GRIND TIME

Tis the season!!!  Conference play is winding down across the country and teams are; gearing up for post-season runs, hoping for post-season magic, or starting to lay the foundation for next season.  Whichever you are doing it is so incredibly important to understand there is value to everything you do for the rest of the season regardless of your record or your conference standing.

It is so easy at this time of year to become complacent.  It's been a long season and repetition sometimes can lead to boredom or complacency.  Combine that with the snow melting and the sun shining and there are more distractions than usual to keep players minds out of the gym.  As coaches it is up to us to find new ways to keep your team excited and anxious to come to practice, to watch film, and to study scouting reports.  Too often the players hit the wall right now and put it on coast mode because "we've already played this team so we know what they do" or they get so excited for conference and post-season tournaments that they over look these last few weeks.  It is ABSOLUTELY your job to keep them as excited about these next few weeks as the post season for one simple reason.  Winning these "GRIND TIME" games gives you a better shot at winning in the post season.  How many times have we seen that conference leading team get upset in the last few games of the season?  It happens all the time!  And when it happens, it usually has an effect on post-season seeding for the conference tournament, potentially costing that team a first round bye!  It is also very important to know the NCAA Tournament Committee looks at a teams last 10 games.  They want to see how you are playing down the stretch.  Are you handling your business and getting better, or are you in "coast mode".  Will that "coast mode" make you a #8 or #9 seed instead of a #6 or #7?  Remember as a #8 or a #9 seed, if you win your first round game, your reward is a #1 seed!!!!  Surely you and your players would rather be a #6 or #7 and avoid the #1 seeds for as long as possible!

It doesn't take much to re-energize your program at this time of year.  A surprise day off, a movie night on the road, a day of fun at practice instead of the usual.  Use your imagination and be creative.  One of my favorite traditions is a "Whiffle Ball" game instead of practice.  There is nothing more fun than to watch All-American basketball players swing a little plastic bat.  And yes - I swing for the fences!

Whatever you do always remember the big picture - I know we get so focused on looking only to the next day and the next game.  But when you keep your team excited and focused during this "GRIND TIME" you will have a much better chance of success in March and April!

ENJOY YOUR SHOT!!

SHARED OWNERSHIP

Well - I am sorry it has taken so long for me to jump back on the keyboard and pound out some thoughts.  I do think however the wait is well worth it as I believe this topic is absolutely a cornerstone to a successful program.  A recent tweet of mine set this whole thought process in motion.  The tweet mentioned one of my favorite quotes which is, "This program is bigger than any one of us, but this program is each of us."  This quote of course alludes to the concept of SHARED OWNERSHIP.

With age comes maturity, with maturity comes patience, with patience comes understanding.  With understanding comes the simple idea that you can't do things all by yourself!!! And even in those rare instances that you can - you can always achieve greater results when you trust another person to help you.

When you surround yourself with great energetic people who are excited to achieve success, and you give them responsibilities that are unique and specific to them, you must trust them to get the job done!  And when you follow this recipe, you will be amazed with the results.  The greatest benefit from this idea is more often than not, the people you have entrusted with tasks will work harder and longer to make you proud of them.  The worst thing a person can feel is disappointment when someone gives them an assignment and they let that person down.  So often a person will work harder and longer to ensure that they get it right so you will be appreciative of their efforts.  I have been on both sides of this equation and absolutely have seen the benefits.

Whether it is a coach, trainer, support staff, player, manager, etc....... When you step back and allow them the freedom to complete their job without hovering more often than not you won't be disappointed.  They will deliver and achieve results above and beyond what you could have hoped for - which only makes you look smarter, your job easier and your program, "BIGGER THAN ANY ONE OF YOU, BUT EACH OF YOU!"

ENJOY YOUR SHOT!!

