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The GRIND – Summer Basketball Edition

Time 2 GRIND Summer is when you can make huge improvements as a basketball player… especially if you grind. GRINDing is all about putting in the effort to get better.

Do you GRIND?

The GRIND is about overcoming obstacles. It is about staying motivated to execute your training plan. It is having a training plan in the first place. It is about the attitude that says “Nothing will stop me” and “I will do whatever needs to be done to achieve my goal(s)”.

Bottom line… if you are not part of TEAM GRIND, you will certainly lose to players who are out there grinding every day this summer.

How to start GRINDing

You might say to yourself… “I really like to be comfortable and kick back but I also want to accomplish great things so how do I become a grinder?” You probably recognize how important it is to put in the hours if you want to improve, but, honestly, there are some days when you REALLY don’t feel like it. What do I do?

(1) Imagine yourself as a GRINDER

Your self image determines the actions you will take and which ones you won’t. If you want to put in the effort, you need to see yourself as someone who GRINDS!

How do you change your self image? Here are some ideas…

GET THE T-Shirt. If you are wearing a t-shirt that proclaims you as someone who GRINDS, then people around you will see the shirt and expect you to put in the effort. Other people’s expectations (along with your own) can shape your self image so that you are more likely to build the characteristics of a GRINDER into your picture of who you are.

Use Your Words. The words we use when we talk to other people are important because they set the expectations other people then place on us. We need to be sure that we don’t put ourselves down by saying things like “I can’t GRIND like he can.”

These words, spoken to other people, are important but even more important are the words we use when we “talk to ourselves”. If you say the same statement to yourself, your subconscious mind accepts it as the truth and programs your self image to represent that “truth”. In other words, we hold ourselves back (or get better) by the words we use. Our subconscious mind and our self image (more about these in my article about Mental Management here), don’t care as much about what is “true” as much as what you believe is true, or what could be true.

What if we changed the statement to “I am not at the level of GRIND that he is YET but I am working on it.” Doesn’t that feel different? If you say it enough, you will begin to believe it. More about Affirmations here.

(2) Make A Plan

If you lay out all the small steps that go into your long term plan for improvement, each one will be smaller and more likely to be accomplished. The truth is that the GRIND is about taking the one small step that is right in front of you. That’s the only thing you need to do. One step in front of the other. That’s how you run a marathon or become a lights-out shooter.

In addition, your plan will include milestones where you can start to see your progress. An example might be the first time you run a 5K (3.1 miles) without stopping to walk. Or it could be the first time you make 50% of your shots in a drill. Or 75%. Or 100%. You might not notice an improvement from one day to the next… but over a month or two, you will be able to look back on where you started and see how far you have come.

Your plan should also have a BHAG or Big Hairy Audacious Goal that is so BIG (and Hairy, whatever that means to you) that it will push you beyond your perceived limits. Want to dunk a basketball on the first day of tryouts next season? The time to GRIND is NOW! Do the workouts all Summer. Find new workouts to improve your vertical leap by searching YouTube.

(3) Partner up

If you can find someone with similar goals, you can help each other put in the work. There will be times when you won’t want to workout, but you can’t let down your team mate. This added accountability means that you will be less likely to miss a workout… and you will do the same for your team mate.

Don’t Let Me Down. Another way to boost your accountability is to announce your goals publicly. If your friends and team mates are anything like mine, they will constantly ask you how your plan to GRIND is coming… and maybe tease you a little bit if you don’t measure up. Go ahead and put your goals on Facebook. Or make an Instagram video explaining what you are going to do this summer.

Want to take it one step further?

Post a link to your Facebook “Declaration of GRIND” or Instagram video in the comment section below. Our readers (and Coach Wheeler) will definitely follow up to see how you are doing!

Summer will be over before you know it. Either you will get better or you will stay the same (which means you get worse compared to the competition who got better). Take control of your destiny and make a plan… and commit to the GRIND!

Will it be easy? Probably not.Will it be worth it? Definitely. Will you have to give up all the fun that happens in the Summer? Not necessarily. You can still go to the beach… and may go for a run before taking a dip in the cool water. You can still have fun while you GRIND. In fact, that is probably the best way to GRIND. Make it fun, involve others and at the end of the Summer you will be amazed by all the great experiences you have had as well as the improvements that will take your game to a whole new level for next season. Start the GRIND… now!

Motivational Humor

One of the areas that I want to improve in my coaching is in the area of “FUN”. Of course the game is fun and even a challenging practice can be a form of fun, but I want to improve my use of humor both as a way to improve the mood of the team and introduce some motivational ideas. Here are some “Motivational Humor” ideas … let me know which one(s) you like the most!

