Basketball Friday: A Dishwasher Became an Icon, Plus Variations on Shell Drill, SLOB Set Play, and a Multipurpose Layup Drill

Chef Thomas Keller forged a pair of Michelin 3-star restaurants, the more famous is The French Laundry. 

Keller absorbed training as a dishwasher in his mother's restaurant. His six core concepts have broad application. Here's how they work for us:

Organization

• Effective coaches convey a clear program philosophy
• They prepare practices to implement their approach
• They get everyone "on the same page" 

Efficiency 

• Effective coaches maximize resources of people and time
• They invest time instead of spending it. Skill development is king. 
• They operate at the highest tempo possible. I have never seen a practice better executed that Coach Auriemma's UCONN women's practice. 

Critical Feedback 

• Effective coaches are performance-focused, feedback-rich.
• They do more of what works and less of what doesn't (editing).
• They track key items that impact outcomes like effective field goal percentage, rebounding differential and turnovers.

Repetition 

• Wooden's EDIR5 - explanation, demonstration, imitation, repetition x 5
• "Repetition makes reputations."
• Never tire of repeating keystone techniques like footwork and shooting. 

Routine (habits)

• Effective coaches have winning routines of practice, study
• Readers are learners
• They pick, stick with, and track habits 

Teamwork

• Effective coaches emphasize accountability to the team. 
• "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one." 
• They preach shared vision, shared sacrifice, and shared rewards. 

Drills. Shell drill variants.

Advance the shell drill through aggressive offense. Defenses don't improve against passive offense. Learn to defend pass-and-cut, pass-and-screen, and dribble drive action against the shell.  

Vary the number of players in the drill.

Set play. "Great offense is multiple actions" from Adam Spinella's Daily ATO. 

SLOB with "zipper away" entry followed by a "ghost screen" with penetrate and pitch action compromising the sagging defense. 

Lagniappe (something extra). 

TVD with backdoor layup drill. "Basketball is a game of cutting and passing." Trivia. Coach VanDerveer was born in Melrose, MA where I live and coach. 

The video applies the drill during games. 

Late Game Plays

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Simplicity and spacing add beauty. Every coach has her own view. 

Long bombs. Full court plays in a few seconds seldom come close. I'd be kidding you to say we've pulled them off. Saving a time out to advance the ball to half court gives us a better chance. 

The Bryce Drew Valpo shot was the industry standard (Dukies may rightly say, "but Laettner.")

This has a chance, but when defenses "know" you need a touchdown, there's no reason for them to get beaten by back screens. 

Half court hopes. 

Elevator/sandwich screens are usually unfamiliar to young players. 

This screen-the-screener action has worked multiple times in late game situations. 

Here's a play from John Beilein and CoachingToolbox.net. The spacing doesn't appeal to me...also as a youth coach, I assure you that few passers will complete the initial pass. 

Neighborhood plays (BOBs)

"Great offense is multiple actions." The key is stressing x3. 2 cuts through forcing x3 to make a decision and 3 sets a diagonal screen for the cutter while the 5 screens the middle. 

The LION is the screener across (can screen any player). She can "ghost screen" as the CUB. 

Here are the receipts where it worked on the slip/ghost screen. 

Lagniappe (something extra). 

Corner 3 work. Contested cuts, bad pass, chase down. 

Lagniappe 2. Advice for boosting confidence: 

3. Keep a compliment journal

Begin your day by writing yourself some compliments. These compliments can focus on both professional and personal traits and skills. For example, you may express appreciation for your willingness to help others at work or for your karaoke skills. This tactic allows you to focus on your positive aspects rather than your insecurities. Documenting these compliments in a journal enables you to return to them when you feel less confident.

This reminds me of the Identity and Performance Statements from Jason Selk's Ten Minute Toughness. 

Lagniappe 3. Masterpiece theater? 

Shey Peddy, the young woman in the center (at 28 seconds of the video) had ten points and five assists in twenty-two minutes last night for the Phoenix Mercury in her second WNBA Finals. Dreams become reality. 

