John Wooden's college coach at Purdue was Hall of Famer and Basketball Coaching Pioneer Ward "Piggy" Lambert. Coach Lambert wrote Practical Basketball in 1932, one of the first "bibles" of the game (a 243 page textbook). In his book, Coach Lambert discussed an important aspect of being an effective coach: Helping your team to avoid staleness.
 
Whether it is a basketball team or a work team, an effective coach or manager will ensure that the daily process of practicing or working does not become tedious or hum-drum. Here is what Coach Lambert had to say:
 
"Staleness is a time-worn alibi that outsiders use to ex-plain defeat. The coach must fight this idea, although staleness may occur at times. If a team goes stale, it is the coach's fault.There are certain conditions which will cause staleness, but the principal reasons are mental. Long schedules, too long practices and worry cause a mental weariness. Players lose interest and lack enthusiasm if the coach holds them too rigidly to routine. The proper physical condition may be maintained by the work the coach gives, but the player may still become tired mentally. The value of rest must be recognized during a long season. If players are in good physical condition, it is well to give them now and then a vacation of a day or so, when they should be kept away from the scene of basketball.
 
The attitude of play should be retained in practice during the season. It is a good sign to see spontaneous play on the part of the individuals. All the fun that players may get on the floor should not be taken away from them because the coach is earnest in his work. At any time there is spontaneous play, the coach knows there is no staleness. Overworked players, we may say, become stale. Their muscle tone has been destroyed, and they are out of condition. Rest is the cure for physical as well as mental staleness. Players who are stale lose weight, lack enthusiasm, look tired and become irritable. Plenty of sleep, change of environment and change of diet, if the condition is physical, will bring the player back."
 
Red Auerbach kept the Boston Celtics fresh for eight straight NBA titles by having his players collaborate with him every day on new basketball plays and ideas for their teams to use. John Wooden ended every practice on fun. Greg Popovich had players coaching and supervising drills at USA Basketball Practice and played some one on one defense himself against his all-stars. Some of the best and brightest companies shut down their main frames after 6 P.M. so employees cannot log into work from home. The best managers always have a contest going to keep work fun. Weekly potluck lunches are a staple of fun companies.
 
It might be beneficial to reread Coach Lambert's advice and consider how you can apply it.

John Wooden's college coach at Purdue was Hall of Famer and Basketball Coaching Pioneer Ward "Piggy" Lambert. Coach Lambert wrote Practical Basketball in 1932, one of the first "bibles" of the game (a 243 page textbook). In his book, Coach Lambert clearly defined three key ideas that are valuable in building a team whether it's a basketball or business team.
 
1. "Foundation of Fundamentals: From observation, I believe the close contests are won on the proper execution of fundamental habits during the game, and not because of strategy, or tip-off or out-of-bounds plays, or out-guessing the opponent."
 
If you have a sales organization it is not the tricky phrases or shiny clothes that will deliver long-term consistent success. The successful sales person has two consistent fundamentals: (1) a sincere interest in helping the customer achieve their goal and (2) an upbeat, positive attitude.
 
Businesses and Sports Teams that are struggling use the phrase: "We're going to get back to the basics." Coach Lambert would tell them to start with the basics and stick with them.
 
2. "Molding Individuals into a Team: The selection and placing of the various individuals on the squad in certain positions is a subject for which there is no definite recipe. This is a problem more for every individual coach to decide, but the following suggestions may be helpful.
 
One of the first requirements of a basketball player (the same is true of athletes in other branches of sport) is courage, which is mental and not physical. The coach should teach players that courage is mental stability, and make them realize that they are able to play up to their maximum capability, regardless of the success of the opponents. The fight is mental and not physical, if we take for granted, of course, that the individuals are in condition. Brains and character are the most valuable assets.Players having these qualifications will perform up to their expected capabilities in close contests, and even rise to higher planes in cases of extreme stress. Natural physical ability, or cleverness, is an asset, but the player of ability without courage and brains is not apt to perform well under trying conditions."
 
