Ask just about any basketball coach what their key to success is, and in almost every scenario, you’ll hear some version of the same answer: Teamwork. Basketball requires players to have the right attitude, work together, and sacrifice for success on the court. Individually, skills are only effective if the team can effectively collaborate, taking advantage of each other’s strengths and creating opportunities.
Communication is Key to Basketball Teamwork
Effective communication is crucial for teamwork in basketball. Calling out screens, setting picks, or discussing plays, players must communicate to ensure everyone is working towards the same goal.
Build Trust within the Team Dynamic
Trust among players is important for smooth teamwork. Trusting each other’s skills, tendencies, and abilities leads to better results and a stronger team dynamic.
Sacrifice for the Team
In basketball, players must be willing to sacrifice personal interests for the good of the team. This could mean taking a less prominent role, passing up a shot, or making a defensive play that doesn’t result in personal recognition. When players make sacrifices, they put the needs of the group first, leading to greater success.
In conclusion, teamwork is essential in basketball. Communication, trust, and sacrifice are key factors in achieving success as a team. Focus on these elements and you’ll be on your way to reaching your goals.
Coaching today’s basketball players features a unique challenge in the sport. Considering all the other outlets and opportunities available to young people these days, finding the right way to grab their attention remains paramount for basketball coaches.
Coaching Today’s Basketball Players
Have you ever told your team that they should just worry about the things they can control and forget about the things they can’t control? Referees, hostile fans, illness, injury, size & speed of opponents, tournament draws are all out of the players’ control so they just need to find a way to deal with them and work around them. Have you ever taught that concept to your players? I’m willing to bet that you have – probably several times!
My question to you today is this – are you following your own advice, especially when it comes to the individual personalities of your players, or do some of them just drive you crazy?
Now for an even bigger question – are you letting those personality differences keep you from coaching the players up to the very best of your ability? Think about it for a second. Are any of your players being short changed, even unintentionally, because they are loud, moody, self absorbed, tatted up, and/or listen to music that you neither like nor understand?
Coaching Basketball: The Mental Game
In his book Coaching the Mental Game, H.A. Dorfman tells about the time he was speaking to the St. Louis Cardinals organization and a question was asked about coaching “today’s kids.” Dorfman responded by saying that if they so choose, coaches don’t have to listen or watch the music and television of today’s generation of athletes. But they:
“do have to coach and teach a pitcher with a nipple ring and a “dude” mentality. That’s a contractual obligation. The player’s styling is not his substance. You’ve got to know more about him than how he looks and speaks.” (p.21)
Do you know more about your players than just how they look and speak?
I can’t tell you how many frustrated coaches there are who tell everyone within earshot “Back when I was playing, players (fill in the blank),” or “10 years ago players would (fill in the blank) but not anymore.”
If you are one of those coaches – quit saying those things! You’re not back in high school and your players aren’t back anywhere. They are living in the here and now and they need you to coach them! Dorfman may have had this in mind when he went on to remind those in attendance in St. Louis that they all signed a coaching contract and each contract had a specific date on it. “You’re not being hired to coach kids of the 60’s, 70’s, or 80’s. The effective leader addresses the mission of the organization and the needs of each player. Whatever his age – or yours!”
Reaching Your Players Today
Of course players are somewhat different than from previous generations but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Regardless of how they look or talk, or act off the court kids/players of this generation (often referred to as “millenials”) are generally more motivated, more competitive, and have a greater understanding and appreciation of technology than any group you have ever coached. Instead of worrying about things you can’t control why not take full advantage of them instead?
Motivated players want to improve and are willing to put in the necessary time and effort and competitive players want to win! I don’t know about you but those are players I can work with and want to coach, regardless of the other “baggage” they may carry.
Great teams and great players of every generation have all won the exact same way. By playing hard, playing together and by mastering the fundamentals of shooting, passing, ball handling and defense. That was true 50 years ago and I’m willing to bet it will be true 50 years from now.
You might not be able to control who you coach but you can certainly control how you coach. And how you coach is going to determine your success or failure.
An integral part of being a basketball coach is developing key leadership skills. This often goes beyond giving just words of encouragement and developing ways of becoming a better leader. Clint Eastwood once said: “You can say more with your mouth closed than you can with your mouth open.” In today’s society, most young people learn only how to talk about taking action, but very few learn how to actually do it. To demonstrate basketball leadership effectively, you need to show it, not just say it.
Here’s a look at six ways to show commitment to your team and further develop your basketball leadership.
Understand What Motivates Your Players
In practices and in games, we’ve got to know how to get our teams going. I often tell my teams that games aren’t the time for teaching…go play and we’ll fix it later. The same goes for us as coaches.
We’ve got to remember to use practice time to figure out how each player is motivated to learn, how they’re motivated to push themselves, and how they’re motivated to excel. In the same manner, we can use scrimmages to see how they’re motivated in stressful competitive situations.
Do What It Takes to be a Champion
Winning cultures win. I’m sure you’ve played teams that your team was better than…but that other team had crazy swagger. They expected to win more than your team hoped to win. Before we can create a culture of winning, I believe we’ve got to create a culture of success. You all know by now how deep my love of John Wooden’s Pyramid of Success goes. He was awesome. He was also a champion.
Be a Learning Leader
Isn’t the coaching cliché that the best coaches steal from the best coaches? With so many coaches out there, I can’t think of a reason that we can’t all find someone to learn from!
I believe in being a coaching nerd and learning from as many folks as I can, whether it’s another coach or a business leader.
Provide Vision for Your Program
What is important to you? What is your coaching philosophy? How do you want your team to be perceived? All of those things go into creating a vision for your program. Then you go out and get it.
