Have You Outgrown Fun As A Coach?
I watched the Joe Mazzulla clip above yesterday and had to shake my head. It’s gone viral because it’s coach-bait: a big-time coach, NBA pedigree, championship résumé, saying something that looks great on a poster. But sit with it longer than a scroll — especially considering the question came from a kid — and it gets murky fast.
What is he actually saying?
That fun doesn’t exist in the adult world? That’s a recipe for mental health problems.
That sports aren’t supposed to be fun? That’s burnout waiting around the corner
Or — maybe — he meant something more nuanced about players using “I’m not having fun” as an escape hatch when the work gets hard. I could see that interpretation… but notice how much heavy lifting I had to do to get him there. Coaches forget this way too easily: we didn’t fall in love with our sport because it was serious. We fell in love because it made us smile. Because it gave us joy. Mazzulla gets paid to turn that joy into wins for a billion-dollar franchise, but the essence hasn’t changed.
It’s still a game.
And if the adults in the room can’t talk about fun without flinching, our players won’t stand a chance of keeping theirs.
COACH PROMPTS
When did you start acting like “fun” was something players earn instead of something that fuels their effort?
How often does your language treat joy like a distraction instead of a competitive advantage?
What would your practice look like if you built it the way you loved the game at 12 years old?
PLAYER PROMPTS
When’s the last time you let yourself actually enjoy the sport you’re grinding for?
What’s the difference between “this isn’t fun because it’s hard” and “this isn’t fun because it’s unhealthy”?
Who on your team brings joy to the gym — and are you one of those people?
