Getting to Us - Seth Davis

During his quarter-century as a journalist working for agencies such as Sports Illustrated, CBS Sports and The Athletic, the author Seth Davis had the privilege of closely watching many of the sport's greatest coaches, and the, write the book "Getting to Us".

He attended meetings and practices, conducted several interviews in private settings, and met many intensely interested athletes. But when it comes to fascinating characters, there's nothing like blockbuster coaches.

They are multicultural and paradoxical characters, in turn brilliant, motivated, tortured, compulsive and philosophical. As a rule, apparently, everyone is at least a little weird.

Your goal is simply to examine these men hoping to find out how they achieve success. Got interested in this top? Stay with us in this summary!

About the book "Getting to Us"

Published in 2019, "Getting to Us," written by Seth Davis, seeks to show how great coaches make great teams. For this, the author show leadership techniques used by big coach names to develop long lasting relationships.

The work has 304 pages divided into 9 chapters, representing one trainer per chapter. We will cover in this pocketbook the top 4.

About the author Seth Davis

Seth Davis holds a degree in political science from Duke University, he is an American sportswriter and broadcaster. He currently writes for The Athletic and is a former writer for Sports Illustrated magazine, where he has covered college games for 22 years.

In addition, he is the author of the New York Times bestsellers: Wooden: A Coach's Life and When March Went Mad: The Game That Transformed Basketball.

To whom is this book indicated?

Suitable for leaders who want to be inspired by these coaches to learn how to create successful teams.

The point here is not to find out all the secrets about why the teams these men coach win so much. The real secret is that there are no secrets. There is no magic key that unlocks the door of victory.

Swipe down, all these men are united in their dedication to the art of excellence.

Main ideas of the book "Getting to Us"

• There is no pleasure without pain and no victory without work;
• Stay true to your principles;
• There is always a way to win, even if the opponent is stronger;
• Take a complicated situation and simplify it, ie keep things simple;
• Keep the next step always in mind;
• Repeat the information until everyone has understood it;
• No detail is too small to record;

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Overview: Tom Izzo

Izzo is an American college basketball coach and heads the team at Michigan State University.

He grew up in a large family and at age twelve began working at his grandfather's shoe store. Everything he needed to know about coaching, he learned while working at that store.

When he reached a level of success and attunement that exceeded his wildest dreams, he knew very well that he hadn't gotten there alone. It was his job, his obligation, to bring his family with him, personally and in spirit.

The same goes for your other family, your players. So even when he reached the height of being in the Hall of Fame, Izzo could not fully enjoy it.

The official announcement came at the Final Four in Houston, and he knew his team should be there with him.

Former Izzo boss, mentor and Michigan State coach Jud Heathcote, who died in the summer of 2017, was fond of saying that this is not true. Izzo is content in his soul and comfortable in his profession.

Almost every trainer has their slanderers, but you literally never hear a bad word about Izzo.

Persistent guilt tortures Izzo, but it also drives him to "We". There is a fine line between empathy and guilt, between gratitude and humility. Izzo embraces all these things in an intense way.

For example, every year he complains that his schedule is too difficult for his team, but the next moment he explains that his annual festivals in November and December lay the groundwork for his teams to succeed in March. There is no pleasure without pain and no victory without work.

For Tom, the only thing worse than losing a first-round game is knowing that he has disappointed someone who helped him, or that he has not fulfilled the principles learned at that family store.

He is a multimillionaire celebrity nearing the end of a brilliant career, yet he will never forget where he came from. This is practically impossible anyway because he never really forgot.

Overview: Jim Harbaugh

Jim Harbaugh is a former football player and current coach of the same sports team at the University of Michigan.

No one knows Jim's manic competitiveness better than his father, Jack, who coached football for four decades at ten different colleges.

But anyway, he was surprised in a cellphone call with Jim during his second season at Michigan.

Jim told his father during that call that he was running a two-mile race during practice breaks. Jack always encouraged his children to attack the day with "an unknown enthusiasm for humanity", but that seemed extreme even to him.

What he realized was that his son didn't run off just to help his resistance. Jim needed to know that he was working hard while his competition rested.

Athlete code has always taught the "no pain, no progress" mantra.

"Comfortable is not a word I've associated with sport and football. It's a confusing word for me. It's about building a callus. The human body is an incredible organism. It yearns for contact. It repairs itself and gets stronger."

Jim has a studious mind, with a line of thought that oscillates between fixation and distraction. He always described himself as the schoolboy who liked to throw stones at the hives. He doesn't necessarily want to be stung, but he needs to know he can.

Discomfort, pain, suffering - no matter what Harbaugh calls it. What matters is that he feels it. That is the great thing about this sport. It hurts a lot but never lies.

"Nothing tells the truth like football. Maybe the other guy is stronger, but there's still a way to beat him. Maybe he's stronger. I don't always know what it is, but I always know there's away."

Overview: Jim Boeheim

Boeheim is a college basketball coach of the Syracuse Orange men's team at the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Boeheim likes to keep things simple. His office is not a buzz of activity. He doesn't spend much time pursuing ancillary projects, and most days, Boeheim can be found there reading the newspaper unhurriedly and watching the golf channel or talking on the phone.

