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How Leadership Principles Apply to Coach Cal and the UK Basketball Program

My friend Bradley Stevenson wrote a post about Kentucky basketball. Isn’t everyone these days? Well, not everyone, but lots of people are around here. UK basketball is a topic of conversation wherever you go in Lexington this time of year.

And, all the chatter hasn’t been positive this year. You are obviously not a basketball fan if you couldn’t figure that one out for yourself.

But, Bradley’s post was different. It was challenging, but encouraging at the same time. It resonated with people. Lots of people. Read “An Open Letter to Coach Cal (Coaches, Players and Fans)”.

Then Bradley did something only a friend would do. He asked me if I had any leadership advice to offer the UK basketball program. What? Me? I’m a student of leadership, but I’m only a casual basketball fan. I love the game. I go to the games. I wear the team colors. I cheer. But, my greatest passions are consumed in other directions. (Like Jesus. I’m passionate about Him. And, leadership. And the church.).

Anyway, Bradley’s a friend, or at least he claims to be (we’ll see how good a friend after this post goes live), so I decided to comply with his request. We did it in an interview fashion. And, knowing how much I like (and use) the number 7, Bradley asked me 7 questions about my leadership advice for Coach Cal and the UK basketball program.

Here were the questions:

  • What’s your best leadership advice when dealing with negativity?
  • How do you motivate your team during difficult times?
  • How do you stay focused during difficult times?
  • What do you say to naysayers?
  • If you had 5 minutes with Coach Cal what advice would you give him?
  • Same question, but about the team! If you had 5 minutes with the team (without Coach Cal) what advice would you give them?
  • Finally, if you had 5 minutes with the UK fans…what would you say?

You can read my answers on Bradley’s blog post, “A Leadership Perspective for Coach Cal, Players and Fans“.

Be warned. I’m a leadership guy. And, this is basketball. Big Blue Nation basketball. That’s serious stuff around here. And, I live here. Please be nice.

Let’s talk sports. Or leadership. How do you see the two subjects related?

And, for bonus points…

Who, in your opinion, is the best leader as a coach in sports today?

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Ron Edmondson

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Join the discussion 4 Comments

  • Nancy says:

    Great share.

  • Kmac4him
    Twitter:
    says:

    I would (prejudicially) say my daughter. She coaches volleyball. I love her coaching style of leadership because she is well rounded by being in a vital-vertical relationship with Jesus, she see’s not just the viewpoint of her sport, but the Kingdom perspective of her God. Young Athletes are impressionable-shapeable, and when they have a coach such as she is, she influences their life with the Wholeness an athlete needs. The discipline of the basics, staying with the basics of being trained and training daily in a way that you can go the second mile, your team will last through the longest volley, will hustle through the 5th game as well as they did the first game. She builds self assurance through encouragement and trains each athlete from the point that they are skilled, giving them a goal to reach to improve, so every girl on the team knows they have something to improve on, no one has arrived. The coolest thing ever though is she sticks to her disciplines. If a girl is late to practice or misses practice, she has to run before the next practice, and what impresses me most is that my daughter, the coach, will run with her. The principle in that sticks with me. God disciplines us for our good, but during the discipline of training us to be at our best, He runs with us, we do not run alone.

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