Episode 107: Victory Is In The Details, with Tom Anstett and Tom McCormack

Tom Anstett was a four-year player at Boston College and an Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame inductee as both a player and a coach, Tom Anstett completed 42 years as a high school coach in 2014 with 21 years as a head coach at three schools. He also taught English during that time and served as the department chairman for fourteen years. Tom was a Golden Apple nominee as a teacher and earned district coach of the year numerous times. He published his first book, Stop Whining; Start Winning (for teachers and coaches) in 2017 and just completed his second with co-author Tom McCormack (Victory Is in the Details). Currently retired, Tom still tutors individual players with skill development in the Green Bay area. He also provides English workshops for teachers through the Joliet (IL) Professional Development Alliance. Tom has been married to Susan for 32 years; they have two sons and two grandsons. Tom McCormack just completed his 50th consecutive year of coaching. He has coached at every level from grammar school to head high school coach. He played on the DePaul University freshman team as a walk-on, graduating from DePaul with a degree in Physical Education. He spent 33 years as a head high school varsity coach, one year at Immaculate Conception High School where he served as Tom Anstett's assistant for the previous six years, and thirty-two years as the head coach at Conant High School. During his years as a high school head coach, he received numerous coach of the year awards from the Mid-Suburban League and the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association. He was inducted into the I.B.C.A. Hall of Fame as a coach in 2010 and ranks first in all-time among Mid-Suburban boys' head coaches with 576 career victories. He is now retired and conducts player development workouts in the Schaumburg area. He has been married to Mary Alis for 44 years; they have two daughters, two sons, and seven grandchildren. What you'll learn about in this episode: Why it is so important to really think about and understand why you coach How the love of competition plays such a key role in the success of coaches and players What moved them to write their book, Victory Is In The Details What the difference between daydreaming and imagination are and what imagination plays such a key role in player development Why it is so important to not create a victim when sending a message How their journey started on a hoop court at a park on the Northwest side of Chicago Why being invaluable without being most valuable helps make players stars in their roles Additional resources: Book: Victory Is In The Details