Sharing Credit, How a Basketball Coach is Beloved and a Vaccine Discoverer Is Not

Ecclesiastes 11

1

Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again.

2

Give portions to seven, yes to eight, for you do not know what disaster may come upon the land.

3

If clouds are full of water, they pour rain upon the earth. Whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where it falls, there will it lie.

4

Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap.

Help people feel valued. People need appreciation. And high performance organizations find ways to do so. 

Dean Smith made it a point in the media to credit reserves contributing to victory. On the court, "thanking the passer" shows appreciation. Even in death, Smith continued to share with his UNC players. 

The sine qua non of "credit" books is Adam Grant's New York Times bestseller Give and Take. Grant divided people into three categories - givers, takers, and matchers. He found that givers often wind up at the top of organizations but sometimes at the bottom. "Givers...perform all sorts of selfless acts with no expectation of reciprocity. They tirelessly pitch in for their colleagues, eagerly mentor their underlings, and regularly prioritize other people’s needs above their own."

Charity can reap huge profits. Merck developed a drug (ivermectin) to treat animal worms that also treats onchocerciasis (River blindness), causing millions of cases of blindness in Africa. Merck's CEO Roy Vagelos decided to give away millions of doses, angering stockholders. But it raised respect for Merck, attracted young research talent, and ultimately helped stock prices. When Japan opened markets to US manufacturers, Merck was the first US company to gain access. 

When we help players interface with media, encourage them to share and deflect credit to teammates, family, and organization. First, success is not solely yours and second, sharing expresses gratitude. 

Sharing credit requires humility. 

Sharing credit shows empathy. 

Sharing credit raises the self-esteem of those credited. 

And sharing credit earns more respect for you. 

Jonas Salk was a major discoverer of the polio vaccine. But he didn't credit coworkers essential to the discovery. His selfishness led to disfavor in the scientific community, no Nobel Prize and no membership in the prestigious National Academy of Sciences. 

Likewise, architect Frank Lloyd Wright didn't always credit young architects on his projects. That cost him dearly as coworkers left and his business suffered.  

Derek Sivers' book review of Give and Take shares, 

"Americans see independence as a symbol of strength, viewing interdependence as a sign of weakness.

How givers collaborate: they take on the tasks that are in the group’s best interest, not necessarily their own personal interests."

Share credit. It's great for others and selfless good for us. 

Lagniappe (something extra). "Thanks is the cheapest form of compensation." - Raymond Townsend, "Up the Organization"

Lagniappe 2. "If Kelly Ripa's day is already over and yours hasn't started, you're in trouble." - Debra Vance, Hacks   "The early bird gets the worm." 

Lagniappe 3. Radius Athletics. Nets actions. 

Dispel Doubt, Build Confidence and Defeat Pressure

"You can only be as good as you believe you are." Instilling confidence isn't automatic or easy. 

Confidence balances arrogance and doubt. Bill Parcells says, "confidence comes from proven success." 

But we train confidence. Sport psychologist Dr. Tom Hanson helped train Derek Jeter, including Jeter's pronounced upright walk to the plate. Controlling our breath also helps athletes "slow the game down." At a trading conference, Dr. Hanson encouraged us to sit upright when at our workstations. "Be clear on your mission" (e.g. put the fat part of the bat on the ball). 

Actions speak volumes. Players know that coaches insert players in "crunch time" in whom they have confidence. The player receives the message, "I believe in you." 

Flanking the apex of Coach John Wooden's "Pyramid of Success" are FAITH and PATIENCE. They sit just above CONFIDENCE. 

Confident players focus in the moment. They inhabit the present, this possession.

Confidence is earned not bestowed. James Clear's Atomic Habits emphasizes the importance of routine. Make it easy to follow positive habits and harder to pursue less productive ones. 

In Ten Minute Toughness, Jason Selk advocates players develop a mental  "highlight reel" of visualization. Mental practice, like physical practice, changes the brain. Mindfulness alters brain structure (measured by MRI) and lowers stress hormones (cortisol). In our mind, what does our best look like? 

