Coaching Lessons From Cirque du Soleil

Last night I was privileged to have a date with my lovely wife at the Cirque du Soleil La Nouba show in Downtown Disney.  Hearing that it was the best show in all of Orlando, I was very excited to go.  I am happy to announce that it exceeded all of my expectations and it even gave me some unexpected surprises that couldn’t stop me from thinking about coaching!  There were so many qualities and characteristics of the show that left me thinking, “If only I could get my players to play basketball the same way these people perform, we would win a lot more games.”  Some of the things that caught my attention were the trust, precision, focus, teamwork, and execution.

In every act of the show there was something that I could relate to coaching a basketball team.  First of all, there was a tight rope walker.  What better image of FOCUS and CONCENTRATION than someone who is walking on a one inch piece of rope, several feet above the ground.  One split second of giving up their FOCUS and it would be all over for them. 

There were also these bikers that reminded me of the X-games somewhat, but none the less were amazing.  Jumping over people, stopping on a dime, twisting and turning in ways only they know how.  I was so impressed with their PRECISION work and how they made inches seem like miles. 

Finally, I will finish off the article by telling you about my two favorite and impressive acts.  Three little girls headlined the show using toys called “Diabolos.”  The toy has two sticks with a string attached to both of them, and there is a cone shaped piece that spins and moves along the string.  You can toss it, juggle it, you name it you can do it.  Well, these girls mastered this thing and the show they put on was amazing.  They put on a TEAMWORK clinic and displayed such amazing FOCUS as they were flipping all over stage playing what looked to be the most fun game ever.  Lastly, the flying trapeze.  The TRUST that needs to be had here is outstanding.  Timing everything perfect so you don’t miss the bar or another person’s hands, or tossing a bar to another teammate.  The only way that I’m flipping hundreds of feet in the air is if I  know for a fact that I can TRUST someone will catch me or there will be a bar to grab onto at some point.  In all these acts the EXECUTION was significantly perfect and done so well.  I would recommend all you coaches to go to the show and tell me if you don’t agree with me.  This post probably makes it sound like a simple circus, but rather it was the perfect display of trust, precision, focus, teamwork, and execution that we as coaches could learn some valuable lessons from.