A great teacher/coach must have extensive knowledge and then use self-control to teach that knowledge in small increments that team members can absorb, collaborate with and act on. "The first test of teaching is application."
 
Hall of Fame North Carolina Coach Roy Williams, in his book with Tim Crothers, Hard Work, described how he applies this principle in his pre practice huddles:
 
"Our 'Thought for the Day' is a concept I learned from Coach Smith. I have a file of over 1,000 inspirational phrases that I've collected from airline in-flight magazines, NBA scouts, PGA golfers, and lots of fans who have sent them to me in the mail: See the rocks in your path not as obstacles, but as opportunities to climb higher or If you want to leave footprints in the sands of time — you better wear work shoes. On the first day of preseason practice, the Thought for the Day is always the same: It's amazing how much can be accomplished when nobody cares who gets the credit.
 
Sometimes I'll spend 20 minutes before a practice picking the thought that I believe best pertains to the mindset of my team at that moment. Then during the first huddle of practice every day we spend a few minutes talking about it. We'll read the thoughtand then I'll ask the players, "How does that relate to basketball?" And then I'll ask them, "Okay now, how does that relate to life?""
 
The method Coach Williams uses with his Thought for the Day is more effective than just posting the thought on a bulletin board because by having his players read the thought and then asking them, "How does that relate to basketball?" and "Okay now, how does that relate to life?" he gets them to collaborate and then act on the idea.
 
Coach Williams described how he uses the same type of approach in his pre-game talk:
 
"When all the players are dressed and seated, I go in. I've seen NBA teams write 40 things up on the board before a game. I'll write down no more than three because that's all I think my players can absorb. I might write, five guys run both ways as fast as you can or be strong with the ball, nothing casual or the team that wins the battle of the boards wins the game.
 
After that meeting, the players go out to the court for warm-ups and I meet them back in the locker room seven minutes before the game starts. I'll cover my three points of emphasis again and then we come together, kneel on the floor, put our hands together, and I say the Lord's Prayer. I always add three words at the end. I say, "For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Together please, Lord. Amen." Then I tell them, "Play hard, play smart, play together," and I send them out for a final warm-up."
 

​If you feel "nervous" when faced with the prospect of an important event it does not mean you lack confidence. Excitement and anxiety involve the same chemical process in the brain. Your body can’t tell the difference. How our mind interprets that automatic stress response determines whether we are excited or anxious.
 
When you feel "nervous" say to yourself "Nervous is good. I have butterflies because I am going to do something, I am excited about and this "nervousness" is adrenaline which gives me more energy to improve my performance."
 
If you worry about feeling nervous, worry about the outcome and then think that you lack confidence so something bad is going to happen your nervousness becomes anxiety and your performance will suffer.
 
Nervous – Worry = Excitement = Improved Performance.
Nervous + Worry = Anxiety = Poor Performance
 
Fear and worry destroy performance capability. Conditions at home, finances or studies are all factors which may create worry and affect a team member's ability. It is possible that an alert coach can help.
 
It is up to the Coach to eliminate "worry about an unfavorable outcome" in competitive situations. Hall of Fame North Carolina Coach Roy Williams, in his book with Tim Crothers, Hard Work, described how he learned this from his mentor, Hall of Fame Coach Dean Smith:
 
In 1982 we were playing Georgetown for the National Championship and it was a close game throughout. We were down by one point with 32 seconds to play. Coach Smith called timeout and the guys came over to the bench. The negative look on all their faces scared me to death. It was the first time that night I ever had the thought, "My gosh, we could lose this game." The players sat down in chairs and the coaches knelt in front of them, and I can remember it like it was last night. Coach Smith said, "Okay, we’re in great shape. We’re exactly where we want to be because we’re going to determine the outcome of this game." I pretended to cough so I could look up at the scoreboard just to make sure I had the score right, because he was making me feel like we were ahead. Then he said, "I’m serious. We’re exactly where we want to be. This basketball game is ours. When the team left the huddle, I felt so much better. The look on everybody’s face had changed 180 degrees. I saw Coach Smith pat Michael Jordan on the back and say, "Michael, if you get it, knock it in."
 
Dean Smith had eliminated the "worry". Michael Jordan made a jump shot with 15 seconds to go and North Carolina won the National Championship 63-62.
 
The pregame talk Coach Wooden gave before a National Championship Game was the same as any other game: "I've done my job, now it's time for you to do yours. I don't want to know by the expression on your face after the game which team scored more points. Now let's go."
 
Roy Williams, John Wooden and Dean Smith all eliminated worry from their teams to create improved performance.
 
Do you know what your team members are worried about? How can you help them not worry?

​In his terrific book, Hard Work with Tim Crothers, Hall of Fame Coach Roy Williams described a conversation he had with Coach Wooden:
 
"In the summer of 2000, I went to visit the legendary UCLA coach John Wooden and he said something that has always stuck with me: "Roy, you can coach talent. Some guys can't. Nobody can coach no talent, but you can coach talent." That has driven me ever since to make sure that I have talent to coach."
 
Coach Williams continued to explain how he focuses on the type of talent he wants:
 
"I recruit through a process of elimination. If I see a big guy who can't run, I don't recruit him, because I want our team to run. If I see a point guard who can shoot, but has no savvy, I won't recruit him, because I need a point guard who makes great decisions. Whenever I go out and recruit, I'm thinking, "This is the way I want to play. Can that kid do what I want him to do?" I need guys that can pass, I need guys that can shoot, I need guys that play at a high speed and I need guys that are self-motivated, but I have to allow for some give and take, because not everybody is going to be perfect.
 
When I decide that a kid has the talent I'm looking for, then I try to find out about his character. I once had an elementary school principal in Wichita, Kansas, tell me, "Coach, I wish you'd say academics is the second priority." "No ma'am," I said, "because if he's a great player and a 4.0 student but he's going to be a pain in the neck, I want it to be somebody else's neck.""
 
Marvin Williams helped lead North Carolina to the NCAA championship in 2004–05. In 2019 Williams signed a contract for his fifteenth season in the NBA. Coach Williams described how Marvin demonstrated his character as a high school player:
 
"I remember going to recruit Marvin, and in one game he had 36 points. But that wasn't what sold me on him. Marvin fouled out of that game, and while the crowd was giving him a standing ovation, he walked over to the end of the bench and grabbed five cups of water and handed them to the five guys who were going back into the game. I said to myself, "I really want that kid.""
 
Coach Wooden said: "Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there." As an NBA player, Williams is described as a beacon of hard work, professionalism and leadership. His NBA coach, Charlotte's James Borrego, said this about Williams: "He is a warrior. The number one thing is he is a leader, he anchors that locker room. He gives us a wonderful professionalism out there every single night."
 
Williams displayed his character as a high school senior and sixteen years later he continues to do so in the NBA every night.
 

​In 1986 Hall of Fame Coach Roy Williams became a full-time assistant coach at the University of North Carolina. In 1988 he became the head coach at the University of Kansas. The determination Coach Williams demonstrated from 1973 to 1986 is an inspiration to anybody following their dream.
 
His first coaching job was in 1973 as a high school basketball and golf coach at Charles D. Owen High School in Black Mountain, North Carolina. He coached basketball and boys' golf for five years, ninth-grade football for four years and served as athletic director for two years. His first season the team was 2-19. He kept coaching. He was determined.
 
In 1978, Williams was hired to come back to the University of North Carolina as a part-time assistant coach. In his terrific bookHard Work, with Tim Crothers, Coach Williams described how that happened:
 
"Every summer while I was coaching at Owen, I was invited to work at the UNC basketball camp. At the closing-night staff party in the summer of 1978, Coach Smith asked me if I was interested in coming back to North Carolina to be his part-time assistant coach. I was so excited and flattered. I couldn't really believe it. But there was a catch, and I asked Coach Smith if I could think about it and talk to my wife. I went back home and told Wanda that Coach Smith had offered me the job. I said, "Honey, it only pays $2,700 a year."
 
Wanda thought I was nuts. She said, "That's the stupidest idea I've ever heard. We've just built a house, our son is 15 months old, our friends and family all live here. We're making $30,000 between the two of us and you're asking me to go back to North Carolina for $2,700 a year?" "Honey, it'll work out." She looked into my eyes, exhaled, and said, "When do we leave?""
 
For the next eight years Williams hustled to make ends meet. He recounts some of the highlights:
 
"I had five jobs my first year. I ran a little basketball camp for the children of the university faculty and staff; at the end of each week I made $80 after expenses. I worked for a transport company taking staples out of eight-inch-thick stacks of bills, putting them in numerical order.
 
Every Sunday during the football and basketball seasons, I woke up at 5 o'clock in the morning to drive videotapes of the UNC football and basketball coaches' shows to the local television stations in Greensboro and Asheville. I drove 504 miles and made $113 per trip, minus the money I spent on gas. I spent nine hours in the car. I did that for five years."
 
During the summers Williams drove all over the state selling North Carolina promotional calendars. "That first summer I drove 9,000 miles, sold 10,500 calendars in nine weeks, and made $2,400. I still have our income tax returns from 1980, and our combined income, two 30-year-olds with two kids, was $8,910. It was hard sometimes, but we managed."
 
In 1986 after thirteen years of determination Roy Williams became a full-time assistant coach at North Carolina.
 
What are you determined about?