Page 188 - Leadership Format System

Director of Motivation
“I probably scouted opponents less than any coach in the country. Less than most high school coaches. I don’t need to know that this forward likes to drive the outside. You’re not supposed to give the outside to any forward whenever he tries it. Sound offensive and defensive principles apply to any style of play.
“While it may be possible to reach the top of one’s profession on sheer ability, it is impossible to stay there without hard work and character.”
Focus on Fundamentals
Red Auerbach, who won more games than anyone in the history of the NBA, knew how to make his players focus on the fundamentals better than anyone. The results, never matched before or since in any professional sport, were nothing short of amazing: eight consecutive NBA championships.
“Today’s NBA coaches overcoach their players,” Auerbach said. “The game is still the same. Put a round ball in the round hoop. Just focus on that — not a bunch of complex thinking.
“The great players, the more you pay them, the greater they play and the prouder they are.”
Like Wooden, Auerbach never used the highly emotional, motivational approach during halftime. Instead he was always clear and concise on the fundamentals. If the team had finished a good half, he would reinforce the reasons why. If the players had strayed off course, then he would refocus on what they needed to do.
Auerbach didn’t have to kick his players in the rear or juice them up with rah-rah talk. The players knew the Celtics’ system and the championship level to which they were accustomed to playing.
The Celtics had the inner-confidence to motivate themselves. The players knew they had the winning system. They had exercised the discipline to run the plays. The players mastered the system to keep them at their high level of greatness.
Auerbach taught them so well — and so much — that the system became a repetitious habit. The players had the confidence; they needed Auerbach to put them back on course if they strayed from the system. That motivated them.
The Standards of Excellence
Indiana basketball coach Bobby Knight, the noted disciplinarian, has been to the NCAA championship game three times — and his teams won all three times. He demands a lot from his players, but the price they pay is worth it.
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Section III — DIRECTOR OF MOTIVATION