tactics Archives - Page 3 of 3 - Building a Winning Mindset

Next Level Basketball

What does it mean for a player to “take their game to the next level”? It sounds like a good thing but without understanding the meaning it is hard to get there, right?

Plus… even if you have an idea of what the “next level” is for your basketball game, the question of “How do I take my game to the next level?” is still critically important.

This article will answer those questions (from Coach Wheeler’s perspective) and provide you with an example of a player who might Coach Wheeler could help “take their game to the next level.”

What are “the Levels”?

Below are the various levels from middle school through high school and even into college. If you are interested in seeing some of the skills that are typically developed at each level, check out Coach Wheeler’s article on a Player Progression Plan.

Middle School
High School – Player / non-starter… Losing team
High School – Player / starter… Losing team
High School – Player / non-starter… Winning team
High School – Player / starter… Winning team
High School – Player / starter… college-level skills (D3/Community College)
High School – Player / starter… All-state-Honorable mention
High School – Player / starter… All-state-2nd Team
High School – Player / starter… All-state-1st Team
College Starter – D3 / Community College
College Player * – D2
College Player * – D1

* There are obviously many levels within “college”. Most players won’t need to worry about this since even “best in state” does not mean that you are guaranteed a scholarship at the college level.

There could be even more levels if you include various AAU team or individual milestones (tourney wins, elite team participation, etc.). Again, this is a simple framework for players that are working on their game, probably at some level in high school, and looking to go “to the next level”.

HOW do I go to the “Next Level”?

As mentioned earlier, Coach Wheeler’s article on development of Player Progression Plan has lots of clues for players looking to improve.

Beyond skill development, WINNING is another way to move up a level or two. Players on teams that win get more attention from people who evaluate players.

Since basketball is a team game, if you want to win more games, you need to look at your role on the team. What does the team need to win more games? How well are you performing your role on the team? How can you do more? Or better?

You might have some ideas for these questions but don’t settle for your own answers. ASK others to get a better idea of what will take your game to the next level. ASK Coaches… your current coach (obviously), past coaches who have seen you play recently, AAU coaches, assistant coaches and even players whose basketball knowledge you respect.

When you ASK, you could say something like, “I want to take my game to the next level, what do you think I need to improve?” Be open to the answers but look for common answers that come up often. Also, don’t get upset if someone identifies a weakness that you are not proud of. Many people will only give you “good news” and it is important to value people who will “tell it like it is”. You don’t want sugar-coated feedback. You want the truth… and you need to act on the truth!

Coach Wheeler’s “Next Level real Player Example”:

I coached this player as part of an AAU team when he was a freshman and he was a pretty good shooter. I won’t “name names” since I don’t want to embarrass him. Plus the advice could apply to a number of players.

As a sophomore, our “example player” saw some good minutes on his varsity team but he played a secondary role to seniors who played a similar position.

When I saw him a year later in a summer league, he had improved his ability to drive and make shots. The team he played on did not have great players so he probably had to carry a bigger scoring load than he might on another team.

Next Level tip:

This player has pretty good court vision since he handles the ball most of the time and rarely dribbles into traps or places he might lose the ball. His court awareness is part of how he might take his game (and the success of his team) to the next level.

He should work with his team so that they move into scoring position as he drives. For example, wing shooters need to get open to potentially receive a kick-out pass. Big men need to recognize when he is going to drive and find a lane where they can be open if the opposition collapses on the driver. Even if the driver shoots, big men should be actively getting in position for the rebound.

How are all these things the responsibility of the player with the ball? First, basketball is a team game and even if you are the best player in the world the other players on the court need to be active. Michael Jordan did not win a single NBA championship before Coach Phil Jackson brought in the triangle offense and convinced MJ that involving others was in his best interest (especially if he wanted to win).

Second, if you are the primary ball handler (as this player is in our example) your key responsibility is to distribute the ball for the highest percentage shot possible. That means “getting the other players to move to the right places”. Sometimes the coach sets up plays for the team but more often players have to work together on the court in various situations.

