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Phil Jackson On Managing Emotions

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Positive Coaching Alliance’s National Spokesperson, Phil Jackson (@PhilJackson11), is perhaps the greatest basketball coach ever and among the best coaches in the history of American sports. He holds the NBA record of coaching 11 NBA Championship teams with the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers. Now a New York Knicks executive, Jackson contributes to PCA’s mission through fundraising activities and event and video appearances. He also wrote the foreword to PCA Founder Jim Thompson's (@JimThompson18) book, The Double-Goal Coach®.

Jackson knows what it’s like to coach under pressure, and he describes some sources of tension from throughout his tenure as an NBA head coach. Whether it was injuries, media demands, pre-game jitters, or working with players like Dennis Rodman and others in a pressured system, Jackson knew he would face a variety of unpredictable challenges.

One way he managed his emotions in these circumstances was to practice breathing control. This served as a natural way to release tension, and allow him to better deal with the stresses of coaching in a high-pressure situation.

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