MENTAL TELEPATHY

I love practice - I absolutely love practice.  I love helping our players learn and understand how to most effectively use their unique gifts and talents.  Practice is the ultimate classroom for players and there is so many ways to deliver your message in this environment.  Sometimes a direct message from you to the players is enough to get the job done and sometimes we as coaches let the players figure things out on their own.  I love when players have that "Ah Haaah" moment on their own and all you have to do is point out the lesson already learned.  A great example of this happened yesterday in practice.  The following is a transcript of exactly what happened:

We are doing a 5 x 0 drill.  One of our post players is running hard down the middle of the floor "main street" and seals the coach holding a pad to receive a "paint / post catch." While that is going on our other "BIG" is settling into the top of the key area, "trail spot."  The post player gets the ball locates middle as she is taught while the trail big stays at the top of the key.  The post player then begins to go to a drop step to the middle as the trail big begins to dive to the opposite block.  The post player then stops.  The trail big then stops.  The post player goes to some uncertain weak unaggressive shot while the trail big stands in the paint.  I blow the whistle.

"Hold up," I say..... "Hold up." as I hold out my hands to signal for the ball to be passed to me.  I tuck it under my arm and begin walking back down the court.

"Let's go back..... we're alright," I say in my most calm and soothing voice.  "We have a great thing here." The players all give me a quizzical look.

"Our post player got a post catch there," I say pointing to the post area.  I turn to the post player, "Did you want to score that?"

"No," she said.  "I wanted to pass it to the trail diving."

I turned to the trail post player and asked, "Did you think your post player was going to score?"

"Yeah," she said.

"Okay - this is great!" I exclaim again being met with 16 quizzical looks.  "We now have another absolute to add to our list of things we know for certain........ Our post player and our trail person..... Those 2 players....." (I pause for dramatic effect)  "DO NOT HAVE MENTAL TELEPATHY!"

(chuckles from the team)

"They don't!" I say.  "And know we all now know that!" "So we are gonna have to TALK," I say once again very calmly, a Louisiana drawl making a slight appearance in my delivery.

"Me and the guy who drives the ice cream truck in my neighborhood, we may have mental telepathy because he always seems to show up when I am in need of a little treat!" I exclaim in a rising tone to laughter from the team, the quizzical looks now turning to looks of understanding with that "Ah Haah" moment firmly established on their faces.  

"But we now know you two players do not!" 

"Let's GO!" I yell as I throw the ball back up off the rim to start the drill, and the players emphatically and enthusiastically talk to each other while racing down the floor intent on using their new found knowledge for the rest of practice and hopefully the rest of the season.

The message behind this story..... I have yet to meet players who have mental telepathy.  Get your team to talk....... Get your employees to talk........ It absolutely takes guessing and misunderstanding out of the equation and gives your organization the best chance to always stay on the same page!

ENJOY YOUR SHOT!!

ONE CANNOT FLY INTO FLYING

Ok - school has started - the fanfare is over, and while much of the country spends time focusing on the  window dressing of their program, here is your chance to ensure your program of a couple extra wins this upcoming season by focusing on some small but critically important details with your on the court teachings.  These details are often overlooked or decided against in developing players for this simple reasoning.......

• This is beginner level teaching and won't hold the players interest and attention.  
• It is much more fun to dive right into the offense or defense and play games than instruct players on how to do specific little things. 

Learning to do specific little things correctly, leads to becoming a better individual player.  If you have 5 individuals on the court who have each become better individual players, your team dramatically becomes better.  This is one of my favorite quotes relating to this idea:
“He who would learn to fly one day must first learn to stand and walk and run and climb and dance; one cannot fly into flying.”

Friedrich Nietzsche  (1844-1900)  

Thanks to Eddie Murphy in the movie Coming to America I learned about the wisdom of Nietzche! (Thanks to Eddie Murphy I learned a lot of other things in the '80's but that is a topic for another time!)  Keeping this philosophy in mind let's take Nietzsche's advice and teach our players to first learn to stand.  We will do that by taking a closer look at shooting the basketball - and exactly what makes a good shooter.