This is just Coach Wheeler’s idea for how this player could get to “the next level”. As we mentioned earlier, he should be getting feedback from all the coaches in his life… and taking action.

Bottom line…

If you want to get better, you will have to take action. Basketball is highly competitive. You are not just competing within your school’s division. You are competing against everyone near your age who is playing basketball and trying to get to the next level. Remember, after your senior year in high school, no matter how good you are, the next year you are a freshman in college. From the big fish in the small pond to a small fish in THE OCEAN! The time to move to the Next Level is NOW. Don’t wait. Your future depends on it!

Tools to Train Your Brain – Pattern Interrupt

What is a “Pattern Interrupt” and how can I use it to control my mind?

A Pattern interrupt is a technique to change a particular thought, behavior or situation. Behavioral psychology and neuro linguistic programming use this technique to interrupt and change thought patterns and behaviors. It can be as simple as initiating a handshake or as definitive as seizing the moment to travel or fulfill your bucket list.

Humans have an average of up to 50,000 thoughts per day. Amazingly up to 95 percent are the same thoughts, repeated every day (according to the National Science Foundation). That’s a lot of repetition. And very little space for new thinking. [Helen Roe, HuffintonPost.com]

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We all have patterns in our behavior. Some are simple habits while others are ways of thinking that are deeply embedded in our subconscious mind. Usually these patterns help us simplify our lives by not having to think about everything that we encounter. There are also patterns that cause us to do things that are not in our best interest or just make us feel bad.

As an example of a simple (mostly helpful) pattern, let’s say you are packing up books into your backpack. Do you think about how they go into the backpack? Unless there is a book that is unusually large, you probably don’t think too much about the activity. You just do it. What else do you do without thinking? Probably more than you might think. These are the patterns that often help us by keeping our life simplified… but sometimes don’t help.

Patterns in Sports

Let’s say that every time you try to do a drill in practice you are frustrated because you are not getting the results you want. Every time you start the drill, the emotions start coming out. You have built a pattern that ties together a particular drill with the bad feelings of frustration. Intellectually you know that it takes time to learn a new skill but you are still frustrated.

That’s where a pattern interrupt could help you take control of your [pattern of] emotions. It can be difficult to interrupt your own patterns since many of them are so deeply embedded and automatic that we might not recognize them as just patterns. This is where it helps to have a coach or a friend you trust that understands when you need a pattern interrupt.

What might be a pattern interrupt for this example?

By definition, the interrupt must be unexpected and not part of the pattern. If the coach sees that you are getting frustrated by the drill, he or she might walk by and poke you in the shoulder or make a silly sound. Maybe the coach shakes your hand. Whatever they do, as long as it is unexpected, your pattern would be interrupted. After that, you both might smile because you realize there is no reason to get upset over a drill that you are learning. The coach might then explain how you could take control of your emotions and even enjoy the challenge of the drill.

Other applications of a Pattern Interrupt in Sports

Patterns are not limited to reactions to external situations. You might have a pattern of thinking when you encounter stressful or pressure-filled situations. Do you say to yourself “I am not good at this.” or “I can’t do this.”? These are patterns that can hurt your chances of performing successfully in games and as soon as you recognize them, be sure to interrupt the pattern. Replace those thoughts with empowering thoughts and you will get a boost of confidence.

Imagine the pattern…

Since you probably are not asked to make a game-winning shot every day, it can be helpful to imagine or visualize the situation. It has been proven that your brain doesn’t care if it is a real experience or a vividly imagined one. By “putting yourself into the situation” via visualization you can evaluate your thought patterns and interrupt the ones that are not supporting your success.

How do I use a Pattern Interrupt in [non-sport] situations?

The first step is to recognize a pattern you want to change. It might be an emotional response that you have… or it might be a pattern you recognize in your friend’s response.

The next step is to INTERRUPT THE PATTERN. Did you see what I did there? I typed in ALL CAPS to interrupt the flow of your eyes as you read this paragraph. Yeah, it was probably not much of an interrupt but it gives you an idea of how you want to “take a sudden left turn” to break out of the pattern.