When hiring or recruiting, if you start with brains and characteryou will avoid talented derelicts.
 
3. "Coaching Advice: The coach, first of all, is a teacher. One of the dangers in teaching is overloading players with knowledge. Some inexperienced coaches try to teach young players everything they know about the game. Most young players cannot absorb all of this knowledge, and over coaching may be more injurious than under coaching. Players may easily be overburdened with too much knowledge, which will cause them to lose the spirit of play and competition.
 
My experience has been that the process of teaching and developing players is a gradual one, and requires much patience by the coach."
 
Coach Lambert had a simple formula for building teams: 1. Start and stick with the fundamentals. 2. Build the team with people that have brains and character. 3. Be a patient teacher.
 

​John Wooden's college coach at Purdue was Hall of Famer and Basketball Coaching Pioneer Ward "Piggy" Lambert. Coach Lambert believed the mental condition of his players was as important as their physical condition. He wanted his players free from worry on and off the court and viewed it as part of his responsibility to be proactive in helping his players in this regard.
 
In his book A Game Plan for Life: The Power of Mentoring, Coach Wooden described how his college coach Coach Lambert helped him and his teammates mentally:
 
"Coach Lambert never neglected to talk to us about our personal lives. He wouldn't probe if a topic was clearly sensitive, but he was attentive to anything that might be distracting us from fully concentrating on a game. If it was trouble in a class or trouble in a relationship, he just seemed to know what to ask. And feeling that the coach cared enough about us to find out and wanted to check with us to make sure everything was all right meant that we could relax a bit, knowing that there was someone on our side. I know he did it because he cared about us, first and foremost; but I think he got better performance out of us as an added benefit of giving us a chance to vent.
 
Coach Lambert always let us know that he genuinely cared for us. He would ask how our parents were doing and if there were any health concerns; he knew our girlfriends and our siblings by name. I remain convinced to this day that compassion like that—sincerely caring for your players and maintaining an active interest in their lives, concerns, and motivations—is one of the most important qualities a coach can have."
 
Coach Lambert wrote Practical Basketball in 1932, one of the first "bibles" of the game (a 243 page textbook). In his book Coach Lambert discussed the importance of coaching the mental conditioning of his players:
 
"It has been previously said that, in close contests of evenly matched teams, the game of basketball is a mental fight. Proper mental training must be given by the teacher or coach. Mental stability and control must be preached to the boys. They must understand that all that can be expected .of them is that they perform up to their capability regardless of the success of the other team. When the mental courage of a player is destroyed, he is indecisive. If the mind is not aggressive, the drive in the legs is gone. Experience teaches us to recognize ailments of physical condition, but a close study of each individual is necessary to learn the method by which he may attain aggressiveness of mind. There are many psychological factors which influence the condition of mind."
 
In addition to the technical aspects of basketball, John Wooden and Piggy Lambert were committed to coaching mental conditioning.

​Each of us must be on a personal journey to find something in life that emotionally connects and inspires our spirit. Do not wait until you are older to become wiser. Do not expect to be chosen. Choose yourself every single day. Transfer your mind from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset. 

Each day perform like your life depends on it while not allowing the opinions of others to drown out your inner voice. Success is continuously improving who you are, how you live, how you serve and how you relate. Learn to accept, embrace and make peace with life's many changes and challenges. This transcending act alone will make life easier, allowing us to become wiser in the discovery. 

Residing in your comfort zone lessens the chances of something remarkable, magical, and the impossible from happening. Mind management is much more crucial than time management. Learning to conquer your doubts and fears is the beginning of everlasting transformation and sustainable growth.

Unfortunately, many of us give up our curiosity too soon. You are not your failures. You are not your past. Small actions compound. Every successful person I have encountered had a perseverance story to share. The obstacle is the way. There will always be light at the end of the lesson. You have to stay the course. Keep searching and persevering. What stands in the way becomes the way!

