WASHINGTON 鈥� It鈥檚 easy to be positive when you鈥檙e winning. But what if the perceived cause and effect between winning and attitude are backward? Could a culture of positivity foster a championship legacy?
Aside from the increasingly mythical acts of , the Golden State Warriors have emerged as one of the great teams in the history of professional sports thanks to a culture change brought about by a coaching staff with deep roots cultivated in the power of positive thinking. Both Steve Kerr and 鈥� in his absence for the first half of the season 鈥� Luke Walton have displayed this largely levelheaded, positive approach and seen it pay great dividends.
The idea of the screaming, maniacal coach required for success is embedded deeply in American culture. Beyond that, it is celebrated, from Vince Lombardi鈥檚 most famous quote (鈥淲inning isn鈥檛 everything 鈥� it鈥檚 the only thing鈥�) to the seminal 鈥淭here鈥檚 no crying in baseball!鈥� scene from “A League of Their Own” (warning: language).
Somewhere along the way, compassion became associated with being soft, two-way communication interpreted as a lack of leadership. Social science has shown us that humans . But a handful of basketball coaches have been succeeding with the opposite methodology, particularly Phil Jackson at the NBA level (11 championships) and Lute Olson at the college level (781 wins, 5 Final Fours and a national title).
When Jackson鈥檚 Chicago Bulls won in the ’90s, it was understandable that some overlooked his Art of Zen as secondary to the transcendent talent of Michael Jordan, without whom the team never won a title. But when Jackson went聽on to win again in Los Angeles, eventually breaking Red Auerbach鈥檚 career championship mark, it was clear there was something greater going on.
Both Kerr and Walton have a shared history of playing for Jackson. But their parallel paths extend further back than that. Each also played for Olson at the University of聽Arizona. So it makes sense that this coaching tree has ties that weave through something called the .
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PCA has been around since 1998, where it was founded at Stanford University, right around the time Kerr, as a player, was moving from one championship team in Chicago to another in San Antonio, and while Walton was committing to his future college career at the University of Arizona under Olson.
Jim Thompson, founder and chief executive officer of PCA, began his career as a teacher鈥檚 aide in St. Paul, Minnesota working with emotionally disturbed children. It wasn鈥檛 until he was enrolled at Stanford business school and his son began competing in youth sports that he became aware of how widespread negativity from coaches and parents was聽hampering not only kids鈥� enjoyment of the games they were playing, but also their ability to succeed.
Don鈥檛 be fooled 鈥� PCA wasn鈥檛 created for the purpose of making everyone feel warm and fuzzy, about celebrating every player equally (鈥渨e鈥檙e not big on participation trophies,鈥� says Thompson).
A self-described 鈥渆nthusiastic but mediocre athlete鈥� who played one year of college basketball, he decided to jump in and try to apply some of the methodology he had learned along the way to try to bring out the best in youth athletes.
鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 just about stopping the negative,鈥� he says of his first year of coaching, stressing how important it is to simply reaffirm kids when they do things the right way. 鈥淜ids were aggressive, because they weren鈥檛 afraid of making mistakes.鈥�
And his teams started winning. Pretty soon, parents were asking if their kids could聽join his team for the next season.
鈥淭his wasn鈥檛 originally about character,鈥� says Thompson. 鈥淚t was about performance.鈥�
Even if a Little League game doesn鈥檛 matter on a grand scale, it certainly matters to the kids playing. Thompson believes that the fact that the game does matter, that there are stakes, is what makes youth sports such a great tool for teaching about taking on challenges, about success and failure.
鈥淐hallenge and fear makes youth sports a great character building opportunity,鈥� he says, but with a caveat. 鈥淚f you have a great coach.鈥�
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Thompson has known Jackson for years, ever since the two were introduced by a mutual friend who sent Jackson one of Thompson鈥檚 books. Jackson reached out and the two bonded over their love of basketball, their shared North Dakota roots and their similar methodologies. So when Thompson asked the legendary coach to be the national spokesman for PCA, he was happy to do so.
Fittingly, it is through Jackson that Thompson first met Kerr, at Jackson鈥檚 induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007. Kerr had just been named president of basketball operations and general manager of the Phoenix Suns, still seven years away from becoming an NBA head coach. Nevertheless, Thompson developed an appreciation for Kerr鈥檚 sensibilities.
鈥淚鈥檝e had a very high regard for Steve for a long time,鈥� he says.
But when Kerr was hired in Oakland, he took on an official role as a National Advisory Board Member for PCA, and took part in a Q&A last fall, when the Warriors were sprinting out to a surprising start to the season. In that talk, he spoke of the importance of inclusion of not only the rest of the coaching staff, but the players themselves when making decisions.
