We Talkin' Bout Practice?!?

Yes, I’m going to talk about practice for a moment. Not about skipping practice as Allen Iverson famously did in 2002, but rather the importance of maximizing our time while in practice. As is the case with many things, there are parallels between the sports arena and the classroom. Whether you are a coach, classroom teacher, or administrator, my hope is that this post prompts reflection as we consider how to best utilize the short amount of time we actually have with our athletes, students, or staff. 

I was blessed to coach some extremely talented players and teams during my time as a head basketball coach. We experienced a great deal of success but had to do so in unconventional fashion. The year we won a state championship we only had seven players. That made it extremely challenging to practice in true, game-like conditions. But, we found a way to make it work. 

One of the reasons we were so successful during our two Final Four trips in 2004 and 2005 was due to free throw shooting. As a team, we shot over 75% both years during the Final Four. This was truly amazing! 

We must have made free throws a priority in practice, right? 

Not exactly.

Before I share a story I’ve never shared publicly before now, I must preface by saying this post is in no way intended to diminish the quality of individuals and players on the teams I coached. They were incredible young ladies who were very talented at basketball. They were tremendous kids, from tremendous families, and are all very successful in their own right today. I was extremely proud of them then and even more proud today. They are fine people and wonderful spouses and parents. 

This post is about acknowledging a weakness and then guiding a team through that known weakness. It’s also about having the courage to steer away from tradition in a pursuit of excellence. 

We were terrible free throw shooters. Our opponent in the state 3rd place game in 2004 knew that. Midway through the 4th quarter, I made the decision to hold the ball at halfcourt while on offense to force Mound City to get out of their suffocating 2-3 zone. Our 4-5 point lead seemed like much more, but I wanted to generate a larger lead to close out the game. I felt they couldn’t guard us man-to-man. Knowing we were 50% as a team shooting free throws, the opposing coach instructed his players to foul us rather than change their defense. We went to the free throw line and made both shots. 

Thinking he wouldn’t foul us again, we held the ball the next trip down the court. I was wrong. They fouled us to force more free throws.

Again, we made them both.

After this happened for a 3rd time, my mind was off to the races. What should I do? Everybody in the arena on the University of Missouri campus was watching and critiquing my coaching decisions in one of the biggest games in school history. Not much pressure!

Here’s a rundown of some of those thoughts…

• We only had one senior, a non-starter, on our team. I knew we’d be favorites to win the state championship the following year. 
• We were terrible free throw shooters, and I didn’t want free throws to keep us from winning a state championship next season.
• I had been hounding our team about spending extra time before and after practice to address their weakness. Doing so was a rare occurrence, and I had grown frustrated during the season.

So, what adjustment did I make after being fouled on three consecutive trips down the court?

None!

In that moment, I was thinking about next year. Crazy, I know! We were in the 3rd place game in the state, and next year had no guarantees.

I leaned over to my assistant coach and said, “If we can’t make our free throws we don’t deserve to win.” I can’t believe I actually said that in the biggest game of my life. In my first season as a head coach. In a huge game for our school and community. That moment presented what I felt at the time was a win-win scenario. Either we win the 3rd place game in the Final Four, or our girls learn the hard lesson that they need to put in extra time shooting free throws. My efforts to convince them had fallen on deaf ears, so maybe the pain of losing and the hunger to return to the Final Four would motivate them. I still cannot believe I was okay with using that game as a teachable moment.

The game ended with us shooting a perfect 12/12 from the free throw line in the 4th quarter, and we won the game.

How in the world did that happen?

I was asked about that in the post-game press conference. How could we go 12-12 in the 4th quarter when we had been 50% as a team the entire season? It was a great question, and my answer revealed publicly that we had quit shooting free throws earlier in the season “because it wasn’t working.” 

Yes, I quit spending (wasting) practice time on free throws. If it wasn’t going to help us, our time needed to be spent on something which would have a greater impact. 

This is where I believe the lesson lies for teachers and coaches. As world-renowned educational researcher John Hattie likes to say, “It’s not about what works...it’s about what works best.”

Just as a teacher has limited time in a classroom with students, coaches have limited time with their players. We must maximize that brief amount of time with instruction, practice, and learning which will yield the greatest results.

For our team, there were more impactful drills we could be running than shooting free throws. The goal was to be as good of a team at the end of the season as we could be, and our practices needed to be designed for that purpose. I failed at inspiring them to put in the extra work on their own, but I could control the practice schedule.

Studies indicate that we grow more from focusing on our strengths than focusing on our weaknesses. I believe our teams were a true reflection of this. We used the time that would have been spent shooting free throws on things which would help us become better at what we were already good at - defense, rebounding, offensive efficiency, passing, and layups. 

There was still the occasional time in practice to shoot free throws in pressure situations, and this may have helped us during our state playoff runs. However, there was no longer time allotted for the mass shooting of free throws. This was difficult for me because I thought that is what coaches had their teams do. I played and learned under multiple hall-of-fame coaches and tried to mimic as much of what they did as possible. But, as is the case with every new team or class of students, we must adapt and evolve with the individuals and groups we lead. Their talents and needs are different, and we must be able to meet them where they are - not necessarily follow a prescribed recipe that may have worked with a previous group. 

There are times when that recipe should be replicated, but it’s important to recognize when it should be aborted. 

I began coaching stuck in tradition. That tradition was simply mimicking the way I had been taught. We frequently see this in sports and in the classroom. Coaches and teachers often do things for no other purpose than that’s how they were taught. Mass free throws? Piles of worksheets? Whatever the case, there are often better ways to utilize the time we have with others and maximize the growth of those we lead. The same is true for administrators leading teachers.

Tradition doesn’t always make you better. Oftentimes, it’s a roadblock to excellence. As administrators, coaches, and teachers, it is imperative that we do not allow our stubbornness to become a roadblock for others.

Choosing to not focus on something doesn’t mean that it’s not important. Free throws are definitely important. However, we should focus our time and energy on those things which are most important at that moment. Those things which could make us even better. 

There is no one-size-fits-all approach. We know there’s no silver bullet in education or coaching. This worked for our team, but it may be something totally different for your team (or classroom). 

The key is knowing where your team is and being able to take them from where they are to someplace greater. The methods and strategies may differ for each group, but the common theme is the pursuit of excellence. There is no particular step-by-step roadmap for excellence. It’s all about starting from where you are and finding a way to maximize the talents of those you serve.

I was privileged to coach an incredible group of champions. Yes, they did win the 2005 state championship - the only state championship in the history of Chadwick High School. They became champions because they pursued excellence. Their path may not have been the same as other teams, and that’s okay. They pursued excellence through their effort, teamwork, vision, commorardarie, and hunger to understand the game of basketball at a deeper level.

Their pursuit of excellence has carried them well through life. They’ve become leaders in their homes and communities. Earned advanced degrees. Become published authors. I am extremely proud to have played a small part of their lives.

As educators, we hope to prepare our students for life. Oftentimes, it is our students who end up doing the teaching. Those Chadwick teams taught me a great deal about leadership and life. And for that, I’ll be forever thankful that I got to be their coach. 

One lesson I learned is to not be afraid to step away from tradition in a pursuit of excellence. Making the decision to quit shooting free throws wasn't easy, but it ended up helping our already good team become an even better team. That particular group needed something different, and it worked.

I'm not sure we would have become state champions had we continued with the status quo and tradition. 

Doug Dunn is superintendent and principal of a small K-8 school in rural, south central Missouri. He can be found on Twitter at DougDunnEdS.

The Best Thing I Saw Today

“What is your biggest weakness?”

A school board member asked this question during a recent interview. I was prepared with an answer as it’s a common question, but my answer was the result of a great deal of reflection. 

I have struggled at times with not recognizing or acknowledging some of the good that’s right in front of me. It had become one of my biggest weaknesses. My staff deserved better. They needed me to be better, and I needed to do something about it. 

The first thing I needed to do was determine why. Why was I not seeing or acknowledging the positives which were all around? It wasn’t because of a lack of good. And it wasn’t because I didn’t care. Something was getting in my way.

And there it was. A Marcus Buckingham quote which resonated with me more than any quote had in some time.

Leaders are fascinated by the future. You are a leader if and only if, you are restless for change, impatient for progress and deeply dissatisfied with the status quo. Because in your head you can see a better future. The friction between "what is" and "what could be" burns you, stirs you up, propels you. This is leadership.

This, in and of itself, is not a bad thing. In fact, it’s a great thing. Our schools and students cannot reach for greatness unless we’re pushing the status quo and striving for something better. However, my focus was out of balance. I had been allowing my focus on the future to cloud much of the good happening right in front of me every day. 

