Jamy Bechler

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

Defense Wins Championships

All of us sports fans have heard it said that “Defense Wins Championships”.  Though that axiom has a lot of legitimacy, it is hard to say whether it is 100% true.  Lots of things go into winning a championship. However, I must say that this year, it seemed that I noticed more winning coaches praising their team’s defensive efforts as the main reason for their success.  This has gotten me to thinking about my team and whether or not we should emphasize defense even more next year. It probably can’t hurt. Regardless, here are some of the examples that I am talking about when it comes to defense helping a team win a basketball championship.

[Read more…]

James Justice Wins College Slam Dunk Championship

Congratulations to James Justice, the 5’9 All-American guard from Martin Methodist College, for winning the 2012 State Farm College Slam Dunk Contest.  He beat out seven NCAA Division I players, including Miles Plumlee from Duke University.  If you didn’t see it on ESPN, then I highly recommend it.  If nothing else, seeing the judges (including Bobby Hurley and John Salley) react after James’ last dunk is priceless.  Here is the footage (courtesy of SBnation.com).

15 Best Books for Leaders

“I do not think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday.” (Abraham Lincoln)
As a basketball coach, I have a tremendous opportunity to lead and influence people every day.  Certainly leadership involves a great many things, however, I have found that constantly learning and re-learning methods, strategies, and insights gives me a better chance to lead in a positive manner.  Reading books is one of the key resources that I utilize in trying to sharpen my leadership skills.  Every once in awhile, I’ll even read a book again because it was so good.  Below are some of the books that I’d recommend highly for anyone seeking to be a better leader.

Championship Lessons Learned at NAIA National Tournament

(originally published on March 27, 2012)

From March 10-20, I spent time serving on the NAIA National Tournament Committee.  It was a bittersweet experience.  Meeting all the coaches, watching all the games, observing many practices and helping the tournament run smoothly was great.  However, it was difficult watching the teams play knowing that we had been fairly close to qualifying ourselves.  If only we’d won 1-2 more games, we might have been one of the 32-teams that earned a bid.  I must say that Rob Edmission’s Oklahoma City University team was extremely impressive throughout the entire tournament.  They beat Union University in the championship game, which is no small feat.  As I watched the games and thought about how to get my team to the tournament, I came up with some observations. In no particular order, I have listed them below.

[Read more…]

DON’T BE A TWIT … twitter rules to live by

(originally published on March 13, 2012)

I am fairly new to the world of social media, especially twitter.  I have an account and have composed some tweets.  However, don’t expect me to twit anyone back.  I also just learned in the last week that “dm” isn’t short for “you da man”.  “Direct Message” makes more sense. I kind of thought that it was strange when people would keep asking me to “dm” them.  Okay, whatever dawg…u da man!

[Read more…]

Sign Up For Leadership Insights

Join Thousands Of Others Who Follow Jamy On These Platforms: