Learning about attention to detail

SAC coach Kenny Natt, an assistant with Jerry Sloan in Utah and Mike Brown (pictured here) in Cleveland, on what he learned working with Coach Brown.

"His attention to detail. Coach Sloan is not as detailed. He'll scribble something down on a piece of paper, but Mike Brown is very scripted, very attentive to detail at practice, right to the point with everything. Those are the things I learned and carry over from Mike. Most of what we want to do offensively and defensively, being more demanding, comes from Sloan -- and the disciplinary side of things. I think it's a pretty good mix."

How coaching is like painting a fence

Good post on Rick Bonnell's blog about Larry Brown and assistant Dave Hanners (pictured here with Coach Brown).

After a 12-point loss to Orlando on February 20, Coach Brown let his guys have it, "saying the point guards were selfish and Emeka Okafor sets ineffective screens."

The next day at practice, Coach Hanners came prepared to do some "maintenance.''

That's Hanners' term for smoothing it over when Brown has maybe overshot the runway in his critiques of the players. To Hanners' surprise, the day after was a great practice: No complaining, just great focus.

Bonnell commented to Coach Hanners that he "wasn't surprised because for whatever else was wrong in the past, this team had great character."

Bonnell contends that "[former CHA coach and EVP] Bernie Bickerstaff demanded it, right up to waiving Kareem Rush when he wouldn't get in line. Gerald Wallace and Raymond Felton are true leaders, and they both understand they need more coaching, not less. Brown's relentless insistence on precision can wear a team out, but that hasn't happened."

As they talked, Bonnell writes that Coach Hanners "offered a telling analogy."

Hanners said Brown's coaching is like the guy determined to perfectly paint a fence. When he's done, you'll never find an unpainted spot on that fence, but he might apply two or three more coats than is necessary to do the job.

[By the way, since February 20, the Bobcats are 6-2.]

You're not going to be able to out-energize him

New Pirates pitching coach Joe Kerrigan has nearly two decades of professional coaching experience.

But it's the other things he brings to the job that his players care about most. According to this article, "it's his enthusiasm, too, that make him the right man for the job."

"His experience is certainly a strength, though he has more going for him than just that," starter Ross Ohlendorf said. "The energy that he brings and the passion with really wanting to help us out is what I think is going to make him really good for our team."

The article points out how Coach Kerrigan's "enthusiasm has already been infectious. Kerrigan arrives at Pirate City early every morning to put in extra work with pitchers. He's brought with him in-depth plans and scouting reports, as well as dummies to be used as imitation hitters during side sessions."

"You're not going to be able to outwork him," [Pirates manager John] Russell said. "You're not going to be able to out-energize him. That's the great thing he has."

Players say "it's the little things -- like Kerrigan's willingness to crouch down to catch pitchers' side sessions -- that have been noted."

"It is something small," Ohlendorf said. "But it shows how much he cares."

The article describes how "before meeting his new pupils, Kerrigan spent a week in the video room of PNC Park this winter. He watched every pitcher he'd be working with. He made notations, and with those, he built plans. The key, Kerrigan said, is spending the necessary time observing."

"Before you go up and talk to a guy, you really have to know what you're talking about, and you better be sure," Kerrigan said. "The only way that you're sure is by watching him throw."

But while the players appreciate his energy and enthusiasm, his experience is just as critcal. "For years, Kerrigan has also played significant roles in developing team scouting reports on hitters. The attention to detail, the thoroughness and the emphasis on finding unusual patterns in hitters' statistics are especially important when developing those reports. That would seem to bode well for improved preparation from his staff moving forward."

"He's a great mechanics guy, but it's the total package," Russell said. "He knows what else goes into pitching. You have to know how to get people out. You have to know how to prepare. You have to know what you're looking for. That's what he brings -- the vast experience of being able to do that on a daily basis."

Little things add up

Just as Mike Singletary did in SFO when he took over as head coach of the 49ers mid-season, new Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins is focusing on "chemistry, defense and discipline" as the foundation for turning things around in Memphis.

An article in today's Memphis paper describes Coach Hollins' coaching style as "old-school yet flexible" and notes how he's "been a hard taskmaster in practices and a strict disciplinarian off the court."

Coach Hollins "holds players accountable in every aspect of their jobs," asking Darius Miles to remove his earrings before Miles went out for "a pre-game workout." Players must also "wear team-issued practice shorts and tops instead of the random gear that had been acceptable."

