A Coach's Diary

Great quote from the guys at Proactive Coaching .  Its important to have purpose in what we do, and this quote outlines the 'why' to competing, having a strong culture, leadership development , commitment and sacrifice, accountability, selflessness, discipline , grit, and integrity.  This is why we coach, this is why they play.  Sure the wins are great, and the accolades are amazing for recognizing talent and hard work , but the life lessons learned through sports are what make them really worthwhile.

Lawrence Frank gave a really good Pick ‘n’ Roll Offensive breakdown in the video below.   Frank says the objective of pick and roll is to create 4 on 3 advantages, so you want to be aggressive, attack, and make the defense pay for however they guard you. One of the key points that he makes is the importance of being able to counter-punch.   Each team you play will have a plan for how they want to guard, or attack your ball-screens.   This video identifies several different defensive options and how to exploit them. At the end of the day, no matter what offense you have, it is important to teach, grow, and develop your players so that they can make the right reads at the right speed and so that they have the skill set to beat their man when they make the read.   This breakdown outlines ‘what’ you need to do.   Every day in practice you must teach ‘how’ to do it. Frank also says that, as a coach, you want your players to know who you are and wha...

I am borrowing this post from the great blog at HoopThoughts.BlogSpot.com .  We all want to win, but we have to make sure that we have the right foundation in place.  At some point, with every team, adversity will hit.  It will hit in terms of losses, player frustration, loss of focus, injuries, etc.  When you do experience adversity, it is important to have a good foundation and set of values that will catch you.  If not, there is no telling how far you might end up falling before you are able to pick yourself, and your team, back up. What men's basketball coach  Chris Collins  says he learned from Chicago Cubs manager  Joe Madden : “He was really helpful, especially (by saying) that when you are trying to build something, pretty much the last thing that comes are the wins. You have to build the winning culture and the winning environment. And sometimes you have to learn how to celebrate some of the small victories … guys coming in ear...

I follow a really good page on Facebook called Herb on Hoops where a lot of coaches come together to discuss the strategy, to share ideas, and to discuss the ‘issues of the day.’ Recently, there was a post regarding AAU basketball, and as many ‘old school’ coaches do when this topic arises, many complained that the kids are playing too many games in the summer and not spending enough time developing their skill.  One coach had some really good thoughts on the necessity of combining the drills, vision, and development of a skill trainer while teaching the IQ necessary to have success in this team game.  Some of the thoughts outlined in his posts are: - Sacrificing Growth and Development For Wins Now By Focusing On Schemes and Sets Rather Than Building Skill - Winning Leads To Validation, Not Necessarily To Player Development or Level Of Coaching - Players Need the Development Of Training To Become Their Best - The Best Trainers Help Grow Players Overall Game...

“At its best, criticism can do exactly what its supposed to do: motivate, educate, and inspire.  But when it seems mean and destructive, it can break spirits, damage companies, and even ruin careers.” - Hendrie Weisinger The Power of Positive Criticism Is your teaching/coaching building athletes up and making them better, or is it tearing them down? There is a difference between ‘giving everybody a trophy’ and riding your athletes unfairly and unjustifiably.  The best coaches engage and inspire their athletes.  They make their athletes want to learn, want to get better, want to WORK for success.

- How can we be intentional in making this process magical for our athletes and their families? - How can we be intentionally ‘plus’ the school experience for our athletes and their families? I include families because how we treat the girls we have impacts, not only them, but their families.  We have a girl who basketball was her ‘second sport’ who wants to be a basketball player.  Her parents are now signing up her younger sister in basketball so that she can one day be in our program.  Because of how we treated one girl, her younger sister now wants to play basketball and her mother wants to make that happen because she knows that we will take care of her!  How cool is that?

As a coach, I am constantly asking myself, "Why do I do what I do," and recently, as our season ended and we shifted into off-season, I thought again about what I want to give to my athletes every day this spring.  Right now, this is what I have come up with.  These are the things that are important to me.  I tell my kids every day, 'It's bigger than basketball.' 1 – Make Players Better Every Day. - This is why they are here.  This is how we grow as a program.  We want to HELP every player become the best player that they can be for themselves, their team, and the program. 2 – Make Our Athletes Better People. This is why we are here.  To help them grow to become the best version of themselves.  We just use basketball to teach the life lessons necessary to help them grow into their best self. 3 – Send Them Home With The Confidence That We Believe In Them And Their Abilities. Their confidence is necessary for them to continue to come in w...