Winning Is Downstream from a Teaching Culture

Unless you can recruit, teach and develop better than the next person. Just as as some say politics is downstream from culture, winning is downstream from teaching.

Ta-Nehisi Coates reminds us that we cannot separate loose and useless words from loose and useless thoughts. Don’t ask players to execute that which doesn’t exist.

"Make layups and free throws." Duh. Specifics empower players to execute. 

Layups (3):

Tufts reverse layup lines. 

Kentucky layups. For youth basketball, demand 40-50 layups in two minutes. 

Pass and cut layups where everyone shoots. 

Free throw tips (3):

• Wait for the ball before stepping to the line. Don't freeze.
• Breathe out before shooting the free throw. 
• Align with the nail. As a kid, I remember Bill Bradley recommending to aim at the center of the four bolts holding the goal to the board. 

Have a shared vocabulary (whatever works for you).

• PnR defense - e.g. hedge/show/fake trap are all the same
• Off ball screen defense - over, through, under
• Use pictures (e.g.) "Get"

Invest time in 'reads' (use the Internet's great resources).

• Off ball screens
• PnR reads 

Take advantage of great resources that players can use to become difference makers. 

Lagniappe. The 'third' wheel of development after skill and strategy is physicality. Wonderful presentation including foot and ankle, isometrics, sprinting, competition, and weights. Coaches value athletic explosion.