December 22, 2021 • 17 mins
Hall of Fame Basketball Coach Jim Calhoun is widely considered one of the greatest college coaches of all-time. He led the UConn Men's Basketball team to three NCAA Championships and won more than 900 games over his collegiate coaching tenure. Coach Calhoun joins Nick to discuss building team culture, the value of learning competitiveness through pursuing interdisciplinary skills, and his "win the day" mentality.
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
Competing is a great example because life is about competition.
I have a great thing. I think it's great because
I believe in it, and I had to it myself
win the day, trying to win every single day. This
is the Reformed Sports Project, a podcast about restoring healthy
balance and perspective in all areas of sports through education
(00:25):
and advocacy. Hi, this is Nick Bonacoor from the Reformed
Sports Project podcast. Joining me today is Hall of Fame
basketball coach Jim Calhoun. Coach Calhoun just retired, ending his
career with a record of nine and twenty wins and
only three ninety seven losses. That includes fourteen years in Northeastern,
twenty six years at Yukon where he led the team
to three national titles, and three years at the University
(00:48):
of St. Joseph after building the team from scratch. Coach
Calhoun and I discuss how to build team culture, the
importance of competitiveness and multi sport athletes and youth sports,
and how to win the battle with yourself every single day.
I am so freaking excited to have another unbelievable guest.
I can just say his name and that's intro enough.
But former head coach from the University of Connecticut, the
(01:08):
Huskies Hall of famer recently retired from St. Joe's but
three national championships. I mean, the accolades go on and
on the goat the legend coach Jim Calhoun. Coach Calhoun,
thank you so much for hopping on, sir. I'm doing great.
I'm doing great. It's been a while, and uh, I
can't wait to dig in with you here and where
I want to start with you, coach. Obviously we're talking youth,
amateur sports development, things along those lines. But you know,
(01:31):
I get a lot of coaches that listened to the podcast,
a lot of you know, whether they're youth or amateur
or college coaches, they're all looking for answers because there's
a lot of correlation people are taking. You know, when
you took over Yukon, you know, way back in the
you know, mid eighties. I believe th it was eighties,
six or eighty seven. I mean, if I'm not mistaken,
Yukon was kind of you know, when you thought of
the Big East back then, I think you thought of St. John, Syracuse, Villanova,
(01:51):
some of those programs. And I don't remember, I was
only seven or eight back then, but you were taking
over a program that sounded like needed to be built, right,
So how do you Obviously you got to recruit, right,
So let's say you get some good talent in there.
How do you create a culture, That's where I'm going
with us. How do you create a culture where kids
are buying in, especially in a time like today, coach,
(02:12):
where everything is about self promoting, you know, putting yourself first,
getting seen, getting noticed social media. How do you get
kids that are in this culture to buy in and
put the team before themselves. Well, in a perfect world,
you recruit the kid and the kids that would evolve
into that would help accu state that. You know, I'm
doing a project now with a big sports guy's witting books, etcetera, etcetera,
(02:33):
who is a one time as the manager of the
Daily campus and regardless, and we're talking very simply about
quote culture and I think sometimes until we used but
in the case of what you need to do to
get the kind of players you want and the kind
of performance you want and the kind of just one
you want, you do I have a great thing. I
think it's great because I believe in it and I
had to do do it myself. At one time when I
(02:54):
was working as a stone cutter after college, before we
went back to school. And the biggest thing is when
the day, try to win every single day. Now with
that say, I remember every day you go start a
fight with yourself because all of us, you know, see obstacles,
not his opportunity, which I did, but but they see
it as just things that inhibit them going forward. And
I just think simply if you you know someone around
(03:16):
the culture, and I said, no, it's just kind of
the way we do things. I know that sounds simplistic,
but that's exactly what it was. How we do things
on jaily basis, whether when we show up it's gym shure,
it's a check jim and people crazy in that, but
just the idea of it. If you miss a layup,
you take a push up, don't miss class, or you
can't practice, don't miss an impointment with Professo, your trainer,
(03:36):
whoever it may be, all the other various things that
we have to do. And I think as you start
going forward, and as I said before, I was very blessed.
I mean, it's honestly by recruiting the right players, but
as important is theten we got talent from Chris Smith,
player of the youth, and I get the first Kobe
Cathedo kid we ever got. And right on that line,
we got not only really good players, and we've got
(03:57):
really good people and adjusted to and adapted and and
help make the culture that we eventually devolped. At your gun,
to me, it sounded like you're talking about accountability, right,
you know all the people accountable? You know, nowadays it
almost seems like the word discipline gets a bad rep right.
