Thursday, July 27, 2023

Basketball: Listen Better - Print and Save Edition


Toughness and effort are skills. Listening is a skill. Failure to listen helped lose a championship game. It happened. Don't suffer regret. 

"Paying attention pays for excellence." Concentration leads to anticipation, reaction, and execution. CARE. 

Listening involves eye contact. Doug Lemov, teacher extraordinaire reminds students, "eyes on me." Even a computer, so-called multitasking, does so only by focusing on each task and by executing faster. 

Bobby Knight called a timeout in practice and diagrammed a play. Then he handed out paper and pencils and asked players to reproduce the play. Pay attention or else

Be fully engaged. Talking, we only speak what we know. Listeners process and absorb new information. 

Coach Kiraly shares tips for better listening. 
  • To be a good learner be a good listener
  • A good listener makes a better teammate. 
  • Give full attention to the speaker. Turn off distractions. 
  • Ask questions. "Tell me more." 
  • Avoid interruptions.
  • Why is listening important in the team setting?
  • How can you tell when someone isn't listening?
  • Catch yourself not listening.
  • Catch yourself thinking of what you plan to say instead of listening. 
Lagniappe. Challenge players to raise performance. 

Lagniappe 2. Use advantage.