"These little things add up," Memphis GM Chris Wallace said. "Lionel is a stickler for practicing hard and having a team in excellent physical condition. He's working diligently on those two fronts. We're practicing hard, and we're practicing longer. There's a payoff on this. Plus, I'll say Lionel has a rare ability to relate to players. You have to be firm but you can't be firm in a high school and military way. You can't be overbearing in your firmness on this level. You have to be firm, but at the same time communicate with your players and have a different relationship off the court. You can't be a robot and a total dictator. He has that rare ability to walk down the middle of the street. He knows when to back off. To me that's the essence of NBA coaching."

According to Wallace, Coach Hollins has had an immediate impact on Rudy Gay, who "is starting to attack the basket more."

"He's like a baseball pitcher who can't just throw fastballs," says Wallce. "He's got to throw knuckleballs, curves and sliders. He's got to show a wide-variety of skills, and he's becoming more efficient. We're making progress as a team and our players are making progress individually."

Wanting to get everything out of every possession

Good article in the Sunday LA Times about UCLA coach Ben Howland who, despite his intensity, "finds a way to give his players positive vibes."

"I guess I get pretty intense out there, I'm drenched with sweat. . . . I just want them to get everything out of every possession. One of the things that is really dear to me was last year, when Darren Collision said, 'Hey, Coach is so intense it's like he's out there with us on the floor.' I just love that they feel that way. To me that's what it is all about." 

To earn minutes, you really have to do the little things

IND forward Maceo Baston, who turns 33 in May, is an interesting player.

A second-round pick of the Bulls back in 1998, he spent his first few years as a pro in the CBA where he earned All-League and Defensive Player of the Year honors.

Baston's played in Italy, Spain, and Israel for six years, mixing in a 16-game appearance with the Raptors in 2003.

He's been in the NBA since 2006, appearing in 88 games over three seasons where he's earned his minutes by doing what many players don't want to do.

"You really have to do the little things," he said. "Scoring, obviously, is the most fun part of basketball, but I have to take that out my equation and get my minutes on defense. You just have to work your way into the system a little bit."

According to this article, "Baston's ability to help defend the player with the ball pick-and-roll plays is valuable."

"He knows the game better than younger people know it," Pacers coach Jim O'Brien said. "He comes out past where the pick is and traps the ball. He's very athletic. We're not overly athletic and we need as many athletes on the court as possible. He just plays within himself and doesn't try to do things that he's not capable of doing. He's given us a nice boost."

