Complexity is seduction. Don Meyer's three phases of coaching - blind enthusiasm, sophisticated complexity, and mature simplicity - address that.
Complexity tempts us in many ways.
- Develop more elaborate drills
- Expand our playbooks
- Create more elaborate plays
- Spend more on trainers, strength and conditioning, gadgets
- More, more, more...
So what makes sense?
1. Editing. When we add something, delete. If you believe in "Fake Fundamentals" then eliminate them. Traditional layup lines? We stopped using them. Revise and conquer.
3. Evaluate. Is an activity (video, statistical analysis, a drill) impacting winning or not? "Activity is not achievement," to quote Wooden.
4. Impact. What wins and loses games? Bad possessions kill teams. Turnovers, poor shot selection, poor decisions (e.g. passing), defensive errors, not blocking out, and bad fouls kill coaches.
5. Possession enders. Do we have them and can we stop them (opponents)? Possession enders score, assist, stop, steal, rebound.
What seduces us?
1. Xs and Os. Every day "the world" bombards us with a firehose of information.
2. More offenses. If only I had a nickel for every pitch for the Princeton offense. Players who make shots, layups, and free throws make adding more offenses a lesser priority.
3. "Home cooking." Everyone's local program dies a little when talent aggregators poach players. "You can't make an omelet without breaking eggs becomes 'we have no eggs'." Make our program the one people want.
Lagniappe. Attention to Detail suggests a warmup routine.