Happy Wednesday - Make sure you’re taking game shots.

Honoring Those Who Served

Veterans Day was November 11, a day to pause, remember, and give thanks to the men and women who have served our country. As coaches, we often talk about discipline, teamwork, sacrifice, and leadership which are the same values our veterans have lived out in real life. This week is a good chance to connect those lessons to something bigger than sports.

Some of the sport’s best coaches were veterans, and learned great lessons on leadership from their time in service.

An important question: How can you make connections with your players, instill the characteristics of Veterans, and bring deeper meaning to what we do?

First, ask your players if they have family members who are veterans. Ask them about their service and what branch they were in. Taking genuine curiosity in their family can help you know more about that player and help your personal relationships. If the player doesn’t know many details - that’s a great opportunity to encourage them to explore their family history and get to know more about a relative. Encourage them to ask their parents and grandparents about veterans throughout the family.

There are other activities you can do as a team to honor Veteran’s Day. One of the best things we ever did as a team was take some time before practice to write letters to veterans. Players who had family members that served could write to them directly. For others, we found programs that send letters to veterans across the country. It was simple, but powerful. The conversations that came out of it were meaningful. Players got to explore their family history and make a connection. Other players, maybe for the first time in their lives, got to explore the idea of military service, about what it means to sacrifice and lead, and about why gratitude matters.

If you want to do something similar with your team, here are a few great options to get started:

Even a short message from a young athlete can make a difference. Take a few minutes this week to talk with your players about service and sacrifice. Encourage them to reach out, write a note, or simply thank someone they know who has served.

Sports are a great teacher, but so is gratitude. This week, let’s use both.

A New Season

As most of you start the season this week - I just want to say best of luck and remember why you’re doing it. Stay true to yourself and your beliefs. Don’t sacrifice your morals or your standards. Coaching is one of the professions where you can still have a meaningful and long lasting impact on a person’s life. You probably got into coaching because you had a great coach or mentor in your life.

In coaching and life, I have always tried to stay true to myself. Here are 11 Principles I live by that I want to share with you.

And always remember: Don’t let the bastards wear you down.

The Scouting Report is your weekly dose of resources that can help your coaching. Plays of the Week, videos, drills, etc. What’s the old joke? The best coaches are just the best thieves?

Shared Resources

Great BLOB from Dusty May at Michigan:

There is no crazy parent of the week - but I look forward to all the crazy emails and messages you get this week after tryouts and cuts :)

We’ve all gotten that one message from a parent that makes you pause, blink twice, and say… “Did they really just send that?”

If you’ve got a funny, confusing, or just plain wild message sitting in your inbox, send it in to [email protected]. We’ll feature the best ones anonymously - names and personal info will be removed.

Let’s remind each other we’re not alone in this coaching journey.

That’s a wrap on Episode 17 of Game Shots. Thank you for subscribing. Truly.

My mission has always been, and will always be, to support coaches around the world who love the game and want to keep getting better.