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Saturday, October 5, 2024

Becoming a Better Coach

“Lord, we know what we are, but know not what we may be.” - Hamlet, Act 4, Scene 5, Shakespeare

Most coaches want to be better. Not everyone has the will, knowledge, or time to do so. Here are a few ideas from one who worked at it.

1. People skills. Coaching is a relationship business. First cliche' - "players don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." Listen. Give and get feedback. 

2. Framework for improvement. Dr. Fergus Connolly has a great structure:

- Skill (technique)

- Strategy (tactics, game knowledge)

- Physicality (athleticism, strength, and conditioning)

- Psychology (the head game, resilience)

Effective coaches have at least partial mastery of all the above. "Every day is player development day." 

3. Philosophy. Have one. Make it authentically yours. Mine was TIA - teamwork, improvement, accountability. Players and coaches should understand that value arises from making those around us better. 

4. Mentoring. Find a mentor. "Mentoring is the only shortcut to excellence." They don't even have to know. 

5. Study greatness. Greatness traverses domains. Greatness occurs in coaching, playing, literature, leadership, other sports, you name it. Director Werner Herzog says, "Read. Read. Read. Read. Read." Here are a few recommendations:

Legacy, James Kerr (about the New Zealand All-Blacks) 

Leadership in Turbulent Times, Doris Kearns Goodwin (Presidential leadership - Lincoln, the Roosevelts, LBJ)

The Legacy Builder, Rod Olson ("Speaking Greatness")

Leonardo da Vinci or Benjamin Franklin (Walter Isaacson)

The Leadership Moment, Michael Useem (assigned reading, UNC Women's Soccer)

Toughness, Jay Bilas

6. Make friends with the dead. Over 93% of humans ever alive... are dead. If we don't have 'dead friends' we ignore Dean Smith, Wooden, Newell, Auerbach, Don Meyer, Knight, Carril, and so many more.  

7. Video. "Video is the truth machine." Learn how to watch basketball and break down the details. Adam Spinella and others...

8. Watch other coaches practice. If you ask politely, most coaches will agree and be flattered that you asked. I feel incredibly fortunate to have seen Geno Auriemma and Brad Stevens. 

9. Attention to detail. Be detail-oriented. Players won't know what you know. You won't know what they know unless you quiz and verify what they know. Everyone must be on the same page. Good teams find ways to win. Bad teams find ways to give games away. 

10.Revise. Director Ron Howard says, "the movie is made in the editing room." Everything is subject to revision - drill book, play book, etc. 

And yes, a lot of the skills needed to coach better are the same ones needed to play better. 

Lagniappe. The life of Riley. 

Lagniappe 2. More education.  

Lagniappe 3. "The apple never falls far from the tree."  

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Friday, October 4, 2024

A Dozen Thoughts on Basketball Shooting

Players have access to a wealth of information on shooting. Why do we see many games with low percentage shooters?

1) The quickest path to better shooting is better shot selection. Do the math - shots*points/shot*percentage equals points. If you took 50 shots x 3 points shot x 0.20 you only get 30. Remember that possessions minus turnovers impacts outcomes dramatically. 

3/10 on 3s yields 9 points. 5/10 on 2s yields 10 points. "Do well what you do a lot." Many teams shoot below 25 percent on threes. #Inefficient 

2) Get more shots and opportunities for our best shooters and scorers. Yet, balanced scoring forces opponents to defend everyone. 

3) Quality shots also include shots appropriate to the time and score. 

4) Every player should know what a good shot is for themselves and each teammate. Coach Bob Knight said, "just because I want you on the floor doesn't mean I want you to shoot." 

5) “The quality of the shot relates to the quality of the pass.” - Pete Carril

6) “Think shot first.” - Don Kelbick  

7) All shots are not created equal. Catch-and-shoot generally outperforms shooting off the bounce, off screens, and off of a shot fake.

8) “Free shooting” usually underperforms competitive shooting, training with defense, and shooting with time or other constraints.

9) Shooting practice without using the glass is incomplete.

10) Devote a small segment of shooting practice (a few percent) to emergency shots - fallaways, runners, and off-balance shots.

11) “Winners are trackers.” - Darren Hardy.  Constantly seek improvement within both trends and setting personal bests. 

12) Shooting with a partner improves two players and add efficiency by having a rebounder.

Bonus ideas:

- Be shot ready (on the catch)

- Work to quicken your release

- Work on ‘pickups’ off the dribble 

Lagniappe. Remember strength and conditioning. 

Lagniappe 2. Occupy the help side.  

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Thursday, October 3, 2024

Getting the Most from Our Players

"Coaches take teams where they cannot go alone" and "coaches put their teams in the best position to win." Both sound easy.

These remind me of this Kipling poem. 

I Keep Six Honest Serving Men

I keep six honest serving-men
  (They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
  And How and Where and Who.
I send them over land and sea,
  I send them east and west;
But after they have worked for me,
  I give them all a rest.

I let them rest from nine till five,
  For I am busy then,
As well as breakfast, lunch, and tea,
  For they are hungry men.
But different folk have different views;
  I know a person small
She keeps ten million serving-men,
  Who get no rest at all!
She sends em abroad on her own affairs,
  From the second she opens her eyes
One million Hows, Two million Wheres,
  And seven million Whys!

Kipling reminds us about the value of curiosity. Curiosity rewards us as we ask how to do something better. 

