The Secret Of Longevity - Vanilla Ice Cream.

Those who have known me for awhile never have to ask what I'm getting for dessert. The answer is vanilla ice cream. Every once-in-a-while I'll depart from that staple and have a piece of cake or pie, but ninety percent of the time it is vanilla ice cream. If I am with my family, my high school coaching staff (who is like family), or close friends and we are getting dinner or a snack somewhere they don't even ask; they'll all still laugh at the choice but won't ask why just vanilla.

I was recently in Colorado Springs, Colorado for some work with USA Basketball and went to Josh & John's Ice Cream shop, voted the #1 ice cream shop in the state. Each USA Staff member got something different and unique which was totally fine for them. When it was time for me to order, you guessed it: plain and simple vanilla. They all asked "Why would you just get that in this shop?" and before I could answer one of the staff members said "Because that's Brian all the way".

You may be asking "What does vanilla ice cream have to do with coaching basketball"; to you maybe nothing, but for me it is a reflection of how I try to run my high school program.

Vanilla ice cream to many is boring. There aren't any toppings, no extras, no add-ons... it's just vanilla. However, boring can be a good thing. Boring leads to consistency and steadiness and it can be a road for efficiency and effectiveness.

As I enter my thirtieth year as a high school basketball coach, I've learned that being boring, or what is perceived by others to be boring, can lead to both respect and disrespect from your opponents and can be both intimidating and refreshing to those who want to be a part of your program.

Regardless of what folks think, the results of being boring are what counts to me. Those who respect it understand the discipline needed to be boring in this day and age of everyone trying to win the social media world. The game isn't played online, it is played on the court. Those who disrespect, tend to lean towards the "they're kind of quiet, they must be scared" which is far from the truth. Those who are intimidated usually feel that way because there aren't a lot of windows into how our program works so it is sometimes hard to figure out how we have success. Those who find our program refreshing like to just be a part of things, come in and get their business done without a lot of fanfare.

CONSISTENCY AND STEADINESS:

When the regular season starts, I wear my blue blazer for games. It doesn't matter if it is the first or twentieth game of the season or the first round or state championship game in the playoffs - I am wearing the blue blazer. There are several reasons why I wear it each game which I'll get into in a later post, but one reason, for now, that is somewhat overlooked, is the fact that I want my players and coaches, and even fans, to have the mentality that no game is more important than the other. Some of you are probably saying "Oh that is just coach speak, there is no way in the world you think the first game of the regular season is bigger than the state championship". I won't insult your intelligence by saying that those two games are the same, but in my mind, the reason why we are getting the opportunity to play for a championship is because we have made each game along the way not just a priority, but THE priority.

Think about it, by wearing the blue blazer each game, the players, my assistants and our fans don't sense anything different from one game to the next. If I am the leader of the program, then everyone involved will follow my lead. They can read articles about the importance of a particular game or maybe the opponent is trying to bait our team into making the game against them the game of the year. All of that can begin to play on our team's emotions. Having a team that plays a certain way based off of their emotions or feelings is not a recipe for consistent success. Having a team that is able to control their emotions allows for steadiness. Steadiness reduces the chances of losing a game to an inferior opponent because maybe the way you dress for the game is saying "I'm not going to put in the effort to dress up tonight". Then another game comes up that is "BIG" and you say "I'm going to dress accordingly because the TV cameras are coming, the newspaper is going to be there and we are going to have a big crowd". Your team will notice the change in your style for that night and their feeling may be one of anxiousness or nervousness because now you're saying, without saying, that this is a "BIG" game.

You have to win games, to be able to play in "BIG" games, and then have to win "BIG" games to play in "BIGGER" games. Keeping something as simple as the consistency in the way you dress will have an effect on your team because they will notice the change and they'll wonder why. If they think about that particular "why" at the start of the game, it could cost your team 2-4-6 points early on which in turn could lose you the game which could then have a domino effect on games later in the season.

I grew up watching ACC Basketball in the 1980s and remember almost every coach dressing the same way each game. Yes, boring, but not so boring that it didn't leave an impression on me. Yes, very vanilla. However, it was very consistent and it showed in the way each of those coaches' teams played.

You are grown and can wear what you want for games, but really think about the consistency factor you are trying to establish with your program. What you wear is a detail, a small detail, but taking care of the details puts you in position to win.

Wearing the same blazer each game is boring to some, but it serves a greater purpose.

EFFICIENCY AND EFFECTIVENESS:

Trying to create an efficient environment in your program that is effective requires consistency and steadiness. Consistency and steadiness takes out a lot of the guessing from both players and parents. When your players know when practice starts without you having to remind them each day, and they know when practice ends, when team meal starts, when to go to the locker room for pregame, how to stretch before practice, how we are going to warm up, how we are going to stand for the national anthem and how to stand around the circle after practice it creates an environment of efficiency. The more they can think about what it takes to win versus all the "extras" that come with practice or games, the better.

I have a quiet deal with each team when it comes to starting lineups or even when it comes to lining up to run out for warm ups: No Dancing and no practiced handshakes. The reason being is that you hardly ever see a player or team mess up a pregame dance while waiting to run out. You also hardly ever see a player or team mess up a pregame handshake or dance routine when starting lineups are called. If a player can focus that well to make sure not to mess up their pregame dance or handshake, they should be able to focus well enough not to mess up a play on offense or defense. I guess it comes down to what is important to them, so I just remove one of the options (the one I consider to be a "topping") in order to focus better on the one that helps you win. If they get all of the plays correct in practices and games then we can revisit the pregame dances and handshakes.

Vanilla ice cream is the best option here. Just run out, high five, shake hands and get ready to play. It's better to not draw attention to yourself during something that has really nothing to do with the game, especially if you can't remember how to run a play. If we were having a dance contest, then OK, but I coach basketball and trying to help us win so that is the main focus.

Not practicing handshakes, but instead practicing skills and plays leads to better efficiency in practice and better effectiveness in games. Saves you time and energy.

I know to some of you this is not how you're going to do things and that's fine. I'm just sharing with you what I know has worked for my teams. Some, again, say it is boring, just like vanilla ice cream, but having consistent opportunities at winning championships is pretty satisfying, just like vanilla ice cream.

We still have a lot of fun and enjoy the journey of each season, but by prioritizing what is really important, and by eliminating the unnecessary "toppings" it typically leads to a better focus on the value of consistency. That focus leads to the needed steadiness which fosters efficiency and effectiveness.

You want to stay in this business for a long time and have opportunities to play for championships? Get a big bowl of vanilla ice cream.

Yours For Better Basketball Always,

Brian / Coach Robinson