The final step is what you do after the pattern is interrupted. It does very little good to go around doing crazy stuff to break people out of unproductive patterns if you don’t help them move in a better direction.

Depending on your relationship with the person whose pattern is being interrupted, it may be as simple as asking them a question or two so you can find out why they have been repeating the pattern. Usually it made sense when it started but it could also be a result of years of built up history so be sure to let them know you are there to help.

Bottom Line…

If you want to break out of old (unproductive) habits, you need to recognize and then interrupt the patterns. This will give you the opportunity to do something different (and hopefully better).

Pattern Interrupts are a valuable tool that anyone can use to train your brain. We are all creatures of habit based on years of history. We have patterns that help us and others that don’t. You now have a tool to start changing those habits or patterns into something that better supports your goals.

Please leave a comment below to tell us how you used a pattern interrupt. What did a pattern interrupt do for you or someone in your life?

W.I.N. – What’s Important Now?

It is a simple question… “What’s Important Now?” It is also a powerful tool for shaping / programming / improving your thinking to achieve your highest priority goals.

The W.I.N. approach has been used by legendary coaches such as football’s Lou Holtz and the NBA’s Pat Riley. Lou Holtz asked his players to ask themselves the W.I.N. question 25-35 times per day so they would keep themselves on track with the most important goals or activities they had as college football players and students.

Why does W.I.N. work?

“What’s Important Now?” forces your mind to consider your priorities and TAKE Action on them. Once you decide something is important, each time you ask yourself the W.I.N. question, you are reminded that NOW is the time to take action and move in the direction of your goal!

The other reason it works is the fact that “What we focus on increases”. If we focus on the negative things happening in our lives, we see more negatives. By focusing on the positives, we see that there are more good things going on than we may have thought. When you focus on your priorities and goals, you begin to see opportunities and new ways to achieve them. So why don’t we focus on the positives?

Left to itself, the mind runs whatever programs it has accumulated over the years. Unfortunately for many of us, there are plenty of self-defeating programs running around in our heads telling us things such as “you aren’t good enough”, “I’m not ready” or “Tomorrow would be a better time to start”. The “What’s Important Now” question short circuits that thinking and makes us focus on ONE thing… the most important thing. In many ways it simply bypasses our negative programming.

“What’s important now”
also tricks your mind

The other way that the W.I.N. question tricks your mind is that it automatically breaks down your biggest goals into smaller bite-sized actions or steps that you can take NOW. It is about doing something in the present rather than trying to make the huge jump into an ideal future. The “mind trick” occurs when, before you know it, you have either achieved your highest priority (and need to set a new one) or you look up and find that you are about to achieve it. By asking “What’s Important Now” on a regular basis, many times per day, you are training your brain to move toward achieving your highest priority. You are also putting blinders on so that you are not distracted by lower priority activities.

The REAL question is …

Now that you have learned about it, are you going to W.I.N.? Do you know “What’s Important Now”… for you? How are you going to put this idea to work for your life?

Please leave a comment below and tell us your plan or, better yet, tell us how the “What’s Important Now?” question has worked for you! Isn’t your life important enough to apply this powerful tool?

Defensive Tools – M2M

I am always surprised by how few players understand the tools that they have available to them as defensive players on a basketball court. Too often players rest on defense and don’t focus on what will help their team take the ball away from the opposition or make it more difficult for them to score. If a player applies the skills described below, they can go from reacting to the offense to taking control of their opposition’s offense and dictating what they do.

The top defensive skills that every player should use on defense are Position (distance, charge,steering), Jab Step, Face Guarding (the right way) and Weak Side Steals.

Position. This is the most basic form of defense and it us where most players stop. Why? Because it may be “good enough” to be considered “defense” but I would challenge you to go beyond just “good enough” and take your defense to a higher level.

Within “position defense” there are many aspects that players can apply. In particular, there are a number of ways to guard a post player (front, side or behind) and it depends on your relative size as well as the help that you can expect from your team mates on defense.

