TEAM TENETS with Jonathan Newman-Gonchar
The head coach at the University of New Mexico, Jon Newman-Gonchar, talks about structuring practice, creating weekly improvement plans for athletes, and his three team tenets.
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Show Notes
1:26 - Diving into Jon’s idea of WIPs (weekly improvement plans) that were introduced in Episode 1.
Are they always 1-on-1 or are they group meetings?
6:08 - Whiteboard where Jon’s players write their two mechanical or technical skills as well as their mental skill.
8:23 - Example of an effective practice focus suggested by players compared to one that is less coachable.
10:24 - Particular stats that Jon prioritizes in meetings.
12:56 - Spending time with starters vs. spending time with non-starters.
15:26 - Diving into Jon’s three tenets - particularly his belief in striving to be “1% better”.
Always working hard towards bettering yourself
What kind of qualities are needed to be a part of the program?
18:07 - Explaining Jon’s second tenet: “be a scientist”.
What does it mean for an athlete to be a scientist?
19:24 - Example of how an athlete can be a scientist
20:28 - Coaching like a scientist.
21:34 - How does Jon want his players to approach his third tenet: “challenge the status quo”.
23:25 - What do Jon and his players do differently from other programs that are outside of the status quo?
25:20 - What does Jon’s staff do that challenges the status quo?
26:35 - What Jon has done to create an environment where his staff feels comfortable to challenge him.
27:51 - What Jon has done to be a more “open” coach.
Keeping authority while also maintaining a certain level of humility
Being straightforward with athletes
29:12 - Explaining the “illegal moves”.
33:48 - A little bit about Billy’s book (the link to buy it is below!)
Listener Questions
34:31 - How Jon took everything he has learned from his mentors and created his own style of coaching
37:44 - What has been the biggest change in Jon’s relationship with his players since becoming the head coach of the program?
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