If you’re a coach, you should be very cautious when making statements to the media that your players will be reading and hearing. Many coaches believe they are just being honest, without realizing they could be creating negative expectations for their athletes. And negative expectations often become self-fulfilling prophecies. Here are just a few examples: “We’re not going to be a team that outscores people. We have to have better possessions and probe a little bit more. Don’t take quick 3s.” “We’re a young team and I don’t expect us to do well.” “We’re in a re-building year so it’s going to take a while for us to reach our potential and I doubt it will happen this year.” If a team is not expected to do well, they won’t. Same goes for coaches who run onto a basketball court yelling and screaming at the referees. These coaches generally don’t feel very good about themselves not realizing that by verbally attacking the referees they are providing their teams with a justification for losing. The best coaches are those who have a high sense of inner-self and allow their players to use their God-given talents without trying to micromanage their players.