What I Learned from Coach K

Coach,  

Years ago, I was fortunate enough to attend a practice led by Coach K in one of his later years with Duke.

I showed up about 20 minutes early, and a Duke manager met me outside the gym and said, ‘Come on in.’

There were curtains before you went down into the gym that read, ‘Closed practice – Duke basketball.’ As I walked up, I could hear clapping and cheering and the squeaking of shoes through the curtain. I thought, ‘Am I late? I thought I was early—has it already started?’

The manager said, ‘No, it hasn’t started. The coaches aren’t on the floor yet.’

I sat down, he handed me a practice plan, and every player was already on the floor in a full sweat—self-organized by position, training, encouraging each other, giving great focused intent and effort.

That’s when I knew something special was happening: the gym was popping.

Many of my coaching mentors have told me they can tell within the first minute if you’re a good coach—because you walk into your environment and there are standards, intent, and focus.

As basketball coaches, we pour hours into X’s and O’s—but that’s only half the battle.

What we’ve found (and many of you, I’m sure, have as well) in coaching is that trust is directly related to culture. Culture is how people on a team interact with each other.

If you don’t establish and hold high standards, the culture quickly turns toxic.

There’s a good chance many of you have been on both sides of that. I know I have.

That’s why it’s vital that we fight for our culture every single day.

How do we do that?

1. We set immediate standards. Your athletes should feel purpose and ownership the instant they enter your gym—just like Duke’s players self-organized before practice even began.

2. We lead with celebration. I learned that players remember “I believe in you” far more than “fix that mistake.” Try aiming for six positives for every one correction.

3. We create our own language and rituals. When your team speaks the same “inside” phrases—whether it’s a high-five ritual or a unique huddle chant—you build unbreakable bonds.

I know every coach wants more than wins on the scoreboard.

We want a program where every player shows up early, pushes each other, and knows they belong.

That’s why I do what I do and why SAVI Coaches do what we do.

This Sunday, we’re bringing our culture-building blueprint to you.

Building Championship Culture
Join us for a free webinar on how to forge trust, standards, and relentless accountability in your program.

🗓 Sunday, June 1st • 6 PM CT

👉 Reserve Your Spot Now

I invite you to join us.

Let’s build more than a team—let’s build a legacy.

Stay SAVI,
-Tyler & The SAVI Basketball Team

P.S. After the webinar, we will launch our 30-day Culture Building Challenge. You won’t need to do this alone. SAVI Coaches will do it with you for accountability and support.