Want a great day? Build better habits. Invest in yourself and don't take big drawdowns or or withdrawals to self-sabotage.
Good days flow from better habits. I highly recommend James Clear's "Atomic Habits." "Win the morning" with routine (e.g. MasterClass, study, writing, reading) to climb the success pathway. Establish a great morning routine - pick an item, stick to it, and check that you're following through (PICK-STICK-CHECK).
Learn every day. Open our eyes and ears to possibility. Don Kelbick mentioned the Shooter's Dozen. Three quickies:
-Great shooters have routines and rituals; they are not haphazard when they work out. They practice game shots from game spots at game speed.
-Great shooters are always ‘shot ready’. Their feet, hands, eyes and mind are ready to shoot. (Kelbick says his players have one decision, when not to shoot.)
-Great shooters rarely miss right or left. (The ball can't go in with east-west misses.)
Review recent research and writings. Five recent key points -
“You have to fall in love with boredom,” writes James Clear. John Wooden wrote about Bill Walton that he never tired of working on fundamentals, especially footwork.
"Basketball is a game of separation."
- Get separation with and without the ball.
- Cutting creates separation.
- Screens create separation.
- Speed and quickness create separation.
- Fakes create separation.
- Mastery of a few moves beats mediocrity of many. For example, Sabrina Ionescu has devastating hesitation moves with either hand.
Have a shooting routine. Stephen Curry warms up with "perfect makes" in front of the rim...just inside the back volleyball line. He makes five in a row and takes a big step back, repeating four times, making twenty-five from each radian. He then repeats aligning with the wings and corners.
Style starts with habits. Style demands study. Know the past and the present. James Clear's Atomic Habits aligns habits with identity, working through systems to get results. Your system gets results or needs to change.
Habit Scoring. We can score habits as positive, negative, or neutral (+, -, =). Habits, like shot selection, can be great, poor, or so-so. Call attention to a player's habits, like their intensity during a drill. Have a coach or injured player score focus - high, low, or average on a given drill, like box drills. This could encourage better average performance or as Alan Stein, Jr. says, "average speed."
Do the same for other habits with apps like Fabulous (image above) or track your morning routine. "Win the morning; win the day." I study (MasterClass), write (blog), read (at least a chapter), and work CME (continuing medical education) every AM.
Lagniappe: Zone offense concepts with video examples
Lagniappe 2: @CoachCallsTime presents a 1-3-1 zone attack quick hitter
Lagniappe 3: "It's what you learn after you know it all that counts." - John WoodenIf '5' works hard BEFORE the ball goes to the corner this is a simple way to attack a 1-3-1 zone.#BasketballCoaching #YouthBasketball #HighSchoolBasketball #BasketballPlays pic.twitter.com/qUHXla6u5m— Dan @ Coach Calls Timeout (@CoachCallsTime) February 18, 2020