I'm I'm a big advocate of that. I have six kids. Right,
If I don't have discipline in my house, my kids
are gonna take over. Yeah, be careful because they might
(04:17):
already have without your knowing. We all know about that.
You know. I get six grandkids now and after having
two sons, and I think every parent and every coach
and every other person truly understands. It's but very simply,
You're right, it's more a standard of behavior. It's more discipline.
As I said, fighting with yourself's a great thing. Everybody
wants and dreams to be whatever they want to be.
I don't care it's the fighter, pilot, engineer and a train, uh, superhero, whatever,
(04:40):
they want to be okay. And I just think you
fight with yourselves every day to hope eventually make your
dreams become a reality. You know, it's not coming true.
It's reality and the reality as long as it's not said.
For example, a lot of people want to play in
the NBA. That is a couple of things that you
get in the way, Hey, your size, your discipline, your
athletic ability, or all the other birds things to go
(05:01):
through that. But I think very honestly, you can do
so many great things if you make your mind up
to truly truly when the day, when that fight with
yourself every day to make yourself better. You know, if
you only get a pathway up the mountain, you're you know,
hards higher than you were before. And I just think
simply people have got to understand that. And I just
think that you know, with me, with my dad, with
(05:22):
my kids, you know, no, you don't know. Man, No,
doesn't mean I didn't understand, doesn't mean I wouldn't give
him a rational understanding why this was impossible. Can't do
this not right now, whatever the case might be. No, man, No,
I love you. I mean I love you, and I
think that that combination. You know, it just can't be
your lazy son of a b. You. It's gotta be
(05:43):
you're too good to be a lazy son of a
b And people castaway. I remember Ray Allen, one of
the great players Hall of Fame, as that coach comes
off the core. That's a two bad defensive plays. People says,
oh God, the volcano is gonna explode. The volcano be
and me by the way. And before least all the
most a lava started to come out. The first thing
I said to day you may be the greatest player
(06:05):
i've her coach is looks like Dumbo. I mean he
jumped up and then I tell him what I thought,
and I just think, you know, the combination between carry
harrying it back and and on the same no, you're
not gonna do it this way, that you can't do
it this way because it's not good for us. And
more importantly, what's all said and done not good for you.
(06:25):
Tell me this. You know, last time we spoke, when
we had one of these chats, you brought up and
you were actually the first coach you know I interviewed
that brought this up. And now I can't tell you
how many times this word has come up. But I
asked you about specialization versus kids playing multiple sports, and
you convey to me the toughness, the grit, But also
you use the word the competitiveness, the competition competing on
different fields. Can you talk about competition and how do
(06:48):
you bring that autom Let's say you're competitive, but how
do you become ultra competitive? Can you do that? Is
that all intrinsic? Well, it's combination of a lot of things.
How you brought up. You know, I grew up in
a family of seven you know, his hi sisters and
one young brother. It was competition within the house very simply,
I mean in a good sort of way. But my
point is one thing that competitive kids do where they're
(07:08):
playing a little league and then maybe Pop want a football,
and then maybe biddy basketball, and then little league baseball, etcetera, etcetera.
They're gonna have to compete and they're gonna have to
learn the perfession of learning the skills that prepares you
for the first plateau when you get rejection, rejection of
how good you abort that particular moment, all the other
various things that go on and then adapt to what
you do. It's a lot easier if you've known some
(07:31):
sort of rejection or at least stabilization. You're not gonna
be a superstar right away. So then getting good at something.
Getting good at something means you can get good a
lot of things. I can't become a pianist, and certainly
if you have a Sami walk, certainly could become a
battle agi. Let's let's my point, My point being simply
that into disfinary skills, competiveness, trying to win, trying to
(07:51):
get better, those are all great learned skills. And you know,
as I didn't say, taught you learned in the missiness competition.
I know, like getting the great and once the and
keep playing that. As I said, that fight with yourself.
