The Thirds Rule

I'm a basketball coach. That's what I do. I want people around me that have the same passion for the game. I don't feel that I'm overly demanding, but one thing I absolutely demand is sacrifice. I ask my players to sacrifice themselves for the benefit of the entire team. I tell them that they need to give up the desire for personal accolades and focus on team goals and team rewards.

After pounding that concept into them for days and weeks, I ask my players to create goals for the season. Without fail, 90% start with goals like "get a scholarship, average 20 points per game, average 10 assists per game, make All-Conference". "Win a championship" is usually 3rd or lower on the list, if it even shows up. Where does my message fail? Our society is raising selfish kids that don't understand that when the team achieves their goals, EVERYONE gets what they want.

That's character. There are kids that have bad attitudes or fight or don't show up - those character problems are easy to identify and deal with. It's the kids that seemingly do whatever you ask, show up on time, and play hard, yet always have something holding them back. Those are the tough character issues to deal with. We talk about players "being in their own way" or "hindering their own success". I am currently coaching 3-4 players that fit that category. On the surface, they are everything a coach could want - talented, hard working, good teammates, but yet they never have achieved the success that those traits would dictate. Why? Because their character is holding them back. They can't (or won't) give up their individual goals for the sake of the team. They don't buy in. They stick their toes in the pool, they sit on the edge and hang their feet in, but never just jump in the deep end. Even though we as coaches have put them in a lifevest, tied a rope around their waist, and taught them how to swim. They just won't jump in.

I learned years ago from my coaching mentor, Jim Nielsen, about what he calls "The Thirds Rule". Any team can basically be split into thirds - the top third buys in. They trust the coaching staff and will do whatever it takes to win. The bottom third will fight you every step of the way. They have issues, put up roadblocks, and basically get in their own way. The middle third is the group that can be moved. Through active coaching, the guys in the middle can be moved to the top group, or if left alone, can slip to the bottom group.

In presenting this concept to other coaches, I often get the same question - why are the most talented players usually in the bottom third? Now I know that's not always true, but it is a good point. The players that think they are good enough tend to also believe that their way is better than anyone else's way. Truly special teams have players that not only have superior talent, but have superior character and are in the top third.

The point of the thirds rule is not to ignore the bottom third, but to pull enough of the middle group up to the top that the rest have to either come around or not be around. When they see their entire team swimming in the deep end, having fun splashing around, and enjoying success together, you can only hope they jump in.