Tuesday, October 18, 2022

Ways That We Get It Wrong

I've gotten it wrong. I've seen others go wrong, too. Forge a performance-focused, feedback-rich culture.

1. Be specific. Telling players to "space better" might not mean much to them. 

2. Get 'readback'. What did I just ask you to do? If they say, get the inbound pass with a zipper cut, have them explain or show what that is. "Don't make assumptions." 

3. Remember, these are children with feelings. They are not assets or commodities. They are never 'worthless'. 

4. Simple is better. Sometimes subtraction is addition. A massive playbook doesn't mean we get or make more quality shots. "We can't run what we can't run." 

5. "Every day is player development day." If we are not technically strong then tactics are unlikely to compensate for that weakness. Don't sacrifice practice time needed to build skill. 

6. "Look for the helpers." Find trusted voices. "Mentoring is the only shortcut to excellence." 

Lagniappe. Separate with timing, positioning, physicality/angle. 


Lagniappe 2. Winning is hard. Winning when we're not at our best takes special commitment. 

Lagniappe 3. "Fouling negates effort." - Stan Van Gundy