Confidence shooting drills like "Bill Bradley" (Beat the Pro) require high performance to win. The shooter gets one point for a make and Bill Bradley/The Pro gets three for each miss. Score eleven to win with a maximum of three misses (11/14 = 78.6%). Winning a round reinforces positive performance. 

In Performing Under Pressure, Weisinger and Pawliw-Fry advise us to wear a "COTE of Armor" of confidence, optimism, tenacity, and enthusiasm. 

Practice exercises to build confidence. Here are a few: 

• Look confident. Stand tall. Make yourself big. There's data to suggest doing so increases testosterone and decreases stress hormones (cortisol). 
• Keep a compliments journal. 
• Reflect on our skills. How do we add value? 
• Replace negative thoughts with positive ones.
• Create a self-esteem collage. 
• Listen to upbeat music. 

Invest in "thinking time." Breadth of knowledge allows analogies from other sports and other disciplines. 

Summary:

• "Confidence comes from proven success." 
• Playing in key situations expresses confidence.
• Confidence inhabits the moment. 
• Visualize a highlight reel.
• Mental practice impacts brain structure and body chemisty. 
• Develop winning routines.
• "Beat the Pro" shooting

Lagniappe (something extra): "Confidence building" shooting drill 

Coaching Cliches Are Not Enough

Excerpts from Neil DeGrasse Tyson MasterClass lesson 9

Every coach has pet phrases and cliches of varying effectiveness and content. "Pass the ball" reduces to "Pass." Players must know the what, the when, the how, and the why. 

Share cliches and specifics that translate to the player. 

Play hard.

• Beat your man to half court in defensive transition
• Sprint to screen
• Attack the rim explosively

Play together.

• Communicate
• Be a willing passer
• Help and recover. "The help can never get beat."

Play smart.

• Make the right play for the situation. 
• Reduce fouling, "show your hands"
• Quality shots. There is no "my turn" 

Do unrequired work.

• "Do five more." 
• Study film every day. 
• Have an elite warmup. 

Summary: 

• Teach in specifics. Players do not know what you know.
• "The devil is in the details." 
• Get feedback on what the concept means to the player. 
• Give feedback on whether effort and execution meet expectations.
• Have a winning routine of unrequired work. 

Lagniappe. Pump up. If you want to be the "Top Gun" you have to bring it. 

Lagniappe 2. Coach Hanlen explains the how and why of separation. 

Tyson reminder, "It's not good enough to be right. You have to be effective." 

Good enough is never great. 

Teaching Core Components of Basketball Offense

"And another thing..." ends up overwhelming young players. Take an index card and write down your five most important concepts.  

Restrictive? Exactly. 

1. Spacing. "Offense is spacing and spacing is offense." - Chuck Daly   The three point line is the spacing line. 

- Violation: "never cut to an occupied post"

2. Skill. "Technique > Tactics." - Gregg Popovich   Corollary: "Every day is player development day (skill)." 

- Violation: "shooting is a perishable skill" 

3. Separation. Basketball is a game of cutting and passing. "The quality of the pass relates to the quality of the shot." - Pete Carril   The 'ten passes before shooting' drill teaches quality cutting and passing. 

- Violation: "if you don't water the flowers they die"

4. Shot quality. The quickest path to improvement is taking better shots.  Every player should know good shots for teammates. 

- Violation: "shot turnovers = bench turnovers"

5. Story enders. Become a positive possession ender. That could mean an effective passer, rebounder, or shooter. 

- Violation: "do not rebound with alligator arms"

Player development. To become the closer, develop GO TO and COUNTER closing moves. Invest 5-10 minutes/session on your closer actions. 

• What are your scoring moves from the wing?
• What is your scoring portfolio from the elbow (e.g. box drills)? 
• What is your repertoire in the post? 

Player development 2. Become a better ball handler. 

Caution: the off arm is an antenna not a lever. A foul is what the officials say it is.

