This is not a book to help you change the way you coach. It is a book about influencing the way you think about coaching. When this happens, you will be equipped to make your own decision about the direction you want your coaching to take. This book provides an oasis in a desert of coaching challenges. I heard a comment that is relevant to being a great leader: “Extraordinary coaching is fierce love.” Iconic coach John Wooden, when asked why he was so successful (10 NCAA basketball championships), answered: “Guys, that’s easy...I had a lot of love in my coaching.” He wasn’t talking about the Kumbaya, “touchy-feely” kind of love that was popular in the culture of the 1960s. He was talking about the powerful catalyst that builds relationships, winning teams, and success in sports and all of life. It is about leading by connecting, caring, and loving, by learning to be more humane and realize that we coach people not a game, that the people matter more than outcomes and results. It is a love that is the source of motivation and inspiration for positive action and unlocking ultimate human potential. It is the eagerness to encourage, empower, and inspire your athletes. By building a foundation of love, you can be demanding and ask those you lead to perform the work that will make them be successful. In this safe environment, athletes feel they belong, feel important, valued, relevant, and respected. This requires that you develop a set of competencies in addition to being able to strategize a game plan with a thorough knowledge of the X’s and O’s. Rest assured that all of these competencies will be unpacked within the pages of this book, guiding you to LEAD WITH LOVE.