Adapted from https://onelinefun.com/motivational/

When everything’s coming at you, you’re in the wrong lane and going the wrong way.
Improve your memory by doing unforgettable things.
The road to success is always under construction.
Failure is not falling down, it is not getting up again.
If you’re going through Hell, keep going.
Your life doesn’t get better by chance. It gets better by choice.
Sometimes the best helping hand you can give someone is a good, firm push.
Nothing is fool proof to a sufficiently talented fool.
Whenever someone calls me ugly, I get super sad and hug them, because I know how tough life is for the visually impaired.
Always stop before the game and take a moment of silence… for your competition.
Whatever you do always give 100 %. Unless you are donating blood.
Ok, what’s the latest possible date that I can still make something of my life?
Dream carefully, because dreams come true.
You’re not fat, you’re just… easier to see.
Books are just TV for smart people.
Birthday: The anniversary of the day God slapped you on the butt and said, “Okay Kid, go get in the game. Play hard, play fair, and don’t get too many penalty flags.”
Some people say “If you can’t beat them, join them”. I say “If you can’t beat them, beat them”, because they will be expecting you to join them, so you will have the element of surprise.
Warning: Dates in calendar are closer than they appear.
I’ve only been wrong once, and that’s when I thought I was wrong.
I got called pretty yesterday and it felt good! Actually, the full sentence was “You’re pretty annoying.” but I’m choosing to focus on the positive.
Imagine that you are in the forest where there is a tiger in front of you and they are about to eat you. What do you do? U stop imagining…
Life is like a shit sandwich. The more bread you have the less shit you have to eat.
You’re not sure – outrun and make sure.
The grass is always greener on the other side because its fertilized with bullshit.

The next ones are adapted / copied from http://www.funny-jokes-quotes-sayings.com/funny-inspirational-quotes.html

Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest. – Mark Twain
It’s okay to look at the past and the future. Just don’t get caught staring. – Anonymous
Follow your dreams, except for the one where you’re naked in church.- Rev. David Ault
Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake. – Napoleon Bonaparte

More Motivational Humor for athletes!

Here is one of my favorite (longer form) joke…
(from http://www.mondaymorningmemo.com/got-to-be-a-pony-in-here-somewhere/)

The Pony Joke.

“The joke concerns twin boys of five or six. Worried that the boys had developed extreme personalities – one was a total pessimist, the other a total optimist – their parents took them to a psychiatrist.”

“First the psychiatrist treated the pessimist. Trying to brighten his outlook, the psychiatrist took him to a room piled to the ceiling with brand-new toys. But instead of yelping with delight, the little boy burst into tears. ‘What’s the matter?’ the psychiatrist asked, baffled. ‘Don’t you want to play with any of the toys?’ ‘Yes,’ the little boy bawled, ‘but if I did I’d only break them.’”

“Next the psychiatrist treated the optimist. Trying to dampen his out look, the psychiatrist took him to a room piled to the ceiling with horse manure. But instead of wrinkling his nose in disgust, the optimist emitted just the yelp of delight the psychiatrist had been hoping to hear from his brother, the pessimist. Then he clambered to the top of the pile, dropped to his knees, and began gleefully digging out scoop after scoop with his bare hands. ‘What do you think you’re doing?’ the psychiatrist asked, just as baffled by the optimist as he had been by the pessimist. ‘With all this manure,’ the little boy replied, beaming, ‘there must be a pony in here somewhere!’”

– excerpted from How Ronald Reagan Changed My Life by Peter Robinson

Got a couple seconds for a comment?

Did you enjoy this sampling of Motivational Humor for athletes? If so, please leave a comment below! Do you have something better, let us know in the comments below. Did you had eggs for breakfast?… tell us all about it in the comments below. [Can you tell that we are lonely and would like get some comments?] If you have read all the way to this part of the post… why not leave us a comment and tell us what you think!?! :))

Do you want to win all the time?

If you follow women’s college basketball, you know that the UConn women’s basketball team seem to “win all the time”. . . until they lost in overtime in the NCAA semi-final game (in a way that was almost identical to what happened last year). During the season, it seemed like they could not be beaten. Now they have a new challenge which, unfortunately, seniors Kia Nurse and Gabby Williams won’t be around to help the team address.

Winning all the time…
is that what we really want?

Below is an excerpt that talks about “winning all the time”. It is from the last chapter in With Winning in Mind by Olympic Gold medalist Lanny Bassham …

Do you want to win? Do you want to win all of the time? Really? What if you did? What if every attempt was successful and nothing ever went wrong? What if it became way too easy to do? How long would it take for you to tire of it? Winning is special because it is so difficult to do. We tend to value things in direct proportion to the price we pay for them. We do not learn very much standing on the top of the summit. All of the becoming happens on the way up the mountain. I hope you are having a lot of challenges along your journey of a dream. Resistance makes you stronger. If you are not having problems your goals are too low.