Without knowing what you want, how will you know what players to recruit? Beyond that, how will your players know when they’re successful?
Put the Team First
Everything we do has to be about the team. Whether it’s being incredibly prepared for every drill, practice, and game…or making sure you’re on the same page with your assistants. All of that puts the team first. Add to that all of the intangibles that we teach our athletes, they’ll appreciate that it’s “we before me” and model that behavior.
Have Fun
Hopefully, you love your sport. You love going to practice. Perhaps most importantly, you love coaching. Hopefully you love your athletes (even when they’re driving you crazy) and you get along with your coworkers. Hopefully you’ve got rock star assistants. If you’ve got all of that, then you’re having fun.
Leading, coaching…it’s not easy, but it’s the best job ever! We can learn from those folks who’ve not only been successful, but who’ve been continuously successful over a long period of time.
Basketball coaches at any level have a limited amount of time with their players. So maximizing practice time, especially entering a new season, becomes paramount.
At the youth level, this remains a stark reality. Coaches might only have their players for a few hours a week. No matter the level, basketball coaches invariably spend time practice planning.
“The structure of your practice is the most determining reason for your success or lack of success as a coach.” Bobby Knight
Basketball Practice Planning
Most basketball coaches have their own approaches to practice planning. Some minimize the pre-practice work, opting instead for what feels right in the moment. Others build off of the previous day, or something that stood out in the last game. A coach might scribble notes on a pad or random slip of paper. That paper usually finds itself tucked behind the elastic of the coach’s shorts.
The key to a good basketball practice plan will always be efficiency. Coaches must consider not only what their specific goals are, but how those goals will be reached within a given time frame. Youth leagues often limit practice time. Even high school teams find themselves forced into a given time slot at the school’s gym.
The best practice plans can be constructed on one sheet of paper. This paper focuses the goals and approaches for the day. Having a wide view of practice allows a coach to establish a logical progression through the drills. The plan can also keep a general timing structure, although flexibility is key for any coach.
By listing the drills and concepts clearly on the practice plan, coaches know exactly what the focus of each practice segment will be. This will eliminate any lost time between drills or segments, maximizing contact time.
Sample Practice Plan
Every coach should know the amount of time available to them for practice, both how long each practice will be and what the schedule looks like for the week.
From there, it’s a matter of dividing the time of each practice. These segments will have specific focuses. Segments might include warm-up and stretching, individual skill development or larger team concepts.
One helpful inclusion for any basketball coach’s practice planning is a drill library. Having the different drills listed directly on the plan itself will facilitate movement from segment to segment. The drill library can include not only the drills themselves, but also the specific focus points for development.
Having a drill library also allows a coach to vary practices from session to session. Sure, each coach will have a core set of drills they like to implement, but falling into a rigid routine is something to avoid. Keeping practice fresh can only benefit the players and maintain engagement.
Beyond that, varying the practice plan itself allows for the drills and segments that invariably will be cut short because others went long to be incorporated into the next practice.
Youth player development can be an avenue for coaches to share their love of the game. But if a team is going to be successful, it takes more than just love. Coaches are tasked with improving players both individually and within the context of the team. So youth player development often takes center stage with young teams.
To maximize their time with their players, coaches need to manage their time well. And one of the most important tools to optimize shared time is a detailed practice plan. Coaches that just roll the balls out often find their practices lack the focus and intensity necessary to improve the team.
Youth Player Development: Practice Planning
Different coaches have different approaches to practice planning. Some youth coaches zero in on specific basketball skill that need development, while others take a more free-flowing view. Some coaches scribble notes on a sheet of paper and tuck that folded plan into their waist band, whole others meticulously craft a minute-by-minute split using an app.
Whatever the preferred approach, it remains integral that coaches have a plan in place to maximize practice time.
A valuable practice plan lays out the exact avenues of attack a coach wants to explore. Especially early when youth basketball development is at its peak for the season, plotting out points of emphasis can be particularly useful.
What exactly do you want to accomplish during this practice session? Often writing those specific goals aid in achieving them.
From there, coaches can sketch out the best outline for the day. Teaching drills and execution is key in youth player development, but haphazard approaches can often sabotage valuable practice time.
A detailed youth basketball practice plan might help a coach that wants to get to a number of skills and sets focus on key developmental aspects.
What daily drills will you include? How much teaching happens before a drill? What does the debrief look like? These are all important questions coaches should ask themselves prior to the start of any given practice.
In my coaching education workshops, I always asked coaches if they thought sports should be a fun experience for their players. Should there be fun at basketball practice? Of course, everyone said yes. So then I would make them the following offer: “If you can give me an adequate definition of ‘fun,’ I’ll sign off on your certification right now and you can leave six hours earlier than everyone else.” I made that offer for almost 15 years running and there were no winners.
Focus & Fun at Basketball Practice
Since the majority of your athletes’ time is spent in practices, it is vital that practice time be a fun, enjoyable experience. If it’s not, it’s not going to be effective. Unfortunately, some coaches feel that, because learning sports skills require discipline and focus, it’s incompatible with fun. But focus and fun are not incompatible at all.
In fact, focus is necessary for fun to occur! Just think of some of the fun experiences you’ve had in your life. You probably remember them very clearly. And that’s because you were very focused on what you were doing, who you were with, and what your surroundings were like.
It’s the same with sports. Sports are fun when three things are happening:
Kids are deeply involved in what they are doing
They feel closely connected to their “mates” (e.g., teammates, coaches, parents)
Kids feel like they are performing to the best of their ability
All three of these items require focus on the part of the athlete. And, as a coach, you can make all of these things happen in your practices and your games. There are ways to maximize your time as a coach. Here are some suggestions.
