If you want to get ahead, don't wait until practice to work on your game. Work on your game BEFORE practice and OUTSIDE of practice so that when practice starts, you are better and more ready to perform the drills and more ready to compete. Change how you look at practice. It is a chance to work on your game, it is a chance to improve how you play as a team, but it is also a chance to COMPETE, and anytime that there is a chance to compete, you want to make sure that you are ready and prepared to perform. To be ready to perform, work on your game BEFORE you come in.
Most practices have the same three elements: 1 - Skill work 2 - Team learning 3 - Some kind of competition Work on your game on your own so that the skill work in practice is easier for you, smoother, and is just extra reps. Learn through the team play so that you can be the best teammate that you can be and so that you can execute the gameplan. Be ready to compete when the time comes. Competition could be dribble races, shooting games, timed drills, 1 on 1, full-court scrimmaging, etc. There are many forms of competing, and you want to give yourself an edge and the best chance possible at success. That comes from being prepared, confident, and comfortable, and that all comes from putting in the work before it starts.
The first decision that we have to make
at the start of each season is:
1 – Am I going to work to be the best
that I can be?
The second decision that we have to make
at the start of each season is:
2 – Am I going to do everything in my
power to help the team be the best that it can be?
Without answering the first question with
a yes, the team just can’t be the best that it can.For us to be the best team that we can be,
each individual has to do their part.The
harder the individual works, the more energy and enthusiasm the individual
brings, the more the individual competes every day, the more that the individual
is responsible and accountable for their actions and behaviors, the better the group can be.
But the individual also has to do it all within the frame of what is best for the team.Working hard, bringing energy and enthusiasm, having accountability and
responsibility is a necessary requirement, but we also have to be bought into
the shared vision of the team and doing.We can’t do it in isolation, and we can’t act with selfish motives that
don’t benefit the group as a whole. We have to buy-in.
We
can’t make excuses, we can’t complain, we can’t cheat ourselves and our
teammates by not doing the work.We
can’t put ourselves before the team and we can’t make our own ‘stuff,' goals,
and issues bigger than the team.
We can
and should have BIG goals for ourselves, but those goals must also benefit the group.We all have on and off the court issues, but
we can’t let them negatively affect the group and the group’s mission.
Be bought in to being the best you for
yourself and your teammates.
Every weekend, millions of fields across the country have been converted to football, soccer, and baseball fields where you can see kids of all ages living out their dreams, trying to become the next Patrick Mahomes, Alex Morgan, and Christian Yelich.
Unfortunately, at those same fields you can hear and see those same kids' parent yelling at their kids, coaches, referees, and each other driving their kids to become the next superstar. You get better people watching opportunities at youth sports events than the mall.
Parents usually have good intentions when they yell directions and instructions at their kids, but the yelling is not usually the the most effective way to change in-game behavior and performance and too much yelling can have long-term effects.
Coaches spend countless hours coming up with drills and practice plans to teach even the smallest and simplest skills. They know that players don't learn just by hearing something - they learn by practicing and by repetition and by doing it over and over in game like situations.
There is a quote that says, 'Repition isn't punishment, it's how you learn and improve at something.' There is no quick fix to getting better at something. It takes time and 1,000's of reps to master something.
There is a story that young NBA player Buddy Hield went to work out with Kobe Bryant. In that workout, they worked on the same move, from the same spot, for an hour and a half. Kobe has also said that he would MAKE 1,000 shots a day in the off-season so that he was confident, prepared, and comfortable to perform in the games. That's the amount of reps it takes at the same thing to become good enough to be able to do it effectively and repeatedly in the game, and that doesn't happen because we tell the loudest.
So while we think we are helping our kids when we yell things to them in the middle of a game, yelling at our kids from the sideline is hardly ever enough or hardly ever effective. It takes practice and repetition for them to be able to successfully perform something in the game and that isn't something that they can get in game from mom or dad.
Instead of helping our kids, yelling at the kids is a distraction from being in the moment, it distracts the from executing the game plan that their coach has given them, it teaches them how to tune you out, it can create mental health issues, performance anxiety, and can contribute to them to wanting to give up the sport altogether
If you really feel like your child can do something better, the best thing that you can do is get out and play with them outside of team games or practices. Don't just drill them, but play with them. Kids learn best through purposeful play where they can try and fail and try again new things without fear or being yelled at.
If you see areas where you feel like your kid is under-performing, get out and with them and play in situations where they are struggling. Allow them to mess up, try again, and improve without fear of failure.
One of the most important roles that we have to learn as parents is how to support our kids in a way that helps them, their coach, and their team. Yelling instructions all game isn't it.
Coaching and
leadership are part processes and systems and part influence and
behaviors.