Free throw shooting reminders:

• Do not 'rush' to the line and freeze. Step to the line once you receive the ball.
• Never leave it short. It's like putting as a putt left short has zero chance.
• Practice free throws in-between other actions (breathing hard)
• Deep breath, exhale, and shoot. A relaxing breath helps. 
• Steph Curry finished free throw practice with 5 consecutive swishes.

Summary:

• Spacing
• Skill
• Separation
• Shot quality
• Story enders (be a positive possession ender)

Lagniappe (something extra). NBA teams commonly enter the SLOB off zipper action. The Celtics generated a quick 3 for Payton Pritchard or Bully Ball with Tatum in the post. 

With about two minutes in the first half, 57% of the Celtics' shots have been 3s. 

Lagniappe 2. Use the powerful mental model of inversion. If we wanted to lose, what would contribute? Poor preparation, lack of conditioning, poor decision-making, not having everyone on the same page, laziness. 

Lagniappe 3. Iverson action can yield a variety of shots. 

Basketball: Mistakes in the Endgame (Pete Newell-based Principles)

"Everyone makes mistakes in the endgame." - Garry Kasparov

Despite believing that every possession matters, I know that mistakes in the endgame often define us. Similar to Zak Boisvert's turnover framework, endgame mistakes appear as failed decision or failed execution.

Returning to Newell's "more and better shots than our opponent" it boils down to errors that violate those principles..."fewer and worse" shots than our opponent. Regular readers recognize that as the mental model of INVERSION. 

It's impossible to be all-inclusive, so let's focus on common problems. 

Offense getting fewer shots

• Slower paced play yields fewer possessions
• Transition offense is sacrificed 
• Opposition defense forces turnovers and mental mistakes

(Missing free throws belongs in a special category of shooting ourselves in the foot.) 

Defense allowing more shots

• Opponent ramps up pace (comeback game)
• Opponent more aggressive offensive rebounding
• Shots allowed off turnovers (turnovers bleeding into defense)

Offense getting worse shots

• Running clock may turn down a quality early shot and settle for a bad one late in the shot clock 
• Personnel choices (better defenders) may compromise offense
• Foul trouble leading to reserves playing 

Defense allowing better shots

• Undisciplined fouling*** 
• Struggle against "special plays" (special situations/ATOs)
• Opponent running more actions for top players

Solutions. 

1. Use film, the "truth machine." Watch final minutes of every competitive game looking for team-specific problems. Who, what, when, where, and why are the problems. 
2. "Foul for profit" (Kevin Sivils term). "Show your hands" is particularly critical in crunch time. 
3. Practice late game situations regularly. The NFL corollary is the two-minute offense. We finished every practice with O-D-O (offense-defense-offense) starting with a special situation. 
4. Review situations in team meetings. E.g. up 3, opponent ball, nine seconds left. Are we fouling? Explain the why behind our decisions. 
5. Give and get feedback. 

Lagniappe (something extra). Point 1. "It doesn't matter what we run, if we can't run it." Coach Popovich's quote restates it, "technique beats tactics." If you're fortunate enough to have horses not ponies, this video shares ideas. 

Lagniappe 2. Another Popovich quote, from "Game Changer"... collaborative teams cannot live in silos. 

Basketball Friday: Tears, Drills, Set Plays, and More

How many season have I seen end in tears? It happens when excellent teams lose the final game of the season. Low expectations don't rain tears. 

Some teams seem snakebitten, followed by disappointments, injuries, and bad luck.

"Just another teardrop in an ocean of sorrow." 

No matter how affluent one might be, you can’t dry your eyes with money.

Tears wash the soul. George Patton clarifies how to avoid defeat. 

Drills. In "Game Changer" Dr. Fergus Connolly emphasizes that effective drills produce results on the scoreboard. 

Jumping rope increases stamina, speed, coordination, weight loss, and vertical jump. It takes minimal training and inexpensive equipment. 

Ladders. Shooting drill using "ladders" with varied sequences of spots. Add competitiveness by adding time constraints. Track shots, percentage, personal best, consecutive makes. 