Developing Focus and Fun
Encourage your players to participate with all their senses.
For example, if you’re outside on a beautiful summer day, take a deep breath, pound your chest and say, “Don’t you just love the way the grass smells on a day like this?” If you’re poolside, you could say: “I love the ‘swoosh’ sound you guys make as you glide through the water. It’s better than therapy!”
Help your players to get to know each other better.
When everyone is pulling for each other, even the hardest drills become more enjoyable.
Focus on skill development.
Improved skills lead to feelings of competence, satisfaction, and accomplishment. These feelings, in turn, create enjoyment and fun at basketball practice.
Provide realistic challenges.
Kids learn and grow through a progressive series of challenges that are appropriate for their skill level and development.
Emphasize personal successes.
Playing well, or the feeling that a person has played well, is an essential part of the fun in sport.
Keep winning in perspective.
Being on the winning side is less important than striving to win. By striving to win, your players learn to concentrate, try hard, and be the best they can be.
Look for ways to energize kids and jazz up your practices.
Be creative. Cal Ripken saw a mannequin in a ski lodge and got the idea to use old mannequins to help kids learn to hit the cutoff man in the infield grass while practicing throws from right field. Just imagine how entertaining (and educational) it was when someone hit the mannequin in the wrong spot.
Other ways to incorporate fun into your practices might include ending a week as ”crazy socks day,” and doing fun, teamwork-oriented drills like “follow the leader.” Don’t think that just because your coach always made you run laps, you have to do the same thing to your players!
A former Hall of Fame athlete and coach, Dr. Selleck—a retired psychologist, organizational and management consultant, and sports education specialist—is the founder and director of Lead2Play, a comprehensive program that encourages youth participation in sports while promoting healthy living and the development of key life skills, such as organization, management, and team-building.
Dr. Selleck was inducted into the Stanford University Basketball Hall of Fame, the Pac-12 Hall of Honor, and named one of the “100 Most Influential Sports Educators in America” by the Institute for International Sports at the University of Rhode Island.
Incorporating team building exercises into practice has been one of the most impactful things I have done as a coach! My mission when coaching is to create an environment where everyone feels safe, valued, has a voice, and experiences joy every day! Coaches should strive to incorporate focus and fun into their basketball practices.
If you want to learn more about basketball specific principles and drills to create a championship culture, please check out my book, “Help Them Up” on Amazon.
The below exercises can be used for all team sports!
3 Practical Steps for Team Building
Question of the Day
Every day at the start of practice, we circle up. I ask if anyone has anything they want to share with the group. I have also used this time to praise someone for a good teammate moment I observed them do, had the team sing happy birthday to a team member, etc. Then, I share a question of the day or ask the team to think of one.
Everyone gets into groups of two or three and during a warmup lap and they ask each other the question. I ask them to pick a different teammate every day, so they get a chance to connect with everyone. They jog back to the circle, and I ask if anyone wants to share something they learned.
The team always enjoys learning about teammates. I have seen friendships develop through this exercise because they find commonalities about each other they previously didn’t know about.
A few examples:
What is your favorite topic to talk about and why?
What do you like to do on the weekends?
Do you have any pets? If so, how many and what are their names? (With my team, they love talking about their pets!)
What is a goal you have for today’s practice and is there anything I can do to help you with it?
What are you grateful for?
Dynamic Warm-Up
A few years ago, I attended a UConn Women’s basketball practice. It was incredible! They were in complete unison when executing their dynamic warm-up. Since that day, I have been very intentional with warming-up as a team which prevents side conversations, shows unity, and creates elite level communication!
I have my team line up on the sideline and they do the exercises to the opposite sideline. I select someone to be the leader of the day or ask for a volunteer who then energetically yells out the exercises. The team then responds in a loud and energetic tone the name of the exercise. Then the leader yells, “go” and the team, while in unison, travel across the court trying to stay synchronized with all teammates.
For example, the leader will yell, “high knees” and then the team yells, “high knees” followed by the leader yelling, “Go”. We proceed with exercises like defensive slides, skips, lunges, jog, back pedal, etc.
I love to make this player led and have them take accountability over their team.
Accountability Circle
A few years ago, I attended a USA Basketball youth development clinic. I was amazed by Coach Joe Mantegna at Blair Academy (New Jersey) and his presentation on building a culture. He shared this concept which happens at the end of practice for 5-10 minutes and after games.
We meet in a circle so everyone can make eye contact with each other. You can choose to have players put their arms around each other to stay connected.
When first introducing and teaching the team this exercise, I shared, “This is a safe space, and everyone needs to be respectful of one another. We will invest time everyday doing this because it will help us all grow as individuals and as a team. We are not stating things about any specific person, rather their actions and words that we witnessed that specific day. For the first few weeks we will only say positive things about each other and then if we do a good job, we will allow everyone to share feedback that may be tough to hear but said with the intent to help us improve.”
However, the coaches can interrupt if someone shares something unkind or not helpful to the team. The coach can explain why what was said was not helpful and why. It works best when the coaches don’t speak first and allow for some silence so teammates can use their voice to build up teammates. This exercise was key to our team building. It single handedly elevated my team’s culture and use it consistently.
Developing a patient team can be one of the most difficult aspects of coaching. Young and inexperienced teams tend to rush through sets and often leave scoring opportunities unexplored. These teams need to reduce turnovers and play with more purpose. So finding the right drills and competitive practice games becomes a challenge. So here’s a look at a basketball passing drill that works on both the offense and the defense simultaneously.
