What is Winning Without Teaching?

Should winning be more important to this guy than learning how to pivot?During a conversation with a friend last week, it was brought up that a friend of his was coaching his son’s 5th grade team. Naturally, I asked how the season was going. He went on to tell me how the program director for the school his team fed into was coming down on him for not getting enough wins nor placing an emphasis on winning. My concern with youth basketball is that adults are placing too much emphasis on winning without thinking of the big picture. If a 5th grade team goes undefeated, does that guarantee future success? Is it a good indicator of improvement at the fundamental skills? Does it necessarily mean that the coach did a great job of teaching the kids?

I’m not an old timer in the sense that I can remember a time when all players were solid in the fundamentals by the time they reached a certain level of play. I can always remember teammates and opponents who had serious deficiencies. (Let’s not even bring up my lack of skills)

However, I know that there is a consistent problem with incoming freshman being able to do the basic individual fundamentals, let alone have a decent understand of a team concept. These are even kids who played on the so-called best team in the city as 8th graders.

While there is no quick fix to this, as coaches who work with young athletes, we can continue to do our jobs of teaching the basics, regardless of how boring or unappealing they may be. Competition has it’s place and is a great thing, but without teaching fundamental skills, we are doing a disservice to our kids.

How Do You Prepare for Practice?

Foam rolling is a great way to physically prepare for practice. I enjoy getting to practice early. My habit of sweeping the floor is one that I seem to enjoy. It allows for me to prepare mentally for the day and think about the key points that need to be made for each drill. Being at practice early also gives me a picture of what players do to prepare for practice. If practice is used to prepare you for a game, then preparing for practice efficiently is vital.

Here are a few examples of what I have witnessed through the years from players getting ready for practice.

The Launchers

Nothing gets you more ready for practice then shooting half-court shots, right?

The Sleepers

Why step on the floor any sooner than you have to, right? I mean, you’re already going to be there for 2 hours. Use your bag as a pillow and wait for the whistle.

The Timekeepers

Practice doesn’t start until 3, so don’t worry about being in the gym , or for that matter on the court, any sooner.

Just as games take preparation, practice does as well. Here are a few ways you can change your practice preparation.

Prepare physically

Although most teams should start practice with a structured dynamic warmup, it is still a great idea to physically prepare before practice. This might involve form shooting, footwork improvement, or ballhandling work. There is never enough time in practice to cover everything you need to improve as a player.

Connect emotionally

The best memories I have of basketball are through the relationships I have built. Take time before practice to ask a teammate how their day was or simply have a conversation that will strengthen your relationship.

Engage mentally

Reflect of past games and practices and visualize different things you need to make improvements on. Identify a couple of keys for the day that will help you improve individually and therefore help your team continue to get closer to its maximum potential.

3 Tips on Shooting (Notes from John Peterson)

I recently had the opportunity to listen to Ohlone College head coach John Peterson speak about shooting. Peterson has been at Ohlone for 13 seasons, including 5 conference championships and 10 twenty-win seasons. He was previously an assistant for Mike Dunlap at Metro State (Dunlap later became an NBA head coach). He dropped a lot of knowledge in about an hour of speaking and player demos. Here are 3 things I feel are applicable for players who want to become better shooters. 1) If your head moves, you're a streaky shooter

When it comes to shooting, the less movement, the better. Watch great shooters and notice how relaxed they are and how little movement there is additional to the shooting motion. Peterson said that the easiest way to keep your head still is to focus on the back of the rim from the time you begin your shot until the ball reaches the rim. If you watch the ball during the shot, your head has to move. "Ball watchers are streaky shooters."

2) Be ambidextrous with your feet

Great shooters can shoot in multiple ways, not only by spotting up. It is important to be able to shoot the ball 3 ways: stepping left-right, stepping right-left, and off of a jump stop. You want to be able to do all 3 of these both off of a catch and off the dribble.

3) Practice bank shots to improve your touch

If you find that your misses are consistently hard and fire off the rim, you need improvement on your shooting touch. Coaches often speak of having a soft touch. Peterson recommended using bank shots in practice to develop a soft touch. If you fire the ball with a hard touch while shooting a bank shot, you will see the negative effect and the need for a soft shooting touch.