That's fight with yourself to say, well I can't, you
don't can't because you can't, must yourself to pull more
into it, to get yourself to be the best you
can beat every single day. And I just think that
comes about when I was a tall, skinny kid. You know,
(08:14):
probably felling was much better where it was playing baseball
or playing football. All the other things that I did
taught me how to compete, how to see others and
you lize my teammates all the various things that eventually
becomes part of our life. If you don't use people
in your society in a good, positive way and then
allow them to use you in a very positive way,
then you haven't learned the building blocks of life. And
(08:35):
I do think that me playing a little league, be
playing and initially touched football, to blossity football, to freshman
football and college basketball, to all these you know, baseball games,
American Legion, all those things brought out at least and
taught me how to compete. It's a learned skill, not
hot skill. People don't say, well, you need to compete,
that's okay, but you honestly, I used to say this,
(08:56):
but you need a little bit defeat become a winner.
That Jim Calhoun, legendary Hall of Fame men's basketball coach.
When we return, Coach Calhoun and I talked further about
the importance of competitiveness and how to motivate your team.
Welcome back to the Reformed Sports Project podcast. Where Coach
(09:19):
Calhoun and I left off, we were about to get
into using great expectations as motivation to win and continuing
to fight the battle with yourself every single morning. I
actually had this question brought up to me, and I
think it's fascinating. I'm sure you experienced it through all
your success. How do you take a team with very
high expectations, you know, a team that you know can
be a championship team, that could be great. How do
(09:41):
you take them mid season they're struggling and get them
to reset and get them back on the path towards greatness.
If you're a pretty expectation I would use that very
simply a few times. As you know, we're number one
the country in the poll preseason, that won the poll.
Things like that I use as incredible motivation. You know,
they think we're pretty good. How about letting them think
we great? How about letting them think we're great consistently?
(10:02):
I'd use that as motivation. It was say, what's a
big game? Yeah, don't you dream all your life as
the games you want to playing come on? You know.
I always said someone said to me, some of the
games against quote by games they call him now and
mid major games, those are hospitals of me to coach
to some degree. Not that I wouldn't get up, but
I couldn't wait for the big moment I couldn't wait
for the big morning. I just simply think it's about belief,
(10:24):
and it continues to be about police and more. Continue
always speak about belief. You see some of the great boxes,
Mayweather and all these other people, they're self belief. It's
beyond belief. And that's you know, it's it's encouraged, yes,
but encurrd encourage and built on success. But it's having
so many different things, maybe surviving the streets to some kids,
(10:44):
maybe being out of a small town by yourself, trying
to build your skills and in a rural town, bomb kid,
whatever the case may be, find a way find the
people that don't benefits you the most in the sense
of help you get the where you need to be.
And I just think that's why multiple of the athletes,
in my opinion, in many many ways have a great
advantage over thinking what else. He's not the one exception
(11:06):
I would make a little bit because of the competitive aspect,
and it's what like golf, and it's certainly some degree tennis.
You know, if you're failing on succeeding like in baseball,
you really don't, I know you do, but you know
you make great catches. You don't give a golden glowculty
to the low league. You don't know you're a great deal,
but you get some feedback. So golf would be somewhat
(11:27):
in tennis to some degree certainly the exception. You get
instant reinforcement how well you're doing. And and that could
be good and bad too, by the way, because you
may not be developed. If I look back now on
some of the kids in the seventh grade and it
was the peak, tall, lanky guy six ft by tennis
and eighth grade of six or two with freshman year
and eventually up to six five. I just think of
all the different things that the hot fastball inside coming
(11:47):
across the middle of catching the pass and getting a
lineback that you know, directly taking my head off, and
the abilities to concentrate in different things I did, and
I think it brought out a lot of the competitivesy
I mean, I didn't end up with a professional basketball player,
had the opportunity to try off for the Tics, but
all those competitive things I went through helped not only
refine my competitive nature, but it kind of gave me
the idea what you've gotta have a solution. And that
(12:10):
gets back to the every single morning stuff. By winning
that fight with yourself and feel to win the fight
with myself. Yeah, we all go to some degree. I
don't feel like bigpoint, you know what, that's not the
issue the issues. You feel well enough to do something,
do it, do it. And I just think that once again,
if I look back and all the sometimes disappoint me,
I ran marathons, and my goal will ventually. I ran
(12:30):
a three or week marathon at six five at that
time I got down that basically got down too. I
think it was somewhere in the neighborhood. It was a
three oh nine, which is not too bad. And yeah,
well it once again. I was at Northeastern and I
was the three year old coach when I started doing that.
And the big thing I did, I ran, you know
I did. After that, I ran some more around the
(12:52):
Charles River, pretty good place among by the way. But
but but I think you know the point I'm making.