Relative distance from the dribbler. In terms of position, I often see players back away from their man when they think that they are not quick enough to stay with them. They hope that the added buffer will give them more time to react and prevent their player from scoring. What usually happens though is that they allow the offensive player to build up momentum and drive by them even faster. As Homer Simpson says… D’OH !

What’s the solution? This is going to sound counterintuitive but pay close attention. Instead of backing off, the answer is … Get closer. Much closer. It is almost like wrestling because the offensive player can’t dribble in front of themselves (because the defensive player is there and can steal the ball) and any move around the defensive player will require more effort than it would if the offensive player is given room to move.

Will you get beat when you are playing up-close, in-your-face defense? Probably, but you will make the offensive player work for it. You might even pick up a charge if the offensive player gets too physical. The key is how you (and your team mates) react on defense when you get beat…

What happens when you get beat? Two things. First you stop shuffling, turn your hips and RUN to catch up and, hopefully, pass the offensive player so you can stop them or at least control where they can move. Secondly, it is critically important to stay in contact with your offensive player and, ideally, steer them in a direction where your team mates (or a sideline) can provide help defense. This means that if they drive by you on the right side, you don’t let them come back to the left side. It is a common mistake for defensive players to give up once they are “beaten” by the offensive player and basically let the offensive player continue toward the basket.

Why do I have to stay with the ball handler? Aside from preventing them from returning to their strong hand, you want to be ready to trap them when your team mate comes over to help. This is a great time to steal the ball since the offensive player’s options are limited and it should be easy to anticipate what they will do.

Take the Charge. This is related to playing position and can be done by either the primary defender or someone helping stop a drive. If the primary defender is doing their job and “steering” the ball handler, the help defender can often set up and take a charge. The key for a help defender in this situation is to remain active and ready to prevent a pass to your man.

Jab step. By making a move at the offensive player, you are seeing how they will react. Most players have a preferred hand that they like to dribble with and once you know which one it is, you can anticipate where they might like to go and either get in the way (play position) or fake like you are going to get in their way (using a jab step) to force the offensive player to react. This is an important way for a defensive player to take control of the offensive player and limit their effectiveness.

Face Guarding. This is a defensive skill that relies on using your eyes as well as the eyes of the offensive player. In short, most offensive player’s eyes follow the ball when it is being passed to them. This can give a defensive player an insight into where the ball is coming.

Why would someone pass the ball when you are there as a defender? Because when you are face-guarding, you have your back to the ball and they think that you can’t see it… but you can see where it will go based on the eyes of the offensive player.

Can the offensive player beat someone who is face guarding? Sure, but it requires an offensive player to recognize what you are doing (which they might do after a steal or two) and then they would have to consciously look somewhere else while following the ball with their peripheral vision. It can be done… but in many cases, in the heat of competition, face-guarding is not recognized and the defense has the advantage.

Weak side defense – set up the steal. This is another area of Man-to-man defense that is often overlooked. The weak side is the side of the court AWAY from the ball handler and most coaches teach players that they should split the court and “build a wall” so that the ball can’t come over to their side. This is good in theory but too many players forget that a long pass is one that should be intercepted. The longer the pass, the more time you have to get to the ball.

Why aren’t more long passes intercepted? Because weak side defenders lose sight of what the ball handler is doing and they don’t see the pass until it is well on it’s way. How can this be changed? By knowing 1) when you expect the ball handler to pass and 2) seeing the clues that they are going to pass in your direction. If a ball handler is about to dribble into a trap and they are a good offensive player, they will be looking for someone to pass to BEFORE they get to the trap. If the ball handler looks toward your man, it is likely they will pass to them. If it is a long pass, the throwing motion will be bigger than a short pass (depending on the strength of the ball handler) and if you are watching the ball handler, you should be able to see it start so you can get a jump on the pass and intercept it. This same approach can be used on the strong side even when the pass might be shorter. By anticipating the pass, you gain a huge advantage over the offense and can force more turnovers.

