Next Play Mentality

Basketball is not a game that can be played perfectly.  That doesn't mean you shouldn't strive for perfection, have great attention to detail or correct mistakes, but it does mean player frustration to the point of affecting performance on the next play has to go.  Players have to be mentally tough enough to learn from mistakes and then put the previous play behind them.  Jordan didn't make every clutch shot, Kareem didn't make every sky hook, Stockton never went a season without a turnover and even Reggie Miller missed a free throw from time to time.  These players were mentally tough enough to take the next shot, make the next pass in traffic or step up to the free throw line with supreme confidence even if the failed on the previous play.

Do your players have a "next play" mentality?

1st Day of Practice

It doesn't get much more exciting than the 1st day of practice.  Everyone is excited about the start of basketball season, anxious to practice, and brings lots of energy.

Amidst that energy and excitement we also must shift our focus.  In the pre-season it was all about individual development.  Improve your strength, conditioning and skill level, but now the focus must be centered on our TEAM and everything we do must begin and end with the team in mind.

Talented players are a requirement in the recipe of success, but team chemistry is also important.  When talented players play hard, together and with attention to detail success will follow.  In the pre-season we were trying to improve our talent level.  Now its time to take the talent we have and mold them into one unit that plays for each other and has great attention to detail. Good luck to everyone embarking on a new season today!

Parent Meeting Agenda

I. Thanks for attendance
II. Intro Staff
III. Purpose
IV. Team Expectations
V. Philosophy
      a. Varsity vs. JV
VI. Communication Plan
VII. Player Treatment
VIII. Master Schedule
IX. Contact Info

A couple points I really wanted to emphasize was how important communication is to our program and the expectation of communication coming from the player.  We are a high school program and believe part of our charge is to help transition our players into adulthood.  I gave an example; if I have an issue with my principal I'm not going to call my mom and ask her to call my boss for me because I didn't like the way he handled some issue. We really want players to advocate for themselves and shoulder all communication responsibilities.

The other point we try to get across in parent meetings is about playing time.  This seems to be the number 1 concern for parents and its never a productive conversation.  Playing time is a judgement call and opinion based.  The parent can give their opinion and the coach can return theirs, but the conversation is just going to go in circles until both parties agree to disagree, but with the decision still lying with the coach.

Buy In

Getting players to buy in is critical to your overall success and it starts with the best players/leaders of the team.  There are lots of different ways to play basketball successfully, but none will be productive if your players don't buy into what you're selling.  When talented players are committed to the style of play, sets, schemes, etc. success will follow. Meet with your leaders regularly and make sure you're on the same page.

Malcolm Jenkins Hustle

 

 Malcolm Jenkins may have saved the game for the New Orleans Saints with his hustle.  Vincent Jackson caught what would be a 95 yard reception for Tampa Bay and looked to be coasting in for a certain touchdown when Malcolm Jenkins came from seemingly nowhere to tackle him just short of the goal line.  The Saints ended up keeping the Bucs out of the endzone on that possession in a game that the Saints would eventually win in overtime.  I'll be adding the video of this play to my archive of motivational videos to be shared with our team.  Just an incredible effort by a fierce competitor!

Does your defense make sense?

I was speaking with a coach the other day and discussing team defensive philosophies.  Many teams in our area influence players to the baseline when the ball is located on the wing free throw line extended, but will 3/4 front the post on the high side.  To me it doesn't make sense to tell your post player to play on the high side 3/4 and be able to give baseline help. 

Another one that hear all the time is they want their players to be in the passing lanes and deny, but then get upset when defenders one pass away can't properly support a drive.  Maybe I'm not demanding enough of our players, but I don't think you can consistently deny one pass away and support a drive with the same defender.

Another one that I struggle with as a coach is if we are influencing baseline on the wing and then decide our ball screen rule will be to force a player to use a screen and never let them reject it.  That would be a completely different stance than we normally teach.

The purpose of this post is not to tell you what your defensive system should look like, but to get you thinking about your defensive system.  Go through all the different scenarios you anticipate seeing from offenses this season and make sure your rules make sense.

Peyton Siva maturation

Peyton Siva was a highly recruited high school player out of the Seattle area before settling on Louisville.  Earlier this week Siva was named the pre-season player of the year in the Big East and his team is the #2 ranked program in the country according to one pre-season poll.  Last year Louisville made a run to the final four where they lost to the eventual national champion Kentucky Wildcats.

The road to being picked as the pre-season player of the year in the Big East was not always a smooth one for Siva.  He had trouble adjusting to the intensity of college basketball and the intense coaching he was receiving as a freshman at Louisville, but instead of taking the easy way out and transferring or moving back home Peyton sucked it up and grinded through the first couple years in Louisville's program.  Now Siva understands and accepts the coaching he is receiving and is a mentally tough player who has become the leader of one of the best programs in the nation.  Too many players go to college and don't give it a realistic chance to work out.  They can't accept the coaching, hours, time away from home or not being the "go to" guy.