Basketball Passing Drill: Passing Lanes and Patience
The Passing Lanes and Patience drill promotes multiple things. For the offense, it promotes patience and making good passes. It stresses the importance of working for great shots. It also helps build habits like crashing the offensive boards.
For the defense, this drill promotes getting into the passing lanes, blocking out, and limiting teams to one shot. It stresses toughness in taking charges and playing hard without fouling.
Coaches implement four 2:30 minute quarters for the drill, with a 45 second break in between each segment. The two teams split time as offense and defense, alternating after each quarter. Subs can be incorporated with each dead ball situation.
The Rules
Coaches set a specific number of passes the offense must complete. (We do 6 passes.)
The offense “scores” 1 point if they reach that number of passes without a turnover or deflection. They also get 1 point for each offensive rebound. The offense gets 3 points for made three-pointers, but 4 points for a made two-point field goal. We stress working for great shots.
The defense “scores” 1 point for each deflection of a pass. They get 2 points for a steal, and 3 points for limiting the offense to one shot in a possession. They get 4 points for each charge drawn. The defense loses a point when a player commits a foul.
COACHING POINTS
Emphasize the importance of getting in passing lanes to get deflections & steals. On the line, up the line is a way of life for our program.
Discuss scoring with teams & ask them why they think 2’s are worth more than 3’s in this drill & ask them why they think securing a D-Board after one shot and taking a charge are worth so many points.
Kyle Brasher Gibson Southern High School
Social Studies Teacher
Lady Titans Basketball Coach
Gold. Basketball turnovers. What do these two items have in common? The answer is more than you may realize! As all coaches know, a turnover in basketball is one surefire way for your team to be defeated each and every game out. Not only do turnovers mean you do not get a field goal attempt, if the turnover is a live ball turnover, it could mean an easy bucket for your opponent. So basketball coaches seek new and innovative ways in reducing turnovers.
Gold is one of the most precious metals on earth, and an item that has monetary value. Gold is something that people want to protect and ensure that they retain. When playing the game of basketball, we like to think of the basketball as a piece of gold, We like to think of it as something that is very precious, which we hope to retain more than we lose. So using special gold basketballs to aid in reducing turnovers created a competitive practice game with stakes.
Reducing Turnovers with Gold Basketballs
As a program, we instituted gold basketballs in many of our live scrimmage segments to help encourage our players to be more focused on reducing turnovers. Players do not like the punishment of running; players will do almost anything to avoid running, so as a staff we decided to tap into that mindset and try to become a team that commits fewer turnovers.
In live scrimmage segments, we place three gold basketballs out for each team playing. (To create gold basketballs, we found three old basketballs that would not retain air and spray painted them gold.) During the scrimmage, each time a team commits a turnover, they lose one of their gold basketballs. Once a team has lost all three of their gold basketballs, we stop the scrimmage and that team gets on the line to run. After their run is complete, they only get two gold basketballs back.
It is imperative that they retain a high level of focus in not turning the ball over. Once those two balls are gone and they run again. Then, they get the last ball back. Once that final ball is gone and they run, they get all three back and we repeat the process again. The goal is for the players to understand the value of limiting our turnovers and putting ourselves in the best position possible to succeed.
Limiting Use (and Turnovers)
The Gold Basketballs are not something we use every day. As a staff, we feel they may lose their luster if we commit to doing them every practice. We utilize the balls once or twice a week. If we have a game where we just committed a lot of turnovers or an upcoming game where reducing turnovers is important, we may utilize the balls a tad more.
It has given our players a visual cue to look at and realize the importance of retaining possession and putting ourselves in the best position to succeed in all game situations.
Understanding situational basketball comes only after playing the game competitively for some time. Getting young and developing players to understand the ins and outs of different situations takes time, and experience. Coaches can carve out practice time for situational drills, but often, players won’t fully understand until they’ve experienced it in a competitive game.
Situational Basketball: The Background & Problem
Let’s start by setting a scene: low-scoring, hard fought playoff game in a loud high school gym in the first week of March. We worked for this all year long. It’s the month of the season where any coach would work for free just to have the chance to feel that utterly different, barely describable adrenaline that comes with a win to advance to the next round.
So that’s where I was as an assistant coach. Up off the bench trying to diagnose the intended action of a play before our team forced a five-second call on a sidelines out of bounds play. It’s where I was a few moments later, using what was left of my voice to remind our inbounder that we were out of timeouts. It’s where I was when his inbounds pass took our best free throw shooting guard back toward our own basket.
I exhaled as a late whistle negated a steal that would have led to our opponent tying the game. With both hands pressed behind my head, I felt a tap on my shoulder from our older and more composed assistant coach.
“We’ve got to work on late game situations tomorrow in practice,” seemingly oblivious to the fact that we still needed to make a pair of free throws to ice the game.
“I hope we have a practice tomorrow,” I shouted back to him.
We survived and advanced. I knew he was right. Teaching situational basketball was integral. But, in my career and with the coaches I had played for, worked for, or even spoken to, it’s always been the thing that got cut out of practice.
I first heard this response as a high school player when I was talking to a respected and decorated retired coach from my high school as I explained the newfangled approach of fouling in the closing seconds when up three points.
“You’d have to practice that and then hope you get it right with the same players,” he said. “And no one is going to find time to practice that.”
I next heard the response as an eager young coach, trying to offer something different to a coach in my first job.
“That’s great, Bennett,” he said. “But have you noticed that we aren’t even good enough to be in late-game situations?”
“This is why we don’t do this,” I heard another coach say as I watched a comical close to an otherwise fine practice when my situations were marred by managers not being able to run the clock and JV players incapable of handling any sort of pressure defense.
But my idea persisted. I tucked it away in a notebook until finally, called for out of complete frustration, it got its chance to make its way into a practice plan.