I was competitive there, you know, I wasn't. I wasn't
gonna beat the guys that will get in almost that
our I was gonna beat. I was gonna beat the
guys in my forty forty five thirty five where it
was the time age record because I wanted to proof
to myself I can do this, not over anybody else,
(13:14):
but oh myself. And that's what I keep on saying.
And I think all the experience I had, that's why
you and I have talked, you know a ton about
multi sport athletes having an advantage in the grand scheme
of things. You go with Ray Allen now, and I'm
not gonna make a lot of money planning it's right.
And my point is is ready now as a two
handicap terrific player, But he's the same competitive was until
(13:38):
a time ago the all time three point leader in
the history of professional basketball. And I think you have
to understand that and a lot of that competitors grew
up out of his own idea of playing other sports
besides basketball, and obviously basketball led to his making a
great jump shure as a basketball player, making that ten
foot as a golf or whatever it may be. And
I think when you look historically back most of us
(14:00):
that have had great, great competitive experience in multiple sports.
A lot of people will hear this and they played
college sports and all of a sudden they come back
and they want to coach their kids. Eight year old
team like a college program, and that's happening every day, coach.
I mean, people are literally and kids are getting burnt out.
I want you to kind of clarify because you have grandkids.
You know there's a difference between youth athletics and older
(14:22):
age type stuff. Can you kind of let people know,
like when's a good time? Like I think it should
be always about fun, but there's a difference between youth
and then teaching high school kids how to compete to
win in a in a more aggressive type way. I
just think if you make it a little more about
you without getting burnt out and you know you only
had thirty points today, I mean, if you play in
(14:42):
the game in your eighth grade and got thirty points,
it's like sensational, it's unbelievable. And my point being simply,
I just think sets the right parameters. And by the way,
do you really really like it? Do you really love
what you're doing? Many kids, as you and I both
know we've talked about this before, I semi FicT into athletics.
That's something place to do it and the comparatives will
(15:05):
come out of that self competition. As I said, you
have with yourself every day. When I talk about winning
the battle that you have every morning, that's a good thing,
and pretty soon you find great joy. I would tell
you one thing I can get helped us. And I
don't know how word it all fits out. I don't
think quite as much we had parks to go to
how tourism might be called tickup games, you know the guys.
I just talked to a guy when rival high schools
(15:27):
and when I was growing up became best friends. But
we sup played in each other. Then we had when
people was the what kind of match? I said, blood match?
He said, what was the boxing? Mests? No basketball game?
We had so much fun, We had so much busting
of each other, all the very things to come along
with joy of competing. And I think of that thin line.
Is that thin line, and that's where parents, coaches, all
(15:47):
people have to be very careful. You've got a very
delicate thing going on when you're trying to have young
people learning how to compete and also how to enjoy
the game. I mean, And so when I say compete,
I think it's parents. You'll that parents shoon and umpires.
All that they got just passed the coaches. So once again,
what I'm doing a guy who's getting three thousand dollars
a game coaching. He's very good and terrific. But my
(16:09):
point for that's a whole different level. You see a
pro coach or college coach do that, and they say,
oh my god, I should do that. No, you should.
You see those guys agatting tender holes the game, maybe
a volunteered to resh. It's not a good example for
your kids. Competing is a great example for the kids
because life is about competition. But that once again, you know,
someone once told me, I said, what's the most important
thing I'm gonna do after I left grad school? And
(16:31):
they said, find something you love, And obviously I did.
And I just think it doesn't have to be Basketball's
on that sport, as anything that brings you passion. At
two o'clock in the morning, you look at failment, say
a coaching standpoint of reading, doing analytics, wherever you may
be doing. It's an incredible, incredible joy to find more
information about something I love. And I just think that's why,
(16:52):
as I said, you know, all behaviors motivated. I was
all motivated to be the best I could be without
in turn, if he did any things to have my guys,
for guys to place me feel great about doing what
they did. And I think that takes a lot of work.
It takes a lot of work, but it ends up
be having a lot of joint Jim Calhoun, coach Calhoun,
the legend to go. I can't thank you enough, Coach.