He loves to watch basketball on television but doesn't stay up until three in the morning studying the video of his next opponent. During practice, he delegates much of the initial work to his assistants, sometimes climbing the stairs to the office until they are ready.

He doesn't like notes, doesn't keep his training plans, and doesn't have drawers full of files containing complex pieces. He scoffs at all the analytic craze that has been adopted by many of his younger colleagues.

"I think a lot of it makes no sense, I don't need to tell me which parts are working and which are not."

Likewise, Boeheim prefers to give his players minimal information about his next opponent. He wants them to play with a free mind.

While almost all coaches put their teams in play rounds several hours before the match, Boeheim never did.

"We can show what we need to show them without leaving the hotel. I prefer that they get more rest", says the coach.

When asked if this gives his opponents an advantage, he replies: "We have had the only record of victories in the history of the Great East. We have won 61% of our road games. No one knows that."

All this does not mean that Boeheim does not prepare. He just does it differently from most coaches. "I'm always thinking of basketball. So even though I'm not in meetings, I'm thinking of things", he says.

By the time he finishes all this thinking, he usually finds the smartest solution.

It can take the most complicated situation and simplify it. He has a unique ability to look for someone whose head is spinning and say: "all you have to do is do it".

As Boeheim watches his team play, slowly strolling the sideline with his arms crossed and his bowtie bowled, you can see the wheels spinning in his mind. He is always trying to figure out the next step.

Overview: Dabo Swinney

Dabo Swinney is a college football coach.

There are countless ways, large and small, for Swinney to strive to inspire a winning culture. The Tiger Walk team was a small but telling example that he wanted everything to be done exactly.

He is a thorough planner who tells the same stories, uses the same phrases, and plays the same messages, even though his men have heard it thousands of times.

"This is something I learned from Coach Stallings. I spent seven years with him, and every year I thought: Here comes the same story. Here comes the story of Ben Hogan". That's how he protected his culture.

"When you say enough so that your players can repeat it, that's when you know they understand."

At the same time, there are few coaches who are equal to Swinney when it comes to keeping things new and fun.

He has a fetish for acronyms such as:

• ALL IN (Attitude, Leadership, Legacy, Improvement and New Beginnings);
• BEST (Belief, Effort, Sense of Urgency, and Toughness, Belief, Effort, Sense of Urgency and Resistance);
• PAW (Passionate About Winning).

In addition to all the scribbling and notes he has made over the years, Swinney has put together a briefcase that serves as a guide for all aspects. The manual is the result of many years spent writing down and organizing.

The sections are separated by tabs covering a wide range of topics: personnel, match day preparation, recruitment, strength and conditioning, operations, tickets, security, academics, maintenance, travel, administration, and everything else.

There are sections devoted to Swinney's philosophies, as well as concepts related to attack, defense and special teams. No detail is too small to include.

His management style has benefited from his experience in the business world. Swinney has figured out how to perform a big operation in a way that lets you obsess over details without becoming a micromanager. He understands the value of hiring good people and empowering them for the job.

Armed with all this knowledge, Swinney has transformed Clemson football year by year, class by a class, acronym. It went from a program that relied excessively on a handful of flashy skill players, to one that was able to shove the best of them into the trenches.

What do other authors say about it?

In "Principles: Life and Work", Ray Dalio will show you what dream, reality, and determination will make you achieve a successful life by having the principles of life and work go together with an open mind.

In "Becoming" you will learn the story of Michelle Obama, the former first lady of the United States who faced many challenges, breaking barriers with strength and determination. This story will give you insights to realize that persistence is the key to success.

In "The Leadership Pipeline", the authors Ram Charan, Stephen Drotter and James Noel say that for full leadership, the leader must inspire a vision common to all subordinates to perform better. When the leader performs this best, he not only achieves results but also meets the expectations of his followers.

Okay, but how can I apply this to my life?

There are four personal qualities that, according to Seth Davis, are the main requirements that all great leaders must have in order to obtain a successful group of individuals. They are Persistence, Empathy, Authenticity and Knowledge.

• Persistence: It is tested and manufactured during the adversities of childhood and adulthood. It is evident in the mundane routines of everyday life, the unglamorous aspects that make up most of the time spent at work. These tasks are performed in solitude when fans disappear and cameras are not in sight.
• Empathy: Empathy requires feeling whatever that person is feeling. Therefore, a great coach must find ways to learn about his players, taking the time to acquire critical information that will lead him to understand how players' minds and hearts work.
• Authenticity: Some coaches scream a lot, scold their players and are unable to pass a declarative sentence without profanity. Others are quiet, reserved, perhaps a little devout. In the end, it doesn't matter how they behave. What matters is that they remain true to themselves and act accordingly.
• Knowledge: A surgeon may have many personal qualities that you admire, but you would not want him to operate on you unless you have the proper medical training. The same goes for coaches. Acquiring this knowledge takes time and passion.

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