A Coach's Diary

One of my favorite quotes about hard work was said by one of the greatest coaches of all time, John Wooden. He said, "Nothing will work unless you do." In other words, you can have the best plans, the most perfect offensive and defensive schemes, and even a great amount of talent. But if you and your team are not willing to put in hard work, your plans will never be realized. Another quote I often share with my players was by NBA legend Jerry West. He said, "You don’t get much done if you only work on the days that you feel good." Hard work cannot be sporadic. It cannot take place only on the sunny days. If you want your best to become a habit, you must engage in intensive, intelligent, and persistent practice. I believe you play like you practice, so when you practice hard every day, playing hard will seem natural when the game is on the line. A final quote about work that I share with my team is Roger Staubach’s: "Spectacular achievements are a...

The following notes are from the Detroit Pistons Training Camp, taken and shared by Steve Finamore. Tuesday September 29, 2015 10:00 A.M. – 12:30 P.M. Notes by Steve Finamore Boys Head Varsity Basketball Coach East Lansing High School - Huge sign on the wall at the Pistons practice facility behind basket: - “BE IMPACTFUL!” - Championship and division banners hang from the rafters. - Pistons team and coaching staff walk onto court together at 10AM. (Many players were at practice facility at 8 A.M. getting in extra shooting with coaches)                                                         Coaching staff: Stan Van Gundy, Brendan Malone, Bob Beyer, Malik Allen, Tim Hardaway, Charles Kl...

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 ...

The following article is from the first video of a 3 part series presented by Tim Elmore where he tackles the missing piece to career readiness among our  Generation iY population.   Generation iY is the second half of the millenials, and are those born after 1990. In this first video, he talks about the state of students today and why they are unready. You can see the video in its entirety here . Students have shown that they can master the classroom, but still aren't prepared for the work-room. They often come out of school with a high IQ but a low EQ, and they are often not prepraed for the level of responsibility or the workload. Artificial Maturity A big reason for students lack of success after school is due to what Tim calls 'artificial maturity.'  The students grow up, make it successfully through school, and think that they are prepared for the work-world when they really aren't. Students are savy enough to make it through school, but aren...

via For The Win Loving the Spurs has become a cyclical thing for NBA fans. You love them for a while, but then you forget about them, because they don’t have a huge marketable star and they play in San Antonio and they’ve never really gone after media coverage. Then the playoffs come around again and you remember everything you loved about them. The Spurs are awesome. This video, which is basically the YouTube equivalent of a giant ice cream sundae for NBA fans, shows highlights from the past few seasons of the Spurs. You get ball movement, you get extra passes, you get interior passes, you get cuts to the hoop, you get more passing. You get so much passing! The music is epic and the voiceovers, from Magic Johnson and Gregg Popovich among others, is perfect. The moment where Tony Parker gets instructions from Pop, then runs over to the bench as the team huddles around him, gave me goosebumps.

via For The Win Colin Stanton has edited NBA videos before — his six-minute tribute to the San Antonio Spurs  is a must-watch for fans of the NBA. Stanton’s newest video follows a similar formula. It has stirring classical music and edited footage of basketball stars playing the game beautifully. This time his focus on the 1986 Boston Celtics, one of the greatest NBA teams ever assembled. Larry Bird was in his prime, as were Robert Parrish and Kevin McHale, and the Celtics that year also added Bill Walton, one of the better passing big men who have ever played the game. The highlights are magical, and you get a glimpse of just how good a passing team those Celtics were. The Larry Bird segment especially. Good lord.