My hat is off to the UConn women’s basketball team for a great season … even if they did not make it to the championship game this year. With the loss fresh in their minds, it is hard to remember that we WANT to be challenged. If no one stepped up to give us a challenge, the value of winning would be diminished.

I look forward to next season and expect the UConn Women’s Basketball (WBB) team to win many more games. I also expect that Geno Auriemma and his coaching staff won’t be satisfied with anything less than a championship. The bar is high at UConn… and that’s why the players signed up to be UConn Huskies! They work hard to win all the time … and they will certainly learn from this loss so they can improve next year!

Mental Management – Marksmanship, Basketball and Coaching

Below is an excerpt from The Red Circle, My Life in the navy seal sniper corps and how I trained America’s deadliest marksmen, by Brandon Webb. In this excerpt, Brandon Webb talks about Lanny Bassham’s Mental Management concept and how it relates to performance under pressure. After the excerpt are some ideas for applying the ideas to basketball.

The Red Circle by Brandon Webb
“Earlier I said that intellectual capacity was the first trait we look for in a sniper, that physical ability, as important as it is, is only 10 percent of the game. Of all the changes we made in the course, the one that felt most significant to me and that I was proudest of was our system for mental management.

When we first encountered the concept of mental management it was being taught exclusively to instructors as a way to help us coach and teach more effectively. In essense, it was all about where we as instructors focused a student’s attention

Say you’re doing batting practice with a kid and you notice he’s standing with his knees buckled in, shoulders misaligned, hands spread wide apart on the bat. Your impulse might be to start telling the kid everything he is doing wrong. If you focus his attention on all these wrong things, though, what you’re really doing is imprinting them into the poor kid’s mind, with the result that they start becoming ingrained habits. If you say, “Hey, you’re flinching. Every time the ball comes at you, you’re flinching! Stop Flinching!” then what the hell’s that little kid thinking about? He’s thinking about flinching.

If instead you say, “Hey, put your hands closer together, like this, and look: feet apart.” Then you’re showing him what to do rather than focusing his attention on what not to do.

A beginner typically starts out very focused on everything that’s going on. He’ll tend to absorb whatever is thrown at him. He is, in other words, highly programmable. The question is, as an instructor, what are you going to feed that rapt attention: bad habits or good habits?

This translated directly to instruction on the sniper course. In the old days instructors would bark at us for everything we did wrong. “Stop! You’re putting your finger on the trigger wrong! When you pull the trigger, you’re flinching! You’re jerking the barrel! You’re fucking up!” Suddenly we’d be thinking, Holy shit, there’re twenty things I’m doing wrong! Instead, we learned we could give a student three positive commands, three things he could do to correct those errors, and now he’d be developing good habits from day 1.

I have to admit, I was not completely on board with the whole concept of mental management when I first bumped into it, and I had to overcome my own skepticism. Shortly after Eric and I checked into NSWC to start working with the basic sniper course, we and a handful of other instructors were brought out to Scottsdale, AZ for a one week course taught by a champion marksman named Lanny Bassham, one of the pioneers of mental management. I was pretty dubious. Mental Management? What, like some positive-thinking guru? Oh boy. “Great,” I said to Eric, “when is Tony Robbins gonna come in and blow smoke up our asses?”

My attitude didn’t last long. Bassham is such an amazing, down-to-earth guy – and what he taught us was nothing short of incredible.

“I wasn’t good at sports,” Lanny told us. “I was of this weak, goofy kid. My dad said, ‘Hang in there, we’re going to find something for you. Everyone has a talent.’ ”

Lanny found his talent when he got into competitive shooting. After college he joined the army and was assigned to their marksmanship unit, which is comprised of the best match shooters in the world. By the time he went to shoot in the 1972 Olympics in Munich at the age of twenty-five, Lanny was famous the youngest world champion in the sport, and everyone expected him to shoot gold.

“I was on the bus with a bunch of competitors from different countries,” he said. “I heard some Russians in the seat behind me talking about how much pressure I must be under, with the entire reputation of the United States on my shoulders, and how they were glad they weren’t me – and they started getting in my head.”

By the time he stepped off the bus, Lanny was completely rattled. “I shot the worst match of my life,” he said. This being Lanny, the worst match of his life meant he came in second – but he was devastated. He came back to the States and visited with a handful of sports psychologists to see if he could understand what had happened to him, and they all said the same thing: “Hey it’s okay to be number two. Olympic silver is a great achievement, Lanny. You should be satisfied with that.”

Lanny said, “Screw that. I don’t think so!”

He spent the next few years interviewing dozens of gold-medal champions and recording all the specific traits he could identify in his interviews. They gave him an earful; you don’t get to be a gold medalist without doing an awful lot of self-examination and studying the best practices and key practice/performance tactics and strategies. Out of everything he heard, he found there were two specific traits they all shared in common.

