Group photo of current NSGA Hall of Famers who attended, along with 2013 NSGA Hall of Fame inductees, John Parish Sr., Rusty Saunders and Randy Hooper, seated.
Congratulations to 2013 NSGA Hall of Fame Inductees
We recently had the opportunity to attend the 2013 NSGA Management and Team Dealer Conference.
First of all, congratulations to this year’s Hall of Fame inductees, John Parish Sr, Rusty Saunders and Randy Hooper on this well deserved honor. The conference opened with a terrific keynote speech presented by Coach K. I think everyone appreciated this opportunity to learn Coach K’s secrets to success.
Learn Coach K’s Secrets
Coach K’s formula for success? It’s really not a secret. As Mike Krzyzewski, better known as “Coach K”, told the audience during his keynote speech at the 2013 NSGA Management and Team Dealer Conference, “Whatever team you’re on, you can still learn.”
And he should know. As the Head Coach for the USA Men’s National Basketball Team, since 2005, he came home with gold medals from Beijing in 2008 and London in 2012. In 2011, the Duke Blue Devils coach became Division I’s coach with the most wins in history, when a win over Michigan State gave him his 903rd win, breaking the tie with Bobby Knight. Knight was Krzyzewski’s coach at Army and his professional mentor. So what are Coach K’s secrets?
Coach K’s Philosophy
Well he only spoke for about an hour, but during his speech, he explained some of his proven philosophies with the crowd. For example, instead of wondering why we are not successful, he told us to ponder “What do we need to do more of in order to adapt?”
Buy-In from all the Players
Essentially, he encourages buy-in from his players by asking them to submit their ideas on how to win. “How do you get better unless you share ideas?” He reminded us we need to hear, see and FEEL. He is a big believer in the power of a fight song and united the Olympic team players by making them understand who they were really playing for through the power of the team “fight song,” The Star Spangled Banner. Music can evoke strong feelings.
Trust is Key
Overall, admits that “trust is the cornerstone on which everything is built.” He also shared his “no excuses” sentiment. Ultimately, “You’re responsible for doing the best job in whatever environment you’re in.” Coach K also expressed his thanks to all the sporting goods store owners, team dealers and manufacturers in the audience for playing a very important role in inspiring kids to play sports.
This includes your ability to design innovative products, and run stores where you can “imagine” athletic dreams coming true. Additionally, he strongly believes our country and business people need to be more involved in the athletic development of our youth. He believes playing sports is one of the best places to learn about teamwork, trust and leadership.
GroupeSTAHL team member Karin Bellinghausen gets a photo op with Coach K at the 2013 NSGA Management and Team Dealer Conference.
The best advice anyone ever gave him?
However, when an audience member tossed him that question, Coach K told a story about his mother. The story harked back to the time when he was about to enter high school in Chicago. His mother sat him down and told him, “Make sure you get on the right bus.”
Get on the Right Bus
A savvy inner city kid with lots of street smarts, Coach K said he was almost insulted his mom thought he didn’t know the right busses to ride to get to his new school. But she corrected him, “Not that kind of bus son.” She explained that he was about to start a new chapter in his life, a very important chapter and she told him that he should get on the “right bus.”
And whether he was driving the bus, or whether he chose to get on someone else’s bus, he should make sure to have only good people on that bus.
In conclusion, get on the right bus, with the right people. Based on all his successes and many that are obviously still yet to come, it seems like Coach K did an excellent job following his mother’s advice over the years. And I know everyone in that audience wished they were on Coach K’s bus!
Thank You to NSGA Staff
Once again, big kudos to the NSGA staff @NSGASportingGds for arranging to have this very inspirational, educational and entertaining speaker at the conference. I can’t wait to see who they bring in next year. I can heartily recommend you plan to attend the 50th Annual NSGA Management conference at the Hyatt Regency Indian Wells in Palm Springs, California, scheduled to be held April 27-30th, 2014. Save the date. It’s on my calendar.
Good post, Ted!