Jamy Bechler

Providing Insights on Leadership and Success. Coach Bechler is a John Maxwell Leadership Team Member.

Best Basketball Not on TV

Westmont’s Tugce Canitez vs. Sue Bird

(originally published on March 17, 2013)

March Madness is upon us and eyes are glued to the TV watching conference tournaments to see who’s bubble bursts and who’s dreams come true.  However, there is some madness going on in Frankfort, KY that is under-the-radar.  The NAIA women’s basketball national tournament is down to its’ final four teams.  The “Fab Four” games will take place on Monday.  Westmont (CA) University will join three teams from Tennessee: Lee University, Freed Hardeman University and Cumberland University in the Fab Four.  This tournament may be lacking UCONN or Brittney Griner but it certainly is not lacking excitement, talent or story lines.

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The Best College Football Coach

This past Saturday (originally published on December 20, 2012), did you watch ESPN and see the best college football coach in the country lead his team to another National Championship?  What, you say?  Nick Saban had the weekend off . . . Alabama didn’t play.  I am not talking about the Crimson Tide or the Notre Dame Fighting Irish or any other BCS team.

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The Influence of a Leader

(editor’s note:  originally published on December 5, 2012)

With the recent death of Rick Majerus (25 years as a head coach at Marquette, Ball State, Utah, St. Louis and only had one losing season), story after story was devoted to retelling his life story and what kind of impact he had on others.  It certainly got me thinking again about what kind of influence we have on those around us.

 

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Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day

Long lines of customers along with protestors converged on Chick-fil-A restaurants all across the country today (originally posted on August 2, 2012).  The unusual attention was in response to former presidential candidate, Mike Huckabee, calling today “Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day”.  This came after Dan Cathy, Chick-fil-A’s president and son of founder Truett Cathy, made comments about traditional marriage and same-sex unions two weeks ago.

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Stupid is…as Stupid does

Athletes doing immature or stupid things give other athletes a bad name.  The following athletes did things this week (originally published on July 31, 2012) that make you go hhhmmmm and shake your head.  There are also lots of links to other articles about these topics to further entertain you.  In honor of the huge event starting up this week – NFL Training Camp – we will highlight a trio of diva wide receivers.  Oh, and for the other minor event starting up this week, we’ll lead off with an Olympian.

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Solution to NCAA’s Transfer Problems

This is the NCAA’s lucky day  (originally published on May 22, 2012) because I have the solutions for their transfer policies, which have come under considerable fire in recent weeks and months (e.g. Maryland Football, Wisconsin Basketball, St. Joseph’s Basketball).  To set the stage before I give you the solution, below are a few articles that should provide further insight on the topic.

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Change for the Better

Big Blue Nation and the University of Kentucky recently won its’ 8th NCAA men’s basketball national championship (editor’s note:  originally published on April 26, 2012).  Head coach John Calipari and his much-publicized dribble drive offense finally got his first national title after a near miss with the University of Memphis in 2008 against the Kansas Jayhawks.  Though Coach Cal added to his already spectacular career, the dribble drive did not really add a national championship to its resume.

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Why Pat Summitt is the Best

(editor’s note:  published on April 18, 2012)

Today is a sad day not only in the state of Tennessee but across the nation.  Pat Summitt, all of 59 years young, 8 national championships, nearly 1,100 wins (most all-time, men or women) and countless branches on her coaching tree, stepped down from being the Lady Vol head coach.  Coach Summitt’s associate head coach, Holly Warlick, will take over the reigns full-time.  Head Coach Emeritus is the new title that Coach Summitt has earned.  Just like everything else she has done in her career, I am sure that she’ll be the best at this position.  [Read more…]

15 Best Books for Coaches

“It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.”
(John Wooden)

In a previous post, I talked about some of the best books for leaders, whether you are a coach or not.  Today, I will recommend the books that will help a coach in nearly any sport at any level.  A couple of the books may seem sport specific, but contain information and insight that can help you regardless of what you coach.  Even if you are not an avid reader, flip through some of these books and steal one or two ideas to implement with your teams or to strengthen your coaching philosophy.  These are 15 books that are different than my list for leaders.  However, I would definitely suggest looking at those books as well.

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Greener Grass?

In his book WINNING EVERY DAY, the former Notre Dame football coach, Lou Holtz, tells the story of the Trappist monk who was allowed to say only two words every three years.

After the first three years, he met with the his order’s Brother Superior and  said, “Bad bed!”

3 years later, he came back to say, “Bad food!”

After 3 more years of silence, the monk said, “No TV!”

Another 3 years passed. This time, when the monk met with Brother Superior, he handed him his robes and sandals and announced, “I quit!”

Brother Superior said, “Well don’t expect me to try to dissuade you. You’ve done nothing but complain since you got here!”

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