“What could be” was blinding, and it became a detriment to my staff. They knew they were doing good, but I wasn’t always seeing it. I needed to be better for them so they could be better for kids. 

While I serve our small K-8 district as both superintendent and principal, I have been blessed with a phenomenal assistant principal. We've had regular conversations about how to raise staff morale. And, together, implemented multiple things to be better for those we serve. 

One of things we did I’m most proud of was our effort to recognize and document the Best Thing I Saw Today. We made a point to be regularly visible around campus and in classrooms. We were on a mission to find something good. Once we did, we would journal it on a shared file that each staff member had access to. The link to that file was also a part of weekly staff newsletters.

What started out as a mission to find the good became a friendly competition between our assistant principal and me. We enjoyed finding the good, sharing our findings with each other, and then sharing them with the staff. We both found ourselves in better moods, and the staff appreciated the acknowledgement.

Our staff knew we were on a mission to find and acknowledge the positives all around campus. In communicating this with them and keeping up with our documentation, we had established built-in accountability. This was important. While some weeks were more difficult than others due to various distractions, we found great value in being held accountable by maintaining an updated Best Thing I Saw Today journal. It was genuine and sincere, and just want I needed to maintain a better balance between “right now” and “what could be.”

Hawk Nelson, a contemporary Christian music group, has a line in a song which says you’re gonna find the good if you’re good at looking. They’re absolutely right. And it's important for all of us to become good at looking for the good. 

It’s all around us.

Just waiting to be noticed and acknowledged.

Doug Dunn is superintendent and principal of a small K-8 school in rural, south central Missouri. He can be found on Twitter at DougDunnEdS.

The Power of Video

Watching ourselves teach on video can definitely raise anxiety levels! There may not be a strategy for improving as a teacher that requires more vulnerability and trust. Bring up micro-teaching to a group of teachers and many may not know what it is. Explain it and you may see eyes rolling or bodies cringing. It can be scary for those who’ve never experienced it. It can be a game-changer for those who have.

The purpose of this post isn’t to explain micro-teaching or all of its potential benefits. The purpose of this post is to hopefully generate enough intrigue to learn more about it and hopefully give it a try.

Before I truly understood the research behind micro-teaching, I used a similar approach with my basketball teams. Many sports coaches often do. It was one thing for me to tell the team (over and over) the importance of staying in a proper weakside defensive position or blocking out every shot. I grew frustrated when I felt like I was just a broken record playing for deaf ears. The quality of feedback I was able to provide drastically improved when the team was able to observe themselves by watching game film. They were able to see the game from an entirely new perspective and gain a deeper understanding of how to better play the game of basketball. The “aha!” moments during film time were critical to our state championship season.

Micro-teaching is one of the most impactful strategies teachers can employ as far as raising student achievement. According to John Hattie’s Visible Learning Research, it has an effect size of 0.88. This means that students of teachers who utilize this strategy can experience growth of more than two years in one year’s time. This impact alone makes it a strategy all educators should consider utilizing!

Just as watching game film with a basketball team can help athletes gain a deeper understanding of ways they can more positively impact the outcome of a game, teachers can watch their “game film” to better understand how they can have a greater impact on student learning. 

Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey wrote a brief article for ASCD explaining micro-teaching. I encourage you to read it to learn more about how to effectively utilize this amazing strategy.  Show & Tell: A Video Column / The Micro-Teaching Advantage

Doug Dunn is superintendent and principal of a small K-8 school in rural, south central Missouri. He can be found on Twitter at DougDunnEdS.

What Should Coronavirus Teach Schools?

“Dad, this has been the best day since we’ve been home from school.”

That comment from my oldest daughter was a punch to the gut and a wake-up call to what our kids need more than anything right now.

Our family had just spent the evening playing cards. That’s it. We were simply spending time together. Nothing fancy. Just sitting around the table.

Together.

As a school administrator and father, I have been trying to balance a variety of needs for our students at school and my own children. Yes, we’ve all been spending a great deal of time focused on meeting the educational needs of our students. Many educators have also gone above and beyond by meeting various physical and emotional needs of their communities.

This is all important. No doubt.

However, my daughter’s comment after a few rounds of Skip-Bo made it evident what our kids need now more than anything.

They need time.

Not time alone.

Not time for packets of school work.

Not time for video games.

They desire spending quality time with those they love.