First of all - understand something - no shooters have the exact same form and shot technique.  There are countless ways to put the ball in the basket and no one particular way is better than another.  The KEY, especially when working with college and professional athletes is developing a simple and consistent shot that can easily be maintained and "tweaked" when necessary.  Rarely is there a situation when you completely need to rebuild a student-athletes shot.  Far too often that is the mistake coaches and players make.  Telling a player they need to "completely fix" something usually leads to frustration and confusion on their part.  Remember these players have been highly recruited and to tell them something needs to be "completely redone" would be hard for anyone to hear.  Instead, it is important for the coach to really spend time watching the player, studying their form and rhythm and really trying to identify ways to bring consistency to the shot.  Some things that are really important to focus on include:

• Feet - The ball goes where the toes are pointed.  Watch the players feet and see which direction they face, and do they face the same way every time.
• Feet - Where do they take off and where do they land?  
• Hand Position - What part of their shooting hand is touching the ball? Is it on the fingertips? Is the Thumb nice and soft?
• Off Hand Involved - Is the off hand manipulating the shot?
• Balance - When the ball is released, what is the position of the body? Did they shoot "up and out of the phone booth?"
• Finish - Are they "Enjoying their shot?" Is their "Hand in the Cookie Jar?"

The ability to instantly use video to help in  your teaching really can help drive home the point you are trying to make with your players.  To provide solid visual evidence to support your teaching can really help add credibility to your teaching.  Film the players shooting the basketball, then spend time analyzing it with them.  Perfect their shot on video - then compare it with game film of them shooting.  The closer they match, the more successful and consistent shooter the player will become.

I still use these simple guidelines every time I am on the court doing skill work whether I am working with an incoming freshman, or WNBA players.  Incorporate these simple ideals into your teaching early in the season to ensure by March your team will be dancing in postseason play and you will all be - "ENJOYING YOUR SHOT"

IMPORTANCE OF ROLES

Last week we talked about team expectations, and the importance of understanding each persons "role" in the organization.  While most would agree that defining and accepting roles is a critical part to the success of any organization, it isn't as easy as just telling someone their role and leaving it at that.  I thought it would be great to share with you the four key points to helping your team, coaches and anyone else in your program understand and accept the roles you are asking them to fulfill.

1. DEFINE THE ROLE - How many times is this important part overlooked?  Either it isn't clearly explained, changes without notice, or isn't even explained in the beginning! I can't tell you the number of times I will hear from coaches who are frustrated with their players and the constant word tracks are - "They just don't get it!" / "They should know it needs to be done that way!" or "We knew to do that - why don't they?"  NEVER ASSUME - and even if the role was defined 1 week, 1 month, or 1 year ago - it is important to always remind them of their defined role, and the importance they play in your teams success.
2. UNDERSTAND THE ROLE - Most often this is where all communication breaks off.  In the "old days" when we were playing, we were told what to do and never even thought to question our coach.  The idea that a player would "run through a brick wall" without ever questioning it is now the exception in athletics, not the norm.  Because of this, it is important you really spend time with the player and help them understand exactly what you are asking of them.  As always, be as specific as possible!  That way if anything happens done the road, it is very easy to refer back to your discussions with the player and remind them of the specific examples that hopefully were given to help them understand their role.
3. ACCEPT THE ROLE - Another huge component that is so often overlooked.  Someone may have had their role defined, and they clearly understand their role - but if they don't truly accept the role they will NEVER complete the next part which is to fulfill the role.  Simply put - if you heart isn't truly in something, it's pretty hard to really put maximum EFFORT, ENERGY, and ENTHUSIASM into whatever you are supposed to be doing.  The challenge for you as a coach or leader of a program is to find the right way to get each player to whole-heartedly accept the role they are given and understand the organizations success is directly related to them performing their role.
4. FULFILL THE ROLE - Once the first three points have been accomplished, this becomes the easiest and most rewarding part of the equation.  This is where the action takes place.  Remember the specific examples you gave earlier?  In this phase you can now circle back to those examples to see how the individual is handling the role given to them.  Measurable goals also work well here to really check to see if the role has been understood and accepted.  Always remember - without clear definition, understanding, and acceptance a role will NEVER be completely fulfilled to the best of their abilities.  And at the end of the day........isn't that what coaching is all about?

ENJOY YOUR SHOT!!!

TEAM EXPECTATIONS

In my last post, we spent some time talking about your preparation for the upcoming season.  Now we can begin to discuss expectations for your team.  There is no better time of the year to clearly set expectations for your team than at the very beginning.  Remember......everyone is 0-0 on the season and everyone has aspirations of having a "special season."  What are the key points you need to instill in August and September to ensure success in March?

