Basketball: Can We Use Humor Better?

"There is something about humor that is soothing to the human spirit..." Doris Kearns Goodwin in MasterClass

Use humor to lighten the moment. For a thoughtful, comprehensive piece, check out this Stanford Business School piece.

Sarcasm is not humor. With younger players, sarcasm usually registers as  offensive or doesn't register at all. Telling twelve year-olds that if you are in front of a firing squad you want them shooting gets a lot of blank stares. As does asking, "do you get paid by the dribble?" 

Let humor happen naturally. We were scrimmaging and one girl (reserve player) was making everything. Finally, she gets a wide open look and misses. She yells "$hit" and each of the thirteen-fourteen year old teammates burst out laughing...and the coaches. 

Some coaches are naturally funny, famously Abe Lemons and to a degree Geno Auriemma. 

Yes, sometimes it's sarcasm for college athletes. "Let's change our defense. Let's go from not guarding them to guarding them." 

And then there's Gregg Popovich. 

And 'less' Popovich. 

There's no easy answer, but consider your audience. 

Lagniappe. 

•Be FAITHFUL when you feel fearful.
•Be POSITIVE when you want to be negative.
•Be THANKFUL when you feel entitled.
•Be LOVING when you want to fight.
•Be GENEROUS when you want to be selfish.
•Be MINDFUL when you want to hurry.

— Jon Gordon (@JonGordon11) October 22, 2023

Lagniappe 2. 

Incorporate ball handling and footwork into your finishing segments!

Here we are working on a “foot switch” in an effort to get back to our “Drop/Split Stance”. Out of this stance we can drive, change direction or shoot.

A great to to combine 2 segments into 1!  pic.twitter.com/04BUUEs4Jj

— Reid Ouse (@reidouse) October 22, 2023