I really appreciate you, sir, Great Nick, always great talking
(17:15):
to you. That's Jim Calhoun, legendary Hall of Fame men's
basketball coach. Thanks for listening to The Reformed Sports Project
podcast dom Nick Bonicore and our goal is to restore
a healthy balance and perspective in all areas of sports
through education and advocacy. For updates, please follow us on Facebook, Twitter,
and Instagram, or check out our website by searching for
the Reform Sports Project
Competing is a great example because life is about competition.
I have a great thing. I think it's great because
I believe in it, and I had to it myself
win the day, trying to win every single day. This
is the Reformed Sports Project, a podcast about restoring healthy
balance and perspective in all areas of sports through education
(00:25):
and advocacy. Hi, this is Nick Bonacoor from the Reformed
Sports Project podcast. Joining me today is Hall of Fame
basketball coach Jim Calhoun. Coach Calhoun just retired, ending his
career with a record of nine and twenty wins and
only three ninety seven losses. That includes fourteen years in Northeastern,
twenty six years at Yukon where he led the team
to three national titles, and three years at the University
(00:48):
of St. Joseph after building the team from scratch. Coach
Calhoun and I discuss how to build team culture, the
importance of competitiveness and multi sport athletes and youth sports,
and how to win the battle with yourself every single day.
I am so freaking excited to have another unbelievable guest.
I can just say his name and that's intro enough.
But former head coach from the University of Connecticut, the
(01:08):
Huskies Hall of famer recently retired from St. Joe's but
three national championships. I mean, the accolades go on and
on the goat the legend coach Jim Calhoun. Coach Calhoun,
thank you so much for hopping on, sir. I'm doing great.
I'm doing great. It's been a while, and uh, I
can't wait to dig in with you here and where
I want to start with you, coach. Obviously we're talking youth,
amateur sports development, things along those lines. But you know,
(01:31):
I get a lot of coaches that listened to the podcast,
a lot of you know, whether they're youth or amateur
or college coaches, they're all looking for answers because there's
a lot of correlation people are taking. You know, when
you took over Yukon, you know, way back in the
you know, mid eighties. I believe th it was eighties,
six or eighty seven. I mean, if I'm not mistaken,
Yukon was kind of you know, when you thought of
the Big East back then, I think you thought of St. John, Syracuse, Villanova,
(01:51):
some of those programs. And I don't remember, I was
only seven or eight back then, but you were taking
over a program that sounded like needed to be built, right,
So how do you Obviously you got to recruit, right,
So let's say you get some good talent in there.
How do you create a culture, That's where I'm going
with us. How do you create a culture where kids
are buying in, especially in a time like today, coach,
(02:12):
where everything is about self promoting, you know, putting yourself first,
getting seen, getting noticed social media. How do you get
kids that are in this culture to buy in and
put the team before themselves. Well, in a perfect world,
you recruit the kid and the kids that would evolve
into that would help accu state that. You know, I'm
doing a project now with a big sports guy's witting books, etcetera, etcetera,
(02:33):
who is a one time as the manager of the
Daily campus and regardless, and we're talking very simply about
quote culture and I think sometimes until we used but
in the case of what you need to do to
get the kind of players you want and the kind
of performance you want and the kind of just one
you want, you do I have a great thing. I
think it's great because I believe in it and I
had to do do it myself. At one time when I
(02:54):
was working as a stone cutter after college, before we
went back to school. And the biggest thing is when
the day, try to win every single day. Now with
that say, I remember every day you go start a
fight with yourself because all of us, you know, see obstacles,
not his opportunity, which I did, but but they see
it as just things that inhibit them going forward. And
I just think simply if you you know someone around
(03:16):
the culture, and I said, no, it's just kind of
the way we do things. I know that sounds simplistic,
but that's exactly what it was. How we do things
on jaily basis, whether when we show up it's gym shure,
it's a check jim and people crazy in that, but
just the idea of it. If you miss a layup,
you take a push up, don't miss class, or you
can't practice, don't miss an impointment with Professo, your trainer,
(03:36):
whoever it may be, all the other various things that
we have to do. And I think as you start
going forward, and as I said before, I was very blessed.
I mean, it's honestly by recruiting the right players, but
as important is theten we got talent from Chris Smith,
player of the youth, and I get the first Kobe
Cathedo kid we ever got. And right on that line,
we got not only really good players, and we've got
(03:57):
really good people and adjusted to and adapted and and
help make the culture that we eventually devolped. At your gun,
to me, it sounded like you're talking about accountability, right,
you know all the people accountable? You know, nowadays it
almost seems like the word discipline gets a bad rep right.
