What Are You Willing To Do?

A few days ago I was watching a college game on T.V. and the color analyst made an interesting comment that, should any of you heard it, requires some parsing.

He said, "He (the offensive player) should have pulled it (the ball) out and set something up and run some time off the clock."

Here's what happened to prompt the commentator's response. Blue Team is up 3 points with under two minutes to play. Blue retrieved a turnover deep at their defensive end and broke out on the dribble immediately - just as he should. Two of the offense (now defense) were able to get back and settle in just in front of the goal. The dribbler came at the basket hard and fast, made a dribble move, and split the defense for a shot. He missed and the defense got the rebound.

Now was the commentator right in his assessment? Probably. But what he didn't say is what you, as a coach, need to always remember. I watched most of this game (it was either that or go Christmas shopping) and I saw the Blue Team work extremely hard at both ends. They were aggressive and constantly taking the game to the other team. While the White Team probably had better players, they also were on their heels most of the game. Because of the intense pressure the Blue Team applied to them, they never really could get in a flow. Sure the Blue Team took some bad shots, threw some bad passes, but they also laid their guts out on the floor at both ends.

So the question becomes: would the Blue Team even be in a position to win the game if they did not play with this attitude? I think not. These were 9 guys who played to the maximum of their abilities BECAUSE THEY WERE ALLOWED TO!! If you want to control everything your team does to show what a brilliant coach you are then you are doing a dis-service to your kids. But if you are willing to let your kids make stupid mistakes, and maybe even lose a game - and you will look bad in the process - then you are doing right by them. And I'll bet that you will win more games than you lose if you do. But you will to have some guts.

So: do you got 'em?

Hey, What Are We Talkin' 'Bout?

I was at a high school practice the other day, and I got to thinking about what this blog is really about. Yeah, I knew before yesterday, but I am going to hint to at least a bit of what its broad scope is. Probably just as revealing as my explanation is what I witnessed at the practice that spurred my thinking.

But here is what I saw. A lot of standing, a lot of half-hearted play, and very little understanding from the players of what they were trying to do. You have all heard about setting goals and having the drive to reach those goals. And many of you have embraced that philosophy and it plays out in your every day life. And, to be fair, probably every basketball team (at least at the high school level and above) has goals for the season. Things like "win the conference", "Beat Watsamatta U", things like that. And many of those teams have other goals like shooting 70% from the line or 30% from behind the arc.

But what I'm talking about is not goals. It's purpose. And I believe your purpose can be broken down into small, chewable bites that reflect the larger purpose. And it is equally important in basketball as it is in life. We will talk more about purpose as we go along, but this is what is meant by a lot of coaches when they talk about their team having a personality. It is the team buying into their purpose and it comes out as their personality.

So what does that mean to you? The youth hoops coach? Simply this: you want to develop attitude and purpose with your team. And you do this by making sure your players know what their purpose is on offense and defense. And the beauty of this is that you can massage your strategy for different opponents because you already have a base from which to maneuver. In other words, you've taken away so much from your opponent that you can give up what you want to rather than accept what your opponent is demanding.

Let me give you another hint about what we are discussing in this blog. You don't develop purpose and personality by running plays or motion offenses. In fact, that is diametrically opposed to purpose. And your player's development. And fun. Most of all, it takes away from fun. Basketball should be fun, don't you think?

More to come.

Please Stop Doing This!

I was at a high school game a few days ago, watching the J.V. Remember when we discussed that one fundamental that everyone teaches that I am begging you to just forget? Well, it came up again.

Now, please understand something. I used to be that guy who demanded that the players use this fundamental. I used to be the guy that boxed in players with silly rules and constraints. I used to be the guy that practiced all the wrong things. But, unlike many of you, I was also the guy who was willing and eager to learn from the best. And I took every advantage of that. So forgive my pretentious pontificating, but I think I am justified because I have made all the mistakes you might be making right now.

Anyway, here's the play. Dribbler coming down the middle of the floor on a 2 on 2. Both defenders are in the hole and the other offensive player is settled in the short corner, wide open. So here comes the dribbler with no one on him and he tries to make a running pass to his teammate. It sails out of bounds. The coach got up and said, "If you had (insert silly fundamental here) you wouldn't have made that turnover."

How wrong can one be? In fact, if the dribbler had executed this "fundamental" he would have turned it over another way. What the coach should have said, what I would have said is, "Hey, next time take it all the way to the goal and make a move or just shoot the jumpshot." And that's what you should say as well.

As coaches, we have to look beyond the simple things that we have been taught in the past and really analyze what makes a good player. It's probably not what you think. And that's what this blog is for.

Please, any questions? Ask away.

A Wonderful, Fantastic Smack-Down

A few days ago I was asked to sit on the bench with a young coach who is coaching a boys 7th grade team. I know this guy very well, and he absolutely has it going on. He gets it. So he's playing in a 7th grade league and most of his guys are smaller and younger, so he has his hands full from the get-go.

The game begins and we're hanging around for a little while. Mostly because the other team's first group was nervous so they didn't start too well, and the second five is just bad enough to where we could stay with them. Then the first five gets in for their second rotation and the game quickly gets out of hand. By halftime, we're down 10. By the end of the game we're down 24. That's a real beating considering the fact that it was running clock and all of that.