Conclusions re: M2M Defensive Tools:

Coach Wheeler on M2M Defense…

“Defense should never be passive and reactive. It should challenge the offense and make it difficult for them to do what they want to do. If someone can call a play, your defense is not working hard enough. A successful defensive team drives the offense more than a little crazy and pushes them out of their comfort zone.”

Will you get beat? Probably, especially if the other team is very good. But you will get beat more often if your defense is passive and reactive. As a player, won’t you get beat by your man? Certainly. This is one thing that many coaches don’t want to address. They tell players to “work harder” and get in front of their man. This is great if you are faster/quicker than the offense, but what happens when a player can’t stay in front of their man? Shouldn’t there be a plan for this situation? Especially since there is almost always a mismatch somewhere on the floor and a good offense will figure out how to exploit it. That is where TEAM Man-to-man defense comes in along with the skills mentioned above.

What do you think? Are there other M2M defensive tools that you find are highly successful with your teams? I would love to hear your ideas and opinions. Would you like to see a video showing how Coach Wheeler implements / teaches these ideas with a team? Please leave a comment below.

Time Out Huddle

How a coach organizes and gets his team to execute a “Time Out Huddle” probably falls under the category of “How you do anything is how you do everything” because it is one aspect of a basketball game that is sometimes overlooked (and is allowed to be done in a “less than perfect” manner).

I came across the idea for this post as I was reading the book by legendary football coach Lou Holtz called “Wins, Losses and Lessons: An Autobiography”. The book is basically about Coach Holtz’s life growing up and becoming a football coach. While I was hoping there would be more blatant “secrets of winning”, I was able to discover a bunch of good ideas for coaches and players.

In the book, (page 191 if you are interested), Coach Holtz says the following,

“Execution is about paying attention to the details. If a team looks sloppy in the huddle, it will look sloppy during the play. If players are unruly on the sidelines, they will be undisciplined on the field. We set standards in that spring practice that many of those athletes had never seen before.”

Coach Holtz goes on to tell the story about how he coached his team to “properly execute a huddle” and how it helped his football team become better. What follows is my take on a basketball version of that.

What is a properly executed Time Out Huddle in basketball?

The ideas below can be applied to a Full time out or a 30 second timeout. The only difference is that the 30 second timeout would be done with the players standing up (on the court).

Perception is Reality

I should probably start by answering the question, “Why do we care how the team executes a time out huddle?” There are probably many reasons but, for me, the biggest reason is the psychological impact on the other team. If they see us RUN to our timeout, it tells them that we have more energy than they do, especially late in the game, and are probably less tired than they are. This is one small way to demoralize the competition. Aside from that, it can also impress the parents and fans in the stands since if they are rooting for us to win, they like to think that we are in better shape than the competition.

Rule 1 for a proper Time Out Huddle: We RUN to the huddle.

Everything and Everyone has a place.

The 5 chairs next to the head coach are where the players who are IN the game will be sitting. If someone is being substituted, they tell the person they are going in for and then take a seat with the other active players.

The coach will move his chair so that it faces the 5 Active Players. In case the chairs are not moveable, the coach will simply stand or squat in front of the active players.

The next 5 players on the bench will stand BEHIND the active players and hand them their drinks and towels. Right hand = drink, Left hand = towel. This assumes you have 15 players total (the max for varsity in NH) so there are another 5 players who stand behind the head coach. Assistant coaches are on the left and right ends of the active players so they can hear the head coach and offer suggestions if called upon.

Speaking of suggestions, and this may be something particular to a head coach’s style, this formation lends itself to a 5-10 second window of time when the players are getting to the bench and getting something to drink where the assistant coaches can feed the head coach their ideas/thoughts/suggestions. I know that is not much time but if a head coach wants the input, it is important for assistant coaches to be concise with their communication. Remember, timeouts are not long and it is important to get the right information to the active players so that they can head back out on the court and compete effectively.

Rule # 2 for a proper Time Out Huddle: Fill The Formation

Listen up !

