Professional Basketball Coach, Undefeated @nbl1south + National Champion, 2023 Coach of the Year, Lead/Assistant Coach 12x @nbl + @thewnbl seasons
Bendigo, Victoria
Joined December 2012
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Mark Alabakov retweeted
Why some former players are not good youth coaches?
▪️Playing is about maximizing one’s own potential. Self-centric.
▪️Coaching is about guiding another to their potential. Service- oriented.
✔️Becoming a teacher requires more than just domain knowledge.
#TOVO
Mark Alabakov retweeted
We keep knocking this generation of players for
"not taking competition serious" and "not trying hard"
But should we expect them to when their coaches show up to games wearing backwards hats, slides, gym shorts...or maybe even a coors light logo on their shirt?
Mark Alabakov retweeted
Grinding through without a break gets read as dedication.
An empty tank doesn't make you more committed. It makes you worse at the job you're trying to protect.
Mark Alabakov retweeted
"Amateurs think they’re good at everything. Professionals understand they have to keep working." - Shane Parrish
Mark Alabakov retweeted
A novice doing a task and an expert doing the same task are not running the same mental load.
One is automatic. One is expensive. Teach accordingly.
Mark Alabakov retweeted
One thing I believe: “A good coach can coach anything.”
Someone who really gets it and has pure coaching talent could step in and do a pretty good job coaching a sport they may know little about.
Mark Alabakov retweeted
Sign of someone who loves their craft:
Being obsessed with details no one else ever sees.
Mark Alabakov retweeted
We professionalise in circles. Same ideas. Same conferences. Same frameworks. Going somewhere you don't obviously belong is one of the most underused development moves in coaching.
Mark Alabakov retweeted
A realization all coaches need:
You are chasing trends and trying to be cutting edge and losing to a sweater vest wearing grey haired science teacher who has been running the flex offense and playing man-to-man defense for 35 years.
Mark Alabakov retweeted
I’m going to propose that you develop an uncanny ability to be selectively ignorant. Ignorance may be bliss, but it is also practical. It is imperative that you learn to ignore or redirect all information and interruptions that are irrelevant, unimportant, or unactionable. Most are all three.
Lifestyle design is based on massive action—output. Increased output necessitates decreased input.
Most information is time-consuming, negative, irrelevant to your goals, and outside of your influence.
Mark Alabakov retweeted
People underestimate how long it takes to win big.
You struggle for 10 years. Eventually, in one day, you achieve more than you did your entire life.
Be patiently aggressive.
Mark Alabakov retweeted
I asked Pat Riley if he were coaching today, would he bring the Armanis back or would he have a quarter zip/polo
Riley: "I never change much… I wish they went back to coats and ties. I think an audience wants to see somebody on the sideline who looks like a leader…"
Mark Alabakov retweeted
The best coaches I’ve been around aren’t doing anything special.
They do the basics.
Over and over.
With real intent.
While everyone else is distracted by everything.
