Great coaches hold their players accountable to standards higher than victory .

2. Core Values: Operatingphilosophies or principles that guide an organizations internal conduct.Your team actions and behaviors should reflect your core values. • Great coaches hold their players accountable to standards higher than victory. • What do you stand for? • Good work habits or shortcuts? Poise or temper? Teamwork or selfishness? • When we watch your team, what will we see from your players?

3. Intentionally Teach Character • Teaching character will cause your team to play at a higher level. - Michael Jordan should know, "Talent may win games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships." Teach character like you'd teach any skill: • 1. Define-Set specific, age appropriate, clear and concise expectations.2. Model-Show what your value looks like in an action setting. Demonstrate.3. Shape-Rehearse potential problem situations. Praise good examples. Confront poor ones.4. Reinforce-Positive verbal reinforcement for anything that comes closer to the desired behavior. Use names and the specific action you're reinforcing.

4. Define the Value • Athletic Definition • What you want them to learn • Decide what is important to you and find ways to make it important to them • Have team define first, ask where they’re at, to see where you want them to go • Age appropriate • Brainstorm with TEAM if time permits • Not just top down, but bottom up • It will mean more to them if they can be a part of defining what is important

5. #1 COMMITMENT and WORK ETHIC • Self Motivated: • Strong desire to improve • Eager to learn and seek information (“teachable spirit”) • Willingness to subject oneself to hard, productive work • Goal Oriented: • Focused on a particular course of action • Persistent in pursuit of attaining goals/objectives • Resilient in ability to recover quickly from misfortune • High expectations • Buy In: • A commitment to a specific course of action. A belief in the system • Selflessness and willingness to make sacrifices

7. Model the Value • Demonstration • Blueprint of behavioral expectations • Show them “What it Looks Like” • Have them tell you “how should you respond” • Rehearse Potential Problems • Body language • Managing Frustration • Reaction to Bad Calls • Poise in the face of temper or bad behavior

10. Shaping the Value • Molding the Behavior • Shape what they are doing • What is acceptable and Not acceptable • “Who showed great Work Ethic Today in Practice?” • “What specifically impressed you that they did?” • “Player X, great job today… did anyone stand out to you?” • Leaders presenting concepts to team

11. #2 COMMUNICATION and TRUST • Relationships: • Coach to Coach/Player to Player/Player to Coach • Productive, caring, supportive “working” relationships with all team members and coaches • Everyone has ownership: Coaches should be open and available; Veterans should listen, teach and involve all members; Newcomers should strive to involve themselves and have a voice • Be honest, open, genuine and venerable • Be patient in that great relationships are built over time • Take time and make effort to know each other • Be inclusive • Perspective/Acceptance: • Understand that we are not all in the same place (experience, maturity, security, priorities) • Accept and understand diversity and differences • Be yourself, and be comfortable with who you are and where you are at right now, we are all a work in progress • Keep things in perspective (minimize drama) • Conflict Management/Resolution: • Solve quickly and directly (face-to-face, not electronic) • Strive for 2-way communication and understanding • Give productive feedback and examples • Keep conflicts between you and the other team member or staff person • Ability to speak, direct and accept information (including times of stress or when there is not time for conversation/explanation) • Trust that all members approach and communicate out of care, concern and competitiveness and that someone cares enough to want to help and work with you • Avoid taking comments/criticism personally; everyone communicates differently

13. Reinforce the Value • MAKE A DAILY COMMITMENT TO VALUES • Spotlighting • Positive reinforcement results in the strongest change • Have players recognize each other (molding) • Quotes and Messages • Have your athletes give you quotes, write them up that day and have them talk about what that quote means to them • Awards • Greatest principle of motivation – Things that get rewarded, get done, and will perpetuate themselves • Poker Chip • Puzzle

15. #3 CONFIDENCE & BELIEFThe ability to have faith in something; a positive outlook and to approach with hope and enthusiasm. A belief in yourself, someone or something. • Preparation: • Gain knowledge, understanding and experience • Surround yourself with a positive support structure • Set high expectations • Demonstrate ability; work with discipline and attempt to prepare the same way, over and over • Take ownership; you have an immense amount of control over how you prepare • Acknowledge your own success; point out positives for yourself • Gaining confidence is a process (to be worked on daily, as in any other skill) • Align your words and actions; your heart and your mind • Success: • Confidence is carried gracefully, not arrogant or boastful • Expect that you can and will succeed • It’s not just about you; take pride in the accomplishments of the team and being part of something bigger than yourself • Mental Toughness/Recovery: • Let mistakes/adversity go and focus on the next play • Eating dirt is a necessary process • Everyone will go through a slump • Learn to fail and keep trying • Don’t be afraid to take risks • Manage your emotions; be an energy giver…not an energy taker • Be determined & resilient • Build others up: • Recognize accomplishments and moments of excellence in others • Give constructive feedback in a positive way • Celebrate what is good in each other • Show respect. Bringing others down only shows insecurity/immaturity

