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Tuesday, October 10, 2023

What Coaches Can Do to Add Lasting Value

Coaches change lives. How?

  • Create a positive 'team experience'.
  • Build a program not a statue. 
  • Take players where they cannot go alone. 
  • Help players make memories. 
  • "Speak greatness." 
Here are some captures from Rod Olson's "The Legacy Builder." 



Specify the win... what do you want to achieve today? Wins happen at work and wins happen at home. 


Simplicity


be FAT - faithful, available, teachable

"What separates the great coaches from the average ones are the  coaches who don't think that they know it all." - John Wooden
 
Three-dimensional coach... the pyramid - fundamentals of the sport, the athlete's mind, the athlete's heart. Where would our players and our spouse mark an "X" on our pyramid?

The Quarterback Coach. Challenge the player to ask what kind of leader they want to be. "Don't focus on what they can't do; focus on what they can do."

The Assistant Coach - Value People Over Productivity - "I am loyal to Coach because he lives these principles every day." 

Leave a legacy. "Most research on power suggests that the experience of power tends to make people more self-focused and self-interested. This research primarily considers the effect of power in limited timeframes. However, recent research on intergenerational decisions involving longer timeframes reveals that power can lead decision makers to be more concerned with the interests of others in the future."

When we're fortunate to have great conversations with people who inspire us, remember to say, "tell me more." 

Summary: 

  • Specify the win. Do this today. 
  • Simplicity. Live the basics.
  • The 3-D coach. Fundamentals. Mind. Heart.
  • The Quarterback Coach. Inspire the leaders within.
  • The Assistant. Living our values. 

Lagniappe. What are ours? 

Lagniappe 2. Never sell intangibles short. 

 


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Monday, October 9, 2023

NBA Preseason - It's Not Boring

The Boston Celtics 2003-2004 version 1.0 opened up against the Sixers Sunday night. It's neither boring nor comfortable. Even the fourth quarter. 

Guys fight for their professional lives. Some battle for the right to sit at the end of the bench, others for meaningful minutes. It's Darwinian display on hardwood.

But it's more than that. It's hearing Mike Gorman and Brian Scalabrine again. Payton Pritchard (26 points) shined as though desperate for dollars, despite having signed a $30M/four-year extension in the morning. "Told you so," his play said. 

It's watching NBA spacing with forever filled corners.

It's admiring the talent. Scalabrine says, mildly exaggerating, "everyone can 'shoot it'." 

It studying technique, how guys get open with the ball with acceleration-deceleration, change of direction and change of pace.

It's watching simple and complex screening (e.g. DHOs, staggers, screen-the-screener, Spain). 

It's watching guys try to contain the ball and seeing who blocks out. 

It's studying nature, from the macro - cardinals and jays, to the micro - the bees and ants - a daily survival struggle. 

How could that be boring? 

"Everyone can shoot it." 


Hard curl. Impressive strength off one leg.
 

Rescreen. Maxey is a baaad man. 


Ask the young player to define a back cut...a cut to the ball then away to the basket.
 

Draw 2. Do you teach help or stay to protect the corner 3?
 
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Sunday, October 8, 2023

Basketball: Advantage - Disadvantage Drills

Make practice hard so games are easier. Advantage-disadvantage drills are not new. Bobby Knight applied them. Our high school coach, Sonny Lane, introduced them to us over fifty years ago. Here are a few favorites:

1. Five versus seven full-court. Rotate players onto both sides. Add a constraint of no dribbling to increase the difficulty for offense. It's the epitome of the VDE - vision, decision, execution - application. 

2. Three versus four half court (Carolina). A Sylvia Hatch drill. Breaking traps is an important skill to develop. 


3. Three versus four press break. Solid teams and players must apply and defeat pressure. 

The defense has the advantage of being set up and having a numerical advantage. You can allow or disallow the inbounder to run the baseline. I do not disallow dribbling after the pass in this drill. 

