Chapter 5 – Part 2 – Motivation
Coach Berman inspired the LSU Tigers to many championships, including six Southeastern Conference titles in the 1990’s and five NCAA national championships, One of Bertman’s cornerstones is his belief in motivation.

Most of the stories that I have told my teams come from books. There are hundreds and hundreds of books and so many great stories of inspiration that you could use. Many stories make a point.

ROCKY MARCIANO
One time during a season I thought that our team wasn’t really putting the other team away. We would get a lead, we wouldn’t build on it, and we would let them back into the game. I looked up Rocky Marciano — an old hero of mine. He could really put them away. Here is the story that I told my players:

Rocky Marciano was born in Massachusetts. He was a great baseball player and had a minor league career cut short with a bad arm injury. He went into football as a minor league football player in the old Continental Football League. The NFL didn’t give him a shot, so he decided to go into boxing.

He was the only guy to ever retire undefeated. In 1952, he ended the boxing career of Joe Louis, who was on a comeback bid. On 1952, he beat Jersey Joe Wolcott in the 13th round. Then eight months later, he defended the title again, beat Wolcott in the first round. Six years later, he retired — 49-0. He was a vicious puncher. Eleven KO’s in the 1st round, 43 of 49 knockouts. And that’s what this story’s about. He could finish them off. He didn’t play with them like Muhammad Ali. He could sense it when they were on the ropes and when he had it, he would take the finish.

We’ve got to sense it today. So must you finish them off today. I know you’ll do that. You represent LSU, your family and your Maker. Today, finish them off. Have fun. Play like champions.

STORIES
After I got the story about Rocky Marciano and putting them away, I put it into my computer. I have lots of stories about Henry Aaron and Jim Abbott, about Roger Bannister or Billy Mills. Let’s go down to the Marciano story, call it up at the right time and make sure that I’ve rehearsed it and that I can do it flawlessly when I give it to my team. It just takes a minute or two before the ball game. The thing is be accurate when you tell a story. Have the names correct and the dates correct. That’s very important.

And here’s an important point: Stories help me, too. I want to feel the white-hot, searing, passionate heat of their excitement. In order to get that, I have to coach and teach with a passion. It has to be what you love to do so that you and your team can make some memorable stories of your own.

RUBBER BAND TECHNIQUE
I have some techniques that the players can use themselves, like the imaginary base trip and, of course, the poster board which I mentioned earlier. Here’s another. It’s an old, simple, but extraordinarily effective technique to help players break bad habits.

Each player takes a rubber band, puts it around his or her wrist and, whenever necessary, snaps it. For example, many players have negative thoughts during the ball game and every time a negative thought appears, they snap the rubber band as if to say, “Stop.”

It’s a good tool for players who let their mind wander and lose the moment – it snaps them back into the present. It works well for players who get too angry after a strike-out or a poor play. It’s a good teaching tool and is usually used for about three weeks, until players can get into the habit of reminding themselves without the use of a rubber band. It’s simple and it’s effective – both on and off the field.

SUCCESSFUL SPEAKERS SERIES
Here’s a point to think about: Sometimes the best motivators are people outside of the program. Your players hear from you day-in and day-out. Sometimes advice from someone else could be taken very well. Give yourself and your players a break – bring in someone else. Here’s what I do: I call it the “Successful Speakers Series.”

About once a month in the fall and nearly every week in the spring, I ask someone from the community to come in and speak to our team. We do it in our squad room right at the field, many times before practice or before a game during the other team’s batting practice. 1 tell a speaker, up front, that he or she only has 10-20 minutes to get the message across. I ask speakers to tell the team why they are successful, what works for them, and to share some life lessons that they think are important.

The list of people I’ve had includes LSU professors, administrators and coaches, of course. But we have had some wonderful moments with local businessmen and businesswomen, doctors, attorneys, teachers, clergymen and parents.

Now these are not professional speakers, and they are not asked to motivate the team before a game that week. They are simply asked to speak informally about feelings they may have had on the impact of the team on the community or about athletics in general. They sometimes tell a story about when they, or someone they knew, failed but stayed with it and became successful. I have a player present the speaker with a plaque or an autographed baseball in a holder to keep it on his or her desk, giving even more exposure for our team. The team does get a lot of exposure, but remember that the speaker feels honored to do this and that he or she gets a lot out of it, too. This is truly a twice-blessed situation. Successful Speakers Series. Give it a shot.

WRITTEN MOTIVATIONAL MESSAGES
Another way I get successful people to be part of our program is to gather up all of their wisdom and hand it out to our players. I have collected, through the years, volumes of quotes, short stories and bits of advice. I call these motivational sheets. Before each game, a coach or player hands out copies of a thought, quote or story I think is appropriate for the situation our teams’ happened to be in at that time. The coach or player puts one in every locker, and I keep them in our squad room so the players can read and use them whenever they want. A good tip is to keep each sheet in its own cover in a binder so players can simply remove it and copy it. Over the years, I have collected hundreds and hundreds of quotes, short stories and bit of advice. I type each one in a different style and then file them under subject matter in the binder.

You have to start collecting your quotes, short stories and statements now. And not all of my players can be moved by the statement I hand out that day. It depends on timing, their needs and how they feel that day. But my goal is for each player to keep the sheets and ultimately use the information when it’s best for him. Believe me, you’ll be surprised at the impact this technique can have on a player.

LOU HOLTZ
Here’s a true story: One day, I handed out a quote from Lou Holtz, the former Notre Dame football coach. I didn’t know it at the time, but one of our pitchers was going through some very real emotional struggles in his personal life. Later he told me that simple, little statement from Lou Holtz got him through that game and that day and that it stayed with him in his personal life.

You may have some stories, demonstrations and techniques of your own. But you must make it a habit to continually search for more. You must improve your own performance every day just as your team must. Make notes, read, talk to others and develop each thought you have to its fullest.

Remember that some of your best ideas are going to come late at night or early in the morning when you just get up. Make sure you have a voice recorder or a pad and pen close by your bed. All of us have a lot of homework to do. So let’s get started.

DOUG THOMPSON TESTIMONIAL
“And what’s so special about the motivational sheets and things like that is that he really focuses on them. They’re not just another prop to the big scene of our program. You know, they really mean something to him. And in the long run, they mean something to us and our team.”

CHAPTER REVIEW
• Motivation is the fuel that enhances people’s performance.
• Baseball skills, stories of ballplayers, stories about the game itself.
• General motivational videos. These are videos of all kinds of people being successful and people overcoming adversity.
• Music videos. These are videos of our players, energetic pieces which let our players see themselves on the screen.
• Educational videos. Videos like those which carry a great message such as anti-gambling or anti-tobacco or another message.
• The nickel demonstration.
• Check out any audio program about personal improvement and team building and management.
• When people hear a story, their imaginations are set off that form pictures in their minds.
• The rubber band technique when used for three weeks is a great way to help someone break a habit.
• Your team hears from you all the time. A great way to relay the message of success is through the Successful Speakers Series.
• Written motivational sheets handed out at the right time can have a huge impact on the mindset and focus of your team.