Digression to ChatGPT:

Kipling’s poem "Six Honest Serving Men" celebrates curiosity, learning, and the importance of questioning to understand the world. The "honest serving men" Kipling refers to are six fundamental questions: What, Why, When, How, Where, and Who. These questions symbolize the core tools of inquiry, which allow individuals to dissect and comprehend the various aspects of their environment and experiences.

At a deeper level, Kipling presents a framework for intellectual engagement. The poem emphasizes that learning doesn’t happen passively; it is driven by the active pursuit of understanding through questioning. Each question plays a role in helping to unravel different facets of life. “What” refers to the identification of things; “Why” seeks purpose and motive; “When” and “Where” help place events in time and space; “Who” looks for identity; and “How” explains process and methodology. Together, these questions guide an individual in uncovering knowledge and truth.

Kipling also contrasts the insatiable thirst for knowledge in youth with the complacency that can emerge with age or routine. As people grow older, they sometimes stop asking these essential questions, satisfied with what they already know. Kipling gently critiques this stagnation, encouraging a lifelong engagement with curiosity. The poem’s tone is both instructive and empowering, promoting inquiry as a way to live a fuller, more thoughtful life.

Ultimately, "Six Honest Serving Men" reflects Kipling’s belief in the power of curiosity as a driving force for growth and wisdom, urging readers to maintain an inquisitive spirit throughout their lives.

Our tools: 

Who? We have teams at home, school, work, on the court, in the community. Decide whether it's about "we" or "me." Choosing selfishness or selflessness is an active process. 

What? Richard Feynman's process for learning included name, explain, research, and simplify. That could include a discussion on gravity, shooting free throws, serving a volleyball, or jumpstarting a car. Broadly apply simple concepts. "Hemingway" it. 

When? The best among us make everyone around us better every day. Our morning routine helps us "win the day." A friend and colleague shared what I taught him decades ago, "learn five things a day and pretty soon you know a lot." 

Where? Use "the butterfly effect." Our actions create ripples around the world. Someone hears or reads our words and says, "what if?" The Sesame Street song, "I wonder. What if? Let's try" might change the world. 

Why? Care about our fellow traveler...our players and their families, our assistants and our bosses. Especially our families. Care about balance, or The Force, or Karma or Mana or whatever you call it. 

How? If someone asked what we needed most in the world, what might we say? Information? There's already a lot. Clean energy? That would help and the purveyors of existing resources might argue against it. Kindness? I haven't been kind to everyone, every day. We have a deficit, not an excess of kindness. That doesn't mean we can't demand high performance. 

Curiosity helps us become our better selves. Model excellence, lead, communicate, problem solve, prepare, and adapt...all high level skills that make teams and individuals around us better.

Lagniappe. Bob Starkey shares a "copy and print" idea.  

Lagniappe 2. Choose one to work on at a time. Praise over criticism is a great place to start. 

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Wednesday, October 2, 2024

"Beyond Basketball"

Coach Mike Krzyzewski wrote Beyond Basketball and elaborates on key words from BELIEF, to CARE, and EXCELLENCE. 

He shares examples of the words. For example with EXCELLENCE, he discusses how Elton Brand and Shane Battier were different players but excelled in performance and recognition and each won National Player of the Year in different seasons. 

Coach K advises players to become the best version of themselves by always doing their best. This reminds me of Don Miguel Ruiz and his 4th agreement in The Four Agreements, "always do your best."  

These are some examples of the words Coach K discusses:

Passion
Poise
Pressure
Pride
Respect 
Selflessness
Standards
Talent
Trust 
Will 
Work 

It's easy to dismiss "soft skills" as not 'executable' as clearly as ball containment, court communication, rebounding, screening, or shooting. It's easier to dismiss claims that "I'd take a 2-star recruit with a 5-star work ethic over a 5-star recruit with a 2-star work ethic any day."

Without soft skills such as belief, commitment, focus, resilience, and selflessness, the chance of success for players and coaches is negligible. 

It's not either, or. Players require measurables - athleticism and skill, and intangibles - game understanding and resilience. Inspiration and aspiration alone can't compensate for preparation and perspiration. 

The challenge is to identify and to develop the high character, elite athlete. 

Lagniappe. "How you practice is who you are." 
Lagniappe 2. How much does it mean to you? 
Lagniappe 3. Find concepts to borrow. 
    






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Tuesday, October 1, 2024

Basketball: In Group Projects, Are Players Pulling Their Weight?

Coaches have many tasks, including as 'judges'. In The Last Lecture, Randy Pausch, dying of cancer, explains some of his methods. In group projects, peer feedback explicitly told students where they stood. 

Here are the three questions they graded each other on: 

1) Did his peers think he was working hard? Exactly how many hours did his peers think he had devoted to a project?

2) How creative was his contribution?

3) Did his peers find it easy or hard to work with him? Was he a team player? 

Pausch hoped the feedback would make students more accountable to the projects. He wrote, "Wow, I've got to take it up a notch."

One smart but arrogant student was told he ranked in the bottom quartile. He was not moved. Professor Pausch told him, "out of 50 students, you are number 50. You have a serious issue. They say you're not listening. You're hard to get along with. It's not going well." 

Teams don't regret losing the bad teammate, the lazy guy, the uncommitted player. You know the expression, "don't let the door..."

Part of being great teammates is modeling excellence and holding each other accountable to hard work. 

The old saying goes, "be easy to play with and hard to play against." On defense that means pressuring the ball, denying penetration, and shrinking space. On offense that means helping teammates with spacing, screening, player and ball movement. 

Lagniappe. Footwork and separation. 

Lagniappe 2. Less dribbling demands player and ball movement.  

Lagniappe 3.  What are good shots for your program? 

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