Set play. Chefs and painters have a palette from which they craft. Regular readers know my love of cooking. So let's cook. 

1. "Basketball is a game of separation." 

2. Screens decrease separation as a means to increase it.

3. "Great offense is multiple actions." 

Since we're preseason, let's display palette elements. If ball screens are our first spice, then perhaps off-ball screens are next. A few generalities:

• I don't want kids setting moving screens. It's not the NFL and I've seen too many kids get injured or concussed. Yes, it's not black and white. 
• Sprint to screen. 
• I teach "head hunting" (screen the body not an area)
• It's helpful sometimes to screen off an angled cut for deception
• "The screener is the second cutter." Screen greedily. 

Here's an excerpt (17 seconds), but watch the entire (brief) video. Screen, pass, penetrate, and assess opportunities. 

Or we can use the off-ball screen to establish a ball screen with penetration and dish options. 

Lagniappe (something extra). Self-examination. 

Lagniappe 2. "Relationships are the roadmap." 

What's the Best Advice Someone Gave You? Advice We Can Use Today and Every Day

"Mentoring is the only shortcut to excellence." Someone asked the Dali Lama how he accumulated wisdom. He explained that he has great access throughout the world and listens carefully. Great advice adds unique information or insight we can use. 

Application: find a mentor or better still, a team of mentors. Four-time state championship coach Kristen McDonnell explains she regularly participates in coaching conference calls. 

"If you don't speak up, nobody knows what you know." A young doctor informed the younger medical student to speak up. 

"Your job is to make the senior look good." Everyone learns quickly in medicine about the importance of making your boss look good. That advice works in every profession. Don't embarrass the boss. 

Application: when receiving media opportunities, give credit to coaches and teammates. 

"See one, do one, teach one." Learn by watching, by doing, and by teaching. But ask ourselves is there a better way and even if not, can I do better? 

Application: ankle braces are superior to ankle taping (tape loosens). 

"The ball is gold." Take care of the ball. Value the ball. Make the most of opportunity by not wasting chances. 

From Zak Boisvert

Application: turnovers destroy offensive efficiency (points per possession)

"The best way to get respect is to give it." Respect fosters trust and loyalty. It takes time. 

"Always do your best." As children we hear it. As parents we share it. As coaches, we demand it. In basketball that translates to playing in a stance, to moving on the pass, to communication, and toughness with and without the ball. 

Application: "soft skills" like focus, listening, effort, and eye contact produce tangible benefits to preparation and execution. 

"You don't have to like it; you just have to do it." Doing the work often takes less time and less effort than trying to shift the work to someone else. When a supervisor tells us that it's for our own good, it usually is.

Application: repetition makes reputations

"Every day is player development day." Success comes from superior execution and superior execution comes from superior training. 

Application: Build winning routines like Steph Curry. 

Lagniappe (something extra). "Two is one and one is none." 

Lagniappe 2. Need a three? Empty and fill. 

Points Per Possession Progress - What Hinders You?

Screen writer David Mamet has a phrase engraved on the back of his watch, "what hinders you?" 

Better offenses generate more points per possession (duh). Examine what makes or destroys possessions (possession enders).

• Turnovers equal failed possession and may "bleed into defense" resulting in high quality chances at the other end.
• "Shot turnovers" are Doc Rivers' label for terrible shots.
• Poor passing - "the quality of the pass impacts the quality of the shot"  
• Lack of offensive rebounding (possession ended)
• Poor cutting (cuts into shots often high point/possession actions

John Leonzo suggests ways to become efficient (Follow the Twitter thread)

Priority #1: Reduce Turnovers

Possessions without a shot are the ultimate drain on offensive efficiency.

Even a "bad shot" has the chance to fall in the net.

Practice passing and catching.

Practice starting and stopping.

Practice decision-making.