As parents, many of us have had our lives slow down the last few weeks. How are we spending that time?

My daughter’s comment brought me face-to-face with the reality that I haven’t made a point to give her and her sisters enough of what they desired most.

My time and attention.

I’m not going to spend time in this post making excuses or justifying why with all of the responsibilities I juggle. I have a feeling many of us could fill pages with excuses.

And for what purpose? Those excuses don’t mean anything to our kids. Spending time with us does.

As an educator, this is generating even more reflection about the work schools are sending home. Schools, by and large, do a great job serving their communities. Meeting the educational, physical, and emotional needs of students are a part of this and are very important.

What if our purpose during this time wasn’t to serve by sending home mountains of work?

What if our purpose is to help our parents find ways to spend more quality time with their kids?

What if we could help our families by releasing the pressure, stress, and anxiety of meeting expectations of completing homework and packets?

Would our students be better because of this?

I know my own kids would value and appreciate more quality time. Quality time playing outside. Quality time playing games. Time spent cooking together. Time just spent together. 

Could these family interactions create a stronger end product than the stresses of meeting a school’s homework expectations? 

Yes, many of you are probably having similar thoughts as I am at this moment. There should be a balance. Yes, there should. 

Sometimes, though, finding that balance seems easier said than done for the families we serve. Sometimes finding that balance is tough for my own family. The arguments over homework can ruin an evening. Sometimes those arguments result in a need for separation. If we only knew how often this occurred in our students’ homes, we might rethink what is being sent home.

Some of our students need quality time with their loved ones more than they need a packet of work to complete. As an educator and parent, this presents a unique dilemma for me. What is the best way to go about this?

I don’t always have the solution. What I do know is that this doesn’t just apply to school closures due to COVID-19. This is an every day of the school year issue. 

This will not be a post to delve into the homework debate and discuss the related research. We should be familiar with this already.

If anything, school closure magnifies the importance of helping our families spend more quality time with their kids. Our students desire and need this more than anything. When life returns to “normal,” we should have these conversations with our parents, teachers, students, and staff. Let’s listen and then work together to help make the family units in our communities stronger and better than ever. 

Doug Dunn is superintendent and principal of a small K-8 school in rural, south central Missouri. He can be found on Twitter at DougDunnEdS.

Win a Championship, Ruin a Program

“Coach Dunn, I want to thank you for ruining our basketball program.”

I can still hear that voice from 15 years ago. It came from a grandparent of a former player who had quit the team the year before. To this day, that moment remains an incredible lesson learned that I now rely on as a school administrator.

There is so much truth to the quote “If you want to make everyone happy, don’t be a leader. Sell ice cream.”

Leaders cannot please everyone. 

I learned during the spring of 2005 that it doesn’t matter what you do...you will always have detractors. The program wasn’t “ruined.” The community had just experienced the most successful two years in school history.

In 2004, we went 23-8, won a district championship, advanced to the state final four, and finished the season winning the 3rd place game.

In 2005, we went 27-4, won another district championship, and again advanced to the state final four. That season ended with a victory in the state championship game. It remains the first and only state championship in any sport in school history.

The program was not ruined. This family had simply been frustrated with the role their grandchild had on the team. While many were thrilled to have been a part of or witnessed what was an incredible two-year journey, not everybody was. 

Those two years were just my 2nd and 3rd years of teaching. I was young, naive, and still had much to learn. That moment with the grandparent has been one of the greatest learning experiences in my career. No matter what role I felt I had in the team’s success, that statement in 2005 carried an incredible dose of truth. That truth was not in the statement itself. That truth was in the fact that you truly cannot make everyone happy. We shouldn’t even try.

This is not to imply that we shouldn’t care about proper leadership, collaboration, communication, and taking care of those under our supervision. Not at all. This is to say that we must be strong enough to make the decisions we feel are best for the team - whatever that team may be. We must make them with integrity and the best of intentions. And, we must do what we can to communicate those intentions. 

We still won’t please everybody. When we try, we end up upsetting even more people. We need to believe in our decisions and be strong enough to stick with them despite the naysayers. Those decisions will sometimes be unpopular, but that does not necessarily mean they are wrong.

We won’t always win. And, we won’t always be right. But, it is the only way to win “championships” in whatever arena we may be in.

Doug Dunn is superintendent and principal of a small K-8 school in rural, south central Missouri. He can be found on Twitter at DougDunnEdS.