“If I was starting again as a manager, the thing I would focus on the most is a player’s attitude during training sessions. If they take it seriously and have the necessary talent and determination, good things will happen. If they are inclined to slack off, they will never make it over the long haul. Our training ground was where the real work was done.”

Leading by Sir Alex Ferguson and Michael Moritz

Sir Alex Ferguson’s book is full of golden nuggets and I highly recommend it. A legendary soccer coach, Ferguson recognizes the importance of practice in preparing his players.

But he doesn’t just emphasize the importance of practice. He highlights the attitude of players during practice. A player who had a good outing in their last competition might be inclined to take it easy. Another might be considered the superstar and therefore does not feel it necessary to put forth maximum effort. Consider this well-known quote and see if you can identify who said it:

“If I can’t practice, I can’t practice. If I’m hurt, I’m hurt. Simple as that. It’s not about that at all. But it’s easy to talk about and sum it up when you just talk about practice; we’re sitting here, and I’m supposed to be the franchise player, and we’re in here talking about practice. I mean, listen, we’re talking about practice. Not a game! Not a game! Not a game! We’re talking about practice. Not a game; not the game that I go out there and die for and play every game like it’s my last, not the game, we’re talking about practice, man. I mean, how silly is that? We’re talking about practice. I know I’m supposed to be there, I know I’m supposed to lead by example, I know that. And I’m not shoving it aside like it don’t mean anything. I know it’s important. I do. I honestly do. But we’re talking about practice, man. What are we talking about? Practice? We’re talking about practice, man!

We’re talking about practice! We’re talking about practice... We ain’t talking about the game! We’re talking about practice, man! When you come to the arena, and you see me play... You see me play, don’t you?” (Alan Iverson)

Now this is just a portion of the interview given by former basketball star Alan Iverson – seriously read the whole interview because it’s fascinating – but it made me wonder what Alex Ferguson would have thought about Iverson’s attitude. I wonder how he would have handled the situation and superstar.