— John Leonzo (@John_Leonzo) October 2, 2021

Priority #2: Focus On Shot Generation Over Shot Selection 

Priority #3: Play Inside-Out

Priority #4: Play Faster

Priority #5: Be Process Focused

Study who takes the shots, where they take them, and where the shots arise. That includes opportunities for free throws and prioritizing "doing more of what works." Open three-point shots are great if we have players who can make them.

Even "good scorers" may have shots to improve or eliminate from their portfolio.

Quoting NBA or NCAA data on pick-and-roll scoring by the ball handler or the roller is meaningless to execution by our team.

How would we measure progress?

- Offensive efficiency (points per 100 possessions)

- Effective field goal percentage (FG + 0.5 * 3P) / FGA

- Turnovers

- Shot charts (who's taking shots and where)

Years ago I coached a team that was so small (middle school) that we had a better chance of scoring from mid-range than inside. 

Lagniappe: Identify your needs to grow your game. Cecilia recognized a need to get stronger and more explosive and time in the weight room is paying off. She's looking to build on an All-Scholastic freshman year in her sophomore campaign. 

She rebounds and scores off of a pick-and-roll.

Moments later she cuts urgently and gets rewarded. 

Preseason Observations: Scouting the Celtics, Still a Simple Game

Every coach stamps his philosophy onto his team. With Ime Udoka taking over the reins in Boston, he reveals some of his plans. 

Udoka shares his excitement as a new coach with analyst Brian Scalabrine, "I harped on execution and effort." He added, "expectations are great and it's a good pressure to have." 

The Celtics have new faces (Dennis Schroder, Josh Richardson) and return some old ones (Al Horford, Enes Kanter). I'd expect personnel to be a bit in flux early. Jayson Tatum has added more muscle and we'll see a leanerJaylen Brown post wrist surgery.

I'll be looking especially at their transition, half court offense, defense, and rebounding. 

The Celtics open up with a pair of one-on-one actions but multiple "one more" passes followed by a pair of Marcus Smart turnovers. 

The Celtics appeared not to run a lot of sets, unless you count "step up ball screens." Defensively, it was switch everything. Rob Williams used his length to block a couple of perimeter shots. I'm not sure that will work against the quicker mismatches. 

When Jayson Tatum shot at least 7 free throws, he averaged over 33 points/game. And when he shot at least 12, he averaged 44 points/game. With the bigger upper body, Tatum looked like a load in the post. 

Per Scalabrine, "Offensive fouls are going to be a point of emphasis this season." 

Jaylen Brown looks much quicker...coming off a 24.7 ppg season. 

Schroder looked good on the pick-and-roll lob with Horford and passing in general..."a Rondo look-alike." (Schroder and Horford shared experience in the ATL.)

Brad Stevens' name didn't come up in the first quarter from Mike Gorman or Scalabrine. 

"Reckless closeout" - three free throws and shooting team retains the ball. 

"You work on it, you do it in the game..." after Pritchard nails a three off the dribble. 

Not surprising the trend to threes and layups is even more pronounced. 12 of the Celtics first 18 shots were threes. 

Scalabrine, "you gotta shoot and you gotta run pick-and-rolls." 

The energy level on both sides was unexpected...maybe an effect of crowd size? 

Way too many players fouling three-point shooters...

Jaylen Brown only NBA player under 6'6" over the past two years to average over 20 ppg, 6 rpg, and shoot over 48%. 

Jalen Suggs looked overmatched physically against Smart but drained a three from out near the logo. 

Scalabrine, "you don't want role players getting into their bag and shooting stepbacks." 

Scal adds, "no matter what...you have to take care of the basketball." 

Nice Hammer screen from Horford to get Brown an easy corner 3. Great set up on the strong side to allow the action to unfold. Nice on-ball screen from Richardson to help Schroder get the passing angle too pic.twitter.com/HuTPsTVzgO

— Adam Taylor (@AdamTaylorNBA) October 5, 2021

One Liners from Legendary Artists in Their Fields

Be open. Grab one liners and ideas from others. Great ideas translate across disciplines. 