The final focus of an effective Time out huddle is ATTENTION. All players should be listening to what the head coach is saying so they are prepared to go out on the floor and execute the strategy. All it takes is one person not paying attention to miss a key point of the conversation which could translate into a critical mistake at a key point later in the game.

Rule # 3 for a proper Time Out Huddle: Pay Attention!

As I said in the beginning, “How you do anything is how you do everything.” That means that they way that you execute your Time Out Huddle reflects how you execute any other part of your game. If you are serious about winning a basketball game, you need to be serious about each component that goes into that game, whether it is making foul shots or playing tough defense or something as simple as how you set up and perform your Time Out Huddle. For my teams, I like to say “We run our timeouts like champions.” and it also shows the competition that we are not a “typical” team. We are special. We care about doing the things that are required to win.

What does your Time Out Huddle say about your commitment to winning basketball games?

Mental Toughness – Control Your Story

Narrative is the story you are telling yourself.

You have a voice in your head that is narrating or explaining what everything in your life means. Picture Morgan Freeman’s voice doing a play-by-play as your coach tells you that you won’t be starting the next game. Maybe the voice says “The coach hates me.” or “The coach has his favorite players and there is nothing I can do to change his mind.” With this thinking (and the story it implies), are you likely to do the things which will get you into the starting lineup any time soon? Probably not.

On the other hand, what if Morgan Freeman said, “The team we are playing is very tall and obviously coach thinks we need our taller players in there.” or “I wonder what I need to do to get into the starting lineup?” or “Coach has always treated me fairly so he must have a good reason for not starting me. I will need to ask him to explain it to me so I can find a way to contribute to the team’s success.”

Where do these stories in my head come from?

The story we tell ourselves is built on the beliefs we have accumulated over the years and it can be hard to change our thinking… or it can be as easy as considering a different (more effective) story to explain the situation. This is the difference of being controlled by your past or developing the mental toughness skill of actively CHOOSING how you interpret events in your life.

How do I change the Narrative or Story I tell myself?

Get some alternatives. Ask someone else how they would explain the situation, preferably someone who does not have an interest in the outcome. Often your family’s beliefs are the same or at least very similar to our own beliefs. This means that they may not offer stories or narratives that are substantially different from our own and their stories may not give you a better course of action.

Find an “objective 3rd party”, i.e. someone who is not part of the “problem”, and see what types of explanations they can find for you.

What if the new story is not true?

Living in denial of the truth will certainly bring poor results but the reality is that there are a multitude of ways that events in your life can be interpreted. Clearly you need to recognize the facts of the case, like in our example the fact that the coach said you are not starting in the next game.

The key is how you react to the facts… and the sooner you realize that while you might initially think a particular circumstance is “good” or “bad” it is often how we react that makes it good or bad for us. Choose to be mentally tough and create your own story.

You can change your story…

… and this can open up all kinds of opportunities that you would have missed.

“Problems are not solved at the same level of thinking that created them.” – Albert Einstein

Comments on Changing Your Narrative and Creating Your own Story are welcome and encouraged…

Dealing with Zebra’s (aka referees)

As a player or coach, how do you work with the referees who are officiating your game? Or are you in a constant battle with them to try to get them to make the “right” call?

Today I interviewed an experienced basketball referee to find out the best ways to “deal with the zebras” wearing the referee jerseys during your games. A lot of it comes down to common sense and simply respecting that officials have a difficult job to do. The best ones know that they are not perfect (and I even got my interviewee to say that he might have missed a call at some point in his career as a basketball referee).

Here is a link to the audio recording of the interview…
“What Coaches need to know about the Zebras”

[I am working on a transcript of the interview for those who would prefer to read instead of listen. Check back here tomorrow.]

In the meantime, please leave your comments, reactions and questions in the comment section below. What has worked for you? Do you have a story involving referees that at the time wasn’t very funny but with time you were able to see the humor? We would love to hear about it… so leave a comment below!

4 Reasons for a Player Journal

This is an idea that I picked up from legendary high school coach Bob Hurley, Sr. and have implemented with all my teams. The idea is for each player to keep a journal throughout the season and record ideas, concepts and information that they may want to reference at a later date.