Ward "Piggy" Lambert was John Wooden's college coach. Lambert coached Purdue University (1916–17, 1918–1946) to a 371–152 record in 29 seasons, including 11 Big Ten Conference titles and a National Championship in 1932. His teams were noted for their speed and effective use of fast breaks, which he developed. Lambert was also the head baseball coach at Purdue in 1917, from 1919 to 1935, and from 1945 to 1946. At one point after his retirement, both the baseball field and basketball fieldhouse at Purdue were named after Lambert.
 
Coach Lambert was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1960 and the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.
 
Coach Lambert was a tremendous influence on Coach Wooden. Lambert wrote Practical Basketball in 1932, one of the first "bibles" of the game (a 243 page textbook). In 1966 Coach Wooden wrote Practical Modern Basketball (a 441 page textbook).
 
Chapter Eleven in Practical Basketball is titled: The Coach a Student of Psychology. Here is an excerpt from Coach Lambert that may be helpful to a person in a position of leadership:
 
"Confidence - One of the greatest factors that influences the playing capability of any athlete is confidence. The player who is confident is first of all relaxed, and relaxation is necessary in the performance of most of the rudiments of the game, especially basket shooting. Confidence increases initiative.
 
Overconfidence -This has the opposite effect of confidence. Players and teams going into a game in an overconfident frame of mind are self-satisfied and not aggressive mentally. Overconfident players do not try to do their best. Even the fine player who is self-satisfied becomes merely mediocre.
 
Fear and Worry - These are factors which destroy playing capability. An individual who fears defeat, or that he may not play well, becomes tense and lacks initiative. Some over conscientious players worry before contests are played and burn up energy in the minds of such boys. The coach must instill respect for opponents without creating fear. Respect creates aggressiveness, while fear destroys it. Too much respect for the opponents will create awe of them. Worry may not be confined to a conscientious boy who is disturbed about his own playing. Often outside factors cause player to worry, and the coach must gain his confidence. It is possible he may help the boy. Conditions at home, finances or studies are often the factors which influence the ability of players. Lack of enthusiasm in practice is an indication of a worried state of mind."
 
What do you do to build Confidence and eliminate Overconfidence with your team members?
 
Which of your team members are bothered by Fear and Worry?How can you help them?

 None of us will ever be perfect and all of us are a work in progress. One of my mentors, Coach Dale Brown   (his mentor was Coach John Wooden), received this excellent advice and shared it with me:

1.People want you to be perfect. But we're not perfect. We're all fallible, flawed people. That's the reality of life.

2. Success is piece of mind, which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to become the best of which you are capable.

3. I imagine that I am neither as good as some people think  nor as bad as some others consider me to be. Perhaps I am more like the one who said, " I am not what I ought to be, not what I want to be, not what I am going to be, but I'am thankful that I'am not what I used to be."

Mark Twain gave us good advice when he said, "The worst loneliness is not to be comfortable with yourself;" and "The two most important days of your life are the day you were born and the day you understand why."

The very first step toward being what you can be is to know what you really are. The most interesting journey that a person can make is discovering yourself. An old Hindu Proverb can make that happen, "There is nothing noble about being superior to someone else. True nobility is being superior to your previous self." I am still working on that one but will never give up trying to obtain it.

We have unlimited potential because God never makes any junk. Regardless of the circumstances, if we never lose hope or give up, we will then and only then find peace, happiness, and success.

The word "coach" was first used back in the 1500's in England. A coach was a horse-drawn carriage used to transport a person of importance from where he or she is to where he or she wants to be, could be, needs to be, or ought to be going.

This is a responsibility that coaches have to make, which is good use of the power they have as a coach to reach and teach young people about issues and ideas that will carry them not only through a season but through a lifetime.

We owe them our very best and when they leave us, we must ask ourselves, are they better or worse. They are now living records of our own failures and successes.

I am so grateful to have had the privilege of being a coach for 33 years and being associated with so many fine young men and women .