A reminder written on a crumpled piece of paper

Interesting excerpt from the book "Real Dream Teams" by Bob Fisher and Bo Thomas:

~~~~~~~~~~

A story about Paul "Bear" Bryant, the late coach of the University of Alabama's football team, demonstrates his belief in relentless attention to detail.

One day during a practice, a visitor observed Coach Bryant doing something that aroused his curiosity. From time to time during practice, the coach would reach into his pocket, pull out a crumpled little piece of paper, read it, and then put it back in his pocket.

The visitor watched him do this several times during practice, and then finally mustered up the courage to ask the coach what was written on the paper.

Coach Bryant simply smiled, pulled out the paper, and let the visitor read it himself.

It said:

"It's the itty bitty, teeny tiny things that get you beat."

What motivated him was the desire to teach and to learn

ESPN.com had a good article recently about former Steelers coach and Hall of Famer Chuck Noll, the only coach in NFL history to win four Super Bowls.

[Chuck Noll, center, with Steelers assistants Tony Dungy, left, and Tom Moore, who would serve as Coach Dungy's offensive coordinator in Indianapolis.]

The story provides some good insight into Coach Noll's psyche. According to a former Steelers PR man, "his sole interest was coaching football. He wasn't interested in extraneous stuff. If Chuck had his way, after the game on Sundays he would've just packed his briefcase, taken a shower and gone home without doing any interviews."

Another Steelers employee described Coach Noll as "an unusual guy. One week he'd be taking lessons for golf, and the next week he'd be learning how to buy a boat and take it down South. He was a man for all seasons."

Steelers LB Andy Russell, who played for the Steelers in the '60s and '70s, remembers a frank conversation Coach Noll had with him:

"I've been watching game film, Russell," Noll told him. "I don't like the way you play. You're too aggressive. You're too out of control. You're too impatient, trying to be a hero. I'm going to change the way you play. You're going to be a lot different in your 30s than your 20s."

Russell would serve as a Steelers captain for 10 years and played in seven Pro Bowls, including six straight from 1970-75.

According to Russell, Coach Noll "had a rare eye for talent, and his 1974 draft class had four future Hall of Famers. But the image many players have is of Noll staying after practice, working with confused rookies who had little chance of making the roster."

"He would teach new draft choices who were All-American guards how to get in a stance," Russell says. "He'd have them start all over. He told me I should move my foot back two inches and maybe an inch wider. He was into an enormous amount of detail."

As the writer for ESPN describes it, "That's what Noll liked to do the most -- get down in a stance and teach. He spent the first 30 minutes of every practice working on tackling and blocking, things many of his players learned in high school. He was the college professor with the 20-page syllabus. Noll made his players study each opponent's tendencies from the past five years."

Coach Noll's son, Chris, himself a teacher, says his father was a teacher -- and a student -- at heart.

"What motivated him was the desire to teach, to learn," Chris says. "He was almost depressed after a Super Bowl win because it was over. It was the process that was exciting, that stimulated him."

[Thank you, Mario, for pointing more toward this story. Growing up in the '70s, I really admired Coach Noll. If you're interested, SI did a nice story about Coach Noll a couple of years ago that's worth reading.]

Never satisfied, but not demeaning

Before the season began, critics thought Cal's public address announcer Eddy Kleinhans was crazy when he picked the Bears to get into the NCAA tournament.

But after watching Mike Montgomery's team in preseason practices, he sensed something was different.

"To a man, every player I talked to said they were learning so much in workouts," Kleinhans said. "It was obvious that Montgomery was wholly changing the culture of the team."

Cal has won 15 of its first 17 games (including nine straight) -- its best start in nearly 50 years.

According to this article, "Montgomery has been able to walk a tightrope between giving the players confidence in their abilities while demanding even more. He gives them freedom to make decisions, and teaches when they make the wrong ones. He is never satisfied, but not demeaning."

Said Kris Weems, who played for Coach Montgomery at Stanford in the '90s:

"We always felt we were the most prepared team in the country, because we always knew what the other team was going to do. He'll get the most out of his role players, because he can push the right buttons on those guys. The players never have questions about what they are supposed to do, and he knows how to get players to feel good about their role."

One NBA scout contends that Monty's "attention to detail is beyond measure."

Said another scout: "You can see Montgomery learned from his time in the NBA that you have to let players play the way they play. He's a bright guy, so I'm not surprised he could adapt his game. But I am surprised that they're this good."

I've had a chance to get to two Cal games this season. They've really benefited from Coach Montgomery's teaching and coaching style.

The players are the medium through which a coach expresses his philosophy

Dr. Jack Ramsay's 1978 book "The Coach's Art" is 30 years old, but it's as relevant as ever.

Here's a good excerpt:

Coaching is a private act sometimes performed in public places. Coaching in a game is only part of the job, but it's the part that finally counts the most. A losing coach is, sooner than not, a former coach. If the team goes badly, the coach is responsible. But if the team wins, the players deserve and get the bulk of the credit.

I like it that way. I know when I've done my job well, and savor the satisfaction it brings. No one can ever take that away.

But coaching is an insecure profession, requiring of its practitioners a capacity to withstand external pressures while leading a team through a long, demanding season.

A coach has to have a firm sense of himself, sustained by intense powers of concentration. I hate to lose, but I know that once a game is over I have to put it out of my mind in order to prepare for the next one. I have to minimize the depth of my disappointment, disguising it from my players because it's infectious. Maintaining my ability to concentrate, to focus all of my attention on the task at hand, is part of my own responsibility as a coach.

The philosophy [of coaching] determines every aspect of practice, the objectives of meetings, and finally the game plan. It is the cement which binds every activity of a coach and his team, linking practice drills to game performance.

The preparation of a team begins with planning practices, for it is on the practice floor that teaching the game occurs. The importance of planning practices can't be overstated. A practice session's objectives, expressed in a practice plan, must be determined in advance -- and in detail.

The players need to know the point of what they will be doing. Posting the practice schedule in the locker room, I've found, is a good technique. It informs the players both about what we will be doing and how long we will take doing it.

Players like organization, they like order, they will work hard when they see the purpose of what they're doing. When every player knows what's expected of him and why, practices will be productive. And then even hard, physically demanding sessions will be fun, building the sense of common purpose and collective affection every good team has.

When players and coaches feel good about what's happening in practice, they will carry that spirit with them into games. I want every practice well organized, productive, and conducted with the same intensity and commitment as a game is played.

A coach who allows players to depart from his plan at practice can expect the same thing in a game. If it is his team, it must perform the way he expects it to. The players are the medium through which a coach expresses his philosophy.

Why spacing matters

Was flipping through Ron Higgins' 2006 book "Tales from the Memphis Grizzlies Hardwood" last night and came across a good passage about Hubie Brown's return to coaching at the age of 69.

What MEM players remembered most about Coach Brown was his intensity, demand for perfection, and incredible attention to detail:

"At our first practice, no one knew how to take him," [Lorenzen] Wright recalled. "He was yelling, he was cursing. He was screaming, 'Get to this spot, get to that spot, get to this spot.' Nobody knew the reason those first few practices. Then, we started playing games. You get to those spots. You have open shots."

Griz swingman Shane Battier loved Brown's attention to detail.

"He always talked about spacing," Battier said. "On certain plays, he wanted us three feet from the free throw line -- not four feet, not two feet. If we got it wrong, he'd stop practice and correct that one foot."

His team started to believe, even guard Jason Williams, whose lousy shot selection, wild passing, and penchant for playing soft defense got him benched in Sacramento, then traded.

He and Brown came to a quick understanding.

"I don't care if a player has got a style, as long as he makes no turnovers," Brown said. "As soon as you turn the ball [over], then you've got to be accountable."

Williams responded with the lowest assist-to-turnover ratio of his career.

In the postseason, the smallest detail can cost you

The Dolphins' first postseason game with first-year head coach Tony Sparano kicks off today.

To illustrate how difficult it is to even reach the postseason, Coach Sparano "asked all 43 veterans to stand up, and then asked those vets who have not been in a playoff game to sit down and only 18 remained standing. Of those 18, only 11 have ever started a playoff game, emphasizing how an opportunity like this doesn't come around every year."

"That made it seem real and made us realize you have to take advantage of the opportunity that you have and just go out and try to make the best of it," said [rookie DE Kendall] Langford.

According to Coach Sparano, who was a member of the Bill Parcells' Cowboys staff that endured "heartbreaking losses to the Seattle Seahawks and New York Giants" the last two postseasons:

"When you get into this you're talking about the details and that's one of the things I learned out of the playoffs - the smallest of detail can cost you in this and there's no do-overs. The details, the minor details are really major at this time of year, and if you stop coaching them and you stop talking about them I think you're going to get in trouble in this situation."

Basketball the Ben Howland way

UCLA players will tell you that coach Ben Howland is "persistent."

According to this story in yesterday's LA Times, "most of what the coach tells his players -- repeatedly -- relates directly to UCLA's trademark style of play. Aggressive on defense. Careful with the ball on offense. Lots of effort."

Asked about the most common daily reminders, players mentioned the same five things, in slightly different order depending on the demands of their positions. This wholly unscientific poll provides a refresher course on basketball the Howland way.