I'm I'm a big advocate of that. I have six kids. Right,
If I don't have discipline in my house, my kids
are gonna take over. Yeah, be careful because they might
(04:17):
already have without your knowing. We all know about that.
You know. I get six grandkids now and after having
two sons, and I think every parent and every coach
and every other person truly understands. It's but very simply,
You're right, it's more a standard of behavior. It's more discipline.
As I said, fighting with yourself's a great thing. Everybody
wants and dreams to be whatever they want to be.
I don't care it's the fighter, pilot, engineer and a train, uh, superhero, whatever,
(04:40):
they want to be okay. And I just think you
fight with yourselves every day to hope eventually make your
dreams become a reality. You know, it's not coming true.
It's reality and the reality as long as it's not said.
For example, a lot of people want to play in
the NBA. That is a couple of things that you
get in the way, Hey, your size, your discipline, your
athletic ability, or all the other birds things to go
(05:01):
through that. But I think very honestly, you can do
so many great things if you make your mind up
to truly truly when the day, when that fight with
yourself every day to make yourself better. You know, if
you only get a pathway up the mountain, you're you know,
hards higher than you were before. And I just think
simply people have got to understand that. And I just
think that you know, with me, with my dad, with
(05:22):
my kids, you know, no, you don't know. Man, No,
doesn't mean I didn't understand, doesn't mean I wouldn't give
him a rational understanding why this was impossible. Can't do
this not right now, whatever the case might be. No, man, No,
I love you. I mean I love you, and I
think that that combination. You know, it just can't be
your lazy son of a b. You. It's gotta be
(05:43):
you're too good to be a lazy son of a
b And people castaway. I remember Ray Allen, one of
the great players Hall of Fame, as that coach comes
off the core. That's a two bad defensive plays. People says,
oh God, the volcano is gonna explode. The volcano be
and me by the way. And before least all the
most a lava started to come out. The first thing
I said to day you may be the greatest player
(06:05):
i've her coach is looks like Dumbo. I mean he
jumped up and then I tell him what I thought,
and I just think, you know, the combination between carry
harrying it back and and on the same no, you're
not gonna do it this way, that you can't do
it this way because it's not good for us. And
more importantly, what's all said and done not good for you.
(06:25):
Tell me this. You know, last time we spoke, when
we had one of these chats, you brought up and
you were actually the first coach you know I interviewed
that brought this up. And now I can't tell you
how many times this word has come up. But I
asked you about specialization versus kids playing multiple sports, and
you convey to me the toughness, the grit, But also
you use the word the competitiveness, the competition competing on
different fields. Can you talk about competition and how do
(06:48):
you bring that autom Let's say you're competitive, but how
do you become ultra competitive? Can you do that? Is
that all intrinsic? Well, it's combination of a lot of things.
How you brought up. You know, I grew up in
a family of seven you know, his hi sisters and
one young brother. It was competition within the house very simply,
I mean in a good sort of way. But my
point is one thing that competitive kids do where they're
(07:08):
playing a little league and then maybe Pop want a football,
and then maybe biddy basketball, and then little league baseball, etcetera, etcetera.
They're gonna have to compete and they're gonna have to
learn the perfession of learning the skills that prepares you
for the first plateau when you get rejection, rejection of
how good you abort that particular moment, all the other
various things that go on and then adapt to what
you do. It's a lot easier if you've known some
(07:31):
sort of rejection or at least stabilization. You're not gonna
be a superstar right away. So then getting good at something.
Getting good at something means you can get good a
lot of things. I can't become a pianist, and certainly
if you have a Sami walk, certainly could become a
battle agi. Let's let's my point, My point being simply
that into disfinary skills, competiveness, trying to win, trying to
(07:51):
get better, those are all great learned skills. And you know,
as I didn't say, taught you learned in the missiness competition.
I know, like getting the great and once the and
keep playing that. As I said, that fight with yourself.
That's fight with yourself to say, well I can't, you
don't can't because you can't, must yourself to pull more
into it, to get yourself to be the best you
can beat every single day. And I just think that
comes about when I was a tall, skinny kid. You know,
(08:14):
probably felling was much better where it was playing baseball
or playing football. All the other things that I did
taught me how to compete, how to see others and
you lize my teammates all the various things that eventually
becomes part of our life. If you don't use people
in your society in a good, positive way and then
allow them to use you in a very positive way,
then you haven't learned the building blocks of life. And
(08:35):
I do think that me playing a little league, be
playing and initially touched football, to blossity football, to freshman
football and college basketball, to all these you know, baseball games,
American Legion, all those things brought out at least and
taught me how to compete. It's a learned skill, not
hot skill. People don't say, well, you need to compete,
that's okay, but you honestly, I used to say this,
(08:56):
but you need a little bit defeat become a winner.
