Coaching Style

Your coaching style will play a huge part in determining how you implement your philosophy. Set some goals for your team. First, determine what you want your team to accomplish, and what you want them to get out of the experience. What’s most important? Winning? Getting along with each other and getting everyone equal playing time? Both? In other words, set priorities. If you’re coaching a youth level team, simply getting everyone some playing time might be your top priority. This will most likely not be the case, however, if you’re an AAU, high school or above coach.

Examine Your Coaching Philosophy

Your style is often an extension of your personality. Coach within that personality. Whether you are soft-spoken or hotheaded off the court, most likely, you will assume a similar persona when coaching. This is not always, true, of course, but the exercise will get you thinking about the manner in which you coach.

Assess your players in the same manner. As you become more familiar with your team, you’ll be able to gauge its personality as a whole, as well as the personalities of the individuals it comprises. In honing your coaching style, try to pinpoint an approach that will work effectively and cohesively with your players, individually and as a group. Once you’ve assessed these qualities, make an effort to nurture your strongest characteristics and incorporate them into your style. Be aware of your weakest traits so you can detect and eliminate them when they begin to surface on the court.

A coach wears a number of hats -- teacher, administrator, surrogate parent, friend and counselor. However, regardless of the role that you find yourself in, the most important thing that you can do is be yourself. You can learn from coaches that you admire and even borrow ideas from them. Yet, if your true personality doesn’t come into play, your players will see right through you and have a difficult time relating to you.

One of the most important pieces of advice that can be offered to a new coach is to coach within your personality. Don’t try to coach like someone else or emulate someone else’s style. Be yourself. Players can sense right away when you are insincere or not being yourself. You will go further if you coach in a manner that you are comfortable with.

Life Lessons Through Basketball

Basketball is really more than a game. Some of life’s valuable lessons can be learned along the way. In every game that is played, there are many lessons to be learned ... lessons in determination, responsibility, selflessness, persistence, teamwork, leadership, trust, honesty, sportsmanship, commitment and integrity. There are situations that arise in practices and games that are perfect times for presenting a lesson in life. A good coach will take advantage of these situations and teach life’s lessons. When you play on a team, you learn responsibility as a means of survival ... you have a responsibility to be at practice everyday, and you have the responsibility to be a certain and integral part of the team’s offense and defense. Teammates are so dependent on one another just by the nature of the game. You must learn to trust your teammates, and the flipside of the coin, is for each player to take responsibility to be where he/she is supposed to be on each and every play. You learn that determination is important in basketball. You practice skills day after day to get better, and are taught not to give up; that hard work pays off. This is determination. When you are on a team, you learn that good leadership is very important. You must have leaders both on and off the court that lead the team in a positive direction. Without good leadership, the team suffers. Selflessness is another desired quality. In a team sport such as basketball, selfishness can disrupt a team’s focus on the goal. Commitment is another quality desirable of each of the members of a team. Without commitment, the team suffers. Everyone must be committed to reach the team’s goals. These qualities are some of life’s lessons. Not only are they important on the basketball court, they carry over into life after basketball, into the workplace, into relationships and into every phase of your life. The basketball court is the classroom, and the coach is the teacher. That is why employers love to hire athletes in their businesses. Many of the lessons have already been learned.

One life lesson that basketball can teach is to keep your goals in mind. Instead of focusing on your present exhaustion, think about the basketball goals you have in mind - to be a stronger and better athlete. Think about getting stronger and faster and better prepared to dominate in your upcoming games. Remind yourself that the pain is temporary, but the strength will make you a better player in the future. Picture your opponents and imagine yourself outlasting them throughout the long game. Remember that your strength will help you succeed all season long.

Coach Within Your Personality

One of the most important pieces of advice that can be offered to a new coach is to coach within your personality. Don´t try to coach like someone else or emulate someone else´s style. Be yourself. Players can sense right away when you are insincere or not being yourself. You will go further if you will coach in a manner that you are comfortable with.

GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR COURT TIME

If you are going to put in a new offensive play tomorrow, then at the end of practice tonight - distribute to your players a written copy to go right into their Playbook, and for them to know tomorrow. When tomorrow arrives have them walk through it.In a matter of just a couple of minutes, you are now working 3/4 speed and discussing KEY components of execution such as timing, floor spacing and the sequence of options.

Competitive Practices

As often as possible, make practices competitive. Games are played to be won and lost, so the more competition you can have in practice, the more used to competition your players will be.