Team Chemistry

"The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don't play together, the club won't be worth a dime." - Babe Ruth

Team chemistry is often mentioned in passing as a trait of a good team, but probably doesn't get enough credit for the overall success of the team.  Yes you must have a certain level of talent among your collection of individuals that make up the team, but without chemistry the team is destined to underachieve.  How many times have you seen professional teams assembled via big free agency bucks that look like championship locks on paper only to fall short of their expectations? Talent alone cannot guarantee a championship.

What are you doing to develop team chemistry and maximize your potential?

Abraham Lincoln Overcoming Failure

You may be aware of the challenges and successes of Abraham Lincoln after he became the 16th president of the United States of America, but take a look at the setbacks he suffered through and learned from on the way to his presidency...

Failed in business at age 21.
Was defeated in a legislative race at age 22.
Failed again in business at age 24.
Overcame the death of his sweetheart at age 26.
Had a nervous breakdown at age 27.
Lost a congressional race at age 34.
Lost a congressional race at age 36.
Lost a senatorial race at age 45.
Failed in an effort to become vice-president at age 47.

Lost a senatorial race at age 47.

Was elected PRESIDENT of the United States at age 52!

Abraham Lincoln showed incredible perseverance and mental toughness with his ability to handle failure.  I see players today miss a shot and it affects their defense or makes them timid when the next shot opportunity comes along.  Players must see failure as an opportunity to try again with more knowledge.  Thomas Edison is famous for saying I haven't failed, I've just found 10,000 ways that don't work. 

How will you respond to failure?

Sell Yourself

Every time we interact with the community the group or individual we are with is judging and making presumptions about us.  Like it or not those take a-ways become part of our reputation and our reputation becomes our brand.  Don't miss an opportunity to represent yourself or your program in a good light.

Our basketball program is putting on an alumni game this weekend and we have a tremendous opportunity to represent our program in a good light and mold the way our program and players are perceived within the community. The day kicks off with youth activities where our players will have an opportunity to interact with youth of our community.  Our players will become role models to every child they connect with and parents are watching how our players are interacting with their child.  Later in the day we have an opportunity to interact with former players who will also be sizing up how our players present themselves.

The message to our team today as we prepare for homecoming weekend is to take advantage of the opportunity we will have this weekend, accept the responsibility of being a positive role model to the youth of our community, represent themselves and our program to the best of their ability at all times and never miss an opportunity to sell yourself. 

Peyton Manning - Being there for his Teammates

“Being there every day for my teammates is really important to me. It's about accountability.”
- Peyton Manning, Denver Broncos

 Peyton Manning's work ethic, attention to detail, and relentless pursuit of perfection is well known.  I remember hearing Brad Stevens speak at a basketball coaching clinic and he was talking about the opportunity he had to visit the Colts facility when Manning was still playing for Indianapolis. It was off-season, 8am, and veterans like Peyton Manning were not required to be there at this point, but Peyton Manning was there.  Brad Stevens found him in a film room with the other quarterbacks running the film session and talking through the details of hand-offs and play-action.  Peyton Manning had nothing to prove at that point in his career having already been a Superbowl Champion, MVP, multiple pro-bowl appearances, but he felt it was important to be there working with his teammates anytime the facilities were open.

Accountable part 2

“Everybody is going to have to be accountable. If you’re on the field, you have to give me 100 percent. Always. We have to weed out the bad seeds, point blank. If you can’t give me what I’m giving you on the field, I don’t need you on the field with me. I have no problem telling that guy I don’t need him on the field, and I have no problem going to tell Bill (Belichick) I don’t want him on the field. That’s how you win.

- ” Vince Wilfork, New England Patriots

Part of the New England Patriots formula of success is player leadership and players willing to hold their teammates accountable.  Wilfork makes his stance very clear that he doesn't care about skill level, potential, round you were drafted or contract amount.  If you're not playing with maximum effort, then he's going to call you out.

Do you have players who will hold their teammates accountable?

Accountable part 1

“When your teammate looks you in the eye and holds you accountable, that’s the greatest kind of leadership there is.” Doug Collins, Philadelphia 76ers Coach

Teams who have player leaders that will hold their teammates accountable start with an advantage over their competition.  If the coach is only person within a program that can hold players accountable, then players are always looking to survive workouts/practices instead of looking to improve.  We've all had players who have what I like to call the "coach's eye." These players only go hard when the coach is watching and look for every opportunity to slack off. The coach can only be in so many places and look in so many directions at one time, especially if you are a high school coach operating in an "open facilities" format where on the floor coaching is prohibited.  Teams that reach their potential will improve while the coach's eye is not on them and will have player leaders willing to hold their teammates accountable.