John Pascarella

Find fulfillment in the striving! If you start trying to find happiness, fulfillment & energy in the PROCESS of pursuing your goals rather than having false expectations about what will happen when you do (or don’t) attain them, you will find more moments of joy during the quest!

Teams are complex, dynamic systems. We don't necessarily control what emerges & it can be unexpected, with the whole looking very different than its individual parts. However, coaches are still responsible for creating conditions for the right behaviors & interactions to emerge.

Due to a lack of understanding or circular causality, the idea that many people have about the game is innacurate. The game is complex, chaotic & unpredictable. However, coaches can make it a bit more predictable by creating a collective intentionality using Macro Principles.

What's important to the people in your environment, both individually & collectively? Who are they? Encourage the people you lead to discuss w/ you, what they care about & how they want to be treated. This creates a shared understanding of your environment, context, and culture.

As coaches, we must always self reflect... Especially about the environment we are creating for our players. Simplify things for them and create space for them to explore and grow. As the saying goes, "When a flower doesn't bloom, do we fix the environment or the flower

I find it interesting to talk to people who disparage the game from past eras. Ex. "They run so much more now." (Is that really better?) I wonder if they realize that by disparaging the past, they are unconsciously disparaging the present....which will very shortly be the past.

Ideas & perspective-everyone sees something different. Coaches have their own ideas, beliefs & perspectives. You can't cut & paste someone else's solutions you've seen or even your own w/ previous teams due to different contexts. Analyze what your team needs now, in this context!

Sonatic Markers: Positive emotions play a vital role in learning, development & winning. For Steve Kerr of the GS Warriors, JOY is one of his four basic tenants. This is not optional in high performance. Coaches must "Mark" & reinforce moments of positive & joyful interactions!

If your game model is oriented by principles (not rigid based on a coach's demands) there will be room for variability & flexibility within your playing style. Your principles should leave open possibilities, not reduce them and should open space for the emergence of creativity!

As a team, are you on a journey or a quest? A journey is a trip from point A to point B, while a quest is a more purposeful endeavor with a specific goal or mission to achieve. Both involve challenges & struggles, but a quest is a more specific, emotional, purpose driven pursuit.

Speaking w/ a coaching colleague yesterday, I was reminded of a group dynamics presentation I gave to coaches earlier this year. We have to reach them on a human level before they will listen to what we are saying as a coach. Make them comfortable before making them competent!

Because teams are complex dynamic systems, they're in constant reorganization & evolution. However, during this process, you should never lose the essence of your identity. Be open enough to outside influences that you can integrate but closed enough to protect your core identity

Specificity is a categorical imperative that leads the training process. It guides us from where we are currently to where we want to go w/ our team. It not only guides our playing process through game model principles but also the harmony & functioning of our 3 energy systems.

"The biology of belief." Can we empower our players to give them more agency, building their resilience & belief? Their perceptions & attitudes create their reality. So, can we as coaches make them feel they are an important part of the group & that their contribution matters?

Great reflections!

There's a cyclical process between the imaginary, the symbolic and the biological. Conditioned games open createive opportunities, experiences & symbolism in your mind, acting as triggers for more action & more possibilities to explore your imagination - connecting Mind to Matter

"Just because something is hard for you doesn't mean it's bad for you." Damian Hughes

Training in "Specificity" develops a multitude of areas. 1) Our stimulus/response patterns resemble those of a match 2) You train your energy system in a pattern similar to the energy requirements of the game. 3) It creates specific adaptations at the cellular level - Epigenetics

A coach's job is to turn thoughts into actions. You do this by taking your conceptual knowledge (The "What-your game model principles) + your procedural & methodological knowledge (the "How" we implement those principles) to create concrete, emotional experiences for your players

How do you go about changing a player's behavior? For example, if a player doesn't defend, do you shout & punish him, or do you hold up the "mirror?" Avoid subjectivity and vague language. Vague terms give players a chance to escape responsibility. Use football action language!