What’s the best piece of advice you received?
One simple question always provides the best answers.
Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra: “It probably came from my dad. ‘Always invest in books and reading.’ You can never invest too much in that. I used to enjoy as a kid going into his home office and spending time with him. He had a library of very eclectic books, very interesting. I used to read a lot more than I do now with technology and podcasts. But when I had a question, ‘How do you get better at .. basketball?’ He’d say, ‘Go find some books and go read. That’s how to improve yourself.’”
Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel: “ ‘Don’t lose.’ (comic pause) … The thing that came to mind was a story that Coach Dan Quinn told me about never keeping any sort of piece of information if something bothers you about a player from them. You have to let them know for their own sake so they can have the opportunity to fix it. There are sometimes things that can bother you about how somebody is going about something and the harm can be if you just assume that’s who that person is. If it bothers you enough, or just in general, you have to give them the opportunity to correct it before you judge really anything. He used a couple examples. The one that sticks out in my head was there was a guy on a team that he was on one time that had no idea that he was annoying a coach by the way he was dressing and would have corrected it if it was brought to his attention. I think that’s something that always stood out that you have to give people opportunities and it’s not fair to them, it’s actually quite the opposite, if you’re really judging anybody and how they behave without communicating with them and giving them an opportunity to fix something.”
University of Miami basketball coach Jim Larrañaga: “It came from a gentleman I met in 1975 at University of Virginia, Dr. Bob Rotella, a sports psychologist who is a dear friend. When I first became a head coach I was a maniac on the sideline. My wife said I coached every dribble, every shot, every defensive possession. I was so up and down. I talked with Bob Rotella and he said, ‘Train, then trust.’ What does that mean? Train the guys in practice, teach them, be demanding, whatever. But then during the game trust them. He said, ‘Clap at their mistakes – yeah, clap for mistakes. Kids don’t want to look over at the bench and see you rant and rave.’ That changed how I coached. Train, then trust.”
Florida Panthers wing Matthew Tkachuk: “My dad always said since the puck’s going to go through you why not get to the net? That made sense to me, and it’s why I get in position around the net. I’ve always played that way. It’s where I feel I can have the most impact and where I’ve become most comfortable to make plays.”
Miami Marlins first baseman Garrett Cooper: “When I went to Auburn, Gabe Gross, our hitting coach who played like seven or eight years in the big leagues, he just said, ‘No matter what, through the ups and downs, stay even and you’ll be all right.’ Baseball’s the toughest sport, you have to keep as even keel as possible even if you go through an 0-for-50 stretch. Just that advice, when I was 18-19 years old in college — you think you’re good in high school and then play against top players in college. Then you come to the major leagues. Just to have someone who’s been there say that to me in college always stuck with me.’’
Miami Heat guard Kyle Lowry: “When I came in the league, (Toronto Raptors veteran) Damon Stoudamire told me, ‘Be patient.’ The idea was to let things come to you. You come in, you’re young and excited and you want everything to happen for you right away. That’s how everyone is. So what he said meant something to me as a young player. Be patient.”
Miami Dolphins offensive coordinator Frank Smith: “I was a finance major, and it was my third year in college. I’m sitting in Finance 301 and I’m just looking at my exam. I have my financial calculator. I’ve got my charts. I’ve got all this stuff, and I’m looking at it and then I’m just going, ‘What the hell am I doing?’ And then as I look out, I see these two dudes throwing a frisbee back and forth — classic frat boys. I’m going like, ‘Man, I don’t know what those guys are doing, but they’ve got it figured out. They’re just having fun.’ I remember leaving that exam, going down to meet with my coach Terry Hoeppner, my head coach in college (at Miami University in Ohio), and I just was like, ‘I don’t know what I want to do in life. I don’t think I want to be a business guy, because that’s what my dad was.’ And he goes, ‘Well, have you ever thought about coaching?’ And I looked at him like, ‘You think I’d be any good at it?’ And he goes, ‘Yeah, you make all our calls, what you do well, communication skills, all (that) stuff.’ He went on to list some things about me that — I don’t handle praise real well, so I still like, right now I remember that moment, I’m going back to it going, like, ‘Alright, Coach, what do you think I should do?’ And he said then, ‘But if you get into coaching, there’s no guarantee you’re going to have financial success. Like, there’s no guarantee of anything. But if you love what you do, you never work a day in your life.’ And ultimately, I was like, that makes sense to me.”
Marlins centerfielder Jazz Chisholm: ‘Always be yourself.’ I’ve heard it from everyone. (Former and current players) Jimmy Rollins, Ken Griffey Jr., Gary Sheffield, CC Sabathia, even Bryce Harper. The idea is don’t change who you are. The moment you change is the moment it’s not going to work for you. You have to be true to yourself.”
Tom Moore, long-time NFL offensive assistant who worked with Peyton Manning and Tom Brady: “The best piece of advice I ever got was when I went to the Pittsburgh Steelers. I was a college coach for 14 years. (Receiver) Lynn Swann came to my office, closed the door and said, ‘Tom, let’s talk. I’ll give you a piece of advice.’ We had John Stallworth, Swann, Terry Bradshaw, all these Hall of Fame players starting out. He said, ‘John and I can catch the ball, but teach us what we don’t’ know.’ OK, what do you know? ‘We’re not sure about adjusting routes, reading the coverages, how to get open against different coverage.’ So that’s what we did. We spent an inordinate amount of time on those things. I always tell coaches, ‘Teach your players what they don’t know.’ Sounds simple. But until you ask them individually, they won’t tell you what they need coaching in.”
Dolphins cornerback Kader Kohou: “My dad and my mom said, ‘If one person did it, you can do it, too.’ It didn’t matter what it was through my life. School. Sports. I always look at no matter what you’re at, no matter where you’re from, you can do it, too. It doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy. But they have the same two legs you have, the same two hands you have and so whatever they can do you can do, too. That’s always stayed with me.”