1. Hedging screens: "If you're on defense and your man sets a ball screen, it is your responsibility to jump out on the dribbler until your teammate fights through the screen. Then you scramble back to the man you're guarding."

Says one UCLA player: "That means you keep pressure on the ball. The opponent can't really make a pass because there's that constant pressure."

2. Stay in front of your man: "No gimmicky zones or junk defenses for Howland. His team plays man to man, working to pressure the ball, stop penetration off the dribble and contest every shot."

"Just to compete," guard Jrue Holiday said. "Just to play hard."

3. The jump-stop: "Howland wants his dribblers to come to a stop with their feet planted. He believes that too many players come down the court, leave the ground, and then look to pass, which can lead to turnovers."

4. Rebound: "The coach believes that hitting the boards is crucial to his team's chances this season. This message extends beyond the big men. Josh Shipp, a 6-foot-5 senior who plays on the wing, ranks among the Bruins' top defensive rebounders, and Holiday is averaging 4.2 rebounds."

5. Transition defense: "The guards have to get back and the big men hustle after them, looking to deny easy baskets."

"If you're not doing it right, then he will make sure you're doing it right," [Drew] Gordon said. "He doesn't just kind of blow it off and move on to the next thing. He doesn't care if it takes up all practice, as long as you get it right."

As the author writes, "Given that college players can be adept at tuning out their coaches, Howland gets his message across for one simple reason. As Collison explained: 'We've been to the Final Four three consecutive times.'"

A blueprint for a first-time head coach

Second post of the day about the Ravens, but this was too good to pass up.

John Harbaugh has provided a blueprint for first-time head coaches. As this article puts it, "everything about the Ravens' surprising season has carried the Harbaugh touch."

After reading the article, I'll culled a few key points:

1. Build a strong staff. Coach Harbaugh's staff includes offensive coordinator Cam Cameron, a former head coach in college and in the pros; defensive coordinator Rex Ryan, a favorite among the players and a member of Brian Billick's coaching staff when the Ravens won the 2001 Super Bowl; Wilbert Montgomery, the former Eagles RB who won a Super Bowl as a coach with the Rams; and offensive line coach John Matsko, a 35-year coaching veteran who was on the Rams' staff (along with Wilbert Montgomery) that won a Super Bowl in 2000.

2. Have a plan and stick to it. According to one BAL player: "He didn't blink once, not once, from the things he wanted to do. He had a plan and he stuck with his plan. You have to respect a coach that win, lose or draw he says, 'This is what we're going to do,' and not, 'Let's change this or that.' The great thing about John once he set a path, he wasn't going to deviate from it. His path was that he wanted to do the right thing for his team."

3. Make the rules clear and enforce them. "Harbaugh has definitely had the courage of his convictions and has been a strong disciplinarian whenever it's been called for. Although injuries were also a factor, Harbaugh benched McAlister for violating team rules, including showing up late for meetings prior to a 31-3 loss to the Colts."

4. Let your team know you that you respect and care for them. "When Harbaugh took over the Ravens, he had large signs that say, 'Team, Team, Team,' emblazoned all over the training complex. Harbaugh continually has called the players 'mighty men,' which draws amused smiles from reporters, but his praise has paid off with mutual respect.

"He tells us all the time that he's proud to stand with us as our coach on Sundays," said one Ravens player. "How could you not want to play for someone who is proud to be your coach? You play hard because it's your job, but he makes it more fun to do it."

According to the article, "Besides instilling toughness through more physical practices, Harbaugh has also demonstrated a capacity to care. He didn't rush cornerback Samari Rolle back to work when his father, Harry Rolle, died of a sudden heart attack, encouraging him to take as much time as he needed to grieve."

One BAL player described Coach Harbaugh as "humble," saying "He treats everybody with respect. You have no choice but to play hard for a coach like that."

5. Allow the players to take some ownership. "Harbaugh gave veteran players ages 30 and over every third day off during a grueling training camp... and gradually built in more time off into the practice schedule when the Ravens were forced to have their bye in the second week of the season when Hurricane Ike caused the postponement of their game against the Houston Texans. Plus, he gave the entire team Christmas off prior to a pivotal regular-season finale against the Jacksonville Jaguars."

"I think really what's most impressive about coach is just his flexibility with his players," said [LB Ray] Lewis, who has championed Harbaugh's team concept and even cancelled his radio show at team officials' suggestion prior to the season. "He's very interactive with his players. There's really no decision he makes without coming to us to really figure out what's best for the team. That's a great thing to have when you have a first-year coach and you're trying to adapt to things. You realize that he's not just trying to run you into a program and say, 'Do what I do, do what I say.' It's about what makes us better as a team, that's what you appreciate about him just from a man's perspective."

As the article describes, "Harbaugh allowed the players to vote on what to do about Christmas before suggesting an even more inviting schedule change. He said they could practice on Tuesday, which is usually their normal day off, and take Thursday off for Christmas Day to be with their families."