That Jim Calhoun, legendary Hall of Fame men's basketball coach.
When we return, Coach Calhoun and I talked further about
the importance of competitiveness and how to motivate your team.
Welcome back to the Reformed Sports Project podcast. Where Coach
(09:19):
Calhoun and I left off, we were about to get
into using great expectations as motivation to win and continuing
to fight the battle with yourself every single morning. I
actually had this question brought up to me, and I
think it's fascinating. I'm sure you experienced it through all
your success. How do you take a team with very
high expectations, you know, a team that you know can
be a championship team, that could be great. How do
(09:41):
you take them mid season they're struggling and get them
to reset and get them back on the path towards greatness.
If you're a pretty expectation I would use that very
simply a few times. As you know, we're number one
the country in the poll preseason, that won the poll.
Things like that I use as incredible motivation. You know,
they think we're pretty good. How about letting them think
we great? How about letting them think we're great consistently?
(10:02):
I'd use that as motivation. It was say, what's a
big game? Yeah, don't you dream all your life as
the games you want to playing come on? You know.
I always said someone said to me, some of the
games against quote by games they call him now and
mid major games, those are hospitals of me to coach
to some degree. Not that I wouldn't get up, but
I couldn't wait for the big moment I couldn't wait
for the big morning. I just simply think it's about belief,
(10:24):
and it continues to be about police and more. Continue
always speak about belief. You see some of the great boxes,
Mayweather and all these other people, they're self belief. It's
beyond belief. And that's you know, it's it's encouraged, yes,
but encurrd encourage and built on success. But it's having
so many different things, maybe surviving the streets to some kids,
(10:44):
maybe being out of a small town by yourself, trying
to build your skills and in a rural town, bomb kid,
whatever the case may be, find a way find the
people that don't benefits you the most in the sense
of help you get the where you need to be.
And I just think that's why multiple of the athletes,
in my opinion, in many many ways have a great
advantage over thinking what else. He's not the one exception
(11:06):
I would make a little bit because of the competitive aspect,
and it's what like golf, and it's certainly some degree tennis.
You know, if you're failing on succeeding like in baseball,
you really don't, I know you do, but you know
you make great catches. You don't give a golden glowculty
to the low league. You don't know you're a great deal,
but you get some feedback. So golf would be somewhat
(11:27):
in tennis to some degree certainly the exception. You get
instant reinforcement how well you're doing. And and that could
be good and bad too, by the way, because you
may not be developed. If I look back now on
some of the kids in the seventh grade and it
was the peak, tall, lanky guy six ft by tennis
and eighth grade of six or two with freshman year
and eventually up to six five. I just think of
all the different things that the hot fastball inside coming
(11:47):
across the middle of catching the pass and getting a
lineback that you know, directly taking my head off, and
the abilities to concentrate in different things I did, and
I think it brought out a lot of the competitivesy
I mean, I didn't end up with a professional basketball player,
had the opportunity to try off for the Tics, but
all those competitive things I went through helped not only
refine my competitive nature, but it kind of gave me
the idea what you've gotta have a solution. And that
(12:10):
gets back to the every single morning stuff. By winning
that fight with yourself and feel to win the fight
with myself. Yeah, we all go to some degree. I
don't feel like bigpoint, you know what, that's not the
issue the issues. You feel well enough to do something,
do it, do it. And I just think that once again,
if I look back and all the sometimes disappoint me,
I ran marathons, and my goal will ventually. I ran
(12:30):
a three or week marathon at six five at that
time I got down that basically got down too. I
think it was somewhere in the neighborhood. It was a
three oh nine, which is not too bad. And yeah,
well it once again. I was at Northeastern and I
was the three year old coach when I started doing that.
And the big thing I did, I ran, you know
I did. After that, I ran some more around the
(12:52):
Charles River, pretty good place among by the way. But
but but I think you know the point I'm making.