First was complete and total confidence. Not arrogance or cockiness, but an absolute, unshakable confidence in their ability to perform regardless of adversity. Here’ how Lanny described this trait:

If I’m a champion tennis player, playing a championship game, it doesn’t matter if the strings start popping off, or my favorite racket breaks in the middle of the game. I’ll pick up a piece of plywood, tape it to a stick, and I’ll still beat you on the tennis court.

It’s an attitude that says, I will win no matter what. These people didn’t just want to win, they expected to win. When they went out to compete, they had already won in their minds.

We’ve all seen people who have the talent and skill to win, but at the last minute something goes wrong; their favorite bat breaks, or a golf swing misses, or something in their environment distracts them – the way Lanny was psyched out by the Russian taunts – and their game unravels. It didn’t unravel because the bat broke, Lanny was saying, or because the pitch went wild, or because of the other team’s taunt. It unraveled because it was vulnerable.

For champions that doesn’t happen. Their game is invulnerable. That’s the kind of confidence Lanny was talking about – and that was the kind of confidence we wanted to instill in our sniper course graduates.

The other trait was that they all did some kind of mental rehearsal- closing their eyes and practicing their winning game in their heads, over and over again.

Lanny told us about a navy pilot he met in the seventies name Captain Jack Sands. Captain Sands was shot down while serving in Vietnam and spent seven years in a prison camp in Hanoi, confined in isolation with no phyical activity. In order to preserve his sanity, he decided to practice his golf game. Of course, he couldn’t physically play golf – but the 5′ x 5′ cage he was in couldn’t prevent him from creating a course in his mind. In his imagination he evoked an image of a beautiful country club course, placed himself there, and let himself experience it all in great detail. He saw himself dressed in golfing clothes, smelled the trees and grass, and felt himself making each stroke as he played. Every day, for seven years, Captain Sands played a full eighteen holes in his mind while his body sat in his cage. He played it perfectly, never hooking slicing, or missing a single shot or putt. Hey, he was making it all up, right? Why not make it perfect?

Here was the amazing part. Before joining the navy, Captain Sands was an average weekend golfer, barely breaking 100. After he was finally released from his captivity and made his way home, he eventually got out onto a real grass-and-air golf course, and his first day out on the green he shot a stunning score of 74. He had taken more than 20 strokes off his game – without one laying a hand on a club. (By the way, some have claimed this story is an urban legen and there was no such person. It’s no urban legend: Lanny sat next to the guy on a seven-hour flight to a world championship match they attended together.)

The point, said Lanny, was that your reality is defined by your mind, not your external enironment. Jack Sand’s golf game changed so dramatically because that was how he had programmed his brain to see it.

Lanny went on to tell us about a national shooting championship he participated in. As part of his preparation, he had spent time mentally rehearsing the moment when he would be kneeling there and suddenly realize, Holy shit, I’m about to shoot a perfect score. What so often happens in a high-stakes situation like this? The realization that you are on a roll knocks you off balance. It’s that Uh oh, I’m so close, what if I screw up now? moment that can come with asking someone out on a first date, taking your driver’s test, asking for a raise, or doing anything risky and important in life. We’re not ready for this place of victory and don’t know how to react now that we are here – so we choke. Not Lanny. He’d rehearsed that moment so many times that it was now as familiar to him as coming home.

“When I hit that moment in that championship,” he said, “I recognized it like an old friend. Just like I’d done every time I’d rehearsed it. I took two deep breaths, said to myself, I’m shooting the next three shots perfectly, then took my time. Boom. Boom. Boom.”

He shot a perfect score.

Lanny returned to the Olympics in 1976, and this time, using his mental management system, he took the Olympic gold. Over the following years he dominate the field, winning twenty-two world individual and team titles and setting four world records on top of the gold medal he took in Montreal.

Lanny incorporated what he’d learned into a whole mental management program, which he wrote about in his book, With Winning In Mind. His system became so popular that other coaches and athletes started having him come train them.

Mental Management to basketball

The obvious application is visualizing free throws but it could be used for nearly any part of the game. Late in the season, when the body gets worn out, how about taking some time to relax and visualize actions instead of running up and down the court?

As the state playoffs approach, wouldn’t the concept of Mental Management help your team perform better? Imagine what it will be like when you have a lead in the game and realize that you could actually win the championship? Or you face a challenge from the other team, maybe they make a couple of 3 point shots in a row… how are you going to respond? With confidence that you will overcome the challenge and emerge victorious? Why not?

Please post your thoughts on Mental Management for Basketball in the comments below. We would love to hear what you think or how you have applied these ideas!

HUSTLE – It sets you apart.

At the InviteOnly 2017 PreSeason Basketball Camp held last weekend at Keene State College, I gave a brief impromptu “speech” about the topic of “Hustle” and how it can set you apart from other players trying out for your team.

