Kevin Calver

Retired HS Admin. ………Opinions and posts are my own

[Scott Garvis C.M.A.A. @PocketAD_]

🏆 THE IOWA AD WELLNESS CHALLENGE

Athletic directors spend every day taking care of student-athletes, coaches, families, and school communities. But sustainable leadership begins with taking care of yourself.

The challenge is simple:

🔴 MOVE: Be active for at least 30 minutes, 3–5 times each week.

🔵 HYDRATE: Drink 100 ounces of water each day.

🔴 FUEL: Eat at least one healthy meal each day.

🔵 UNPLUG: Establish boundaries for work emails and text messages. If it can wait, let it wait.

🔴 RECHARGE: Take guilt-free days off—and encourage your coaches to do the same.

🔵 BE PRESENT: Give your best at work, then protect the time you have with the people who matter most at home.

You do not have to be perfect. You just have to be intentional.

Take care of yourself so you can continue taking care of your people. Healthy athletic directors build healthy athletic departments.

Who is ready to take the Iowa AD Wellness Challenge?

#IHSADA #IowaADs #AthleticAdministration #AthleticDirector #LeadershipWellness #WorkLifeBalance #MentalHealthMatters #EducationBasedAthletics #HealthyLeadership

[HSAD Network @HSAD_Network]

The Ohio Floor Company busy at it this morning.
@ohioiaaa

[Findlay Oilers @FindlayOilers]

The women's basketball program has announced the hiring of Camryn Pickerill as their newest assistant coach.

#GoOilers | #BeGreat

🔗: https://t.co/e9Raomkp0T

[Kevin Calver @kcalver4]

Congratulations to Ameera!

[HSAD Network @HSAD_Network]

Excited to announce the 2026 Ohio Floor Company Outstanding Student Athlete presented by HSAD, Ameera Jenkins from Pickerington Central HS. Congrats Ameera!
@OIAAACert @pick_central

[Vala Afshar @ValaAfshar]

Tom Brady: “You need coaches that push you outside your comfort zone because that’s how you grow and that’s how you develop self confidence and self esteem. They push you to deal with failure.”

[Greg Berge @GregBerge]

Scared teams find ways to lose.

Dusty May said it best:

“A lot of failure comes with simply being afraid of the results. We were never afraid of the results.”

Teach them to compete. Let the scoreboard take care of itself.

How do you build fearless competitors?

[Findlay Oilers @FindlayOilers]

We have our coach.

Oiler Nation, help us welcome Bri Sims to Findlay.

#GoOilers | #BeGreat

🔗: https://t.co/CCPifLG3Ou

[Greg Berge @GregBerge]

The 10 Truths Parents Rarely See

1. Coaches lose sleep.
2. Decisions aren’t personal.
3. Playing time is complex.
4. Culture matters more than stats.
5. Accountability is care.
6. Coaches invest emotionally.
7. Development isn’t instant.
8. Hard feedback is intentional.
9. Wins don’t tell the whole story.
10. Coaches remember kids forever.

Perspective matters.

[James Light @JamesALight]

UCONN HC Dan Hurley - Building a System/Identity

- "Our system is how hard we play. How hard we get after people every single possession at both ends of the court & on the backboard."

- "The number one thing you got to understand if you want to have a program that can sustainably be successful and have a chance to win every single night... It's hard to coach that way because it's fu**ing exhausting. To coach every single possession, every single day and when the losing team runs the line because every single drill we do there is a winner & a loser, when they get this close and miss that line, you better be there to call them out and make the whole team now run with them."

- "If you want to start the game 6-0, like I start most games just because my team is ready to go because we go so hard every day."

[Patrick Jones @pjonesbaseball]

I had a conversation with a Power 4 college coach who’s been doing this for 25+ years.

We were talking about the mentality of high school players during the recruiting process.

Here’s what he told me:

“What these kids don’t realize is…

I don’t care how many followers you have.
I don’t care how many home runs you hit in travel ball.
I don’t care how many offers you have.
I don’t care about your ranking.
I don’t care how hard you can hit a ball.
I don’t care about your metrics.

The only thing I care about is this:

Are you going to produce in between those white lines when we play this season?”

Then he said something else that hit:

“They’ve been so protected that the first time they fail, they quit… or they transfer.”

And here’s the part that matters.

The biggest development mistake I see?

Players don’t plan for failure.

They plan for success.
They visualize success.
They expect success.

But they don’t prepare for 0-4.
They don’t prepare for getting booed.
They don’t prepare for sitting the bench.
They don’t prepare for struggling for 3 weeks.

So when it happens — and it will — they panic.

Instead of executing a pre-made plan, they try to create one while emotional.

That never works.

Failure is coming.

The question is:
Did you already decide how you’re going to handle it?

[OHSBCA @ohioBKcoaches]

Coach Selana Ickes shares the non-negotiables of the Malone Women’s Basketball program. This clip is just the beginning…

🎧 Full episode: https://t.co/KZMXe2XMYJ

[Greg Berge @GregBerge]

Loyal assistant coaches matter more than most people realize.

They support the vision.
They protect the culture.
They tell you the truth.

Great programs aren’t built by one coach.

They’re built by a loyal staff that pulls in the same direction.

[Jamy Bechler @jamybechler]

"Practicing hard is a choice. Watching extra film is a choice. Lifting weights, being coachable, and going to class are a choice. Your choices here are going to force me to either play you, or sit you on the bench. You’ll get exactly what you want." (Pat Summitt)

[Hoop Herald @TheHoopHerald]

“To me it’s part of a point guards job to know how your shooters like to get the ball”

Jason Williams talking about the art or the perfect pass

This kind of thought is lost on modern “point guards”

https://t.co/DLVdwUNvRV

[Coach AJ 🎯 Mental Fitness @coachajkings]

Geno Auriemma shares a must-listen on body language and how he coaches it.

"We put a huge premium on body language."

"If your body language is bad, you will never get in the game. Ever. I don't care how good you are."

Your body language screams. It sets the tone for yourself and others.

It starts with your posture, your eye contact, and your energy. They're always communicating something - whether you realize it or not.

And here's why this matters more than ever:
"Recruiting enthusiastic kids is harder than it's ever been. Every kid watches TV, and they watch the NBA or the NFL and what they see is people just being really cool. So they think that's how they're gonna act."

The attitude comes before the ability.

"Recruiting kids that are really upbeat and loving life and love the game and have this tremendous appreciation for when their teammates do something well - that's hard. That's really hard."

He proved he means it with one of his best players:
"Somebody says, 'Well, you benched Stewy for 35 minutes in the Memphis game.' Yeah, I did. Stewy was acting like a 12-year-old, so I put her on the bench and said, 'Sit there.'"

No exceptions. Not even for All-Americans.

"I'd rather lose than watch kids play the way some kids play. I'd rather lose."

That's the standard his teams live.

"When I watch game film, I'm checking what's going on on the bench. If somebody's asleep over there, if somebody doesn't care, if somebody's not engaged in the game - they will never get in the game, ever."

Body language isn't a small thing. It's everything.

It's taking ownership of yourself, your attitude, and your actions.

It represents how you want to be as a teammate.
(🎥ESPN )

[Vala Afshar @ValaAfshar]

Tom Brady: “You need coaches that push you outside your comfort zone because that’s how you grow and that’s how you develop self confidence and self esteem. They push you to deal with failure.”

[Jon Beck @CoachJonBeck]

The arrogance of success is believing that what we did yesterday is good enough for tomorrow. There comes a time when the moment demands your discipline & what you’ve been doing daily, consistently over time. Success you earned yesterday won’t matter. It’s right now that counts!

[Jon Beck @CoachJonBeck]

What doesn’t matter:

Your write ups
Your rankings
Your invites
Your offers
Your hype
Your showcases
Your AAU team
Your potential

What does matter:

Your improvement
Your attitude
Your determination
What you can do when you walk out on the floor to compete vs. good players/teams

[Jon Beck @CoachJonBeck]

In the coming weeks, put your ego aside & put all of your effort on being 100% unselfish for the TEAM. It’s time to focus on “WE”, not “me”. Helping your team win a championship is more impressive than putting up a lot of individual stats. A championship banner will hang forever!

[Alan Stein, Jr. @AlanSteinJr]

Write this down:

If you choose to be part of a team…
showing up as less than your best is selfish.

Your standard impacts everyone else.

When you don’t bring your best,
you lower the ceiling for the whole room.

Lead accordingly.