Erik Leafblad, PhD
@coachleafblad
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Head Boys Basketball Coach at Burnsville High School
Joined June 2022
What I love about his response is the reverence he has for competition, without making it the all-consuming end of everything. From that reverence comes immense joy and gratitude.
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Scottie has discovered the “secret of being content in any and every circumstance.” This kind of wisdom, inside the realm of sport, is in short order these days, and is something we’re trying to build around with @BurnsvilleHoops program. Those who have ears to hear….
Scottie Scheffler just gave one of the best (and deepest) press conference answers ever heard.
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The kind of help—incremental, daily, consistent—Norman envisions is what we should offer our teams, and everyone in our life. I aspire to be that kind of coach and person.
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Then more often than not the part that is needed is not wanted. And even more often we do not have the part that is needed.”. To which Norman responds: “You make it too tough. Help doesn’t have to be anything that big.”.
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“Help is giving a part of yourself to somebody who comes to accept it willingly and needs it badly. So it is that we can seldom help anybody. Either we don’t know what part to give, or we don’t like to give any part of ourselves….
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Heard this gem while listening to a sermon by my friend, Jon, a pastor in Illinois, and it’s got me thinking about a lot of things, including its applicability to coaching—from the classic novel, A River Runs Through It. The father, a pastor says to his son, Norman:.
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Both Connor and Jayden have been playing high-level, winning basketball all spring, and it’s filtering into our program as well. Couldn’t be prouder of these two for their hard work and growth, and excited for the next two years together. Congrats to them and their AAU teammates!.
22-3 record this summer for @HoopHabitsMN 16U. 1 more to go in Memphis for the @p32league finals. @tchoopsczar @FreshCoastHoops @AndOneFilms @streethistory @RyanJamesMN @PHCircuit
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Thanks to @JohnCarrier42 for having us today! Good to be in the gym together again with everyone.
Thank you to Burnsville (@coachleafblad) for coming for a joint scrimmage and practice today! Iron sharpens iron and they definitely helped us get better!
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These guys competed hard for each other over the past two days, playing some good competition, and ended up finishing 3-1 and getting 3rd in the White Bracket at the Wisconsin team camp. Proud of this group! Fun to be around! Excited for what’s ahead of them.
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Heading over for our first game tonight vs Zion Benton High School from Illinois. Win that one, and we get a second round matchup on the Kohl Center Arena floor. Let’s go @BurnsvilleHoops!
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Team camp starts with lunch with the team grandparents! It’s good to have folks who love hoops and our guys!
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Today we leave for our annual team camp at the University of Wisconsin. We do this every year primarily because we believe deeply in this truth. We get to play in a fun environment against some good teams. But, more than that, we get grow in our capacity to care for one another.
Relationships are the foundation of a team’s culture. How you treat each other on a daily basis determines how good your team culture is.
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When we commodify hope, it’s hard to think in anything other than transactional terms. There’s not much joy in transaction. Without joy, it’s hard to devote yourself to anyone other than yourself. Teams become commodities then, too, to be used in the transaction.
"If I had a child who could potentially play basketball in college or the pros, I would pay for all the trainers everyone else was paying for—" . That's all you needed to write for the why is Youth Sports the way it is.
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So proud to be this guy’s son. His quiet strength and poise is something I seek to emulate more the older I get. Happy Father’s Day, Dad.
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The Pope, though he cheers for the wrong Chicago baseball club, knows of which he speaks. This is good.
In our competitive society, where it seems that only the strong and winners deserve to live, sport also teaches us how to lose. It forces us, in learning the art of losing, to confront our fragility, our limitations and our imperfections. It is through the experience of these.
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This is honestly my biggest area of growth still in coaching. Mindful practices, pausing in the moment, and focusing on my own regulation has been crucial for maintaining an optimal environment for our guys, in practice and in game.
Your athletes don’t just hear what you say—they feel what you model. Research shows a coach’s emotional state predicts how athletes feel and perform. Don’t tell your athletes what to feel. Embody it.
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RT @BrianSullivanSP: Not every athlete who holds back is lazy or unmotivated. Research shows that self-handicapping behaviors—like procras….
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Yeah Carp! This kid has attacked his development, and stepped into a leadership role in a major way this spring. So proud of you, and can’t wait for what’s ahead!.
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RT @BrianSullivanSP: Elite coaches are "architects of their environment.". What sets them apart?. • They lead through values.• They build s….
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Connor gave us strong minutes this past season, and is readying himself to make massive contributions this upcoming season! His best basketball is ahead of him, and I can’t wait to get a front row seat for it!.
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