The Two Most Important Traits of a Leader

List all of the characteristics of a leader that you can think of. Done? I bet you missed the 2 most important ones.

Humility and pain tolerance.

We all have ambitions to achieve great things. Some of us want to change the world. But for what purpose? It could be argued that most of our "leaders" are not working to benefit their cause, but rather to benefit their ego. They do their best to hold themselves higher than others.

However, great leaders must be willing to humble themselves and tolerate pain in order to achieve the best results for their team. A leader who wants to do the work by him/herself is arrogant, not selfless and not a good teammate. A leader who can not tolerate discomfort will crumble under pressure and find ways to blame other people for their mistakes rather than owning up to them.

It's important for a leader to build their teammates up and trust that they can perform at a high level. One person can not do a job better than a team built of members with many talents.

Highlights from The Stronger Team Huddle

I had the fortunate opportunity to attend the Stronger Team Huddle this past weekend at the Nike World Headquarters. This was a clinic that taught the latest in basketball specific athleticism. The Stronger Team is headlined by Alan Stein, but also featured Blair O’Donovan, Matt Johnson, and Henry Barrera (who I have the privilege of working side by side with on a consistent basis). There was plenty of useful information during the 3-day event. Here are three key takeaways I wanted to share: Tests should not be used as a predictor of success

In basketball, we value things like vertical leap. If a player is in high school and can dunk, it is a common assumption among some people that he must be good at basketball. However, using tests such as the vertical leap, max bench press, or measured speed are not a great way to compare players and determine who will be successful. These tests are great to compare players with themselves and measure athleticism growth. Comparing players with each other should rely on categories such as attendance and effort.

What should be done everyday, is not done everyday

And by consequence, what shouldn’t be done every day, is done everyday. Players always want to play, lift and get in the gym to work on their skills. However, doing these things everyday can lead to physical and mental fatigue. Everyday activities should include mobility and flexibility work. This is easy to do and not time consuming, yet even easier to overlook. Be disciplined and take the time to perform corrective exercises and flexibility routines.

Focus on quality work and build up slow

Everybody is in a hurry. Players are constantly pushed into training programs they are not physically ready for. Stein uses the term “brick by brick approach.” A perfectly built brick building is not put together instantaneously. Somebody has taken the time to meticulously lay each brick with precision and detail. Focus on doing little things well, and they will add up to tremendous growth.

Play With Mental Toughness: Move Past Mistakes

I spend a lot of time thinking about developing mental toughness. The thought of a players mentality holding them back from playing up to their full potential bothers me, especially when that player does all of the right things to improve but simply cannot break through mental barriers. Players will miss shots. They will turn the ball over. Defensive responsibilities will be neglected. Careless fouls will be committed.

The important thing for players to think about is not that they made a mistake, but instead what they will do next time to be successful.

The players who struggle with mental toughness often dwell on their mistakes. One missed shot can start a chain reaction of multiple errors that spark a run for the other team.

Rather than thinking about missing a shot, coach yourself on what will make it a successful shot next time. (Maybe you were off balance, and if you get your feet set next time, it will go in)

Instead of trying to find an excuse as to why you missed a defensive rotation, produce a solution to help you be in the right position on the next defensive possession.

The key to playing with mental toughness is doing the right things on the next play instead thinking about the wrong things on the last play.

The Secret to Becoming a Great Shooter

If you watch Steph Curry play, you quickly realize that he gets a good amount of shots up throughout the game. You also realize that Coach Mark Jackson encourages that. And there is a definite reason for that. The guy is a great shooter. He has the green light. Want to know the secret to becoming a great shooter? Click here.

How Do You Watch Games - - Be a Student of the Game!

