Coaching, Oxygen, and Basketball (Plus Top Drills and Real-Life Hoosiers)

Dalton's law doesn't apply on the basketball court. Coaches and players make oxygen for each other as teams exceed the sum of their parts. Figuratively, they make oxygen. 

"The rule of threes. You live three minutes without oxygen, three days without water, three weeks without food." 

Everyone knows the "guy" who consumes the oxygen in the room, proclaiming their wisdom, their greatness, their power, their magnificence. Players consume metaphorical oxygen on the court and in the locker room, too. Some need too many touches, too many shots, too much credit. Sometimes we can't meet their needs. Without oxygen, we die or they do. 

Coaches enable the player life-support system. Yet, we don't generate the same oxygen for everyone. Each player needs oxygen to play her best. Coaching challenges us to connect lifelines with everyone.

How do we add oxygen to the room? Oxygen is value. Value comes through training, opportunity, and experience. We won't "reach" every player and their support system (family and friends). Just as every teacher won't connect with every student, every player won't have the same ability, commitment, and response to education. 

Consider coaching (log concentration of dose) and improvement (effect) as a series of dose-response curves. There are different ceilings (peak effects, curve A), different onsets of action (sensitivity to training, e.g. B,C), and sometimes resistance (player focus, interest, or resistance to change - e.g. curve D).

It's natural to be most invested in the players that improve and perform well. And sometimes the "less responsive player" (D), responds to a change of coaching or scenery (e.g. David Ortiz traded from Minnesota to Boston). It's the combination of the training and the people that matter (people, strategy, and operations contribute to execution). 

Coaching also involves awareness and acceptance. An environment may not work for everyone. 

Gordon Hayward blogged about how things are going with the Hornets. This passage explains a lot why he left the #Celtics pic.twitter.com/L2L302PzSf

— Joe Giza (@JoeGiza) March 12, 2021

Ego consumes oxygen. Arrogance consumes oxygen. Selfishness burns oxygen. Humility provides oxygen. Teamwork adds oxygen. Sharing maximizes oxygen. 

Complex systems, like teams and relationships, don't always work. Don't hate the players, hate the game.

Lagniappe. Player development is king. (From FastModel)

Lagniappe 2. Real-life Hoosiers.