Derek Jeter Will Go Down In History As One Of Greatest Leaders In Sports

Principles: 

1. To be successful you must have a good captain.
2. To win a championship, you need more than one leader on the club. 
3. Coaches need to spend time nurturing and developing leaders. 

Since Derek Jeter  joined the New York Yankees in 1995, the club has qualified for the play offs 14 out 15 years. There is little doubt Derek Jeter is the leader and the most valuable player of the New York Yankees. This season the Yankees over came injuries to key players, but still had the best record in the American League. The Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles in five games to go on to the American League Championship Series.  In the championship series,  when Derek Jeter broke his ankle in the first game against the Detroit Tigers, the Yankees never recovered. There was a leadership void.  The Yankees than went on to lose four straight games.  For the first time in 15 years, the Yankees looked like a club playing without heart. It was evident without Jeter in the line up, the club lacked leadership and energy. 

You Cannot Win Without Leaders – One Leader Is Not Enough

MARIANO RIVERA has been a leader on the Yankees since 1996. Rivera was lost to injury early in the season. When Derek Jeter went down with injury, no one on the Yankees stepped up to be the next leader. 

Has the New York  Yankees Era of Championship Teams Ended?

George Steinbrenner

I grew up a New York Mets fan. I became a Yankees fan because of George Steinbrenner. Mr. Steinbrenner  wanted to win championships more than any other owner in sports. Fans either loved or hated Steinbrenner, but no one could question his commitment to building a winning team. The management of the Yankees are calling the 2012 season a success. Under the leadership of George  Steinbrenner this season would be considered a failure. 


George Steinbrenner would never;

•  Declare this season a success
•  Blame injuries for the loss 

George Steinbrenner would have;

• Held the players accountable for their performance
• Management would have been held to higher standards for results

Related Videos & Teaching Points:

Mark Messier Guarantee Win:

Mark Messier is known as one of the greatest leader in hockey. But throughout his career, he has always had other good leaders around him. In New York Messier had Brian Leetch and Adam Graves. 

Brian Leetch 

Adam Graves

Power Thoughts:

“If you want to take your mission in life to the next level, if you’re stuck and you don’t know how to rise, don’t look outside yourself. Look inside. Don’t let your fears keep you mired in the crowd. Abolish your fears and raise your commitment level to the point of no return, and I guarantee you that the Champion Within will burst forth to propel you toward victory.”

– Bruce Jenner

“I am a member of a team, and I rely on the team, I defer to it and sacrifice for it, because the team, not the individual, is the ultimate champion.”

-Mia Hamm 

Sports Psychology Tips:

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New York Yankees – Leadership and Team Is Everything:

New York Yankees  $29 million-a-season slugger is benched in bottom of the ninth inning. How did  Alex Rodriguez  handle it?   The  37-year-old Alex Rodriguez handled it with class and responded the Yankees way.  He cheered for his team mate.  

 “I’m one of the leaders of his team; maybe 10 years ago I react a much different way, but I’m at a place in my career right now where team means everything.” – Alex Rodriguez

Work Hard, Wait Patiently, Stay Positive and Perform When Given Chance:

 Raul Ibanez  tied the game with a homer in the bottom of the 9th inning. Raul Ibanez than won the game in the bottom of the 12th with a solo home run. 

The New York Yankees way, is about team. The Yankees have lots of talent. But talent does not guarantee championships. To be a member of the Yankees, players need to do their job and fulfill their role. When your not playing, players need to stay positive and cheer on their team mates. The Yankees have won 27 World Series, 40 American League Pennants and 18 East Division Titles. 

Power Thoughts:   

One of the major reason the Yankees are so successful is leadership. Derek Jeter is considered one of the greatest leaders in sports. Jeter  leads both in the locker room and on the field with his performance. Jeter is a role model for all the players in baseball.

Derek Jeter

The basic building block of good team building is for a leader to promote the feeling that every human being is unique and adds value. 
                                                                                                                        – Anonymous

Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships. 
                                                                                -Michael Jordan

Related Videos & Teaching Points:

You Cannot Win Without Leaders – One Leader Is Not Enough

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Four on Four Small Game 

We have four goalies right now. This is a great drill for under 12 players. The players really enjoy this drill.

Rules (Adjust the Game):

• You can play 4 v 4,  3 v 3 or 2 v 2 
• Players can shoot on any of the four goals
• You have to make 1 to 3 passes before shooting
• Execute a cross or cycle before shooting

Skills:

• Escape Moves – Skating
• Stickhandling
• Puck protection
• Passing
• Shooting, Saves and Rebounding

Tactics:

• Take puck to net
• Move away from pressure
• Escape moves
• Switching point of attack
• Forces players to play good  man to man defensive coverage
• Crossing and Cycles