Based on the reception of that speech about the importance of hustling, I figured it might be a good topic for a post on this blog as well. Clearly Hustling is tied to your mental toughness because, for most players, it does come naturally… at first. Once you start to hustle, you will find that it will become easier. You will have to think about it at first but eventually it will become automatic. You just have to make the decision to start NOW!

What is “Hustle”?

Hustling is the act of “not waiting for things to happen” but rather doing whatever it takes to “make things happen”. It is all about increasing the pace that you do things.

Why does Hustle matter?

Hustling is visible. It tells your team mates that what you are doing is important and can’t wait. It tells your coach that you are enthusiastic about being on the team and, to a certain extent, that you are a hard worker. As a player who hustles, it is clear that you are putting in an extra effort… and coaches love to see that.

Hustling builds confidence. You might not notice it, but as you are hustling, you are getting results FASTER than others. It is like you are winning a race against people who don’t even know that there is a race going on. With time, your “hustle habit” will give you confidence both in the areas where you develop skills as well as areas you have not even tried. Why? Because you will know that HUSTLE WORKS.

Hustling gives you a head start. You arrive early while others show up at the last minute. Since you have more time to become accustomed to whatever situation you find yourself in, you have more time to take [a better] action. All because you hustled while others took their own sweet time. Why do you think that “the early bird gets the worm”?

Where should I be Hustling?

You should hustle in any area of your life that you want to achieve superior results. People who hustle in business get more done and make more money. People who hustle in school get better grades and get into better colleges. People who hustle in relationships show how important these relationships are to them.

What is important to you?

hustle NOW Want to improve your chances of making the team?
Start Hustling.

Want to improve the likelihood that you will get more minutes in the game?
Start Hustling.

If something is important to you… You should be hustling.
The time to Hustle is NOW.

Greatest Of All Time – Basketball Coaches

When you think of basketball coaches, who do you think are the Greatest Of All Time?

Recently, I was listening to a podcast by Tony Robbins where he published his interview (from 30 years ago) with the Legendary Coach John Wooden. This interview (which I will talk about more in a separate post on this blog) had some great content and it got me thinking about other coaches (living or past) who might have interviews (or books) out there that I can learn from.

I can still remember reading Coach Wooden’s book, “They Call Me Coach” back when I was in middle school or high school and I hope that I have lived up to at least some of the principles he taught. Wouldn’t it be great to learn from basketball coaches we consider the Greatest of all time?

Greatest of all Time Basketball Coaches

Below is my Top Ten list (with a couple extras) of basketball coaches I consider the Greatest of all time (not necessarily in any particular order) …

John Wooden, UCLA’s “Wizard of Westwood”
Dean Smith, North Carolina Tarheels
Coach K, Duke Blue Devils
Red Auerbach, Boston Celtics
Phil Jackson, Chicago Bulls & LA Lakers
Geno Auriemma, UConn Women’s Basketball
Pat Summit, Tennessee Women’s Basketball
Bobby Knight, Indiana
Hubie Brown, NBA
Rick Pitino, Providence College, Kentucky, Louisville
Larry Brown, NBA
Greg Popovich, NBA’s San Antonio Spurs
Morgan Wooten, Dematha High School, Washington, DC
Bob Hurley,Sr., St. Anthony High School, New Jersey (28 State titles)
Dave Wheeler, Wilton-Lyndeborough Cooperative (WLC) High School… [just kidding]. (I added this to see if you were paying attention!)

More to come…

As I explore the coaching concepts of each of these great coaches, I will be posting articles on this blog so you can pick up ideas that you might want to add to your coaching toolkit! Be sure to sign up for our email notification list so you will get an email when new articles are added to this blog. (You can unsubscribe at any time… but why would you?)

Who did I miss?

Who else can we learn from, especially as it relates to “building a winning mindset”? What does your list of basketball coaches who are the Greatest of all time look like? Please leave a comment below and let us know who is on your list of basketball coaches considered the “Greatest Of All Time”.

Proper Pace – Effort

Here is one of my favorite coaching tips from Coach Geno Auriemma. It is about a way that he shows players the proper pace they should be using on the basketball court and the amount of effort / focus that he expects.

Effort is critically important to a player’s development. If a player doesn’t stretch outside their comfort zone, they won’t become one of the players that win.

Coach Wheeler “It’s about Effort”

I use “up & backs” as a key part of the conditioning program for my teams. Basketball is a game of acceleration and getting from one point to another. It is also about putting out bursts of effort and recovering quickly.

Most people don’t realize that the key part of the up/back drill is how long it takes for a player to be ready to do it again. The best players can do multiple runs with minimal rest but the drill must push players so they put out their best effort both while running and when they set their “restart threshold”.