I was competitive there, you know, I wasn't. I wasn't
gonna beat the guys that will get in almost that
our I was gonna beat. I was gonna beat the
guys in my forty forty five thirty five where it
was the time age record because I wanted to proof
to myself I can do this, not over anybody else,
(13:14):
but oh myself. And that's what I keep on saying.
And I think all the experience I had, that's why
you and I have talked, you know a ton about
multi sport athletes having an advantage in the grand scheme
of things. You go with Ray Allen now, and I'm
not gonna make a lot of money planning it's right.
And my point is is ready now as a two
handicap terrific player, But he's the same competitive was until
(13:38):
a time ago the all time three point leader in
the history of professional basketball. And I think you have
to understand that and a lot of that competitors grew
up out of his own idea of playing other sports
besides basketball, and obviously basketball led to his making a
great jump shure as a basketball player, making that ten
foot as a golf or whatever it may be. And
I think when you look historically back most of us
(14:00):
that have had great, great competitive experience in multiple sports.
A lot of people will hear this and they played
college sports and all of a sudden they come back
and they want to coach their kids. Eight year old
team like a college program, and that's happening every day, coach.
I mean, people are literally and kids are getting burnt out.
I want you to kind of clarify because you have grandkids.
You know there's a difference between youth athletics and older
(14:22):
age type stuff. Can you kind of let people know,
like when's a good time? Like I think it should
be always about fun, but there's a difference between youth
and then teaching high school kids how to compete to
win in a in a more aggressive type way. I
just think if you make it a little more about
you without getting burnt out and you know you only
had thirty points today, I mean, if you play in
(14:42):
the game in your eighth grade and got thirty points,
it's like sensational, it's unbelievable. And my point being simply,
I just think sets the right parameters. And by the way,
do you really really like it? Do you really love
what you're doing? Many kids, as you and I both
know we've talked about this before, I semi FicT into athletics.
That's something place to do it and the comparatives will
(15:05):
come out of that self competition. As I said, you
have with yourself every day. When I talk about winning
the battle that you have every morning, that's a good thing,
and pretty soon you find great joy. I would tell
you one thing I can get helped us. And I
don't know how word it all fits out. I don't
think quite as much we had parks to go to
how tourism might be called tickup games, you know the guys.
I just talked to a guy when rival high schools
(15:27):
and when I was growing up became best friends. But
we sup played in each other. Then we had when
people was the what kind of match? I said, blood match?
He said, what was the boxing? Mests? No basketball game?
We had so much fun, We had so much busting
of each other, all the very things to come along
with joy of competing. And I think of that thin line.
Is that thin line, and that's where parents, coaches, all
(15:47):
people have to be very careful. You've got a very
delicate thing going on when you're trying to have young
people learning how to compete and also how to enjoy
the game. I mean, And so when I say compete,
I think it's parents. You'll that parents shoon and umpires.
All that they got just passed the coaches. So once again,
what I'm doing a guy who's getting three thousand dollars
a game coaching. He's very good and terrific. But my
(16:09):
point for that's a whole different level. You see a
pro coach or college coach do that, and they say,
oh my god, I should do that. No, you should.
You see those guys agatting tender holes the game, maybe
a volunteered to resh. It's not a good example for
your kids. Competing is a great example for the kids
because life is about competition. But that once again, you know,
someone once told me, I said, what's the most important
thing I'm gonna do after I left grad school? And
(16:31):
they said, find something you love, And obviously I did.
And I just think it doesn't have to be Basketball's
on that sport, as anything that brings you passion. At
two o'clock in the morning, you look at failment, say
a coaching standpoint of reading, doing analytics, wherever you may
be doing. It's an incredible, incredible joy to find more
information about something I love. And I just think that's why,
(16:52):
as I said, you know, all behaviors motivated. I was
all motivated to be the best I could be without
in turn, if he did any things to have my guys,
for guys to place me feel great about doing what
they did. And I think that takes a lot of work.
It takes a lot of work, but it ends up
be having a lot of joint Jim Calhoun, coach Calhoun,
the legend to go. I can't thank you enough, Coach.
I really appreciate you, sir, Great Nick, always great talking
(17:15):
to you. That's Jim Calhoun, legendary Hall of Fame men's
basketball coach. Thanks for listening to The Reformed Sports Project
podcast dom Nick Bonicore and our goal is to restore
a healthy balance and perspective in all areas of sports
through education and advocacy. For updates, please follow us on Facebook, Twitter,
and Instagram, or check out our website by searching for
the Reform Sports Project
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