Learning About Non-reaction from Coach Cal

I'm learning a lot from this guy.

I've watched just about every minute of of NCAA Men's Division I Basketball coverage this year, as I often do when I'm in Lexington. Apart from the excitement of the games, I'm extremely impressed with the character of the coaches at this level of play.

Particularly Coach John Calipari of our Kentucky Wildcats. We get to see a bit more of him in local news coverage here in Lexington, and we're the better for it.

I loved the story he told about the transformation of Josh Harrellson, a fact without which the Cats could not be where they are in the tournament. Quick to give all the credit to Harrellson, himself, Coach Cal explained to reporters that you can't keep doing the same thing over and over again and expect different results--that's the definition of insanity, a saying widely attributed to Einstein. Calipari said that you have to be willing to change your habits, your skills and your mentality, and that's what Harrellson did, according to the coach.

Asked when the transformation began, he said that Harrellson had tweeted something derogatory about him after the Blue/White game early in the pre-season. Coach Cal came close to throwing Harrellson off the team. But, he said, he went to Mass and thought about it and came up with a solution. Harrellson could stay on the team but he would have to put in 30 minutes of cardio training before each practice, a grueling requirement. Harrellson did it and on the foundation of improved stamina and a leaner, stronger body he has become the anchor of this championship run.

I can imagine how Coach Cal felt while sitting in that Mass (his daily meditational habit), thinking about this particular player that had stepped over the line. I imagine the coach taking the time to get his own feelings about it under control first before deciding what to do.

This is so critical when dealing with a team member or a loved one--a son or daughter, a spouse, a friend. It's often a difficult balance to strike between refusing to put up with bad behavior and not over reacting, adding our own bad behavior to the mix.

Non-reaction to egoic bad behavior doesn't necessarily mean that you don't do anything in response. It simply means that you don't respond from a place of negativity. You go to Mass and allow your own negative feelings to pass before you decide what to do, and then you take whatever action you decide to take.

Josh Harrellson, the Cats and the Big Blue Nation are all reaping the rewards for Coach Cal's wise application of the principal of non-reaction.

Go Cats!

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Photo courtesy of The Daily Collegian.