A Coach's Diary

Preparation + Opportunity = An Explosion of Success Ray Allen's advantage was pulling up before anybody else was there.  One of the keys to success is self-confidence.  One of the keys to self-confidence is preparation.  One of the keys to preparation is repetition.  Doing it over and over and over again. Ray Allen would beat everybody to the gym, get his reps in so that he was prepared and confident, and the result was one of the best careers in NBA history. It takes a special kind of monster to consistently put in the type of work that it takes to be the best at something.  It might be easy and exciting to start something know, but it's hard to stay with it over weeks, months, and years. If you are looking for a video for your athletes that talks about the time and effort that it takes to become a great shooter, this video by Dev at In The Lab is really good. 7:00 - Pre-Game in the NBA.  There is an intentional focus on certain things and g...

In the Lab is one of my favorite YouTube channels for basketball.  The guy who runs the site is Dev, and he has a very realistic and fresh approach to the game.  He is going through the process of trying to perfect his shooting ability. Here he meets with former Baylor Basketball player Austin Mills to talk about how to extend your shooting range.  Some key points: 1 - It takes time, effort, and passion to become a great shooter; there is no short cut to being great at anything - shooting included; it's about information and reps/reps/reps; know how to shoot correctly and get as many reps as possible to become a better shooter 2 - When you are off, learn how to adjust or 'fix' your shot without completely changing your form 3 - Start with form shooting close to the basket to warm-up and to find a rhythm and flow 4 - A lot of being a great shooter is confidence and mentality; if you can do it in a small gym alone, consistently, you will get the confidence to b...

1 – Have Fun The number 1 goal for a youth league should be that the kids have so much fun that they want to play again next year.  The league, the referees, each coach, and each parent should understand their role in making sure that their kid has a great experience.  While keeping score is important, and understanding early that there is a winner and a loser is important, the most important thing is just having fun playing the game and learning to love the game, learning to love being active, and learning how to play with their friends.  A big part of that is helping them learn how to handle both success and failure.  We have to teach the kids how to accept success in a way that is gracious and humble and in a way that encourages continued hard work to continue to have that success.  We have to teach and model for them how to accept failure and adversity as teaching tools for life, and to use setbacks to teach them the importance of working hard in practice ...

All of this was done in the subtlest of ways.  While our practices were the most demanding endeavors that I’ve ever been a part of – so physically, emotionally, mentally, and psychologically taxing – there was always the sense of joy, of celebration, and of people having fun playing a simple game.   Always positive, always constructive, John Wooden drove us in ways and directions that we are not aware of, always with the goal of making us better.   It is never about him, never about the struggle for material accumulation, but always about individual skill and personal development within the framework of the team, the game, and UCLA.    Our practices, our lives are constantly structured around the four laws of learning: demonstration, imitation, correction, and repetition. And repeat we do – everything, every day, until we have become John Wooden ourselves.

Notes from a behind the scenes look at a UConn women's basketball practice. 1 - Culture 2 - Good players 3 - Holding them accountable every second of every practice https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIIInfIPnQA 0:10 - What we are trying to do is put you guys in situations where you get to see for yourself without being told.  There will be times we won’t have the opportunity to just stop the game and go okay, timeout and let’s talk this over. There are going to be times where you guys are going to have to figure it out on your own.  Certain individuals are going to have to step up and make big time plays.  Not when we are up 25, not in the first 5 minutes; I’m talking about when you’re in deep shit and everybody is so tired that you can’t see straight.  That’s when somebody has to make big plays. 1:05 – Nothing in a game can match the challenges that the players face during a typical Huskies practice. - Sue Bird 1:43 – I think our goal e...