The late John Thompson was a coaching icon. He developed the Georgetown program into a national powerhouse. Author Jesse Washington delves into the facets of Thompson’s life that extend beyond the court.
When NBA coaches Brad Stevens (Boston Celtics), and Erik Spoelstra (Miami Heat) are looking for advice, they seek out a Division II basketball coach to learn more about the game. Jim Crutchfield, head basketball coach at Nova Southeastern in Fort Lauderdale, is a source of information for some of the best basketball minds in the world.
Whenever I’m doing a coaches clinic, I recommend the book, Forever’s Team by John Feinstein. The book is an extraordinary chronicle about Duke men’s basketball during the 1978-1979 seasons (before Coach K arrived). The book tracks the Duke team as they went to the 1978 national championship game, only to lose to Kentucky. A majority of the book, however, focuses on the following year.
The academic performance for many public schools systems is dismal. In this article, an option for students and families is presented. Instead of the state providing funds to an underperforming schools system, give those monies to the student so they can control their own academic future.
I’m geeking out on what Driveline Baseball offers to athletes from High School to the Major League. This organization dedicates itself to finding that extra mile per hour on a fastball or a more efficient swing when batting.
Surgically repairing a damaged knee has made unbelievable progress over the years. It wasn’t that long ago that one wore a 6″ long scar to remind of an ACL surgery. The current arthroscopic process has extremely positive results and a much shorter rehabilitation process. However, the best thing coaches can do is make the best effort to injury prevention.
I highly recommend a fascinating book by Jason Riley chronicling the life of Thomas Sowell. For those not familiar with Sowell, he is a brilliant thinker that began his career as a teacher, a writer, and a Marxist, only to evolve as one of the leading conservative commentators of our time.
I recently read an interesting article by R.R. Reno explaining the reasons why he no longer considers applicants from Ivy League Schools. He does not question that Ivy League institutions have students of high intellect and have motivations to excel. I copied a short clip that might explain his rationale for looking for employees from other types of institutions.
I read a couple articles this week that I enjoyed. One by author Seth Godin about the importance of bad ideas. The second about how a Texas QB is using NIL money for a good cause. Also, a short article on Chris Paul and Major League Baseball. Take a look and see what you think!
The Isaacson book I’m currently loving is a biography of Leonardo Da Vinci. Of course, Da Vinci was talented and brilliant. What Isaacson details are the personality of Da Vinci and the traits that made him a genius.