Cougars Building Championship Relationships For Life
10/17/2015 8:24:00 PM | Men's Basketball
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Renowned sports psychologist Dr. Joe Carr has worked with the likes of NBA superstars LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony, and now, College of Charleston Basketball.
His impressive resume speaks volumes having worked with more than 40 college teams including 2014 national champion Connecticut, which was featured in an article leading up to the Huskies' championship run in The New York Times and Notre Dame Basketball featured in March of 2015 in Forbes Magazine.
A former college basketball player himself, Carr gravitated towards working with Charleston after a client of his at another mid-major school put him in touch with head coach Earl Grant.
Having previously developed the NBA's rookie transition program with the help of Oscar Robertson, Carr has become a fixture in college basketball circles aiding in team chemistry, and most importantly as he says, “building championship relationships for life.”
“What makes a good fit for a player and a team and what doesn't?” Carr said. “That's how I first came up with my concept and idea of building team chemistry. After years and years of working with the NBA's rookie transition program, it has morphed into working with college and pro teams focusing purely on how to get people to sacrifice and come together.”
Carr emphasizes team chemistry with four tenets and the acronym: R.A.R.E. – Relationships, Accepting Challenges, Recovery From Mistakes and Execute Coach's Directions.
“It allows them to build relationships in a close way,” he said. “It not only allows them to call each other out, but allows them to recover quickly from mistakes, to execute coach's directions and have that blind trust.”
The Cougars spent an entire week meeting with Carr in team chemistry-building sessions. Grant and his coaching staff met first over the course of three consecutive days, while the players met with Carr for the next three days that culminated in a combined session with both groups on Friday night at TD Arena.
“Dr. Carr was as good as they advertised him to be,” Grant said. “It was really important and beneficial for our staff and players this week. We found out about each other's personal lives. Our players were really able to open up with each other sharing different life experiences that they had gone through. From a team bonding and chemistry standpoint, we were able to get closer.”
His success stories other than UConn? Carr compares College of Charleston to working with Notre Dame where the Fighting Irish went 15-17 in 2013-14 and ended up winning the ACC and was one shot away from advancing to the Final Four last year. He says Charleston mirrors Notre Dame in a way that both programs have been out of the fray for some time and off people's radar.
However, he sees the potential for Charleston to do something just as successful and meaningful soon. It begins with leadership and building on relationships that become long term and for life. “We not only want them to become an elite team and elite teammates, but elite in everything they do,” he said.
“In my observations this week, Coach Grant truly cares about the 'total person.'” Carr said. “He has taken on the responsibility of helping these kids, not only on the basketball court, but to manage the trauma they have gone through. It's an attitude of, 'I'm going to help them manage everything they have gone through and show them that the light is ahead to be able to take that next step.' He certainly has brought that fire and desire to help them succeed.”
Carr compares the trauma the team had endured to the magnitude of an earthquake or tsunami. But, that's not to say it can't be overcome with the support of people like Carr and Grant on board.
“This was something I wanted to take on based on what I knew had happened last year,” Carr said. “Ordinarily, I would go work with pro teams during the fall, but this seemed like the right thing to do. It wasn't about money. It was about being in the right place and right time. After talking to Coach Grant on the phone, I had the feeling there was a hunger and thirst to help these guys heal and build character.”
This won't be the last time the Cougars will see Carr. He plans to come back to the Lowcountry three-or-four more times for tune-up sessions during the upcoming season.
“I had my doubts going into these sessions and didn't know what to expect,” College of Charleston junior point guard and team co-captain Joe Chealey said. “But, Dr. Carr was unbelievable. It really brought us closer together, and at this time of the year, it's important to get to that level of commitment as a team. It helped us establish trust and comfort with each other going into the season. We will be better, because of it.”