“Bennett,” our head coach said. “We’ve got to figure out ways to teach our players what to do in different situations.” I heard this after a weekend where we nearly choked away a double digit lead in a Friday night game. We suffered a very frustrating loss a night later when we gave up not one, not two, but three 3-point shots to close quarters.
Our Solution
So what did I propose and implement? Nothing too time consuming. Nothing too difficult. But something that has helped our players think situationally better.
Three to four times in each practice, in little short segments, we blow a whistle, gather two teams, and conduct a situation. It works as a palate cleanser for whatever else has happened to that point in practice or to what might happen next. Of course, there are also consequences. We run when we don’t achieve our stated goal for that situation.
But, above all, it’s a chance to teach, talk, and coach players through a situation that they have seen or could see. It’s the opportunity to work on that last second play, see how long it will take to get into a set and execute it. Teaching situational basketball can reaffirm a recently taught point, or test the mental mettle of your team.
Defining Situational Basketball
Too often, I think coaches envision working on situations to mean the last two minutes, holding a lead or last 45 seconds trying to come back. Those kinds of situations often do take too much time or can lead to frustration when a JV team can’t pressure or a manager doesn’t know when to stop the clock.
Our situations are often short. I think back to the idea of getting a pass inbounded with two seconds left and no time outs. After that situation, we can grade our players immediately as to whether we got what we wanted. Did the right player get the catch or was the pass thrown to a place where it would hurt us the last if it were to be intercepted?
Often our situations aren’t end game either. One of my favorites is putting 45 seconds or so on the clock, giving the ball to us on a sideline out of bounds and saying that I want to win the end of the quarter. Our players have learned to look for quick action off the sideline out of bounds and then to move into a “get the last shot” situation.
Other times, we simply talk about urgency and give the ball to the opposition with 20 or so seconds to go. Give up that last shot? Enjoy a few sprints before we move on to the next part of practice. I reiterate that the most important thing that we do is huddle again after the situation and address exactly what we thought went right and what still needs to be fixed in future situations.
What We Like Best
Competitiveness
It’s a great way to bring some intensity to practice, even amongst coaches. I have been given free reign to coach our top varsity unit through the situations. Our other varsity assistant and JV coach, who both work in our building, often find me at lunch to try to figure out what situations we’ll be working on that day and what lineups I plan to use.
By the beginning of practice, I find that they’ve schemed to come up with sets they want to run against the top group in order to force them to have to run sprints. There’s been a healthy amount of competition while our players are also learning. As I mentioned earlier, it can also act as either a bridge to the next segment of practice or a cap on the previous portion.
Teaching
How often do we say to our guys “know the time and situation” or “be aware of the situation”? Now, we have three to four chances each day to teach our basketball players situational awareness. Want to know how and when to foul up three? How about focusing on getting 2-for-1 at the end of a quarter or half? Want to practice turning a ball handler after getting a score with a few seconds left on the clock?
These are all little quizzes that you can more easily incorporate into practice. Better yet, it’s a great way to review the situations you might have failed in previous games. Finally, it even gives us a chance to fit in sets/tendencies of our upcoming opponent.
Lineups
So often because of fouls, you wind up with strange groups on the floor. How often is your big on the floor at the end of the half because of foul trouble? This is a great way to try out different lineups as you envision the best or worst case that might come Friday night.
It’s also a great way to know who you can trust to do certain things. Going back to my high school’s old coach – I can pick one or two guys and teach them how to foul with a 3-point lead.
Data
How often as coaches do we say things like “Can we do this?” “Can so-and-so run that?” “How much time do we need to do this?” So much of the intel that I try to collect and have ready for our games comes from these situations.
I have an “end of quarter” column on a sheet I have with me each game that lets me know exactly how much time each set might take us to run. That way when our head coach calls something out at the end of a quarter, I can let our point guard know exactly what time to start the action. It’s similar with lineups. I know, based often by what guys have done in the past couple weeks, who can handle what assignment or what certain guys actually know how to do.
Takeaways
Does this cure all situational ails? Of course not. But, what it does do is it gets players thinking throughout practice. Just the other day, we had worked on how we wanted to finish a quarter by getting a stop and then running a bit of clock before going to a closing seconds set that we call “tap.”
Toward the end of practice, we worked a simple 8-minute quarter as a scrimmage situation. A ball got batted out of bounds with about 30 seconds left on the clock. Without prompting, our shooting guard turned to me and said “You want this like we did earlier?” I nodded and he right away called out and gave direction to his teammates. Something had clearly stuck with him.
How has it helped though? I think some. And the wins and losses do show that to be the case. Going back to that frustrating weekend where our current head coach tasked me with coming up with some solutions. We were 3-12 in two possession games over the past year and a half. Since then, a sample size of a little more than a year now, we are 8-1 in two possession games.
I go back to the coach I worked for (and highly respect) who said there were so many other things that needed to be done before we worried about end game situations. He was exactly right. But, I think winning situations in the first three quarters is integral in getting a lot of teams to the fourth with a chance. Nevertheless, it is something that you can work on in practice tomorrow – if there even is a practice tomorrow.
Brian Bennett is the associate boys basketball coach for Richmond (Indiana) High School. He has coached high school basketball for more than a decade in Indiana high schools. Bennett teaches composition, speech, and journalism.
Basketball team building can be a difficult task. Whether a coach is looking for bonding events or building morale through game awards, building a positive basketball culture remains integral.
Developing a Positive Basketball Culture
A positive basketball culture is the first thing you will need to build a winning basketball program. You will need to fight for this every single day in every thing you do–from the weightroom to your open gym sessions. When you face adversity your culture will be able to overcome any negativity if you have a strong foundation.