Other forms of advantage-disadvantage drills worth playing:

  • UCONN (e.g. women practice against men)
  • High school (girls practice against boys)
  • Youth (practice against a higher grade level)
Years ago, our best 8th grade girls scrimmaged (with officials) against the high school freshman girls (19-1 team). Our girls won by twenty-five.  

Lagniappe.  

Lagniappe 2. Kobe Bryant did his own thing with disadvantage. 

Lagniappe 3. Everyone wants to win. But as a developmental coach, that wasn't my top priority. 

 

 

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"Touch the Line"

 "How you do anything is how you do everything." 

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich says, "Pound the rock." To break the rock, you have to hit it a hundred times. "Don't skip steps."

During their pre-practice two laps, the UCONN women, who won four consecutive National Championships, nobody rounded a corner. "Champions don't cut corners." 

Do yourself a solid. "Touch the line."  

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Saturday, October 7, 2023

Basketball: 3 - 2 - 1 (SLOB, BOB, ATO)

Between age and some nagging health issues, I don't see a return to on-court coaching possible. There's no reason to hold back anything from the playbook. Plus, many coaches enjoy the Xs and Os. 

Here are 3 SLOBs, 2 BOBs, and an ATO. A lot of actions can execute from different starting orientations. 

SLOBs.

Boomerang. Zipper, give back, roll down. 


Winner. Won multiple games with this screen-the-screener. Adjust roles to personnel. Good way to get post entry on switching teams. 


Big dog. Why not put pressure on defenses with special situations plays?


BOBs.

44. Versus zone. Do you have a good inbounder and three-point scorer? 


UCONN "Boomerang action." 


ATO. Spread fake PnR backdoor. 


Lagniappe. Need not be original to be useful. 





 

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Friday, October 6, 2023

Two Outta Three Ain't Bad: Avoid Bad Beats

Thoughtful. Detailed. Eloquent. I wish. 

Set the bar at the right level. Say the right things, the right way, at the right time. Think about bad beats, ours and others. What went wrong? Don't get burned because a player was distracted, didn't listen, didn't hear, or didn't understand. 

Know our audience. Brad Stevens told my wife the rocket scientist, "Basketball is not rocket science." 

Aspire to inspire. Players know our competence and commitment to them. Show them. Greet every player individually by name every day. 

Be specific. "This is who we are. That is what we do, exactly this way." We took four rounds of ten free throws with a partner every practice. We're prepared for crunch time. 

Be clear. "Explain it to me like I'm a sixth grader." 

Be concise. "I can only remember three things. What are they going to be?"

Get feedback. "What did I just say?" Explain it to me. 

Lagniappe. Messaging. 

Lagniappe 2. 

Lagniappe 3. 

 

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Thursday, October 5, 2023

Basketball: Managing Pain

The opinions expressed in this piece are generic. The process starts with getting a diagnosis. Always consult your physician for individual recommendations. I am not discussing opioid use, side effects, or abuse in this piece. Additionally, although cannabinoid receptors play a role in pain, I am not discussing use of CBD in pain management. Regulatory impediments in the US have limited the amount of study of cannabinoids in human health and disease. 

Practically speaking, everyone gets hurt or ill. Athletes can't play with an acute migraine and play at reduced capacity with back or neck pain, sore muscles, and other soft tissue injuries to ankles, knees, and other parts. Here's an overview. 

Pain is one of our defense mechanisms. It tells us not to use or limit use of body parts. Pain permits survival. Touching a hot surface reflexly signals withdrawal to prevent injury.

You've heard the expression, "you can play hurt but you can't play injured." In 2016, Patriots quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo injured his shoulder. Writers criticized him widely for refusing to play injured. Most readers here know the controversy surrounding Ben Simmons and injury. Such is the nature of sports observers.

