Screwdriver meet screw

This Gary Larson Far Side cartoon is good for a giggle. But some of us don’t see a school for the mechanically declined. We see a masterclass. The best coaches, leading the best players, winning the biggest trophies, taught this way. Back to basics meets beginner’s mind.

Vince Lombardi is considered by many the greatest coach in football history. Won the first two Super Bowls, never had a losing season in the NFL, had a 90% winning percentage in the postseason. In the book When Pride Still Mattered: A Life Of Vince Lombardi we’re taken to the start of his 1961 training camp. Let’s sit down with the talented players that had just completed an amazing season together:

He took nothing for granted. He began a tradition of starting from scratch, assuming that the players were blank slates who carried over no knowledge from the year before… He began with the most elemental statement of all. “Gentlemen,” he said, holding a pigskin in his right hand, “this is a football.”

Screwdriver meet screw. This is a football. Some players were insulted. But others knew Lombardi taught the fundamentals and worked up. Six months later, the Green Bay Packers beat the New York Giants 37-0 to win the NFL Championship.

John Wooden is considered by many to be the greatest coach in college basketball history. Won 10 national championships in 12 years with U.C.L.A., with an overall win percentage of over 80%. Star recruit Bill Walton remembers his first practice, all the new guys and returning members of the national championship team were anxious to get started. But first:

John Wooden says, “Men, this is how you put your shoes and socks on.” Some of the returning players had been through this before; no matter – they were going to learn it again.

Screwdriver meet screw. This is how you put on your shoes and socks. Some players were insulted. But they didn’t miss games because of blisters caused by wrinkled socks, or ankle sprains from laces not pulled evenly and tied tight. And they went on to win the national championship.

Phil Jackson is considered by many to be the greatest coach in professional basketball history. He won a record 11 NBA championships as a coach, his teams never had a losing year, ending with a lifetime win percentage of over 70%. He got to coach greats like Micheal Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal. In a 2013 NPR interview he explained how he did it:

A lot of my practices start out with just fundamental work. Learn how to stop with the ball and pivot with the ball and make passes, because that’s basically the nuts and bolts of the offense… We’re going to do our fundamental drills and get ourselves talking basketball language with our body.

Screwdriver meet screw. Fundamental drills. Some of the players made fun of him, but Phil has more championship rings than he has fingers.

The cartoon doesn’t seem so silly. As James Clear puts it:

Mastery in nearly any endeavor is the result of deeply understanding simple ideas.

I have 21,000 hours of flying. Type ratings, physics degree, research published. And today I’m reading the Cessna 172 Pilots Operating Handbook. Screwdriver meet screw.

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