Jon Gordon is a master teacher on culture and I strongly recommend you check out some of my favorite books of his–The Energy Bus, The Power of a Positive Team, The Carpenter, and You Win In the Locker Room First.
When you start to establish your culture and identity as a positive team, you will then need to establish some core values for your program. We stole ours from Alabama and Nate Oats: Max Effort, Continuous Learning, and Selfless Love. We even tied Bible verses into these so we can reach our players spiritually.
Our program spent some money and put some cool signage up to improve our facilities with these words all around it for our players to see daily. The important thing is, you must fight for these values daily as a coach and hold your players accountable to them!
We talk about these values daily and what it means to live them out on and off the court to develop the entire individual. A few things we do is ask a player at the end of practice or a weight room session to name a core value. Then we will ask them to tell us how one player on our team lived it out today and why. This gets our kids thinking about the values constantly!
When you are building your culture, you have to have players buy into your culture. One way you can do this as a coach is to have your players have some input. We asked our players to create a vision statement and standards they would like to live out daily that correlate with our core values.
One tip I got from a few experts on culture was don’t limit yourself when setting goals. For example: we want to win districts, go undefeated at home, and go to the State Tournament.
While those are great things, oftentimes everyone has those same goals. And what happens when you lose that first game at home? What happens when you don’t win districts but you can still advance? Or an even better question: what if your players do get complacent when they accomplish winning districts and going undefeated at home?
You can get complacent and think you achieved enough and you fall short of going even further than what you were capable of doing. So we made a vision statement instead that has seemed to really motivate our players to the next level.
They came up with the following: The FCS basketball team is a united group of brothers here to glorify Jesus through the game of basketball while exceeding the expectations of others, with the expectation to win everytime we step on the floor.
A few standards our players came up with through guided discussion include: Accountability, Communication, Elevate, Grit, Selflessness, and Servanthood.
Avoiding Burnout
Kids have to have fun with the game of basketball and so do coaches! Basketball is a long season, and in a lot of ways it’s year round with post-season workouts, summer, pre-season, and in season. One way to avoid any burnout is to celebrate little things. Celebrate progress in the weight room. Celebrate winning two games in a row in season. And celebrate simple things like winning a situational segment in practice!
Another tip to have a positive basketball culture comes with making time for relationships with your players. Something I got from T.J. Rosene at Emmanuel College and PGC Basketball is to write out the names of three players on your practice plan and have a meaningful conversation with those players that day. Mix up the names each practice and you will be able to reach all of your players consistently.
Use Your Assistant Coaches
As coaches we have to trust our assistant coaches–we hired them for a reason! A tip I want to suggest is to delegate your work and let your assistant coaches lead in some areas of the program. For example, in the pre- and post-season, my assistant coaches lead all my weight room and skill development days. As the head coach I serve as the manager and see the big picture.
My assistants will run everything by me and make sure it is in alignment with what we are trying to accomplish. This allows your players to hear someone else’s voice and allows you to save yours more so for the season! You also are helping your assistant coaches who want to move on to become a head coach one day.
I would also encourage you to write out other areas of your program you can delegate to your assistants. I really like the defensive end of the floor, so I call one of my assistants the “offensive coordinator.” We run a read and react/dribble drive hybrid offense, so I give him free reign out of that to come up with ways to improve our offense, drills, small sided games, etc. This also limits my film, as he will watch everything on us offensively and I will watch everything defensively.
I hope you found some useful tips and strategies that have worked for our program. Best of luck this season!
Coaches know that to win games you ultimately must score more points than your opponent. What coaches also know is that teams cannot win unless there are players willing to do all the small things that amount to winning. Small things like blocking out and getting rebounds, finding the open player for an assist, or taking a momentum-swinging charge. These are oftentimes the things that go overlooked when the local newspaper comes to write their stories about basketball teams.
Well, as a staff, we wanted to reward the players who impacted games in ways that don’t always make the paper. So, we created a system for our varsity game awards where the individual who earns that award will get recognition. We wanted to award them with an item that represents individuals who are tough, gritty people who show up every day to work hard and get the job done. We decided to go with the following three items: a Hard Hat, a Windex Bottle, and a Lunch Pail.
Lady Titan Basketball Varsity Game Awards
The Hard Hat
Our coaching staff elected to use a Hard Hat for one of our awards because construction workers are the type of people that do hard, tough, gritty work. We wanted to reward the individual who earned this award with a hard hat that has our school logo on it. We use a formula to help figure out the winner of this game award. The following stats are worth one point: Rebounds, Steals, Assists, and Deflections. Charges are worth 2 points. You add that number up and subtract turnovers, and the player who has the highest number wins the Hard Hat award.
Windex Bottle
As we all know, the team that wins the rebounding battle is oftentimes the team that wins the basketball game. We reward the player who leads our team in rebounding with the Windex Bottle as the person who did the best job “cleaning the glass.” Rebounding is something that is a tough,gritty skill to teach young players, and this is such a winning part of the formula that we wanted to reward it.
Lunch Pail
While the first 2 awards are very objective, the Lunch Pail is something that is very subjective. There is no formula or stat we look at for the winner of the Lunch Pail. The person who wins the Lunch Pail is going to be someone who makes a major impact on the game. This impact could be taking a momentum-changing charge, playing great defense on the opposing team’s best player, or being a supporting teammate on the bench. The player who earns this award represents all the people who pack up their lunch everyday and head to work, hence why we found a dingy old lunchbox.
