A Coach's Diary

“If I’m asking my players to improve, I have to be improving” - Mike Neighbors Even us coaches, especially us coaches, have to find ways to get better every day and every year for our players.   It’s important to take a step back at the end of each season to self-assess your performance.   It’s important to assess your strengths and your weaknesses.   It’s important to have a plan on how to grow your strengths to a level of mastery, while growing your weaknesses.   Each off-season find at least one area that you want to grow in as a coach - set plays, zone defense, a new press, new 1 on 1 drills etc.  Master something new this off-season, learn something new this off-season, and bring something new because your kids and your teams need you to. We ask our kids to improve, and each NBA great talks about how they come back with something new each year; so should we as coaches.  Invest in yourself and in your craft.

Practice By: Greg Tuchek, Pro Shot Trainer, Venice Beach Basketball Hall of Fame Player  I don't get these guys nowadays. Don't get me wrong, I hated running... But, I looked forward to competing. My goal was to take your spot, or keep mine. I looked forward to getting better every day! I wanted to win every sprint or at least come in the top three. My speed developed so much running sprints. At Long Beach City, Red was the first team. White was the second. I was on white my whole freshman year. I was new to organized basketball and just happy to be a part of the team. I wasn't tainted by the "superstar" mentality. I played hard EVERY possession. I would get the red team so mad! I would sneak in for an offensive rebound and coach would go ballistic. I just thought that is how you were supposed to play. Like a "Rudy," but with more talent.  I was a good teammate and we could be cool after, but, you had what I wanted. I tell my kids and players, ...

I recieved this story from the  UW Women's Basketball Newsletter  newsletter via Coach Mike Neighbors.  To recieve the weekly newsletter, email him at  nabes22@uw.edu. WHAT COACHES MAKE  The dinner guests were sitting around the table discussing life. One man, a CEO, tried to explain the problem with college athletics. He argued, “What’s a kid going to learn from someone who decided his best option in life was to be a coach?”  He reminded the other dinner guests what they say about coaches: “Those who can’t play, are those who coach.” To stress his point he said to another guest, “You’re a coach, be honest. What do you make?” Having a reputation for honesty and frankness, the guest replied, (At this moment Coach Ridder was FIRED up and getting after it!) “You want to know what I make? I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could. I make a C+ feel like a winner of the Congressional Medal of Honor. I make kids run through 90 minutes ...