Pharmacologic management (non-opioid). We have access to over-the-counter acetaminophen (e.g. Tylenol) and common non-steroidals like ibuprofen (e.g. Motrin) and naproxen (e.g. Aleve). 

Acetaminophen helps relieve pain but not inflammation. Doses approaching 4,000 mg daily can be toxic to the liver so most practitioners avoid escalating toward that level. Alcohol can lower the toxic threshold. 

Non-steroidals decrease pain and inflammation. They may elevate blood pressure have potential toxicity to the stomach, GI system in general, and  kidneys. Alcohol increases the risks. It is estimated that 14 million Americans over 45 use NSAIDs daily. Charles Barkley said that the one thing NBA players feared was kidney disease from long term NSAID use. Barkley said having to take high doses over long periods was part of NBA life. 

Higher doses of famotidine reduce GI side effects. "Results from a 24-week double-blind, randomized comparison of placebo versus low-dose famotidine (20 mg twice daily) or high-dose famotidine (40 mg twice daily) prophylaxis against NSAID-associated gastroduodenal ulcers found that the incidence of gastric ulcers was 20% in the placebo group, 13% in the low-dose famotidine group and 8% in the high-dose famotidine group. Many of the patients enrolled in the study did not have abdominal pain or dyspepsia, but among those who did there was a trend toward reduction in dyspepsia in patients taking famotidine."

Non-pharmacologic therapy. Time is often the ultimate healer. Players want to be back on the field or court ASAP. Sometimes that can't happen. 

Physical therapy. Physical therapy is specific to the area of injury and trainees undergo seven years of undergraduate and postgraduate training to earn a Doctorate in PT. A paragraph won't summarize their knowledge and expertise. 

Mindfulness. Mindfulness/meditation can lessen pain. "We have recently witnessed a significant increase in studies demonstrating that mindfulness meditation reduces pain reports across a spectrum of chronic pain conditions." Experimentally, after only four twenty minute training sessions, "Meditation, after the four-session intervention, during noxious heat produced a mean 40% reduction in pain intensity and 57% reduction in pain unpleasantness ratings." Other studies have disentangled placebo responses and show mindfulness superior and distinct in reducing pain. 

Acupuncture. "Does acupuncture really work to quell pain? The evidence is mixed, with some studies showing that acupuncture relieves pain and others showing that it works no better than "sham" acupuncture (procedures designed to mimic acupuncture but to have no real effect, much like a placebo, or "sugar pill," used in medication studies). One of the problems with deciphering these results is that most acupuncture studies have been small. The design of "sham" acupuncture techniques has also varied widely, which complicates any comparison. It's also possible that acupuncture works for some people and not others."

When many treatments exist for a problem, none are superior for everyone or everything. Problems can also arise when conflicts-of-interest arise such that physicians and management pressure players to get athletes playing who are not ready. 

Lagniappe. 

Lagniappe 2.  

Lagniappe 3. 

 

 

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Wednesday, October 4, 2023

Goldilocks Approach - Coaching Closer to Just Right

Coaches manage individually not collectively. No 'one size fits all' practice exists as coaches have different philosophies, offensive and defensive approaches, players, and communities. 

Watching other coaches practices, clinics, and strategies (video, television, in person) opens our perspective. 

There's no shortage of public domain information. If there were a best operation - wouldn't everyone use it? 

1) Without skill and effort (e.g. urgent cutting, accurate passing) nothing works. 

2) With high skill and effort, many approaches will work. 

3) "Selling" coaches on 'one way' like DDM, Princeton, Spread, Triangle, et cetera varies between narcissistic and tribal. 

Were I to coach again, what would I continue and what would I do differently or better? Let's work on the "just three things" principle.

Continue: 

Condition within drills. I developed a stable of drills that combined skill, competition, and conditioning. 

3 by 3 by 3 full court shooting. Start with balls at each end. Middle line sprints to catch, passer calls shooters name and executes crisp pass. After passing, sprint to other end. Shooter gets own rebounder and becomes passer. Track makes.