Through years of trial, I now use a “sorting technique” where the 1st 5 players who are ready and step up to the line are moved to their right side of the line. The rest of the team waits until they are done (usually 10 seconds) before they run. Anyone from either group who finishes in less than 10 seconds can “step up” to run with the top 5. This process quickly shows who is in shape and who is willing to put in the extra effort. Maybe I will offer $100 like Coach Auriemma next time…

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!

Player Progression

As a player develops, there are certain skills that need to be acquired at each level of play. This article will lay out the skills that would go into a player progression plan * from the middle school to varsity level.

Before we get started… Let’s have FUN !

Of course the underlying “skill” is enjoyment of the game and that needs to come first. In fact, most players self-select themselves for the sport based on their love of the game and some connection that develops very early in their childhood. As a coach, it is our responsibility to take players to the next level while fanning the flames of their love of the game.

** Coach Wheeler’s view only…

The player progression described below** is based on my coaching philosophy and the style of play that I like to use for my teams.

Another coach might have different priorities depending on how he expects his teams to compete. Having said that, there are probably a good amount of overlap and none of the skills mentioned will “go unused” by a coach, especially if a player becomes outstanding in that area.

Levels of Player Progression…

I originally tried to divide the player progression into 3 levels (Middle School / Frosh-JV / JV-Varsity) but, as you will see, there isn’t much “in the middle”. I think that is because many skills have a wide spectrum with lots of different levels along the way.

The difference between a Middle School player and a successful Varsity High School player can also depend on how that year’s team defines particular roles. In other word, someone might not have all the skills of a well-rounded varsity player but the ones that they do have (e.g rebounding or defense) could make them a strong role player for the team.

Let’s start by looking at the Middle School skills…

Middle School Level

Passing (strength / heads-up)
Catching (move to the pass)
Position defense (relative to ball / athletics)
Rebounding (box out / launch to the ball)
Layup Technique (footwork / angles)
Mid-range shot (touch / form)
Run the floor (full speed / endurance)
Triple Threat / Court Vision
Growth Mindset

Frosh / JV …

[this level is basically the transition to, and preparation for, become a varsity player]

Run the floor / Speed layups (w/contact, multi-angles)
Heads Up dribble (quick & strong)
Strong “set shot” – mid-range / 3 pt. / w/o thinking

JV / Varsity Level

Power Drive (standing / full-speed / Moves)
Strong Handles
Jump (touch rim / dunk)
Pressure M2M Defense (w/o fouls, w/o “Ole”)
Off-ball defense (steals / traps / help)
Signature Move(s) – Inside or perimeter (move/shoot)
Court Awareness (instant ball movement)
Mentally Strong *
Strong Role on Team

* Mental Toughness or a Champion Mindset is a large subject and it can take years to develop but, to start with, it means that a player “Practices Like a Champion”. A Mentally Strong player is able to “out perform” opponents through their understanding of the game as well as their willingness to do what is required to win. A mentally strong player makes the other team work hard on both ends of the court.

How does progress happen?

Some of a player’s progress will happen naturally as they grow from middle school age to high school age. As they say, you can’t teach height. For some people that is not great news but there is good news too!

The good news (especially for “height challenged” players) is that most of the skills listed can be learned, even things like jump height. A good coach can help a player learn various skills and there is no shortage of videos on YouTube to show players ideas for skill building drills.

Who is holding you back?

I see it every year. A player doesn’t improve over the off-season and they are passed by other players who have improved. The missing ingredient for most players is not an exposure to the skills but rather a lack of consistent off-season work on those skills. While playing other sports during basketball’s off-season might help a player develop athletically, basketball is very much a game of skill. And skills require practice if you want to improve. I heard a good quote on a recent podcast… “If you still have the same weaknesses as you had last season [and haven’t improved your strengths], you have wasted the off-season.”

Bottom Line…

If you aren’t getting better each year, there will be someone who passes you and takes your minutes at the next level. Basketball is a team sport but it is also very competitive. There are only so many game minutes at the varsity level and they go to the best players (as defined by the coach).

At the end of the season, every player who is serious about their game needs to lay out their Player Progression Plan by identifying their weaknesses and strengths along with the activities that will help them improve. Ideally, this should be combined with a review by your varsity coach to determine how you might contribute most quickly at the varsity level.

Coach Wheeler’s In-season Player Progression Plan

I believe that “What we work on EVERYDAY improves over time.” That is why there are some basic elements that will show up in every practice that I run…

Physical Challenges (running / defense / strength)
Shooting
[Perfections] which covers a number of skills
– Running
– Passing
– High speed layups
– Communication
Players should show progress in the first half of the season. By the time that we have played the teams on our schedule at least once, we should be ready to take our game to the next level. A tournament over Christmas break is always a good test to see where the team is in terms of player development as well as team cohesiveness and execution.

The second half of the season is focused on extending the team’s progress. We also want to do even better against opponents the 2nd time we play them. This approach is designed to get the team ready for the playoffs. If things go well, it also gives us a seeding that helps our drive for a championship.

