Every story informs "someone searching for something." Coaches face the same problems and frustrations. "Everyone" sees a player with size, athleticism, and skill and wonders how to unlock production from talent.
Get more yield. You've all used this without even knowing its name. Great cooks get up to 30 percent higher yield with an 'econome' peeler than with knives. Seek efficiency in practice and games...arising from better organization, tempo, focus, effort, and decision-making.
Inspire more. Influence more with better stories, better content, better writing.
Make it personal. Ask players what they want from the basketball experience and what they're prepared to do. Exceptional players separate themselves through will and skill.
Make it emotional. Connect within the team and community. In our small city, a handful of men, "The Back Row Boys" came to watch both boys and girls play. "Old guys" and young people came together over basketball. Everybody won...a lot.
Make ordinary extraordinary. That's an underlying theme from Stranger Things. Ordinary people can play harder, better, and more unselfishly as worthy groups. That doesn't guarantee championships but earns respect.
Plan the arc of your narrative.
- Have a philosophy to share and teach well. Be you.
- Communicate to build trust and get buy-in. Be you if it works.
- Player development, player development, player development
- Share video teaching lessons
- Set the bar high on some metrics - improved FG%, fewer turnovers, number of times defense gets three consecutive stops (aim for 3 x 7 per half x both halves = 372).
Track the Performance Ratings System (modified from Lee Rose) to get a better measure of individual performance. Challenge players to improve efficiency (better shots, fewer turnovers, more rebounds and assists).
Key takeaways:
- Seek efficiency for productivity
- Experiment
- Make it personal and emotional
- Ordinary to extraordinary
- Set the metrics bar higher
- Track "Performance Ratings System" - raw box scores can mislead
Lagniappe (something extra). The "Coleman Play." There's no video only an impossible block by Bill Russell.
Lagniappe 2. There's not only one way but Russell had reasons for his way (and a career average of over 22 rebounds/game).
Lagniappe 3. What non-basketball coaching books should every basketball coach read?
- "Legacy" by James Kerr - building character organizations
- "The Score Takes Care of Itself" by Bill Walsh - attention to detail
- "Game Changer" - Dr. Fergus Connolly - make all impact winning
Lagniappe 4. "I believe in discipline. You can forgive incompetence. You can forgive lack of ability. But one thing you cannot ever forgive is lack of discipline." - Forrest Gregg, former NFL player and coach in Coaching the Mental Game, by H.A. Dorfman