We put in systems and processes like how we want to play, actual
plays, practice times and practice schedules, and drills to teach the game and to give
our team structure, but its character and behavior that drives how much our
kids buy-in, how hard they work, and how much time they put into getting
better.
The better the character, the harder they work. The
more they listen and buy-in, the better the team. Coaching is more than
just plays; its influencing athletes to do what they need to do to execute at
the highest level possible for themselves and for the team.
When
your team isn't working as hard as you would like, or they aren't listening
like they should, or they aren't performing like you know they can, it can be
very frustrating and it can be very easy to start playing the blame game.
It
is easy to start blaming this generation of kids, or this group of kids, or their
parents, or distractions like Fortnite. But playing the blame game just
keeps you stuck in the same rut with no progress. Instead, be solution-oriented and try to find different ways to influence the behavior that you want
to see.
We
can call kids uncoachable if we want, and the truth is, we just won't be able
to win over every kid. But we have to do the hard work and
try.
We
influence by our overall vision, by the messages that we are sending and
the approach that we take in delivering the message. Each kid needs a
different approach and many need a different message that is still aligned to the
vision.
The differentiation required to reach and affect all of our athletes is why what we do is so hard, but
that is why good coaching and good leadership is so important and so impactful.
The Knuckleheads Podcast is hosted by Quenton Richardson and Darrius Miles. they invite special guests, high-profile athletes, musicians and entertainers to get brutally honest about everything from current events to untold stories from the golden era of sports and culture. Named for the on-court celebration they made wildly popular, this unfiltered, hilarious and surprising podcast is like playing NBA 2K with no fouls. They recently had Kobe Bryant on and it was a great interview, where he talked about everything from his first years in the league to his new book.
On Coming To An Already Established Team
It was good for me to come in and play with so many all-stars; iron sharpens iron. I had to do a lot and I had to be perfect just to get on the floor.
Every day at practice has got to be a war because I have to prove that I deserve to be here and that I deserve to play. Every play matters.
Superheros
In your game, you have weapons. I used to call us superheroes. When you put your Jersey on, you have special moves. Every athlete has a category of weapons. Darrius Miles
The Most Important Shot in Basketball
The shot that really matters is the pull-up shot. It all comes back to that. You can do all these moves beforehand, but they don't matter. Eventually, you are going to get to a spot where you have to raise up and shoot. So doing that shot 1000's of times got me so comfortable shooting that shot that I could shoot that shot at any time. It becomes auto-pilot. So no matter what happens before, whether it is a jab step, a crossover, or a double, it doesn't matter because when I get to that spot and I raise up and shoot, because I've done it thousands of times, it's in the bottom of the barrel. So it all comes down to that shot. Kobe Bryant
What Clicked for You to Become the Baddest Man on the Planet?
I had to get stronger. The air balls in Utah showed me that I had to get stronger. The season wears you down. Look at Mike (Jordan) and look at Mike's physique. He's strong. Looking at other guys around the league and they're not. Latrell Sprewell is a great players, but he's not strong. Mitch Richmond has a natural base to him, but I can tell that he's not lifting every day. Mike is. Scottie is. Those guys have 4-5 champions by now. I need to do THAT. So that's why I started lifting and I started getting stronger, and stronger, and stronger and stronger. That was the adjustment that I made. I had the fundamentals and I had the skill. I learned some things technique-wise, but then my physical abilities caught up with my skills.
Why the Triangle is so Dangerous
What makes the triangle offense so deadly is that it gives you a structure, but within that structure, you have complete freedom. Even the defensively you know the sequence that we are executing, we have counters and we all know them. It's hard to beat that. This helps you gameplan. A lot of players today play accidental basketball. It's all penetrate and kick and you may make the shot and you may not. You have no idea who is going to be open. Its accidental basketball and we played basketball with purpose. It's playing the sequences and understanding what the defense is going to do against it is what makes it dangerous.
When Your Kids Play The Same Sport That You Love
My kids can do anything, anything that you want to do and I'm going to support it. But when you choose the one thing that I fell in love with, it's a special, special thing. It's like, 'Baby, you love this?' I will give you everything you need. - Darius Miles
It's exciting because you get a chance to go back and go through the basics all over again. I write practice plans every day. This is a 6-year plan and this is only year 2, so you can patiently teach them every little aspect. Teach them how to be patient. Teach them how to use screens. Teach them how to anticipate on defense. Balance. All of those little things. Its awesome man, it's awesome.
On Writing Books for Children
I wanted to create something that will help children feel important. A lot of times, in that children's space they dumb things down and dumb the materials down because we think that they won't know the difference. But I feel that if we create something that is high in value, the kids will know that they are cared for and that they matter.
