Lead With A Positive To Help Players Overcome Mistakes
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Jesse Mermuys is an Assistant Coach for the Sacramento Kings. Before joining the Kings, Mermuys was the Assistant Coach of the Lakers, and before that, Head Coach and Assistant GM of the Toronto Raptors D-League basketball team, the Raptors 905. Before his position with the Raptors 905, he was a former Assistant Coach for both the Toronto Raptors and the Houston Rockets, where he also worked as Director of Player Personnel.
When athletes make mistakes or get disappointed in themselves, Mermuys chooses to lead with a positive before following up with a correction, so that the athletes can remember what is going well as they try and improve and correct their mistakes. Mermuys explains that basketball is a game of mistakes, and that without a coach's positive message of belief, some athletes may give up rather than put the effort towards improving their game and limiting the mistake in the future.
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