Duke's Coach K and Red Jacket Coach R on Teamwork and Leadership

Posted by Kyle Gilreath on Fri, May 24, 2013 @ 08:08 AM
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Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski announced today that he will once again coach the USA Basketball Men's National Team for the Olympics in Rio. This reminded me that I had a video of Coach K speaking to our armed forces that I bookmarked over the past weekend. While the video is over an hour and a half long, it is full of off the charts material and I am going to share one very cool concept he uses to emphasize teamwork.

Most of us are blessed to have five fingers on our hands. Coincidently there are five players on the court at a time for a basketball team. Coach K/R used this example,

If you hold your hand out with all five fingers flexed (spread) out and try to punch someone, you will cause yourself an extraordinary amount of pain and possibly break some fingers. However, if you make a fist with all five fingers (together), you can really make a powerful punch.

Furthermore, each finger represents a special component in order for teams to truly work together.

1. Communication: Look each other in the eye when speaking with one another.

2. Trust: Tell the truth ALL of the time.

3. Collective Responsibility: We win together and we lose together.

4. Care: Have each others' back.

5. Pride: Be a part of something bigger than yourself.​

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Program Mission 

All of us involved in the Red Jacket Premier Girls Club Basketball program are committed to success on the court. In the process of achieving that parameter of success, we also acknowledge that the world outside the gymnasium is where true success and fulfillment can be found.

In reaching our goals we turn to the three legs of our “Success Triangle”:

​PLAYING HARD means we are competitors without equal. We, as players and coaches, are striving to make sure that no one prepares more thoroughly or works more diligently to become a successful team than us. It also means giving our all in being students and employees of Red Jacket Program.

PLAYING TOGETHER means accepting our teammates and coaches as they are and molding ourselves to do whatever we can to make US successful. As a group, we are also remembering to enjoy each other and have fun while we participate in this great game. In our off-the-court lives, it means contributing our time to others, to good and worthwhile causes, and to the welfare of our families and loved ones.

PLAYING LIKE A RED JACKET means being a player or coach who when the practice, the game, the season, or the career is over can look back and say “I gave all of myself and am thus worthy of the statement: I AM A Red Jacket.” Playing and living our lives with class and integrity are values we treasure in each other and ourselves.

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