These game awards have become a huge part of the identity of our program, and these awards are something our players want to achieve. They understand we can only pass these awards out for games that are victories, and on those victories the coaching staff will walk in with these players having already laid out the awards in anticipation of learning who earned the awards for the night. Those players then get their name on the board and a group picture taken for social media. This stat tracking method brings great life to our program and basketball team.
Kyle Brasher Gibson Southern High School
Social Studies Teacher
Lady Titans Basketball Coach
Any team that has hopes and aspirations of a great season needs to ensure that the team chemistry is very solid. An extremely talented team that lacks in the chemistry department could easily fail to meet its ceiling. On the opposite end of the spectrum, a team that is not as talented but has great team chemistry could exceed their expectations. This is where basketball team building comes in.
While the players in and of themselves play a huge role in developing chemistry, I think the coaching staff plays a huge role in that department as well. The staff needs to provide opportunities for the team to develop this culture. Because it cannot be done in your normal practice time. The staff needs to look for ways to create this culture through different activities. Below are some things we have done as a staff to help develop, in our opinion, strong culture through team building.
Basketball Team Building
Lead ‘Em Up
This has been hands down one of the best investments our program has made. Lead ‘Em Up is a leadership-based program run by Adam Bradley It teaches and encourages leadership habits that bring groups closer together. It is a positive-based program with fun activities that teach selflessness, encouragement, and a “green” mindset. This helps propel athletes into leadership roles as they continue to go through life. It’s a program that we run weekly and something our players look forward to weekly.
Dance Routine
We took our athletes to a local dance studio a few years ago for an opportunity to learn a choreographed dance routine to the High School Musical song “Get your Head in the Game.” It started where our girls stretched for a bit and then it was time to learn the routine. From a coach’s standpoint, it was a lot of fun to see our athletes in new situations to see how they would respond. It is safe to say it was a day filled with laughs and memories that will last a lifetime.
Great Basketball Cookoff
This is a new event we are trying this season and it centers around something our coaching staff and program loves: FOOD! Food seems to bring people together, and nothing brings a team together like a great team meal. We will break the athletes into teams, and each team will create the same dish. In addition, we will have a panel of judges who will then judge which group made the meal the best. The team that is judged to be the winner will receive the glory on social media, but at the end of the day what is really important is the team bonding aspect of the event.
These are just a few of a wide variety of ideas that we have implemented over the years. We have had lots of discussions on other ideas and there are other things we have done. The challenge is for every coaching staff to foster a culture and environment where the athletes want to come and work hard every day. We cannot always make everything centered around basketball. I believe that will burn the athletes out very quickly. The athletes need to realize we want to get to know them on a personal level. These fun-filled team bonding activities can go a long way to helping establish that type of positive, team mindset culture.
Kyle Brasher Gibson Southern High School
Social Studies Teacher
Lady Titans Basketball Coach
Here is the good news: AAU is not killing high school basketball. The bad news is that schools are themselves killing it, or, more accurately, school boards are killing it.
Reasons Why High School Basketball is Failing
No-one to hire. Coaches historically were teachers who taught to coach, or who coached to teach. It was easy to schedule practices after school, Mon-FRI, 2:30pm-4:00pm, plus be away from family 2 evenings per week, and on weekends. You only had to do it 3-4 months. The aim was to win. How you handled players came second, and parents a distant third. Coaching was fun, relatively easy to do, families were intact, and expectations clear.
It is impossible to hire competent non-teachers to coach who can do so mid-afternoon, and put parents first, players second, school boards third, ADs fourth, and, finally, still win enough games to keep your job based on merit. Who can do it, and who will do it for a stipend of $2.000.00-5,000.00?
As for teachers coaching, there is a joke: “The fastest way to unemployment as a teacher–is to coach.” The money has never been worth it; today the risk of coaching outweighs its benefit. Have you calculated recently how dangerous it is to show taught love to kids, so as to make a difference in their lives?
Standardized tests are the sole determiner today of the continued employability of teachers, and principals alike. Test scores, not Game scores, matter in both the long term and short term teaching calculus. Principals are never pressured today on how well their coaches coach, or if their teams win the conference. Teachers get meager annual appraisal points for “making a difference” in lives of players coached. I think it fair to say, of all parent feedback principals receive about coaches, 90% of it is negative.
So while the personal risk to teachers is skyrocketing, to be responsible to coach others’ kids, schools have completely de-incentivized coaching in the name of test scores and US News & World Report rankings.
High School Basketball Isn’t a Movie
Schools drift in nostalgia, in a sort of basketball movie Hoosiers-mode, where kids of mediocre talent come together once per year, in the Fall, to play for their high school to earn a letter jacket, under a wise teacher-coach. In reality, no serious basketball player 16YOA and up waits till October to dribble, and begins to condition only on the first day of practice in running line-drills.
Schools do not care about the other 8 months of a player’s basketball development. That is not the school’s problem. If you ever read a basketball coach’s contract, it generally says you will coach 6th grade, and Coach Joe will coach 7th grade, and Bill JV, James Varsity, etc.
None in the school track the overall, cross-year development of any player. This omission is from elementary school (95% of states do not have school-based basketball in elementary schools) to middle school to high school. As far as the school system is concerned, the first time a basketball player shows up on its duty-radar screen is 7th grade. Can you imagine any player in college today starting to play in 7th grade?
Responsibilities
No one in the school system (even the Athletic Director of that system), “owns” the responsibility to create and run a basketball development program reaching across grades and ages, and skill levels, of players who want to grow in the game. No one manages transitions of players from year to year, and no trains them longitudinally. Further, no one in the school district is responsible to recruit out-of-school season coaches, and build valuable relations with adults in the community to staff a basketball development feeder program. No one coordinates between schools and, say, AAU or travel teams, from March to the next October.