17. #4 COMPETITIVENESS • Will to Win: • Embrace opportunities to compete, make themselves and everyone better • Willingness to take risk, not afraid to fail • Hates to lose, takes losing personally • Thrives in challenging environments and in pressure situations • Intensity - Channels emotions in a positive and productive way • Swagger - Strong belief in their own abilities • Comfortable being uncomfortable • Can vs. Can’t mentality • Focuses on strengths & what they are good at, while working to minimize weaknesses • Wants to win each drill, each game, each sprint • Passionate • Invincible – Bad Ass attitude • Mentally strong • Desire to be the best: • Resilient • Doesn’t whine or make excuses • Drive - Competes with themselves • Supports and appreciates those who want to be the best • Relentless - Always striving for more • Understands that they can’t do it by themselves and need others to win • Winning and team success overshadows personal/individual accomplishments • Doesn’t focus on fair/unfair…just gets the job done • Unsatisfied - Always thinks that they should/could do more • Desire comes from within and is Contagious • Want to be measured/evaluated/compared: • Finds competition enjoyable and fun • Values day to day challenges • Result oriented, likes keeping score • Embraces and accepts that you must fail to succeed. • You have to know where you are at, to know where you want to go • Achieving standards/goals is a daily investment and step-by-step process

19. #5 CHARACTER: ACCOUNTABILITY & RESPONSIBILITY • Preparedness: • Effortful study: taking challenges that lie just beyond one’s competence. • Disciplined: Striving to do things the right way all of the time • Ownership: Be willing to do more than what is directly asked of you • “Show up”. Emotionally, mentally and physically present and ready/willing to receive feedback as a compliment • Organized, detailed and task oriented • Manage your time • Integrity/Reliability: • Accept responsibility for your actions & do not blame others for your misfortunes • Consistent in your words and actions: Keep your promises • Reliable & dependable: someone who can be counted upon • Honest & trustworthy: Always tell the truth, even if it is embarrassing • Be Selfless: Accept whatever role you earn and continue to embrace opportunities to do/be more. Make someone else better for the greater good of the team • Character/Lifestyle: • Principled: Determine your values and morals • Decision making: Be aware that you and your actions are a reflection on all of us • Example: a positive role model • Influence: be impactful on others in a productive way • Support Structure: Surround yourself with people who support your efforts as a student-athlete and understand your time commitments and priorities. • Composure/poise: Don’t freak out over small issues or create drama when none should exist. Control the things that are within your control • Respect: Show appreciation to and for the people that are working hard to help you be successful • Personality: Be likable, accepting, helpful, caring

21. Team Progression • Individuals • Team members looking out for themselves, a collection of people dressed alike • Friends • Like each other, everyone gets along, but relationships are still only on the surface • Caring • Team members have a genuine and deep caring for each other on and off the court, can speak honestly to each other • Demanding • Team members have developed the trust to be able to pull more out of each other in a competitive way with relationships strong enough to know that it comes from a place of caring • Self Monitoring / Standards enforced on and off the court • Team members hold each other accountable and accept responsibility

22. The Truth is…. • Athletics does not teach character, coaches and parents do • Coaches who intentionally, purposefully incorporate character into their practices, strategies, and coaching style • 70% of all young people stop competing in a team sport by age 12 • The #1 reason young people give, is they no longer have fun • If expectations become greater than their abilities, it will be a long season • Discuss expectations and goals with your team members individually • Have players share their expectations and goals with their parents • “In looking for people to hire, look for three qualities – integrity, intelligence, and energy. And if they don’t have the first one (integrity), the other two will kill you” - Warren Buffett

23. Character Web Sites • www.asep.com American Sports Education Program • www.character.org The Character Education Partnership • www.charactercounts.org Character Counts! • www.goodcharacter.com/Sports.html Character and Sports • www.josephsoninstitute.org Josephson Institute of Ethics • www.positivecoach.org Positive Coaching Alliance • www.sportsethicsinstitute.org The Sports Ethics Institute • www.sportsmanship.org Citizenship through Sports Alliance • www.championsofcharacter.org NAIA Champions of Character • www.proactivecoaching.info Proactive Coaching • www.ncys.org/mytp/home/index.html National Council of Youth Sports