"Specials." End practice with three possession scrimmages - O-D-O (offense, defense, offense). Start with BOB, SLOB, ATO, free throw - whatever you want to work on. Saw no teams better than we were at special situations. 

Off-season 90 minute workouts (we did Tuesday and Sunday). The few players who participated set the standard. One became a Boston Herald Dream Teamer (top five players in the state).

Do more or improve:

Scrimmaging. The game reproduces the game. Play fast, play more. We usually did 6-8 minutes per practice of full court, full pressure play. I'd expand that time to twenty minutes. Condition, apply and handle pressure. Make the game the game. 

Individual player development. "Every day is player development day."

  • Shoot off the catch. Shoot off one dribble. 
  • "Moves." Stampede. Jab series. Negative step. Float dribble. Catch and attack including rip moves. More one-on-one play. 
  • Box drills against defense. 
Video. Because Pete Newell was right about teaching players to 'see the game', use video better. We were fortunate to have a parent who captured video. Send a small number (e.g. 5-7) of teaching clips to reinforce lessons. For example, the destructive nature of live ball turnovers that become high points/possession chances for opponents. 

Sure, there are far more areas requiring improvement - ball pressure, help and recover defense, 1 second decisions... and so on. 

Lagniappe. Control what you can control. 

Lagniappe 2. Horns, back screen.  




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Tuesday, October 3, 2023

Better Inputs to Personal Growth

"I sit in the front row and take notes on what every guy says." - Nick Saban

What's your growth process? First, everyone needs a process. Second, almost everyone can improve. Third, mine isn't perfect, but it's consistent and shareable. 

1. MasterClass 

I invest in my learning process by studying great teachers across multiple domains. Admittedly, I get less by watching Herbie Hancock (music) than Malcolm Gladwell (writing), Bob Woodward (journalism), or Geno Auriemma.

2. Writing. 

James Clear says, "Habits are votes for the kind of person you want to be." Writers write. Cellists play the cello. Learn from experts in their domain. I write for my benefit and to share ideas and information that might help others. 

3. Reading. 

"Read. Read. Read. Read. Read." - Director Werner Herzog   Read fiction, read nonfiction. Read domestic and foreign writers. Read some authors with whom you disagree to avoid confirmation bias. 

4. Study within and outside your domain. 

5. Monitor the ideas of thought leaders. One I follow is Adam Grant, a Penn Professor of Organizational Psychology. I've read multiple books of his and don't know or care about his political leanings. Here are his last two Threads posts on social media. 

adamgrant's profile picture
Short-form content captures attention and brings immediate gratification, but it sacrifices lasting enrichment.Watching a bunch of reels doesn’t match the full immersion of a movie.Reading a series of posts doesn’t rival the deep insight of a great book.Long live long-form.The irony of posting this here is not lost on me 😆


Influencer and author Dan Pink (@DanielPink) is another 'thought leader' whose perspective benefits readers. 
Coaches are about growth, both ours and those whom we coach. 

Lagniappe. 

 

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Monday, October 2, 2023

Favorite Small-Sided Games

Small-side games borrows from futsal to inform competition with fewer player, more touches, and options for adding additional constraints. 

Futsal helped Brazil develop into an international powerhouse emphasizing speed, ball control and movement in a confined area. 

Develop your stable of small sided games. First, a link to a collection from @CoachFernandez1 

Sideways is great especially if you have a limited number of hoops. 


3 v 3 split. Play 3-on-3 inside the split. The split simulates help side defense. Ask players to initiate sequences from a variety of classic sets - low, triangle, UCLA, spread. 3 v 3 halfcourt provides an overabundance of spacing not seen during games. 

4 v 4 half court with constraints. What's the biggest constraint for young players? To me, it's eliminating the dribble. Dribble-less basketball forces cutting and passing. It also helps teach off-ball screening. After poor spacing, one of the primary 'failures' of offense is lack of urgent cutting. 