The story itself is about teaching kids how they can handle the inner monologue and the emotional things that we experience. This is why it had to be tennis because tennis is such an emotional sport. In tennis, you are dealing with yourself, the elements, and the person across the net that is trying to beat you. You have to have those inner conversations and navigate those while competing with somebody that is across the net.
Inspiration drives the world. When looking at the kingdoms and the worlds that we create, inspiration is what decides who is going to be the ruler of these particular worlds. Then how do you inspire? You can inspire in a myriad of different ways. You can inspire through love, through fear, hatred; there are a lot of ways to inspire. How are the athletes of the world using their platform to inspire?
How Do You Bounce Back From Injury It's a tedious process and you can't look at the top of the mountain because it is so daunting. Instead, just choose to focus on one step at a time, and before you know it, you are at the top again. Just focus on the next thing, focus on the next thing, focus on the next thing. Also, time flies. When you are in the moment and dealing with a 9-month injury/recovery, you think, "I can't do that." But 12 months goes by and you are going to wish that you did because it goes by like that. So, that has always been my approach - 1 day at a time, 1 day at a time, 1 day at a time. And I didn't want an injury to dictate when I retire; I wanted to control that.
We are always pushing our kids to continue to work hard, to continue to get better, and to find ways to learn and grow all the time, but the best coaches do the same thing. We need to model what it means to be lifelong learners.
Coaches who want to continue to get better find value in examining what effective coaches do. Anytime you have two coaches comes together about talking, their coaching improves instantly.
Schools have popularized an idea called Professional Learning Communities, or PLCs. School coaches/teachers might know them as one of those meetings that they go to once a week, but when done effectively, understanding what a real PLC is can completely change your teams and your career.
The idea behind PLCs is that schools are a building full of professionals who should work together to become better teachers for their kids. Teachers engaged in the PLC process use each other and each other's experiences to get better. They talk about teaching methods, best practices, classroom management, dealing with parents, and anything else involved the teaching and education process. The same idea is used for coaches. Anytime we go to coaching clinics or coaching conventions, or when we attend another coach's practice or even talk to another coach about what offense or defense we run or issues that we are having with players or parents, we are creating or involved in a PLC. Anytime you talk with another professional about your work and how you can do better, you are involved in a PLC.
The power comes from being intentional about talking to other coaches about how we can be better for our athletes. When you are struggling with something, having a couple of coaches that you can reach out to for guidance can really help you. On the flip side, if you are doing something that has positively impacted your team, your coaching, or your experience, share that with other coaches.
One of the founders of the PLC process, Richard DuFour once said that whenever you get two or more teachers together to talk about teaching, the teaching gets better. The same can be said for coaches.
In the intro of his book, What the Great Principals Do Differently, Todd Whittaker wrote, 'The difference between more effective leaders and their less effective colleagues is not what they know. It is what they do. Clarifying what the best leaders DO, and then practicing it ourselves, can move us up the ranks (xi).'
He went on to write, 'If every teacher in a school were like the best teacher, would it be a great school to send your kid?' What if every coach on your staff were like the best coaches in the world. Wouldn't parents love sending their athletes to you? The athletes would face each practice, each game, each season with confidence.
Start building your PLC of coaches, start sharing what works and doesn't work, and we can all grow together.
Self-Confidence
- Believing that you can get the job done.
Self-Confidence
is a skill that you build through:
1 -
Repetition, repetition, repetition. Repetition is the father of learning.
2 -
Positive self-talk. Thoughts influence actions. Get your own
positive self-affirmations. 'I am the captain of my ship and the master
of my fate.' If we don't say it and if we don't say it, nobody will.
3 -
Get away from negative people.
4 -
Catch them when they're good. Praise the positives.
"Too many kids have been taught that the goal of HS sports is to achieve an ATHLETIC scholarship. Here is the truth - the goal of HS sports is to learn how to be a better person, better teammate, better communicator, & to enjoy being a teenager ... something you can't get back."
This is a good 'twitter quote' from @bbdoctor1 that helps keep things in perspective.
I was guilty of this as a high school coach. I sometimes used college scholarships as my main motivator for getting our kids to work hard and I think it created unnecessary anxiety and stress in some of my athletes. There is nothing wrong with using scholarships as a motivator - especially if this is what the kids really want. We have to be open and honest with our athletes about where they are and where they are going. But I think we have started over-emphasize college scholarahips through sports over what is really important.
Working hard with energy and enthusiasm, holding yourself accountable, being responsible for you performance and your success, being there for other, working together for something bigger than yourself, growth-mindset, and memorable experiences and friendships - those are the real gifts of HS sports.
I would NEVER shoot down a kids dreams to playing in college, or even professionally. I am a dream chaser and not a dream killer. But I really feel athletic success is and should be viewed as a by-product of our character and the work that we put in (and our talent), and it should be framed that way, and it should be prioritized appropriately. I think it's a healthier approach.
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