Become more productive. Efficiency aggregates small gains into big ones over time. How?
from James Clear, A Brief Guide to Process Improvement
Start with examples. Great coaches welcome visits from coaches who want to improve. Brad Stevens visited with Bill Belichick and was amazed by how productive the Patriots were at practice. Set high productivity expectations.
Tip 1. Operate at a higher tempo. Run practice at the highest tempo possible to get more done. Be punctual. Share the schedule. Operate at as many baskets as possible to get more touches.
Tip 2. Divide and conquer. Hire tough (assistants) and get complementary skills to help with player development and teaching. Delegate meaningful work.
Tip 3. Don't cut corners. When the UCONN Women practiced, they began with two laps around the main court at Gampel Pavilion. Nobody cut a corner. Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich restates it as "pound the rock." If it takes 100 hits to break the rock, then hit it 100 times. Don't skip steps.
Tip 4. Improve focus. Even a computer doesn't multitask, but switches rapidly between tasks. If we have the television on, we are distracted. Author David Mamet reminds us that "A Man Distracted Is a Man Defeated." Mindfulness training helps with focus, AND increases student grades, behavior, and standardized test scores.
Tip 5. Build "atomic" habits. "We are what we repeatedly do." James Clear, habit master, advises us to pick, stick, and check. Pick a great habit (e.g. reading), stick with it (daily), and check (record) the habit.
Tip 6. Become a better storyteller. Use tips from the Heath brothers ("Made to Stick"). Make it simple, unexpected, concrete, credible, emotional, and a story. People remember stories better than they do facts. Stories help explain what wins and loses on and off the court. Coming out of a timeout, years ago our high school girls team lost a sectional championship during the final possession by shooting a jumpshot leading by one with twelve seconds left instead of freezing the ball. Sure, one mistake among many during a game, but critical.
Tip 7. Sound bytes not lectures. Condense time to allow more time for action at practice.
Tip 8. "Every day is player development day." Unless we have the ability to recruit, we have to improve our players wherever they need it - technical-tactical or psycho-physical.
Tip 9. Free throws aren't free. Practice and track progress. Reduce fouling while getting better at the stripe. In high school we tracked four sets of ten every practice with the winner facing off against the coach for a chance to limit sprints. Poor free throw shooting loses games.
Tip 10. Practice special situations (BOB, SLOB, ATO, end-of-game actions) to be prepared for them. Three possession games (offense-defense-offense) end each of our practices. Start with a free throw, BOB, SLOB, or other special situation (e.g. lead by one, fifteen seconds left with the ball).
Tip 11. Condition within drills/scrimmaging. Practice is precious. We're coaching basketball not cross-country.
Tip 12. Study best practices. Watching Geno Auriemma coach UCONN at practice during an undefeated season was life changing. COVID has thrown a wrench into in person activities but interact with coaches on line, watch YouTube and FIBA videos to improve.
Lagniappe. A few of you clicked through to James Clear's Powerpoint
- "Never miss twice"
- Systems work
- Find 'keystone' habits (e.g. work ethic)
- Make good habits easier and bad ones harder "If you keep a water bottle with you throughout the day, then drinking water rather than soda is more likely to be the default decision."
- Checklists help us to avoid skipping steps
Lagniappe 2. "Focus is fatiguable." People naturally lose concentration after 20-25 minutes. The Pomodoro Technique builds in brief breaks (25 minutes on, 5 minutes off). Millennials need their screen time. Whatever. Shorten the breaks...
Lagniappe 3. More good. Less bad. More James Clear...sweat the details.
- Fewer bad shots
- Fewer turnovers
- Fewer transition baskets allowed
"Everyone knows that." If our players all know everything, then why do we do it wrong?
Lagniappe 4. Defending 2 v 1 situations