"Chefs cook to nurture people." - Thomas Keller
Coaches coach to nurture people.
Be effective, efficient, and consistent. I have no idea of our middle school record (1967-1969). It's not recorded. What mattered was learning the game and building skill.
But I remember the sectional title game in Boston Garden (March, 1973).
Do whatever you want; I wish I had known more, sooner.
1. Skill wins. Study how to build skill, especially offensive fundamentals - shooting, passing, dribbling, cutting, pivoting, rebounding. Skill translates to Pete Newell's first commandment, "get more and better shots than your opponents." Skill translates at every level, including the NBA Finals.
2. Reduce turnovers. Turnovers nullify skill. Turnovers zero out possessions. Worse yet, live ball turnovers help opponents turn into opponent scores. "Turnovers bleed into defense" as "the ball is gold."
3. "Possession and possessions." We need ball possession to score and good possessions to win. Find possession enders, players who get stops and scores.
4. "Be good at what we do a lot." There's offense, defense, and conversion between the two. Conversion is 50% of the possession equation. Conversion leads to transition and early offense and stopping opponent transition.
Continuous 4 x 4 x 4.
5. "Contain the ball." If we can't contain the ball, we allow layups, fouls, and drive and kick off help. Cultivate defenders and defensive will. Practice minutes make will; will gets minutes.
6. "Handle pressure." What happens in youth basketball? Pressure and zone defense, because young players struggle with both. Practice applying and defeating pressure. My favorite drill is 5 versus 7 full court, no dribbling. The ball hits the floor and it's a turnover. It forces vision, cutting, passing, and relocating.
7. "Make every practice action impact results." Practice time is a vital resource. Condition within drills or scrimmage. As we say about the last cookie, "don't waste it."
Change passers every minute with "racehorse." Basketball is not a running game, it's a sprinting game. Pass, cut, receive, finish.
8. "Increase practice tempo." That doesn't exclude breaks. But it reflects Brian McCormick's, "no lines, laps, or lectures." Brad Stevens said watching the Patriots practice changed Celtics practice. Watching Geno Auriemma practice impacted ours. Bring a sense of urgency daily.
9. "Reduce fouling." Fouls reflect bad technique, lack of effort, lack of focus, and poor judgment. Don't foul jump shots and especially not three pointers. Most youth teams shoot UNDER 20 percent on threes. Why bail them out with free throws? "Show your hands. Move your feet. Don't slap down." If it looks like a foul, officials will call it. Stop frustration fouls. Don't "double down" making on bad play into two. You see it almost every game.
10. Be a tracker. Track team statistics like shooting percentage, turnovers, and hustle plays. Tracking improves shot quality and lowers turnovers. Tracking impacts accountability.
Lagniappe (something extra). Who's are Geno's top three women's college players ever? What's Geno's favorite snack?
Lagniappe 2. Celtics Horns Read (for Kyrie)
