PCA and lessons through sports

The other day I spotted from among my sports files an interesting speech delivered by Jim Thompson entitled “Why Sports Capture Our Imagination: Reflections on Phil Jackson’s Hall of Fame Induction,” passed on to me by former Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman and now physical education director of the Foundation University in Dumaguete, Perry Mequi.

Thompson is executive director of Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA), which has for its motto, “Transforming Youth Sports So Sports Can Transform Youth.” Jackson is the multi-titled National Basketball Association (NBA) coach and former player.

Thompson founded PCA as a non-profit within the Stanford University Athletic Department in 1988 and has, since then, helped create a positive, character-building youth sports environment for more than three million youth athletes.

According to literature on PCA, in its face-to-face workshops, dynamic PCA trainers: 1) train youth and high school sports coaches to become double-goal coaches whose first goal is winning and whose second, more-important goal is teaching life lessons through sports; 2) develop second-goal parents who focus on helping their youth athletes learn those life lessons; and 3) cultivate triple impact competitors, student athletes who strive to improve themselves, their teammates and their sport as a whole.

Jackson, like Thompson, is a member of PCA. Lacking a similar movement in the country, it would perhaps serve our coaches, who very often just concentrate on the technical aspects of coaching with varying degrees of success, well to learn a few things from Jackson, Thompson and the PCA.

PCA gains support from elite coaches and athletes, including Los Angeles Lakers head coach Jackson as PCA national spokesperson. Its National Advisory Board comprises such leaders as NBA and NCAA champion coach Larry Brown, former senator Bill Bradley, NFL Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott, Olympic gold medal gymnasts Bart Conner and Nadia Comaneci, among others.

Thompson says that when Jackson was asked why he had Bradley (also a PCA National Advisory Board member) present him for the induction, Jackson said he was inspired by Bradley’s example of self-sacrifice to help a team succeed.

Bradley was the US NCAA player of the year for his final season at Princeton where he led an under-talented team to the Final Four. After attending Oxford on a Rhodes scholarship, Bradley joined the New York Knicks to find his skills had degraded, according to Thompson. Bradley realized he would be a role player on a Knicks team with five future Hall-of-Famers. He split playing time with Cazzie Russell, always graciously thinking of how to help the team rather than grousing about his limited role.

During the many TV timeouts at the induction ceremony, a video clip of Hall of Fame inductee Bill Russell of the Boston Celtics had Russell talking about why playing for Red Auerbach was special.

Russell said every Celtic felt accepted and valued by Auerbach. None felt they were competing with each other, so they could support each other and channel their competitive spirits into becoming a fantastic team.

Jackson talked about Red Hozlman, Jackson’s mentor and a Hall of Fame coach of future Hall-of-Famers Walt Frazier, Earl Monroe, Willis Reed, Dave DeBusschere and Jerry Lucas. Jackson mentioned Holzman’s ability to get these stars to mesh together into one of the greatest teams of all time.

Thompson said that getting stars to play as one is lot more difficult than it seems given a standard practice of coaches pitting players against each other. Many coaches encourage players to see teammates as a threat to their role. Creating a community (note the use of the word community) of players who feel secure enough to put their own egos aside and give their all for the team is rare. But those coaches who are able to do it often end up in the Hall of Fame. Thompson stressed, ”Players liking and supporting each other enhances a team’s ability to win.”

Almost halfway through his speech, Thompson refers to a t-shirt in the Hall of Fame that has a quote from “Pistol” Pete Maravich: “This may seem strange, but shooting isn’t my game – passing is.” While Maravich is known for his amazing scoring records, Thompson emphasizes that what takes one’s breath away when one sees Maravich play on film is his passing. Truly, as Thompson says, the ultimate basketball play is the assist. And the ultimate great team play is setting your teammates up for success.

More on PCA and a vision of a positive youth sports culture next week.