The NCAA Tournament is in full swing, meaning there is no shortage of games on TV. For basketball fans, this is the best time of the year. From the cinderella stories to the friendly competition of bracket pools, we can easily become consumed during this tournament. It is easy for even those who usually don’t follow basketball to become fans for a few weeks. But what if you are striving to become a great player? Part of maturing as an athlete is becoming a student of your sport. The older and more serious you get about basketball, the more important it becomes to be a student of the game. This involves placing value on more important things than dunks, blocks, and crossovers. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying the highlights, but it is beneficial to your growth as a player to look for the details of the game.

Here are some things you can do when you watch to become a student of the game.

Get your eyes off the ball

Watch how players move without the ball. How do they set screens? How do they read screens? What do they do after they screen? It is great to watch the really good teams to see what efficient movement is. But it can also be helpful to watch bad teams to see what things shouldn’t look like. Think back to your game film during the season and compare to the good teams and the bad teams.

Follow your position

Find a good player who plays the same position as you and watch how they play the position. Not just when they have the ball, but also when they are away from the ball. How do they transition from defense to offense? Or offense to defense? How are they being successful at their position?

Watch defense

Especially a good defensive team. Where are they positioned away from the ball? What is their footwork like on and off the ball? Where are their hands? Great defensive teams are easy to point out: they win.

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Maybe the most important aspect of becoming a student of the game to actually watch basketball games. Don’t settle for 2k or Sportscenter. Watch whole games. There’s nothing wrong with watching NBA games, but make sure you watch some college games as well. The high-achieving mid-major teams are often the most fundamental. The reason for this is because NBA players are a different type of athlete. The things that NBA players are doing are not realistic for high school players to emulate. Make sure you mix in some high level college basketball and study what being great at the fundamentals entails.

What Your Spring Should Look Like

Spring break is only a week away. And next season is only 8 months away. It’s time to start formulating a plan to improve as player and help your team improve. Getting in the gym is a good start, there is much more to it then being in the gym for crazy amounts of time. The spring is also a great time to rest your body after 4 grueling months. As you move into your spring training program, here are some things that can help you prepare for next season right now.

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Gain muscle

Most likely you have lost muscle and strength during the season. Even if you maintained an in-season training program, the amount of stress your body was under probably deteriorated some of your strength. The spring is a great time to put on muscle. The goal shouldn’t be to gain a specific amount of muscle weight, but rather to increase strength. As a basketball player, it isn’t extremely important to be bulky. It’s more important to be strong. Building strength now will set the foundation for speed, quickness, and explosion.

Get rest

In order to develop strength, your body has to rest. Part of rest is sufficient recovery. Doing mobility exercises, corrective exercises, and foam rolling are great things to do instead of steady-state aerobic activities like jogging or biking. Another aspect of rest is mental rest. Find time to do leisure activities that you don’t have time for during the season. And, of course, sleep! Develop a regular sleep schedule. For example, in bed every night by 10 pm and awake every morning by 6:30 am. This helps your body and mind much more than staying up til 2 am and sleeping until noon.

Grow your skill set

Every player has weaknesses. LeBron is arguably the best player in the world and is still hounded about certain aspects of his game. You can, and need to, get better. Talk with your coach and figure out what you can improve on to help your team succeed. Regardless of what your personal limitations are as a player, everybody should be looking, at the least, to improve their ability to shoot and handle the ball. Rather than just getting mass amount of shots up, try to improve your shooting mechanics first.

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If you play a spring sport, you are still doing something productive. Developing as an overall athlete is something that is overlooked nowadays (and something I overlooked as a young athlete). But if you plan on spending your spring time playing 2k and tweeting with plans of killing it on the court next season, you need to figure it out!

Players Are Made In the Off-Season! (Video)

The high school season is over, and basketball players are finding themselves with quite a bit more free time then they are used to. Well, guess what? It's time to get better. Now is the time you should be reflecting on last season and begin to think deeply about your goals on the court in the future. What will you do this off-season to achieve those goals? An athlete who has spent time in past off-seasons working to improve is Meagan Ratliff. As a junior this past season, she averaged 12 points per game and earned 2nd Team All-MWC while leading Silverton HS to a state playoff birth. Check out this feature on Meagan as she talks about last season and looks to her senior year.

http://youtu.be/pbSU3069fX8