I think that great teams do the little things well. A few years ago I was watching an interview with a Fury rookie. She was quick to point out how everyone on Fury was committed to doing the little things right, more so than any team she had played on prior. This was while Fury was still on their absurd streak of back-to-back championships. They had the talent, the coaching, and they knew the value in putting in the work to do the little things right. I think that things that seem little add up over a season and in the end make a huge difference. "Little things" has a lot of different meanings to me. I think teams should think critically about what that means to them, as it can cover a huge variety of situations. Here are a few examples that spring to mind:
Examples of "little things":
- The 15 minute Principle: Showing up at least 15 min early to practice and staying at least 15 minutes late.
- The Practice Quality Principle: Bringing the heat in drills and conditioning, even if you don't feel like it, or aren't feeling great that day.
- The Preparation Principle: Eating properly, sleeping properly, and practicing good time management so that you can give full focus at practices and tournaments. Bringing a water bottle to practice falls under this.
"Little things" can even extend to cover on-field skills that are often overlooked/undervalued, such as energy while marking, crisp reset passes, or strong spacing awareness.
I think perfection at the little things is a difficult challenge for any individual, but one worth striving for. Show me a team that does the little things well and I'll show you a great team.
When I'm coaching, I try to bring up the importance of the little things. I like to be at practice early. I like to stress the value of drills. I like to talk about the on-field little things we can control. I think that with practiced focus and effort, there are seemingly marginal advantages that can be gathered up all over the field. A better mark forces a harder throw, good hips adds pressure downfield, field awareness narrows the lane. The advantages start stacking up and soon they turn from marginal to real.
Hucks and skies fill the highlight reels, but games are won and lost to the little things.
Examples of "little things":
- The 15 minute Principle: Showing up at least 15 min early to practice and staying at least 15 minutes late.
- The Practice Quality Principle: Bringing the heat in drills and conditioning, even if you don't feel like it, or aren't feeling great that day.
- The Preparation Principle: Eating properly, sleeping properly, and practicing good time management so that you can give full focus at practices and tournaments. Bringing a water bottle to practice falls under this.
"Little things" can even extend to cover on-field skills that are often overlooked/undervalued, such as energy while marking, crisp reset passes, or strong spacing awareness.
I think perfection at the little things is a difficult challenge for any individual, but one worth striving for. Show me a team that does the little things well and I'll show you a great team.
When I'm coaching, I try to bring up the importance of the little things. I like to be at practice early. I like to stress the value of drills. I like to talk about the on-field little things we can control. I think that with practiced focus and effort, there are seemingly marginal advantages that can be gathered up all over the field. A better mark forces a harder throw, good hips adds pressure downfield, field awareness narrows the lane. The advantages start stacking up and soon they turn from marginal to real.
Hucks and skies fill the highlight reels, but games are won and lost to the little things.
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