, visit jeff janssen's websites at www.ChampionshipCoachesNetwork.comand
says, "To make practices more competi-
tive, make everything a competition.
Coach Williams
is the ultimate competitor. He tracked the scores of ev-
10
QegJ?of1
October 201 0
www.JeffJanssen.com
coachad.com
;(
./
Relentless Competitors 5 strategies to push your players to match their potential By JEFF JANSSEN, Janssen Sports Leadership Center
T
trating loss, "I was embarrassed by the way we played, by the way we didn't compete. We did not compete the way we need to compete. Given the schedule we're playing, you need to compete every single night." Have you ever lost games and championships because your athletes didn't compete with the intensity and intelligence you needed them to? Coaches are becoming increasingly frustrated and disheartened by the lack of competitiveness shown by too many of today's athletes. With the current culture of entitlement that has evolved and overtaken today's youth, many athletesseem to expect that starting positions and championships will simply be handed to them, .rather than working hard and fighting for the very limited opportunities that are available. As Indiana men's basketball coach Tom Crean says, "In our entitlement culture today, young athletes grow up assuming they deserve things without having to work or compete for them. Then, when they enter the competitive arena, and things don't go their way, they blame someone else for their shortcomings. Such players give a team no chance to succeed." Taken from my new book How to Develop Relent-
confidence, character, men-
enhance and refine something that is already there than to try to create it from scratch. The best way to create competitors is to develop a key criterion for your recruiting and selection process. Thus, be on the lookout for competitors in your recruiting and tryouts. Purposely include highly competitive drills and see how the athletes respond to competitive situations. Of course you are looking for talent but also be on the lookout for competitors. Tennessee women's basketball coach Pat Summitt says, "I look for competitors when I am recruiting. I look for players from winning programs because I know they've been in competitive situations. They've won and they understand how to win." Create your own Competitive Cauldron to continually challenge your athletes. North Carolina women's soccer coach Anson
2
Dorrance says, "To improve and foster competitive drive, you must consistently push your athletes to places that aren't so comfortable. That's how you learn to steel and toughen players, and how to 'break' your opponent." Dorrance intentionally sets up a competitive culture with his team through his famous Competitive Cauldron, a practice environment where almost every drill is a competition. UConn women's assistant
basketball
coach
Shea
Ralph notices the same demanding style in Gena Auriemma. "He is the ultimate competitor. He puts the pressure on kids every day. He stays on them and that helps instill the competitive attitude. Because they know they are not getting away with anything. There is pressure
less Competitors, here are five proven strategies used by legendary coaches Pat Summitt, Gena Auriemma, Anson
on them every day to give their best." Are you positively pushing your players to test their
Dorrance, Pete Carroll and Roy Williams to transform your passive, soft and entitled athletes into fierce, focused and relentless competitors.
limits? The most successful coaches are highly demanding of their athletes. You have to find the fine line between pushing them to achieve their potential. ..without
1
breaking them. When they compete and surpass their previous expectations and barriers, they will have the
Look for competitors when
recruiting and assembling your team. Like any important intangible in the sports world
8
commitment,
tal toughness, unselfishness, etc.), it is much easier to
ired of dealing with too many wimpy, soft, entitled athletes who don't know what it means to compete? University of Connecticut men's basketball coach Jim Calhoun once lamented after a frus-
Jeff Janssen
(leadership,
Coach
AN/)
ArH~.rIC DllflfcrOIt·
October 2010
confidence to compete in the future.
coachad.com
~
3
erything we did. We had a white team vs. a blue team and everything we did was competitive. Establish consequences for winning and losing drills and contests.
Tuesday during the season the Trojans engaged in competitive drills and scrimmages. The first-team offense competed against the first-team defense. Players also created "Matchups of the Day" where receivers challenged cornerbacks and defensive lineman challenged
is at stake, establish some kind of consequences for the winners and losers of your drills a-nd contests. Assistant Tennessee women's basketball coach Dean Lockwood says, "After every competitive drill or practice segment, we reward the drill winners and 'penalize' the drill losers. The penalty may be a set of sprints, push-ups,
Make your practice drills
competitive whenever possible. . Current Seattle Seahawks and former USC football coach Pete Carroll emphasized competitiveness so much that he created "Competition Tuesday." Every
offensive tackles. The competitive environment ratcheted up the intensity of practices to a high level.
5
To continually remind your athletes that something
Track and post the results of your drills in practices and games. There is something about tracking and posting the results of practices and competitions that really brings out the competitiveness in people. North Carolina
crunches or some physical exercise of which they are least fond. We never berate the losers (we may chide them good-naturedly) but our players simply know tha t after certain drills there will be 'winners and losers.' This sends a very clear message that practice life is much better and more enjoyable when you win all
men's basketball coach Roy Williams says that one of the pivotal moments in his life came when his third grade teacher wrote the names of the 10 students with
competitive segments." Use these five proven ideas to ratchet up the intensity and competitiveness of your practices. By emphasizing
the highest grades on the blackboard. Williams says, "When I first saw that list, I was not on it. But when I saw that list and looked at it for six
and training your athletes how to compete in practice, they will learn how to be much better competitors come
4
game day.
!em
weeks, I made sure that the next six weeks my name was first on the list. And I made sure it stayed there the rest of the way." Learning lessons from this early
This article is adapted from jeff's two new books, How to Develop Relentless Competitors and the Develop Relent-
experience, Williams and his staff still meticulously track the results of practices and games and post them to motivate the team. Former Carolina player Tyler
less Competitors Drillbooh. Both can be ordered at www. jeffjanssen.com/coaching/resources.htm For more info on developing leaders, team
Hansbrough
building, and mental toughness, visit jeff janssen's websites at www.ChampionshipCoachesNetwork.comand
says, "To make practices more competi-
tive, make everything a competition.
Coach Williams
is the ultimate competitor. He tracked the scores of ev-
10
QegJ?of1
October 201 0
www.JeffJanssen.com
coachad.com
;(