All team success starts with the player’s progression and acquisition of skills. A coach can teach but the player has to take responsibility for their own development. If you show that you want to go the “extra mile”, most coaches love that attitude and will give you extra attention. As a player, you have to decide what you want. Do you want to be a key contributor at the varsity level? Or do you want to sit on the bench? You get to decide based on how you progress as a player. Hopefully this article gave you some ideas to work on. Please leave a comment below if you have any questions.

Program Turnaround Plan

If you are a coach interviewing for a leadership position with basketball programs in need of a turnaround, it is important to have a solid idea of how you will improve the situation right from the beginning. That is what they are hiring you for, right? How are you going to create a “Culture of Winning”?

What is considered a “Turnaround Opportunity”?

As I discussed in an earlier post, there are typically 3 levels of “Winning” and most turnaround opportunities are in the Type 3 category [“Participation Awards”] where the program loses 2 or more times more often than it is winning basketball games. Occasionally a Type 1 program will drop to a Type II level [Mediocre] and decide that they need a turnaround so they can return to their tradition of winning. In either case, there are certain elements that need to be established before the program can start to see more wins.

It all starts upstairs.

Before I get into the specific skills that need to be developed I should point out that winning starts with the mentality or “way of thinking” of everyone within the program.

A successful mindset can be built over years of winning traditions but in a turnaround situation you need to convince all parties (players, parents, fans and school administration) that 1) winning is possible and 2) they have the tools they need to build a winning team.

Once these two beliefs are in place, the next step is to have a plan to develop the specific skills/tools needed to actually win games. It is critical to get everyone to buy in to your plan and be willing to work hard to create positive results. Once the positive results start rolling in, it makes it easier and easier for more people to “get on board” and build that winning momentum !

Let’s start building…

Everything starts with a Winning Mindset. I require any team that I coach to adopt 3 core values that we will hold onto no matter what. These key parts of our winning mindset are 1) We never quit, 2) We control our minds, and 3) We overcome challenges. These 3 ideas or “tenets” shape how we approach practice … which shapes how we play in games. I went into these 3 core values in another article on this blog, as well as in person during various interviews. Let me say that they were chosen very carefully and, when given time to fully implement them, they translate into powerful tools that help you create the mindset you need to win in both sports and in life.

What does a “Culture of Winning” look like?

Practice like a champion.
Expect to win / Refuse to Lose
Win with class.

1st Principles for a Turnaround –
3S: Shooting, Strength and Speed

First, I should point out that I believe in the Growth mindset (vs. the Fixed or Talent Mindset). This means that nearly everything is a skill that can be learned and developed. On the other hand is the Fixed or Talent mindset which says that a player either has a talent or doesn’t. Their potential is “fixed” and cannot change.

What most people forget is that a varsity basketball program is the result of years of basketball going all the way back to shooting the ball in the driveway at home. Kids develop at different rates and someone who is the best in grade school can be easily passed by someone who continues to work on their skills through middle school and into high school. On top of this there is the literal “growth” that happens and is not always easy to predict. Growth spurts can happen at almost any age and can completely change a player’s abilities on the court.

Having said that, Shooting, Strength and Speed are all skills that can, and should, improve year after year as an athlete goes through high school. These are the foundation that other skills and strategies are built upon and it makes sense to adopt a Growth mindset so you keep getting better.

Some might say that a team needs height and it is genetic which means it is not subject to development. While it is nice to have a height advantage, many games can be won without a height advantage. Plus, the ability to jump CAN be developed and when combined with speed and strength, a shorter team can often perform much better than a “tall” team.

Shooting Development

This might be a little controversial, but my experience has shown me that every high school that wants to be competitive should have a Dr. Dish or Shoot-a-way basketball shooting machine. It allows players to get in a high volume of shots by themselves. The machine collects the ball after it is shot and passes to the player for the next shot while keeping a tally of makes & misses. It is a valuable tool that every team should have and should be used CONSTANTLY. More shots in practice (with a little coaching) results in more makes in games. It is also a good goal for booster clubs and coaches as part of their fundraising efforts.

This is in line with my 3P’s of shooting…
1) Practice,
2) Practice while moving and
3) Practice at game speed.