So he turns to me as the last seconds wind down, "Well, what did you think?" he says.

I looked at him and smiled, "I thought they played great," I said.

"Yeah, me to," he said as he rose from the bench to greet his team coming off of the floor.

Now why did we say that? Because we both knew that we will catch that team and pass them up. We were the more aggressive team throughout, and we played harder at both ends of the floor. We lost because we either didn't have the skills or the size to run with this team.

You see this is the point. While the other team was running their patterned offense, thinking they were being successful because their greater size and speed made it harder for us to keep up, we tried to pull off our dribble moves. Failing every time. Basketballs were more like dodgeballs in that gym. But we tried and tried and kept on trying. And with each failure, we got a little bit better. But the more we try to use our skills in a real game, the better we will be. And one day, if some idiot coach makes our kids run a patterned offense, they will have the skills to make any offense work.

Even the flex.

Whadya Think Yer Doin'?

Hey, if you are finding this information useful, please drop us a comment. If you're not finding this information useful, please drop us a comment. And pass this stuff on to your buds, your kids coach (at any level), and anyone else you can think of.

We are happy to answer any questions you have, so fire away. But don't expect us to step off the ground we've staked out. We just don't see that happening. Nevertheless, if you want to know what we mean, or you need some advice on coaching your team the best way possible, just ask.

So come on people, spread the word of hoops literacy.

Interesting rest stop on the highway to hoops stardom

I was at another coach's practice last week and an interesting question came up. Now this guy is one heckuva coach. He's got it going on, and he GETS IT! His team is highly skilled and because of that he is able to run and execute any entry he wishes. But a disagreement came up.

This is the play: Offense broke the press and found themselves with a two on one. Ball on the left wing, other offensive guy on the right wing and the defense was deep in the hole. The guy with the ball on the left wing tried to pass to the other wing, who was making a cut to the goal. Of course the defense picked it off and the coach stopped the action to correct his players.

"When you are faced with a defender that wont come get you," he said, "you have to either shoot the mid-range jumper or pull it out."

I went to him after practice and asked him why, because I vehemently disagree. He explained that he would prefer that his guys shoot the jumpshot, but if they are not willing he thinks they could get a better shot by pulling it out.

Here's my disagreement: when you've got young players you want to get them into the habit of attacking all the time. So I would have told that guy to either shoot the jumpshot or attack the basket and make a move. It's my belief, and this is ground I will be hard pressed to move off of, that you attack all the time. Now I recognize that for the first few years your guys will not be able to pull off the move to score, but eventually they will. And now you've got a guy who can create a shot from that position on the floor. You can always revert to shooting the jumper.

He agreed and he recognized that he has the advantage of having guys who are already highly skilled. So he has a lot of options on what he can do. And that, friends, is EXACTLY the point of this blog.

3 Man Weave

May I comment on the 3 man weave? And/or the 5 man weave? I happened by a freshmen girls basketball practice the other day and I got to watch their warrior-like attempt at running the 3 man weave. Now they tried hard, but, come on, there was more travelling going on than O'Hare International Airport. And the passing? Horrendous! Each pass looked like a hot air balloon taking flight.

But make no mistake, I don't blame the players. They don't know. No my question about the 3 man weave is this:

Why?

Why are you even running the three man weave? Can anyone tell me when in the heck any team in the history of basketball broke out into the three man weave when they were going down the floor. It's not like a broadway show, where the participant can break out into song at the oddest times. It's basketball. Where you should be looking to score.

Please, just stop it. The 3 man weave teaches nothing. It's a filler because you can't figure out anything else to do. Stop it. Stop, stop, stop.

The Most Useless Fundamental In The Game

Yesterday I was confronted yet again with that one alleged "fundamental" that is taught over and over again, yet very few have stopped to ask, "Why?" Now, I'm not going to reveal what it is just yet, but I will say this: I spent the last month trying to drive that thinking out of my players only to have it rear its monstrous, ugly, boil encrusted head again. I am sick to death of watching high school and youth programs spend precious minutes and waste a lot of coaching hot air on this ridiculously passe and wrong-headed skill. And, perhaps even more frustrating, teaching this skill does not make players more effective it, in fact, makes players LESS effective.

So why in the heck are you teaching it? Because when your players execute this skill, everyone in the stands will say "ooohhhh" and "aaaahhhhh" at how well coached your team is. "Look at them!", they will say, "that coach really has taught them well."

And that's the only reason there is. So stop it!!

Competing Theories Part Deux

Tonight I witnessed again two competing theories in action. One team played free, fluid, and aggressive. But this team was also smaller, younger, and less experienced. The other team was taller and seasoned. They knew their offense well and ran it with the idea to score. And they won handily.

So what does this do to our theory that younger players should be concentrating on individual skill development to the outright exclusion of running offenses and plays? It supports it completely. Because while the younger team did get beat rather easily (they were never really in the game), eventually they will compete and beat the other team. So if you are coaching the younger team, you will have to sit there stoically while your team gets pounded, secure in the knowledge that you're doing the right thing for your players. If you're in the other camp? Coaching the older team that ran its offense so well? You might be tempted to pat yourself on the back thinking you are doing right by your team because you won so big.

No, you didn't. Get over yourself.