No written word nor spoken plea can teach young minds what they should be. Nor all the books on all the shelves, it’s what the teachers are themselves.” -Rudyard Kipling From My Personal Best by John Wooden This is a quote that I have written almost everywhere I refer to coaching materials. I keep a notebook where I write down things that I learn and resources that I know I will find helpful, and on the inside corner of that notebook I write this quote. That's a technique that I learned from Coach Matt  Donahue who was my college basketball coach at Catholic University. When we signed up to be coaches, we agreed to be examples all the time. Of course, during games when players and parents can see us, but also in our personal lives, and in our daily behaviors, and habits.  Our kids will forget a lot of what we teach them, but they will always remember the type of person that we were. They will remember how we conducted ourselves when we were frustrated and excited, flustered and annoyed. They will replicate what they see because they will think that whatever it is okay. They will notice if we are grateful, appreciative, thoughtful, and care about them, and they might see that it’s possible to behave that way. Conversely, they will notice if we are flustered, unprepared, hostile, or mean, and they will also see that it’s possible to behave that way too.    They will remember how they felt when they were around us. We have such a responsibility as coaches, and it's a lot bigger than what we realize when we first sign up to coach.  Our words do matter, our actions matter more, and I believe that how we behave is the biggest influence on our players, our team, and our program. My challenge to you is to look at who you are and how you’re behaving. Ask yourself if you would want your athletes to repeat what they see out of you daily. We have a huge responsibility, let's treat it that way.