| Philosophy of Basketball 101 |
| From Pete Carril: Sports do not build character. They reveal character. The force of the coach determines the quality and intensity of the defense. In the end, you try to get the kids to understand that they shouldn't worry about who makes the shot, only whether or not the shot is made. My ideal player loves to play, constantly learns, has good character, does not give in to defeat. He uses all the parts of his abilities, not just one particular thing. I want a kid who goes ahead and does what he knows has to be done, who doesn't give himself an excuse to fail. You have to know what you are good at doing and do it. I take a look at a basketball player who's got some innocence in his face. with eyes that are telling me he wants to be good and wants me to help him - that turns me on. Your team dictates what you can teach them - and you find out by watching them carefully. Work hard to make things easy. Take a shot that you know you can make, because knowing when not to shoot is just as key as knowing when. The worst thing in shooting is to be indecisive. The word "never" is one I rarely use; however, may I say you should never get tired of making shots. You have to play a lot to become a good dribbler, and if you don't play much, there's no way to make it up. Losing requires absolutely nothing. Bad shooters are always open. |
| Basketball and life "If it is to be, it is up to me" "Doing a thing nearly right and doing it right is the diffrerence between success and failure." "If better is even possible, good isn't enough." "We accomplish in proportion to what we attempt." "The higher the standards you have, the better you become." "Those who dare to dream, dare to do." "Rise above the ordinary." "Concentration is a habit." "It is amazing what you can do when everybody does what they are supposed to do." "Act as if were impossible to fail and it will be." "Do not look back unless you intend to go that way." " The harder you work, the harder it is to surrender." "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." "Only the mediocre person is always at his best." "There is not a right way to do a wrong thing." "An eye for an eye makes everyone blind." (Gandhi) "To be what we are, and to become what we are capable of becoming, is the only end in life." (Robert Louis Stevenson) "Some things must be believed to be seen." "You can take the day off, but you can't put it back." "We are always the same age inside." "I would rather be disliked for what I am, than to be liked for what I am not." "Most people say that as you get old, you have to give up things. I think you get old because you give up things." "The world belongs to the energetic." (Ralph Waldo Emerson) "He who stops being better, stops being good." (Oliver Cromwell) "The deepest personal defeat suffered by human beings is constituted by the difference between what one was capable of doing and what one has in fact become." " We all make mistakes - especially those who do things." The Samurai of Japan used to say, "Remove yourself from the battle and fight the battle for the sake of the battle. |