Wednesday, August 24, 2022

Ticking All the Boxes

Build an anti-fragile process that churns out competent people. Make it about the program not the director. "Tick all the boxes."  

1. Make excellence the standard. Bill Walsh promoted performance from those answering the phones to striping the field to playing on Sunday. The Score Takes Care of Itself details the 49er process. Excellence demands character and competence. Together they play on and off the field. Don't lower standards. This is a book for every coach in every sport.

2. Get the odds in our favor. In the player development world, leveling opportunity (e.g. playing time) impacts results. If winning were the primary object, choose a different process (shorter roster, uneven playing time, unequal roles). What process accelerates the growth mindset? Work. Unrequired work is the separator. 

3. Offseason development is key. For years, we conducted Tuesday and Sunday afternoon training sessions during the offseason. Skill and concept building separated players and teams. When interest drops, performance drops. "Repetitions make reputations."

4. "Look for the helpers." If you want it to be all about you, your show, then go for it. If you have expertise in all areas from organization to development, game management, offensive and defensive strategy, and so on, go for it. But if it's all about you...and fails...point the finger inward. Mr. Rogers shares a powerful message. 


5. Develop an improvement curriculum. Make it reflect:

  • Technique, the individual skills needed
  • Tactics, understanding and integrating game strategies
  • Physicality, strength, conditioning, agility, explosiveness
  • Psychology, focus, positivity, resilience
For example, two useful shooting drills. Chest to the basket, flip the ball over your head, catch on the bounce, turn and fire. Outside the three-point line, shot fake, one side-dribble three. 


Make it real. Attack on the move. Practice from both sides of the court. 

6. Coaches solve problems. Apply analytics (statistics) to the problem at hand. For example, is poor shooting the problem? Assess:
  • Passing. "The quality of the shot relates to the quality of the pass."-Carril
  • Shot types, distance, defensive proximity via film study...are we taking too many "tweener" shots, e.g. neither short jumpers or layups but six-foot leaners?
  • Who is shooting? Are the best shooters getting the most shots? 
  • If shot clocks used, how many shots are 'bail out' late clock shots?
In other words, if quality shots relate to the range, openness and balance of shooters, what does that show? Are the right shooters taking the right shots under the right conditions? 

7. Measure the right things. Why is the Titanic sinking? 
  • It's the captain of the ship... coaching/leadership
  • It's the ship... the composition of our team 
  • It's how we're operating/executing... turnovers, defensive mistakes/errors, shot quality 
  • It's the environment... are there icebergs in our waters...fatigue, injury, inattention?
8. Improve our teaching. Consider pick-and-roll defense.
  • What are our primary defenses? Show, switch, drop, ice, blitz? Are we choosing too many?
  • Are our players on the same page? If asked, how do they answer? 
  • How are we teaching? Coach K taught hedge or show as 'fake trap'
  • What are our points/possession allowed by defense type? 
Lagniappe. Whatever we say, reality is that our shot tends to change depending on distance. 


Lagniappe 2. Quote from "Russell Rules" - "You had to be willing to give yourself up- to make yourself invisible- if you wanted success...But Red was all over Cousy because too often those (fancy) passes would catch teammates by surprise and they wouldn't be able to handle them. A good pass...had to be caught. So Cousy nearly always delivered the ball so that players could do something with it." 

Lagniappe 3. From the "Boomerang" mindset. 
at