• BE A PART OF SOMETHING BIGGER THAN YOURSELF (SELFLESSNESS) - Probably the most important concept to convey anytime you are working with any number of people.  30 years ago, this was understood and one of the main reasons one joined a team.  That mentality drastically changed with the popularity of SportsCenter, and the idea that self-promoting is important in team sports.  Whenever you can get team members to truly understand this concept, you are well on your way to reaping the benefits.
• ENERGY, EFFORT, ENTHUSIASM ALL DAY, EVERY DAY - This has been a mantra for me since 1999 and it is still as valid and applicable today when setting the tone for your team. They MUST give EFFORT, ENERGY, and ENTHUSIASM in everything that they do in order for them to individually reach their potential and for your team to ultimately reach it's potential.  The beauty of EFFORT, ENERGY and ENTHUSIASM is they are 3 things individuals can directly control.  There are so many other outside influences at play every time we compete - isn't it nice to be able to really focus on the things WE can control?
• RESPECT EVERYONES UNIQUE GIFTS AND TALENTS -  I spent some time talking about this in my last post.  It does no good to discover and develop you and your team's gifts and talents, if they aren't respected.  You must spend as much time cultivating this expectation in your program, as you do anything else.  As coaches, we constantly talk about the short comings of our student-athletes, don't forget about their uniqueness to your program and try to focus on that.
• UNDERSTAND AND EMBRACE ROLE DEFINITION AND RECOGNITION -  Nobody does exactly the same job - nor should they!! You have a head coach, possibly an associate head coach and assistant coaches.  Each has a unique job description and should be constantly reminded of how different and important their role is in your program.  The same holds true with your players.  Some roles naturally appear, and some need constant attention to develop - but at the end of the day if you have players or staff members feeling like they are carbon copies of each other - you have a serious problem and are more than likely in for a long season.

Four simple statements to guide you and your team as you begin this incredible and exciting journey towards your ultimate goal.  These can't just be touched upon in your pre-season meeting then brushed aside never to be revisited.  Make them a constant theme to your season.  Revisit them often and you and your team will be in a great position to........"ENJOY YOUR SHOT!"

HAVE A PRE-SEASON MEETING WITH YOURSELF

With the arrival of August, coaches all over the country are starting to gear up for the start of school, and the start of their season.  Before you know it, student-athletes will be back and you will be in the middle of pre-season workouts.  Before you hit the court, one of the pre-requisites is the team meeting that occurs usually on the first day of classes.  Much time and energy is put into exactly what message to convey to set the tone for the entire season.  And while there is no doubt that is important, before you come up with a list of things you want your team accountable for, it is important to sit down and have a meeting with yourself before the craziness of the season takes over.

THINGS TO FOCUS ON IN YOUR "PERSONAL" MEETING

• FIND YOURSELF - Easily the most important, yet probably the most difficult.  Who you are and what your values are play a critical role in understanding your team.  We talked a lot about "Knowing who you are" in my previous post.  When you have a good understanding of that, you have a better ability to convey your message to your team.  As anyone knows, it is so much easier to sell your "vision" or "product" when it is something you passionately believe in yourself.  And players, kids, consumers, everybody can see right through you unless you really believe in what you are saying. 

• DISCOVER YOUR AND YOUR TEAM'S UNIQUE GIFTS AND TALENTS AND DEVELOP THEM - Everyone is good at something, and everyone has something specific to them that I consider exceptional.  So your job as a coach is to find a way to organize and arrange your team, staff and support staff to help accentuate everyone's unique gifts and talents.  Imagine an organization where everyone feels they are important and everyone has something special and unique that enhances the team.  

• GIVE YOUR GIFT AWAY - Seems simple enough, but far too often this step never happens.  And it needs to happen at all levels in your organization.  Your team manager has a gift that needs to be shared with others.  Same as your walk-on, your role player, your starter, your All-Conference player, your All-American, your support staff, your coaching staff, and lastly and most importantly YOU!  It is up to you to facilitate that in your organization.  Somehow you must find a way to incorporate that mentality in every person associated with your organization.  There is no "right way" to do that.  Each will definitely be unique to each program, each situation, each year.   

Challenge yourself to follow these principles this fall as you prepare for your first meeting.  Hopefully you will see dramatic results throughout your whole program, and you will learn something about yourself in the process.

ENJOY YOUR SHOT!!