The Athletic

Can you guess which NFL defensive coordinator uses food as a way to connect with his players? From heavy pans of banana pudding to homemade gemelli in a blush sauce, The Athletic’s Dan Pompei uncovered one NFL team’s secret connector, distributed by their defensive coordinator. His players said they appreciate his honesty and tough love. "He challenged guys to be better, but he did it in a way that didn’t demean anyone,” one player said. "It was like, ‘I know there’s more there. And I believe in you.'” Said another: “He’s going to be on your tail like white on rice.” But they also appreciate the way an aluminum pan of food, made by his wife, will appear in their lockers when they need it most.?

What is Patrick Mahomes’ mental approach and how can we learn from it? The Chiefs’ superstar QB explained his mindset to CNBC in 2021: “No matter what the situation is, you have to make sure that you’re focused on the five to six things that can help impact the play in the best way possible.” Mahomes credits his “five or six things” approach to Paddy Steinfort, a mental performance coach he met while at Texas Tech. We called Steinfort and asked him to explain how the rest of us can benefit from the same skills Mahomes uses: Identify the essential things you need for success For Mahomes, Steinfort said it might be, “OK, when I’m the best quarterback I can be, here’s what I do. Regardless of the play call, regardless of the scoreboard, regardless of the weather, I know that when I line up under center, here’s two or three things that I’ve got to do every time.” “If we get really good at coming back to those,” he added, “then we’re giving ourselves the best chance of not getting in our own way and letting our talent and our hard work come out.” Be intentional with your focus “If you've done something once,” Steinfort said, “it means you’re capable of doing it. If you can’t do it repeatably, it means something is getting in the way.” So how can you train your mind to focus on only the important things you need for success? Steinfort said meditation is one way, but it’s really about being intentional with your focus and rewiring your mind. “You set an intention to one thing, and every time your mind drifts off to something else, you notice it and you bring it back,” he said. “Whether that's your breath, whether that's the feeling of whatever part of your body you might be tuning into or it's a thought, that's the way to train (your mind).” Come up with a process to refocus when obstacles distract you Steinfort said all kinds of obstacles — like a bad call in a game or a headache at work — can knock our attention away from where it needs to be or change our mindset. “Every time you notice one of those obstacles,” he said, “you systematically put a plan in place so that it doesn’t knock you off again and you relentlessly work through that process.”

Stephen Vogt of the Cleveland Guardians and Pat Murphy of the Milwaukee Brewers were named the Managers of the Year in their respective leagues last night. For both of them, it was their first year on the job with their teams.

Lessons on Leading from Harvard Men’s Hockey coach, former NHL player Ted Donato Donato said one of his greatest challenges was his transition from playing in the NHL to coaching college hockey. Now, he’s one of only three coaches in Harvard’s program history to surpass 300 wins, and he recently won the James Herscot '58 Coach of Excellence award, recognizing him for his leadership and commitment to his players. Here’s what he learned along the way ?? 1/ As a leader, be true to yourself from a personality standpoint. 2/ Remember who you’re guiding and find a balance. You have to make sure that you don't give your team too much credit, but you also can’t accept too many things. 3/ When it comes to mentoring people, their character is more important than how good they are at their job. 4/ Value opinions and look for feedback from those with experience. 5/ Understand there's all sorts of personalities on a team and know that oftentimes you must reach people in different ways. 6/ Tough conversations are necessary, but approach them as genuinely and authentically as you can. 7/ Give yourself grace and recognize that some lessons are learned through experience.

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We asked college basketball coaches for their best leadership lesson. Here are our favorites: Kyle Smith, Stanford: The best leadership lesson I ever learned was when my son was diagnosed with autism. I had to apply many of the leadership lessons that we share with our young men to my life…I had to make myself vulnerable to my team and everyone. I had to try and manage a real-life crisis. I understood that you need to have people with strong character around you everywhere and asking for help is not a sign of weakness, but a sign of growth. Mike Martin, Brown: Be vulnerable about the hard truths. John Jakus, Florida Atlantic: Hire people that are better than you and let them excel. I exist to serve people and lift them up. The staff doesn’t exist for me. Don’t get that part backwards. Niko Medved, Colorado State: The greatest motivation tool and the biggest impact you have on people as a leader is spending 1-on-1 time with them. This doesn’t always mean structured or scheduled meetings. Oftentimes the organic “check ins” are just as, if not more, impactful. T.J. Otzelberger, Iowa State: Your actions must speak so loudly that your words don’t matter. More than anything leaders are being watched, observed and evaluated at all times. How a person projects themself speaks more about their leadership than what they say.

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The 3 ways Derrick Johnson upgraded his daily routine to become an All-Pro linebacker 1. Work hard when uncomfortable "When you’re working out in the offseason and you’re running and you’re doing gassers, the first part is not that hard. Then you get to the middle and you’re like: 'My chest is hurting or my legs are dead' — that’s actually the growth. That’s the part where, if you stop now, you're like everybody else. Cool. You’re a regular person. But those are the times and the moments where you have to consciously say: 'Now the real work starts. Now I really get better, when I strain and I work through my uncomfortableness.'" 2. Get better at just one thing every day "You can’t be that yo-yo. That’s kind of what I was early on in my career. It was like, 'Man, look at that guy! He’s really good!' And then it was like: 'Oh, he didn't show up for this game. Maybe next week.' Can I consistently do my job at a high level? That goes back to what I'm talking about: Trying to get better at something every day. And it may be something different every day or for a couple days it may be the same thing." "Conquer that one thing today and you actually find yourself creating some habits that create who you are." 3. Relax during pressure moments "I’ve been in games where I was in pressure situations and then I would watch film and say: 'I don’t like that. That’s not me. That person is not me.' I had to rework my mind: 'In practice, when you get man-to-man, be loose. Don’t think (negative thoughts).' I practiced in a way that I was loose and I was myself because that was the best version of me." "You have to be OK not being perfect, and you’ve got to be yourself."

“I just made a serious mental error” is what head coach Erik Spoelstra said after a loss earlier this week. Spoelstra called a timeout the Miami Heat didn't have with 1.1 seconds left in a tie game, which led to a technical foul and his team to lose the game. “That’s on me. I feel horrible about it,” Spoelstra told reporters after the game. “There’s really no excuse for that.” As Miami’s head coach, Spoelstra is tasked with guiding a team and fostering a culture. By taking responsibility for his mistake, he’s giving himself the opportunity to learn, which in turn, can give his team the confidence to do the same. ? Another good example happened in the NFL recently. Seahawks QB Geno Smith threw for 363 yards and three touchdowns against the Rams, but in his press conference after the game, Smith focused on his three costly interceptions that contributed to Seattle’s 26-20 overtime loss. “They put a lot of trust in me with my decision-making, and when they put the ball in my hands, when my teammates play the way they played today and give us a shot to win the game, I’ve got to make sure we do,” Smith said. “The things I did today, mistakes that I made, they affected us negatively and really cost us the game today. I know how much this is going to hurt. I’m going to step it up, though.” Now, a week after that moment, we asked him during a press conference why accountability matters so much. His response: “To me, accountability is all about integrity. That’s not just when people are watching. That's when no one’s watching. How accountable are you truly to yourself? When I don't do the things I'm accustomed to doing, when we have those mistakes and they turn the game, I’m going to be the first to stand up and put it on my shoulders. I’ll do that every time.”