I've been reading Atomic Habits by James Clear for a second time. This popped out at me today while reading at lunch:
We don't choose our earliest habits, we imitate them.
As coaches, how often do we default to coaching our teams the way we were coached? Many of us are guilty of practicing a drill solely because it was a staple in the practices we were part of as players or assistant coaches earlier in our career.
An example: my first year coaching high school basketball, we drilled America's Play (block-to-block, double down-screen for the screener) solely because it was a drill we practiced every day when I was a young and moldable assistant coach at Georgetown College. Those practices at GC occurred from 2000 - 2007, over fifteen years ago. Sure, there are teaching points to take out of the drill, but I can count how many times we've had to defend America's Play on one hand during the last four seasons of high school coaching.
I think the earliest habits formed in coaching are the most formidable. However, we need to ensure that we are constantly analyzing whether our coaching is effective and efficient (doing what is right at the right time). Let us never forget that young coaches and our players are developing their early habits by imitating us. May we never take that for granted, and always strive to provide the best example possible.
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