If you had seen our last game, you would ask, "what idiot coaches that team?"
Remember the adage, "one bad play, bad play - two bad plays, bad player - three bad plays, bad coaching." What about five consecutive bad plays? Twenty bad plays?
Everyone has constraints. A constraint is a "limitation or restriction." We have restrictions on resources - time, money, equipment, practice time, player availability. Coaches work with their constraints or go home.
What's the goal? Are championships and wins the desired "end state" or teaching, development, improvement, a shared experience?
"Coaches take teams where they cannot go alone." We elevate players, help players find truths about the game and themselves, and help them tell their story. Is basketball your passion, an activity to 'stay in shape' for soccer or lacrosse, or something in-between? Twelve girls, twelve different but intersecting stories.
How will you measure success? Wins and losses depend on players, schedule, coaching, the strength of competition, health, luck, and more.
My twin daughters played from 2003-2006...including one year (2003) with a Gatorade Player of the Year and three years with a girl who plays professionally in Europe. They played for three years on the Middle School "C" team, below the "A" and "B" teams...compiling experiences and...a lot of losses with a Dad Coach...a big constraint.
What's our process? Do we champion fundamentals? Are we about freedom or control? What do we tolerate?
Teams are as good as personnel. How hard do you promote your program? How much off-season training do you make available (players decide how often to participate)? Do you have a short roster (excluding weaker players) or expanded roster looking for diamonds in the rough?
Practice time is gold. How much practice time is available? Are we squandering it with lines, laps, and lectures? How upbeat is the tempo? How much time are we wasting between evolutions? How much time do we spend learning zone offense which coaches migrate to for competitive gain? In our league, most of the better teams play a lot of zone defense. I own insufficient zone offense practice.
Practice absences separate organization and chaos. Injuries and illness devastate getting everyone on "the same page." We're often practicing with nine or ten players. It's nobody's fault yet everyone's loss.
Do we have enough constraints at practice? Do we have "live" versus "static" situational play? Do we play enough "no dribble", "advantage-disadvantage", small-sided group, minimum number of passes, paint-touches, ball-reversal pressure cooker basketball in practice?
Playing time matters. I've moved off totally equal playing time. Everyone gets a minimum of two rotations (average 3 to 3 1/2 minutes) per half.
Is our philosophy clear? When you watch good teams play, style becomes apparent. Are they a transition team, dribble-drive, screen, motion, set plays, pressure, man or zone, blitz or passive? When teams play poorly, have they deviated from their core?
Come to grips with reality. UNC Women's soccer legend Anson Dorrance instills competitive fury and continual ascension. They inextricably link. As coaches, players, and teams, you define your destiny. You choose to stand around or fight.
Lagniappe: Via @BBallImmersion (sequence screening)
Great play design...Multiple actions prior to providing two possible shoot or drive decisions off an end game sideline inbound play pic.twitter.com/HDnJJiuJwh— Chris Oliver (@BBallImmersion) February 12, 2019