Redefine Winning

The Positive Coaching Alliance says, that a Positive Coach helps players redefine what it means to be a winner through a mastery, rather than a scoreboard, orientation. He sees victory as a by-product of the pursuit of excellence. He focuses on effort rather than outcome and on learning rather than comparison to others. He recognizes that mistakes are an important and inevitable part of learning and fosters an environment in which players don´t fear making mistakes. While not ignoring the teaching opportunities that mistakes present, he teaches players that a key to success is how one responds to mistakes. He sets standards of continuous improvement for himself and his players. He encourages his players, whatever their level of ability, to strive to become the best players, and people, they can be. He teaches players that a winner is someone who makes maximum effort, continues to learn and improve, and doesn't let mistakes (or fear of mistakes) stop them."

Cutthroat

Play three-on-three four-on-four game called cutthroat which is hugely effective in teaching kids how to move.The rules are simple.

1) The game is best played with three or more teams of four (any leftover players can be rotated in at your discretion). To minimize confusion, each team should have its own practice jersey.
2) Every player on a team must touch the ball at least once before any shot can go up.
3) If a player catches the ball and fails to face the basket in triple threat position before dribbling or passing, it is a turnover.
4) If a player passes the ball, then fails to cut to the basket and fill to an open spot or go screen for a teammate, it´s also a turnover
5) A player can dribble no more than three times -- either to open up a passing lane or to attack the basket.
6) Only the guy with the whistle in his mouth (the coach!) is allowed to officiate. Points are automatically and instantly deducted any time a player protests a call.
7) One point is awarded for each basket made, one point for each offensive rebound, and one point for each steal (unforced turnovers don´t count!).

At every change of possession (turnover and defensive rebound) and at every made basket, the ball is passed back to the coach. If there´s been a change of possession, the offensive team *sprints* off the floor and the defensive
team goes to offense. The third team, waiting on the baseline, *sprints* onto the court and matches up on defense. The coach encourages this quick change over by passing the ball to the offensive team almost as soon as he receives it. After a made basket, however, it is the defensive team that vacates the floor. The offense stays on as long as they continue to score, which they can only do by passing and cutting and staying in motion.

Keep Things Simple

There is an old rule in coaching-KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid). A key to coaching success is to do a few simple things well. Repetition in practice will perfect those things that you want to do.

Teaching is Coaching

Good coaches are good teachers, and good teachers do several things consistently. They are clear in what they are trying to get across to their students; they are demanding in what they want in return; and they are adamant about getting it. Apply these principles to your coaching and you will be amazed at the results.

Clinics

A good source of coaching information is clinics. You can generally listen to a number of coaching experts at one site for a reasonable rate. If you can come away with one idea that helps your program, the clinic has been well worth it.

Praise/Scold/Re-instruct

A good method of communicating to players when they exhibit negative behavior is to praise/scold/re-instruct. Tell a player how good they can be, then admonish them for a poor play, but then follow that with instruction on how they should perform or how to do it better.

Bench Charts

Organization at game time is crucial during pressure situations. Have an assistant coach with a list of plays and the situations in which you want to use them. Schedule time to practice these plays periodically so the players are prepared when any special situation arises.

Calling All Coaches

The best way to find a personal trainer or coach to assist you locally is to talk to coaches in your area. If they aren't available, they will know great coaches who are reputable and who will be a great fit for your needs!

Practice

Always take practice seriously because the way you practice is the way you are going to play. If you don´t put much effort into practice, those habits will show on the court during the game. Practice hard and you will play hard in the games.

Fills Players' Emotional Tanks

The Positive Coaching Alliance says that a Positive Coach is a positive motivator who refuses to motivate through fear, intimidation, or shame. He recognizes that every player has an "Emotional Tank" like the gas tank of a car. Just as a car with an empty gas tank can't go very far, a player with an empty emotional tank doesn´t have the energy to do his best.

A Positive Coach understands that compliments, praise, and positive recognition fill Emotional Tanks. He understands the importance of giving truthful and specific feedback and resists the temptation to give praise that is not warranted. When correction is necessary, a Positive Coach communicates criticism to players in ways that don´t undermine their sense of self-worth. A Positive Coach strives to achieve a 5:1 "Plus/Minus Ratio" of praise to correction.

A Positive Coach establishes order and maintains discipline in a positive manner. He listens to players and involves them in decisions that affect the team. He works to remain positive even when things aren´t going well. He recognizes that it is often when things go wrong that a coach can have the most lasting impact and can teach the most important lessons. Even when facing adversity, he refuses to demean himself, his players, or the environment. He always treats athletes with respect, regardless of how well they perform.