Basketball and More: Stay Open to Analogy "The Wait Room"

Shortcut arrived yesterday from John Pollack. It's the treatise on analogy...linking unrelated items to teach lessons and influence people. 

Be alert for analogies. They surround us in metaphor, the news, politics, sports, and advertising. 

"It takes a village..." (short for the African proverb, "it takes a village to raise a child.") The height of vanity allows us to proclaim "only I" can coach team or player excellence. Welcome other coaches' input. At best, they teach us new information or perspective. At worst, they show us "what not to do."

"That's Greek to me." Invoking Greeks raises us from confusion to enlightenment. Ask better questions and probe deeper for answers. "The Socratic method is a teaching tactic in which questions are asked continually until either the student gives a wrong answer or reasoning or the teacher is satisfied with the student's responses."

Start with "basketball is a game of separation." Ask Susie to elaborate, "how do you get separation?" 

• Without the dribble, individually (cutting)
• Without the dribble, in combination (simple and complex screening)
• With the dribble, individually (change of direction and pace)
• With the dribble, with ball screens

"She's a poser." Imposter syndrome is doubting our abilities, sometimes worsened by others telling us we're underqualified by age, gender, race, or ethnicity. The linked HBR article says, 'Stop Telling Women They Have Imposter  Syndrome." Stop telling anyone.

 

Tulshyan and Burey explain, "Even as we know it today, imposter syndrome puts the blame on individuals, without accounting for the historical and cultural contexts that are foundational to how it manifests in both women of color and white women. Imposter syndrome directs our view toward fixing women at work instead of fixing the places where women work." Growing up in the sixties, we got messages from society about the pecking order in sport and society. Girls sports weren't treated as second class; they were second class with less attention to coaching, support, and media. 

Remember the "weight room" at the NCAA Women's Basketball tournament. More like the "wait room for Women's Sports." 

"Water the flowers." Players running the floor and fighting for position deserve the ball if they have finishing skills. If you don't water the flowers, they stop growing and sometimes they figuratively die. 

"Put our program under the microscope." Challenging ideas and methods creates mental discomfort. I'm not the "smartest guy in the room" or the most original. Tools like microscopes allow us to see more and see a different perspective. Read another person's blog, watch a college practice, or exchange ideas with a group of seasoned coaches. I often refer to surgeon Atul Gawande hiring a mentor to oversee and comment on his technique. He didn't need humility; he benefited from another professional's experience. Everyone benefits from coaching excellence. 

"Kill your darlings." Comedians spend careers shaving syllables. Figuratively, cut ideas, drills, plays, and concepts that didn't work or became outdated. Don't pay homage to a drill because you ran it decades ago. Players went to high school never having run "3 man weave" in middle school practice. I have drill favorites that other coaches may think are a waste of time. 

Shooting 3 x 3 x 3. Train shooters to catch and shoot on the move, to communicate on the pass and deliver "on time, on target" passes, and condition within drills. Add competition for individual and team shots made in a defined time (e.g. 5 minutes). 

"Ratting out" a problem can help solve it. Coaches can't always get under the hood of personal (and personnel) problems. Find help to unearth drama, confidence problems, and jealousy. A player or an assistant might access information that saves both culture and teams.

"The shortest distance..." (between two points is a straight line). 

Take the correct angle to beat dribblers to a spot... and DO NOT allow direct drives to the hoop. 

Winning percentage reflects a team's capabilities and the 'cupcakes' on the schedule. Teams pad their records by scheduling soft teams. "Iron sharpens iron" but cupcakes put lipstick on the pig. 

"He's the glue guy." The glue guy is seldom the best player, the highest scorer, or a lottery pick. But he has intangible qualities that help hold the team together under pressure. Glue guys are winners. And it's a term of respect. 

"She's the straw that stirs the drink." Coaches, players, and fans may acknowledge the special qualities that one person has to make everyone around them better. 

Summary: 

• Analogies help us understand by linking unrelated concepts
• They're all around us - metaphors, ads, parables, politics, sports
• "It takes a village..."
• Be aware of authenticity and posers.
• "Water the flowers."
• Put our program under the microscope.
• Facing iron or cupcakes? 

Lagniappe. The fastest way to shooting improvement is better shot selection. Skilled cutting might be next. Cutting is an underrated skill. 

 

Lagniappe 2. Zoom action.