Saturday, December 26, 2020

Basketball: 10 for 21, Ideas for Next Season. Copy Success.

"If you're lucky, you can imagine the truth." - Salman Rushdie 

Ascendant results demand novel approaches. 2020-2021 is my "couch coach" season as youth basketball is shut down. Time is opportunity for reading and study. I'm reading The Playmaker's Advantage, which is highly geeked up science for performance enhancement. You're warned. 

Here are ten ideas, many shamelessly stolen from other coaches. 

1. Warmup efficiently. "Lithuania Layups" / speed layups. 

2. Model what you want to see. "Leave the best version of yourself" on the floor every day. Children don't feed off sarcasm, putdowns, and cynicism. Frustration is our companion but not our friend. When it arrives, resort to "always do your best." Don't feed the monsters. 

3. Improve timeout organization. Doug Brotherton lines up the players in the game 1 through 5 left to right. With youth teams and everyone getting minutes, sometimes in different spots, it can get confusing. Simplify. 

4. Listen to Helen Mirren. In her MasterClass, she explains career success. 

  • "Show up on time."
  • "Don't be an a*hole." 
5. Play more small-sided-games. SSGs allow more touches and coaching focus on player and team needs. Add constraints (space, dribbles, start from BOB or SLOB). Creativity begins in small spaces. 

6. Study more video. What makes players and teams tick? YouTube videos such as those from the NBA itself are invaluable teachers. Copy success. 


7. Self-assess. If we "know our NOs" do we hold ourselves to them? Do we contain the ball, contest shots, deny the paint, avoid bad fouls? Self-assessment translates to "do more of what works and less of what doesn't." A high school player turned down an open three and her father wailed. I told him, "she made a better play. She's 1 for 19 on threes this season." 

8. Take better shots. Be specific. T.J. Rosene's clinic reminds us to "Get 7s."


9. Take care of the ball. "The ball is gold." Zak Boisvert breaks down turnovers. Education changes behavior. Don't beat ourselves. Remind a child what their parent did, "don't play in the traffic." The pain trade is giving games away. How many times can we watch a player catch the ball out of bounds? 

10. Be more efficient. Use time wisely. Up the tempo and as Mano Watsa shares, "Don't major in the minors." Don't spend time on areas that won't transfer to games. It's one thing to pull a player aside with a tip. It's another to spend ten minutes. 

Lagniappe: Poking the bear. Or maybe a "unicorn." Possibility is the bridge between skill and talent. 

at