Lagniappe. That said, 3-on-3 promotes scoring on threes and layups so vital in the modern game. 


Lagniappe 2. Take care of the ball. 









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Sunday, October 1, 2023

Dorrance on the 9 Boxes

Don't presume that every player wants to be the best they can be. One person's idea of hard work isn't the same as another's. 


The boundary between hard work and abuse is not clear.

Here are thoughts from UNC Women's soccer coach Anson Dorrance, 22 time National Champion. You read that right.  

"College is the first place where talent and athletic character collide." Everyone is good so you no longer can rely on talent. 

Here are Dorrance's "9 Boxes to Check"

1. Self-discipline (conditioning) - what do you consider great conditioning? Cooper 12 minute run times are one. 

The gold standard is measured maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max). Few have access to those systems. For high school soccer, we had to run two laps of the soccer field (about 640 yards) at the end of practice in under 1:50. Another test is eight 220 yard sprints under 40 seconds with 1:20 rest in-between segments. The Celtics tryouts include the "Boston Marathon" of as many end-to-end runs as possible in three minutes. The old record by Delonte West was 29. 

2. Competitive fire. How are you as a competitor? 

3. Self-belief. Does a player have the confidence to perform in crunch time?

4. Love of the ball. Skill development. 

5. Love of playing the game. Believe it or not, there are players who love the rewards (fame, money, "The Life") but don't love the game.

6. Love of watching the game. Is watching and study a chore? 

7. Grit. Determination, doggedness. 

8. Coachability. Are you focused on hearing, embracing, and following through on instruction? 

9. Connection. Do you truly want to be part of the team? How do you relate to teammates? Are you a good teammate or selfish?

"Everyone's different, so how do you check the nine boxes?" 

"Get someone as close as we can to playing their potential." - Roy Williams

"You have to coach people differently."

Lagniappe. Similar to Don Kelbick's "think shot first." 

Lagniappe 2. Learn from other coaches in any sport.  

 

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Basketball: Sports and Cooking, A Natural Pair

Learn across domains. Cooking as analogy to sport comes naturally. I learned a lot of this through numerous MasterClasses on cooking.

1. "All cooking is about time and temperature." - Thomas Keller  That works for sports through time and intensity invested.

2. "Cooks cook to nurture people." Coaches coach to nurture, too. Be positive. Add value. Help players make memories. 

3. Use the tools of refinement. My second favorite tool of refinement in the kitchen is the 'offset spatula' (below). 


It's great for frosting cakes, turning fish in a pan, and serving brownies or cornbread out of a pan. My favorite tool for cooking and sport is PRACTICE.


4. Upgrade your flavor palette. Our palette helps us create great dishes. Samin Nosrat teaches "salt, fat, acid, heat." That reminds me about "four ways to score." What are your 'four ways to score'? If you can't enumerate them, they don't exist. 

5. "Make the gnocchi." - Thomas Keller  "Repetition makes reputations." John Wooden said of Bill Walton that "he never got tired of doing the little things, practicing footwork." Another Wooden staple, EDIRx5 - explanation, demonstration, imitation, and repetition times five. Gordon Ramsay says it another way, "Just #$%&ing cook." 

What are your three things? In The Bear, chef Sydney says most restaurants aren't great at desserts. In his leadership MasterClass, Jocko Willink says that one of his guys says, "I can only remember three things. What are they?"  


My second dessert is this ice cream topping from Amaretto, brown sugar, chopped almonds, and butter. Experiment with the proportions. You won't go wrong. 

I'm still looking for my third dessert. 

What are my "sports three?" 
  • No easy scores. Make opponents work for their scores. 
  • Take quality shots. 
  • Excellent teams don't give games away. "The ball is gold." Value the ball. Take care of the ball. 

Lagniappe.  

Lagniappe 2. 

 

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