Here are the four key reasons to use Player Journals…

Reinforce key learning points
By writing down key ideas and things they learn at practice, players are more likely to retain the information. It has been proven that the act of writing down an idea will increase retention of that idea or fact from days to weeks later. Writing down important concepts is also a chance for players to translate the ideas into their own words, which personalizes the concepts and makes them part of the player’s own thinking.

Capture statistics and personal records
By recording how they did in certain drills in practice, a player can refer back to this information and see that they are improving. Often, if it is not written down, old information is forgotten and it is easy to miss the progress that is being made as the season progresses. When the measurements and results are recorded, it is easy to see improvements that would otherwise be missed. Each new Personal Record (PR) is an opportunity to celebrate and add to the player’s motivation for further accomplishments.

Questions?
A player’s journal is also a place where they can record ideas of their own or questions that might come up outside of practice. It can also be a way for players to remember to bring up questions for the coach that their parents might be asking them. When they bring these ideas or questions to practice, they help the team better understand what we are trying to accomplish since if they have the question, it is likely that other players have the same thoughts.Sometimes the question(s) are more personal, such as, “What do I need to do to get more playing time?” and, again, writing in their journal will remind them to talk with their coach before or after practice.

Record The Experience
The final benefit of a player’s journal (or even a coach’s journal) is that you are creating a record of thoughts and experiences throughout the season. What challenges did you face? How did you overcome them? What lessons did you learn?Sports is a metaphor for life so it you learn what it takes to win on the court or the field, you can apply these skills and ideas to many other areas of your life. Having a player journal with the ideas (and your comments) is a great way to reinforce the most important lessons that are gained through athletics.

What is your experience implementing a player journal?

Have you used the player journal idea with your teams? What were the results? How did you ensure that the players brought them to practice? And took care of them? Leave a comment below to share your ideas with other coaches !

Coach’s Obstacle of the Week (COW) #1 – Slow Start

Coaches Obstacle of the Week (COW) — cow image courtesy of ModernFarmer.com!

What obstacle have you encountered this week? What obstacles or challenging situations have you overcome (or not) and how did you tackle it?

I have always said that problems at the individual level are always easier to solve at the group level. Why? Because the odds go up in a group that someone has already solved the problem or challenge or “obstacle” that is causing you trouble. Is there more than one way to solve a particular problem? Of course, but wouldn’t it save you time to at least consider what someone else has already tried?

Our goal with the weekly “COW’s” is to leverage the experience of our fellow coaches so that when you encounter one of the situations we describe here you are armed with some ideas for a solution. As the coach of your team, you always get the choice of what you think will work best for your team in that situation. Need an example? Here is one from my own history…

COW # 1 – The Slow Start / Poor Shooting

This example of a COW might be something that a lot of coaches have encountered…

My team started out the game very slow and fell behind 7-0 before we knew what hit us. To compound the situation, it was against our toughest rival who had beaten us multiple times the year before. If things kept going this way, it was not going to be a pretty picture by the end of the game. What would you do?Need more information about the situation?

We were taking good, high percentage open shots that just were not going in. They were shots that we typically make. We also did not get as many offensive rebounds as we had against other teams. (That could be because of the competition or our own effort… hard to say.) Our full court press, which was one of our strongest weapons, had yet to be applied since we had not scored. I called a timeout. What would you say to your team?

Here is what I said in the timeout.
Do you agree? Or would you have done something different?

“OK, we are taking good shots and we got the misses out of the way. Keep moving the ball and shooting those open shots. Do you know why we were missing? We were TOO open. We had time to think about the shot before we shot it. We don’t have to think… just pull the trigger and put it in.

What we do need to do is hustle after those offensive rebounds and get more shots. Keep playing hard, especially on defense and we will wear them down. They can’t keep up with us!”

What do you think happened?

Leave your comments and ideas below. Once I get a comment or two, I will let you know how this challenge turned out and break down the psychology of it as well.

Be sure to add your own COWs to the comments as well. It might be chosen for next week’s COW discussion!