My shooting development program also includes the following concepts/drills…

[Shooting] confidence is earned.
More shots made in practice = more confidence in games.
.
Shooting accuracy and range is a function of strength.
Your leg strength and arm/wrist strength determines your working range. Putting up lots of shots will help but a strength program is also an important part of a successful basketball program.
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Shooting form typically need to be corrected in high school.
As strength is added, a better, more effective shooting form often needs to be adopted. This typically happens in the transition from Middle School to High School but whenever it happens the new (correct) form needs to be “burned in” with repetition so that it becomes automatic.
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Center Swish Drill. This helps players target the very center of the basket and can be useful when they are making adjustments to their shooting form, ideally over the summer when they have loads of time to put up shots.
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Quick NBA Legend story:
The idea of “center swish shooting” came from something I heard about how Larry Bird practiced his shooting. Someone saw that on some days Larry would shoot a tone of shots while on other days he shot only a few. When asked about it, Larry said that he shoots until he is happy with the results (he shoots for the very center of the basket). Some days his stroke is 100% and it is a short practice. Other days he needs to “dial it in” which can take more shots. If you aren’t yet as good as Larry Bird, how many shots do you think you will need to shoot?

Strength Development

Consistency is the key for strength development. It does little good to burn out your muscles by lifting too much weight and then being too sore to work out for a week. Consistently lifting enough weight to stress your muscles so they will adapt and get stronger is the key. Don’t lift so much that you are too sore to lift in two days. Effort is important but consistency (with proper recovery) builds results.

Basketball players should start learning basic lifting in 8th grade (age 14) with body weight exercises and focus on a consistent schedule. It will add up.

I typically have high school players do legs & core on one day and arms/chest/back on the following day. Ideally, they should not lift on the 3rd day. This gives two complete cycles per week with another day off. If a player is running and doing basketball drills, this should work his muscles sufficiently without interfering with any practices or games that come up.

Quick NBA Legend story…
Michael Jordan lifted weights throughout his NBA season and he would have sometimes 4-5 games per week. He famously would lift on the morning of a game day to stay on his strength building program.

Most under-utilized weight training tool:

Kettle bells are becoming more common but they are still very often sitting around unused. In particular, kettle bell swings are a great way to strengthen your core all the way from your thighs, through your glutes and abs and the rest of your core muscles. Having a strong core gives you a strong foundation when making twisting moves around the basket while also helps prevent back injuries.

Other ways to improve strength and mobility include yoga and other activities that involve balance. These types of exercise help tone your core muscles which helps to prevent back injuries and give you some great looking abs!

Speed Development

I have found that there is no replacement for a timed full speed sprint. It is simple to time yourself and by measuring your speed, you are able to see improvement.

Another way to develop speed is by using HIIT or High Intensity Interval Training. Basketball is a game of sprints, not jog-jog-jog. Joggers get beat by sprinters.

There is a good app I have on my iPad called Tabata Stopwatch Pro which allows you to set your exercise intervals (e.g. sprints) as well as the rest interval. This brings up another aspect of “speed” as it applies to basketball. It is not only how fast you can sprint but also how fast you can recover from sprinting and sprint again. Building your ability to recover is something that the Tabata or HIIT workout does well.

Favorite Speed Drill: Jump Rope

A jump rope is an inexpensive way to improve your foot speed as well as hand/eye coordination. Players are surprised by how much quicker they can become by something as simple as jumping rope.

Another Favorite Drill: Lunges

The lunge is another underrated drill. In fact, the trainer who helped Michael Jordan go from a 35 inch to a 46 inch vertical jump uses an adapted form of the lunge as part of his “Jump Attack” training program. I like to use either weighted lunges with the rear foot on a bench as part of a weight workout or step lunges as a warm-up.

Jumping is not just about muscle strength but also involves flexibility, especially in the hip joint, so a lunge exercise helps in a number of ways. Jumping also requires quickness and technique which are also skills that can be developed. If you have a jump program that you would like to see reviewed on this blog, leave your contact info in a comment and we will be in contact.

Player Development Timetable:

High school players need to be developed starting in elementary school where the key is building a love for the game. Playing basketball is fun. Getting better at basketball is fun. It is sometimes challenging but it is still fun. At the higher levels, the game becomes more challenging but the satisfaction of overcoming those challenges, combined with the thrill of winning take the “fun” to a whole new level.

Need Year Round Basketball to win?

With AAU and other leagues, it is possible to play year-round. Is this required for the successful turnaround of a basketball program? Probably not but the best players will find opportunities to play year round, often in addition to other sports. Weekend AAU games are a great complement to a school soccer or cross-country team in the Fall or a track or baseball season in the Spring. The key is to make all coaches aware of the player’s schedule. No one wants surprises when it comes to game conflicts. The last thing a coach wants is worn out players when they should have been resting up for the next day’s game.

What’s next to Turnaround a basketball program?

wheeler's Pyramid of Winning Basketball The Winning Mindset and the 3 S’s get you about halfway up the pyramid of winning basketball. Looking ahead, there will be articles on this blog about Skill development and Strategies. These are things that many coaches focus on … without the strong foundation of a proven strong mindset and 3S’s. In a turnaround situation, that is a recipe for disaster (and more losses). Be sure to sign up for our email notification service. Don’t miss the future articles. They will go further up the Pyramid of winning and how to turnaround your basketball program!