鈥淥ne of the things that was pretty common with the best coaches that I played for was that it was a collaborative effort,鈥� Kerr said at the time. 鈥淚 think players appreciate that, and they see strength when coaches do that, rather than weakness. Because nobody has all the answers and you want to empower all your players.鈥�
This was last season, when the Warriors were off to a surprising 15-2 start. Since then, the Warriors have gone 104-18 in the regular season and won the NBA title last season without being pushed to a Game 7 in any of their four playoff series. At home in Oakland鈥檚 Oracle Arena 鈥� a den of frenzied optimism that often swells in support behind its home team, rising as one when it needs a basket or a big defensive stop 鈥� they have won 57 of 58, including 42 straight.
They accomplished some of that without Kerr on the floor, as he recovered from a pair of back surgeries this offseason. Walton took the reins as acting head coach and the team never missed a beat, opening the season 39-4 before their head coach returned. Walton鈥檚 biggest imperative was trying not to disrupt what had already proven to be a successful formula.
鈥淲e as a staff thought it was important to keep that flow going that Steve had, because it obviously is a good thing, because we won a championship with it,鈥� he said after the Warriors鈥� recent win in Washington. 鈥淪o it wasn鈥檛 like it was hard to do, but we鈥檇 talk about it. 鈥楬ow do you think Steve would handle this situation?鈥� And we鈥檇 make decisions based on that.鈥�
Walton says that both Olson and Jackson would never lose their cool when they would get upset. It鈥檚 a key component of what he鈥檚 learned and implemented on Kerr鈥檚 staff, the result being a team that is fully bought in, fully invested in each other鈥檚 success.
鈥淔rom my perspective, I think it鈥檚 a uniquely healthy environment we have here.鈥�
Kerr shared an example of that in his Q&A. Coming off a one-point win the night before against the Orlando Magic, he admitted that it was Leandro Barbosa, a bench player not even in the game for the final sequence, who suggested in the huddle that Kerr put the tallest man on his roster, Andrew Bogut, to guard the inbounds pass, making it as tough as possible for the opposition to create an opportunity for a game-winning shot. Kerr realized Barbosa was right, put Bogut on the ball, and the Warriors won.
He was more than happy to take the advice and to heap the praise for the decision on his player.
鈥淟eadership is really a team sport,鈥� says Thompson. 鈥淵ou share the power and the credit.鈥�
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The tide is turning against the old school methodology of negative coaching. Last year, Sports Illustrated asked . If Kerr, Walton and company continue to set the model, it may be so.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a kind of sea change, almost,鈥� says Thompson. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a better way of getting the best out of kids.鈥�
For his part, PCA continues to grow and thrive, expanding to 65 employees and running 2,500 workshops around the country this year.
鈥淥ur goal is to change the culture of youth sports,鈥� Thompson says. 鈥淭hat requires a movement of people at the grass roots level and at the thought leader level.鈥�
If Thompson is leading the grass roots charge, those like Kerr and Walton that are doing so as thought leaders. As the men in charge of the most dynamic, exciting team in sports today, they are on display to the nation every day, with inside-the-huddle camera shots broadcasting their coaching style to the world.
鈥淚t seems like this happens every time we play these guys,鈥� said Kerr matter-of-factly with a shrug during the first timeout after the Warriors dug themselves a quick 12-point deficit against the Oklahoma City Thunder Saturday night. He quickly got back to focusing attention on his team鈥檚 effort level, and kept his composure despite a lackluster first half.
A聽reported halftime outburst in the locker room by emotional leader Draymond Green, something that may have torn other teams apart, already down double digits on the road against one of the league鈥檚 best teams, only seemed to further galvanize the Warriors. Even when Curry turned his ankle in the third quarter, causing the sport to hold its collective breath, the team kept within striking distance.
Down 11 with less than five minutes to play, the Warriors rallied around their defense, slowly closed the gap, forced overtime in a way only they could, and won in spectacular fashion at the buzzer.
鈥淥ne of the things that鈥檚 important in sports is to try to detach yourself from outcomes,鈥� says Kerr. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 hard with all the judgment you get on a daily basis.鈥�
Thankfully for Kerr and the Warriors, they haven鈥檛 needed to. But surely there will be harder days ahead. That鈥檚 why the process of unyielding optimism, of always building up his players for the next challenge, rather than tearing them down for any failure, remains the most important aspect of his job. And its why he makes the perfect model for the present and future of youth sports.
鈥淲hen you鈥檝e got someone like Kerr right now, showing almost relentless positivity, it鈥檚 fabulous,鈥� says Thompson. 鈥淲e want high school coaches, youth coaches to understand that positive emotions can create an upward spiral. What builds resilience is positivity.鈥�
