I played for Hall of Famers Coach K, Hubie Brown, and Erik Spoelstra.
But my most influential coach? Big Ed Battier—my dad.
I don’t remember him ever diagramming a play. He never screamed from the sidelines. But the lessons he taught me as my coach in first grade Little League stuck with me all the way to my final NBA game.
Here are three of them.
1. Show Up—Especially When It Sucks
It was a classic miserable Michigan day—50 degrees, pouring rain, and we had football practice.
I called my dad, tears in my eyes, begging to stay home.
He didn’t flinch. “If you’re part of a team, you show up. Sunshine or sideways rain.”
I went. I froze. I survived. And I learned the most important thing about being a teammate.
You don’t get to cherry-pick commitment.
2. Chatter Matters
Big Ed hated silence in the dugout. Hated it.
He didn’t care if you struck out. But if you weren’t cheering on your teammate? Oh boy.
Our team was always the loudest. Always the most alive. It was our biggest competitive advantage.
Every title we won came with a soundtrack.
3. Look Sharp, Play Sharp
Before every game, our infield practice had to be flawless.
“You practice sloppy, you play sloppy,” Big Ed would say.
We weren’t the most talented kids in Birmingham. But we were the sharpest. And that made all the difference.
He treated warm-ups like Game 7. So we did too.
Simple Lessons, Big Impact
My dad wasn’t complicated. But his expectations were clear:
- Show up.
- Bring energy.
- Take pride in preparation.
Stuff anyone can do. Rarely done consistently.
Those Little League lessons? They followed me to the Final Four, the NBA Finals, and even the locker room the night I won Teammate of the Year.
Turns out, Big Ed was coaching way more than baseball.
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