STONY BROOK, N.Y. — When a cardboard box filled with copies of the motivational book, "Win in the Dark" arrived this past weekend, Stony Brook women's basketball coach
Caroline McCombs excitedly
tweeted: "Can't wait to share this with our @StonyBrookWBB team this season."
McCombs recognizes coaching goes beyond X's and O's.
And the Stony Brook women's basketball coach, like many professors on campus, uses books to teach and inspire her pupils — who, in her case, are student-athletes.
"Through reading and engaging in authentic and vulnerable conversations, we have grown together," said McCombs, who guided the Seawolves to a program-record 28 wins and the America East title during the 2019-20 season, which abruptly ended on eve of the league championship game. "Through our real-life experiences and sharing our own personal journeys and experiences, our team has become connected."
McCombs' mindset changed as a coach after reading "Burn Your Goals" back in 2017.
Heading into that offseason, she had the student-athletes write down their goals. Then she had them rip up what they had written.
The message: Focus on the process rather than the outcome.
That summer, McCombs attended a leadership conference led by motivational authors Joshua Medcalf, Jamie Gilbert and Lucas Jadin.
"That's when my heart, posture and mindset began to shift about how we wanted to run our program — that if we were going to change, I needed to change," McCombs said. "We talked about loving people, serving people and adding value. I had to model everything that I wanted our team to become. It's been a process and journey and one that we are still on every day."
McCombs particularly has become attuned to the works of Medcalf, who co-authored "Win in the Dark" with Jadin.
Medcalf's works also include "Pound the Stone." The book has become an annual must-read for the Seawolves since being introduced in 2017-18, in addition to the rotating selections for each season.
"Coach McCombs is always challenging us to dig deeper into ourselves. She strives to give us tools to be our best not only on the court, but in life as well," guard/forward
Hailey Zeise said. "The first book I read as a freshman was 'Pound the Stone,' which is now at the core of our team culture and represents persistence, hard work and the process.
"I really value the team discussions we have and enjoy learning from them. Our success comes from surrendering the outcome, focusing on the process and the commitment to being our best every day. With every book we read, we learn how to be better players, better teammates and better people."
Annual reading selections have included "The Energy Bus" in 2016-17, "Power of a Positive Team" and "One Word" in 2018-19, and "Training Camp," "Why the Best are the Best" and "One Word" again in 2019-20.
The group read "Wolfpack," written by Olympic gold medalist Abby Wambach, during quarantine in recent months.
Spawning from "One Word," the team currently is involved in author Kevin Eastman's Challenge Series. Each week the Seawolves discuss one word presented in the book. Just before New Year's Day, each student-athlete will pick a word particularly impactful to her. Each player then paints or draws an image related to the word. It will hang in the film room as a motivational reminder for the rest of the season.
"This has been a very powerful project for us," McCombs said.
The newest arrival, "Win in the Dark," is a fable. It reads in part: "Everyone wants their moment in the spotlight. But you don't shine under the bright lights. The bright lights only reveal your work in the dark. Most people will never see your work in the dark. And when you emerge after years — sometimes even decades — of training, they often undercut your work, calling you an 'overnight success' or 'freakishly talented.' They don't realize that talent is only the starting line. They don't realize talent is overrated. They don't realize talent is never enough. They don't realize talent is more of a curse than a blessing unless you develop the mindset, grit, and work ethic of a grinder. Behind every 'overnight success' is tens of thousands of unseen hours training, failing, and growing in the dark."
Said McCombs: "I can't wait to engage with everyone again. Each team brings a different dynamic, and our time together is always so special and so valued. Our conversations can become deep, and there typically are a lot of smiles and also a lot of tears. We bring it all to the table when we are together. I know our time apart will make our bond even stronger.
"We will always read 'Pound the Stone,' because it sets the foundation for our team. It has been amazing to see the growth of the players in the program from all of the lessons that are learned and applied. I want to equip our players for life. And, as we learn so much about ourselves through the game of basketball, I felt compelled to add what I would consider mental training for our team in equipping them with tools to learn and grow, to fail and to succeed. It's been an amazing ride."