Jodie Foster - "Have a friend whom you respect read your script." (review your process)

In medicine, surgeon and author Atul Gawande hired a senior surgeon to review his process (come into the operating room) and suggest improvements. This was a humbling experienced for a surgeon, as the profession is filled with outsized egos. Bill Belichick and Nick Saban get together each offseason to swap notes. 

Many of us have watched live or filmed practices of great coaches. Watching the UCONN women practice in Storrs was eye opening regarding the tempo, skill, and competitiveness. 

Mira Nair - "stamina and rigor...show and not tell"

Watching practice and games speaks volumes. Do we hear the communication and the sneakers squeaking effort? Watching reveals the intent, how will this team work to wear down and defeat the opposition? Is the efficiency level high and do the players radiate joy? 

Apollonia Poilane - "This is a gesture you'll do over and over again." She advises us to cultivate all of our senses. She took four years away from her empire to get an undergraduate degree...from Harvard. 

Breadmaker Poilane inherited her family bread empire at sixteen when her parents died in an accident. Her product is bread not buckets, but she demonstrates the exacting precision of her craft. Technique is everything. 

"Do not be discouraged by failed attempts." 

Salman Rushdie - "Embarrassment is an infallible test" (want to write others to read)...asking others to help is brave. If someone wants to preview your product, are you pleased to have oversight or pained at the lack of craft? 

N.K. Jemisin - "society doesn't provide a lot of opportunities to empathize with other types of people (e.g. overweight)"...villains are often overweight. How do we treat others in the coaching fraternity? Do we provide support and suggestions or sabotage and scorn? Years ago I wrote renowned Orthopedist Dr. James Andrews asking a couple of questions about pitching mechanics and the elbow. We have no connection but he responded with a three page letter. Be there for others. 

Lagniappe: Coaching is about relationships and service. At its best, coaching is a selfless act, sharing experience and wisdom. "Experience is the best teacher but sometimes the tuition is high." 

Learn every day and find craftspeople who inspire and teach well. 

What Could a Performance Coach Add to a Program?

Someone told former pitcher Bob Lemon, "you're not throwing as hard as you used to." He replied, "I'm throwing every bit as hard; the ball isn't going as fast." Substitute hard and fast for effort and results. Better results don't always follow 'hard.' More isn't always better. 

Head coaches have countless responsibilities and could benefit from additional help. What help would reflect on the scoreboard and in the win column?

Here's the College of Charleston form (below). Volunteer assistants are not allowed for football and basketball. 

In Game Changer, Dr. Fergus Connolly explores elements of the Performance Coach. Major sections include The Game, The Player, The Preparation, and the Coach. 

Some major takeaways are highlighted here...I have only begun studying the book. 

Adding a performance coach doesn't fit the current coaching structure. A "performance coach" (PC) would assume other duties among.

• Scouting 
• Personnel 
• Player development
• Player well-being
• Academic coordination
• Strength and conditioning 
• Video coordinator
• Compliance 

In other words, what areas responsibilities might a PC assume or enhance? 

• Practice development (assess each activity and gauge whether contributing to score/winning)
• Player development (sport-specific performance)
• Special situation quality control 
• Detailed problem analysis 
• Game management opportunities 

But above all, coaching effectiveness starts with communication, our ability to deliver our message. 

Dr. Connolly informs six "Laws of Winning" to be understood by coaches in excellent organizations. We can expand on these in the coming weeks. 

1. Law of Knowledge (game and relationships)
2. Law of Human Superiority (it's not the technology)
3. Law of Intensity and Quality (work and burnout, "hard and fast")
4. Law on Individualization (routines function as a team)
5. Law of Preparation (every situation accounted for)
6. Law of Support (no team is an island) 

An overarching theme is understanding how pieces fit together is not child's play. Some people and organizations never "get it." Connolly introduces the chapter with a quote from Lenin, "Read, read, read."

Perhaps we'll never get a performance coach. That means assuming the role ourselves. 

Lagniappe. Aspire to be a true knight in a modern era. 

Lagniappe 2. "Every day is player development day." The Phoenix Mercury create confusion with a horns variant "Ghost Flare"