"He asked, 'Well, what do you want to do?' We were arguing about whether it should be Christmas morning, after Christmas morning," [DE Trevor] Pryce said. "He said, 'Why don't we try this? And we said, 'Yeah, that's it.' That's the kind of guy he is. The Christmas thing was a big thing. That was his idea. He doesn't want to be out on an island by himself."

6. Focus on the little things, but don't be afraid to delegate. "More than anything, Harbaugh has demanded attention to detail and timeliness while delegating authority to his coordinators. Harbaugh has straddled the line between being a so-called players' coach and instilling a harder edge for a team that was known for complaining about officiating a year ago and drawing costly personal fouls. Now, the Ravens run a tighter ship under Harbaugh."

Teaching by breaking down the game

Vince Carter on why some players have a hard time learning from Larry Brown, "arguably the game's greatest teacher":

"Sometimes it's tough for a lot of the guys, because you go through the stages of being taught; and then on this level, you kind of want to fine-tune. But he wants to break down the game -- that's the way he's been. And if you haven't been around him and don't know him well, you don't understand. That's why it can be tough."

It's about the right spot and the right angles

New Sixers coach Tony DiLeo is working to get his guys to pay attention to something some players don't think much about: Angles and openings. As this article from today's Philly paper points out:

"Effective angles are to basketball what gas is to most automobiles: necessary for movement."

Says Coach DiLeo: "It's about the right spot, the right angles."

Practicing late-game situations pays off

Saw the highlights of Wisconsin's last-second win at Virginia Tech the other night.

If you missed it, "Trevon Hughes (pictured here) drove coast to coast and hit a shot from the paint with 0.9 seconds left to wreck a furious Virginia Tech rally and give the University of Wisconsin Badgers a 74-72 victory over the Hokies."

According to reports, Wisconsin "spent some of its morning shootaround at the arena working on last-second situations -- Hughes said it was the first time they'd gone over them this season -- and it paid off.

"Get it in, get it up, get it in, get it up," said Badgers coach Bo Ryan, who didn't have any timeouts left to set up a play.

In this article, Hughes says the Badgers "practiced that exact scenario at their shoot-around at Cassell Coliseum earlier in the day."

"At shoot-around at practice we assimilated it. We put 3 seconds on the clock and ran it in our shoot-around. It paid off. Practice makes perfect," said Hughes.

Sweating the small stuff

BOS coach Doc Rivers played for Larry Brown back in the early '90s when Coach Brown was coaching the Clippers.

What struck him most about Coach Brown was his ability to focus on the little things:

"The key, just playing for him, is his attention to detail. I remember going over out-of-bounds screening, you wanted to pass out. He just kept adjusting this guy's shoulders and, as a player, you say, 'What is the big deal here?' And, I swear, three or four games later, the guy's shoulder was in the right place and he nicked a guy a little bit, and it's what got us open.

And you see that once, and see it again later, and you see it again. If I've taken anything from him, it's that attention to detail. [Yesterday], we walked through something in the ballroom and I can hear [the players] sighing - but you have to do it, and he [Brown] taught me that."

A commitment to finding solutions when confronted with problems

Juan Carlos Osorio has his team in the MLS championship game today after the NY Red Bulls finished the regular season below .500.

He was criticized throughout the season for focusing too much on defense ("negative football") and mishandling his lineups.

Despite the criticism, "Osorio never wavered from his season-long philosophy after the Red Bulls backed into the playoffs. He changed the lineup according to the form of players and individual matchups."

As for his emphasis on defense, Osorio says:

"I've lived in this country for almost 20 years, and I hear about other sports, American football, baseball, basketball. And I've heard the best coaches, the guys that won trophies are those that defensively are sound.

When people say about me that I'm a defensive coach, I take that as a compliment rather than as a criticism. In the well-rooted sports, defense means titles. It wins titles. And I'm very pleased with the way the guys are performing now.''

That consistently, and Coach Osorio's ability to stand up to the criticism, has paid off.

Said one Red Bulls player of his coach: "He always does the same thing, in the good times, in the bad times. And I’m glad it paid off. He has done the job. [Whenever] you think about his passion, his commitment to the team, whatever, he has taken us to a position nobody has taken us before. Full credit to him because he made some decisions that weren’t easy to make."

Coach Osorio, a native of Columbia who began coaching about 10 years ago, is known for his incredible appetite for learning. One former staff member recently described Coach Osorio's love for books:

"I am not talking about one or two books but enough that the equipment manager had to carry an extra bag. He was constantly reading and referencing what the best minds ... had to say about this or another aspect of the game. Constantly learning."

But Osorio does some writing of his own, most of it coming during the games when he can be seen scratching notes onto a notepad. Says Osorio:

"Writing notes allowed me to decide what was the most important thing to tell my players at halftime. It is 15 minutes. The way we break it down, the first five minutes the players can hydrate and have it as their own. The next five minutes I talk so it has to be down to the nitty-gritty and just the most important things. If you don't write things down, I think some of those things get confused, you misplace them or you don't time it well. It's just my way to be very objective."

According to one Red Bulls player, it's part of Osorio's attention to detail:

"He's very, very meticulous. That's evident. He goes over every detail. He tries to exploit every weakness of other teams and tries to improve a weakness our team may have. It's almost a military-type strategic approach to his daily training sessions, his game plans every week. He definitely puts a lot of thought into it.

He plans for every single situation, be it the run of play, deadball situations, they start of game, middle of the game, the end part of the game. he covers all bases. It's a good feeling coming into games knowing you are well prepared."

This level of preparation has been a key to his success, according to a former coach for whom Osorio worked:

"I believe therein lies his strength, when confronted with a problem, immediately looking for solutions, rather than wallowing in the crisis. There is no wonder to me that he overcame so much adversity and finally got it right. It was not by chance but rather his commitment to find solutions when confronted with problems."

The ability to overcame obstacles is the real lesson of the season, says Coach Osorio:

"The most important thing for me is to let the players know that in soccer, like any other sport, it is not about not failing. It’s not about falling. It’s about how many times can you get up and continue working and working hard and working the right way to get results.

And we have gone through very difficult games. We have been at the end of bad scores. But we have always recovered from those games. And that’s the most rewarding thing to me.

I just have to be responsible enough and intelligent enough to make the decisions that we need to do at any game. And if certain players are not performing, not fulfilling those responsibilities, then I have to go and give opportunities to other players."

Two hours of organized chaos with Coach Calipari

If you've ever wondered what a John Calipari practice is like, the Memphis paper recently provided a detailed description.

One of Coach Calipari's traditions is having his players use hand sanitizer during practice to help keep guys from getting sick. "I don’t want anything to get in the way of us having a good season," says Coach Cal.

According to the article:

There is an element of structure and control at work here that he appreciates, considering how he directs two-plus hours of organized chaos most afternoons over the course of the winter. Practices at the University of Memphis are intense affairs, a mix of free-wheeling competition and meticulous instruction.

At one point during the practice, Coach Calipari spends "10 minutes dissecting the finer points of working through a screen. The key for the defender, he says, is to 'stay connected' to the offensive player. Keep a forearm on him, Calipari says. Stay snug, almost hip-to-hip. Often, the screener will be forced to shuffle his feet to get a clean look at the defender and that, Calipari says, is a ...'Offensive foul,' they finally say in unison."

With a younger roster this season, Coach Cal "has been careful to take things slow with this group, acknowledging that he made mistakes in past seasons by jumping ahead too quickly — or, as he described it, 'blowing by all the stuff they really didn’t know.'

According to the story:

Calipari has kept all of his practice plans since he started his head coaching career at Massachusetts in 1988. The plans from his eight years at UMass and two-plus seasons with the New Jersey Nets are stored in boxes at his home. The plans from his eight seasons with the Tigers are stacked in binders in his office, and he refers to them all the time.

“If you came in and looked at my early-season practice plans from even four or five years ago, you’d say we do a lot more now,” Calipari said. “We’re a little farther ahead in what we’re trying to teach, and I have a better feel for what I want to get in. We’re more efficient.”

During a game or scrimmage, "Calipari said he sees what three or four players are doing at any given point. Larry Brown, who mentored Calipari at Kansas and now coaches the NBA’s Charlotte Bobcats, can see 10 players at once — and notice if anyone is messing up. His attention to detail, Calipari said, is extraordinary. 'I’m nowhere near that,' Calipari said. So if he misses something, he has a backup plan: A student manager films practice from a perch high above the court, and Calipari reviews the DVD at home that night.

Here's how the story concludes:

5:19 p.m.: As practice draws to a close, Calipari takes a seat at his table and tells his players to gather around. He says he is pleased with the effort, but they are making too many of the same mistakes again and again. He craves consistent effort and daily improvement.

He tells a story about how the Phoenix Suns’ Amare Stoudemire, in town over the summer, worked out at the Finch Center for two hours and spent one of those hours working on his skip pass. Skip pass after skip pass, until he was pleased with his progress.

The breakdown: As much as the team can accomplish at practice, Calipari knows his players need to get into the gym on their own and work on their games.

“Some guys are getting the message,” Anderson said. “But that’s something everybody will need to pick up on eventually.”

Because sometimes, the most important work for a team with title aspirations gets done when nobody — not even Calipari — is watching.