A Coach's Diary

It's like driving: when you can dribble (drive), you can go anywhere you want to go.  You have to have your eyes up, you have to pay attention, but you can go wherever you want to go. When you drive, you have to keep your eyes on the road and you can't look down.  It's the same when you dribble - you have to keep your eyes up.  When you are looking up, you can see everything around you.  When you look down, you can only see what is below you. Stay low in a good stance so that if the defense crowds and pressures you, you can quickly and explosively get away.  If you are standing up tall, the defense can crowd you and pressure you backwards.  Be ready and in position to attack. Use your fingertips.  Learn how to make music with the basketball.  Play with the basketball.  Have fun with the basketball.

Greg Amsinger, Jim Thome and Joe Girardi chat about their kids playing baseball and the lessons they try to pass on to them. Some of the key takeaways that I got from this 6 minute video are: - Point out the good things that they did. - Teach them to want to come back the next day because they enjoyed it – be encouragers. - Ask them their thought process behind certain plays and actions to teach them to take ownership over what they did. - Don’t forget how tough games can be.  Encourage and embrace your kids. - Enjoy the love of the game. - Let the coaches coach your kids and set the example. - Talk the game on the ride to the park, don’t talk the game on the ride home.  Embrace that time together with your kid. - Take your kids outside and work with them.  Work with them as much as they want.  When they want to work on their game, make yourself available. - Let them play other sports to teach them to be athletes.

If you want to be good at anything, you have to PLAY!  If you want to be good at sports, you have to play sports.  A lot.  I’m not talking about practice or games; I am talking about playing.  Playing on your own with your ball, having fun, and learning what you can do with it.  If you want to be good at basketball, you have to play with the basketball the same way kids play with toy race cars and barbies.  The more you play with it, the better you get.  You have to learn all of the tricks and moves and shots that you can do with it.  The more you play with it, the more ‘tricks’ that you learn, and the more your skills and talent grows.  But, you have to play. If you want to be a great quarterback, you have to play with how you can throw the ball.  You have to play with how hard you can throw it, you have to play with how many different routes you can throw to, and you have to play with how many ways you can throw the ball....

Noah Webster once defined joy as the passion or emotion excited by the acquisition or expectation of good. Joy is being happy about what is going on in your life and being excited about what is about to happen. Do you bring joy to those around you?  Do you bring joy to those you coach?  Are others excited to play for you or to be around you?  Find joy for yourself first and then be a joy to others.

Two athletes transferred to a new school and new team.  The parents of both athletes asked their new coach if he thought their kids would like the new team. The coach responded to both parents with a question:  ‘How did they like their old team?’ Player A’s parents’ response:  He didn’t like the coach, he didn’t get along with his teammates, and they didn’t get along with the other parents. The coach’s response:  ‘Then there is a good chance he won’t like it here either.’ Player B’s parents’ response:  ‘He didn’t want to leave!  He loved his coach, he got along great with his teammates, and they loved the other parents.  We HATED to leave!’ The coach’s response:  Then he will probably love it here as well! Not every team is great, not every coach is great, and parents won’t always be best friends with other parents, but your attitude about the situation is the biggest predictor of success and enjoyment.

Question: What does 'basketball is mental' mean? Answer:  So as you think, so will it be .   Your thinking affects your behavior and you have to have the right mindset.  Making the decision that this is what you want to do is the first step.  From there, you develop a strategy, and it has to include working harder than anyone else is working.  Working harder and smarter.  Don't put yourself in a box - play with the game and think outside the box.  The fundamentals are building blocks for the advanced stuff, but use your creativity to take your game to the next level.  The mental influences those decisions that you make and how you see the game. Then you have to have the effort, the stamina and the strength to handle the competition.  There is a difference between wanting to be mediocre and wanting to be great.  If you are training, and you aren't contemplating quitting or you are close to death - you aren't pushing yourself hard en...

Notes from one of the best shooters of all time - Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf teaching how he shoots! 1 - Follow Through 2 - The arc of the shot 3 - The feel of the shot - Hand is not too close; fingers comfortable and natural, not too spread out - Finger tip control - have a gap so you aren't palming it - Off hand guides the ball; not too close and not underneath; be comfortably strong so it feels good but they can't knock the ball away - Its good at the beginning to line up the seams to help with your follow-thru - The follow through softens up the shot and lets it hang around the rim - Legs shoulder width apart to create a balance - Elbows in so your elbow and follow-thru is aligned with the basket - Index finger to the basketball and the rim - Backspin on the follow-thru - Focus on a target - right over the front of the rim Find what is comfortable for you and repetition.  Do it over and over again and pay attention to details.  The best shooters shoot the same s...