The school sees, and contracts, only in parts. Most school coaches sign contracts just a few weeks before season begins, then wait to see who shows up for tryouts. Some are cut, others kept, then 10 practices are held before the first game. In most states HSB varsity coaches are precluded from coaching AAU, Elite and travel teams during the off-season. And below varsity coaches, few school coaches also coach in these venues. Similarly, very few coaches hold pre-season workouts or post-season player improvement trainings. Few hold camps, clinics or one-on-one trainings, at any time of year.
School System Difficulties
Schools are inherently political. They must satisfy the constituents they serve, who all vote, complain, and run to social media whenever the pettiest slight is felt, or perceived. It is impossible to believe how many people complain to a school principal on a given day.
The problem is not that parents complain (they do in AAU and travel as well). The problem is that no school board, and very few superintendents, will defend you, or hold warpath-parents accountable for their unfounded attacks on you. You get no protection from any quarter. In my experience, not one person above you will say anything good about you on the record, or to the newspaper, once an allegation is raised against you. Instead, you will meet a haunting silence that will fill the space around you.
Internal school system are also difficult. The principal’s daughter will make the team; the coach’s daughter will start, and; the son or daughter of a school board member will get to take the final shot in a close game! Children of fellow teachers also generally make the team, out of solidarity for all that teachers have to put up with to stay in the profession.
Athletic Department Difficulties
Athletic Directors are schizophrenic. Historically coaches had to do 2 things to keep their jobs: win 60% of games, and not hit players. Today the list of expectations is growing, and non-sustainable. Now yelling at is akin to battery. To be “mean” or to “talk down to” players is sister to abuse. To not respond to a player’s every need is to “negate their self-esteem.”
High School basketball coaches today are expected to: 1) Start each parent’s child; 2) Validate them in every way, and; as far as the AD is concerned, 3) Generate copious amounts of money to pay for all the other unsuccessful sports programs in the school. Win 70% of games, and be a “nice guy” 100% in practices, games, interviews, and in all conversations with members of the public.
As for ADs, 75% are full of pride, and the other 25% failed when they were coaches. They are men (almost all are males) who cannot coach, and who do not want to teach. Most see themselves as above principals, and many in fact do report direct to the school system superintendent.There is a clear dichotomy today inside schools: principals hire the teachers, and ADs hire the coaches. ADs function in perpetual plausible deniability.
Social Media Difficulties
In this social media age, every aspect of you as a teacher-coach is under direct, constant scrutiny. The problem is you cannot afford to hire a lawyer, personal security guard, and public relations specialist to defend you. There are no rules of ethics or legal procedures to limit how anyone may attack you. You do not get to argue merits. You can bet that each night while you stay awake to ready the team for the next day’s big event, someone, somewhere is posting something about you on social media that is harmful and not true. If it should go viral, you are dead before morning. I bet a parent is already taping you at games, to edit later, and use however they wish. It does not take long to get from a hostile parent facebook page to your school superintendent. In fact, just two “Shares” will do it.
When you coach kids from 2-parent homes there is a good chance you can reach agreement on what are the goals for the season, and how they define success, and fun, for their child. But with our totally messed up “family” structures today, 70 percent of the friction you face during the season will be caused by those who are not even related to those you coach. Most you will never meet, know or have any dealings with. Yet all can harpoon you in moments, so as to “stand up” in protecting “their” child.
For the reasons above, good coaches regularly leave schools after 2-3 seasons. The reason is because a rolling stone gathers no moss. Nothing sticks to the one who moves. So since 90 percent of high school basketball coaching positions are part-time, if you want to move up to coach full-time, you simply have to move. And move. And move. For coaches to survive today, move in 3, or perish, is the reality.
Mr. Terry Boesch is a Gold-level Certified Youth Basketball Coach with USA Basketball. He is a US Army veteran, and former senior leader in the US Federal Government in Washington, DC. He is a licensed public school teacher, and previously taught in the hometown of his basketball hero, John Wooden, in Martinsville, IN. Contact: terryboesch@gmail.com Website: TexasExpress.org
John Wooden, the Wizard of Westwood, is the coach by whom modern-day coaches are measured. Winning ten of twelve NCAA Championships has immortalized his place in basketball history. History, on the other hand, has not been as kind to another basketball wizard. Ernest Blood, who dominated his peers to an even greater degree a few generations earlier in New Jersey, was called the Grey Thatched Wizard.
Few basketball purists in California are aware of this first wizard of the hardwood. “Prof” was a shortened version of Professor. It was the name his players and students called him, but they spoke it reverently. Passaic High School’s Grey Thatched Wizard was known for his all-around coaching acumen. His teams enjoyed six undefeated seasons, and during another season, his team lost one game. His truncated stay at Passaic High School was a nonpareil 188-1. Furthermore, his teams would have undoubtedly won many more if jealous administrators and school board members hadn’t interfered.
A recently published book investigates the life of Prof Blood from his precocious athletic youth to the development of his avant-garde system of coaching. In Prof Blood and the Wonder Teams: The True Story of Basketball’s First Great Coach, California coaches learn how and why this man was a generation ahead of his peers. His methods and philosophies, which are not always followed today, are still very much worth learning and implementing.
Winning streaks followed these two coaching wizards. Wooden’s UCLA teams once compiled 88 consecutive victories. While a couple of generations earlier, Blood’s boys went five seasons in a row without a loss, 159 straight, topping the latter-day wizard’s mark by 71 games. Besides the length of their winning steaks, these two coaching wizards had much in common.
Basketball Lifers: Blood & John Wooden
For starters, Blood and Wooden were astrological Libras. Their birth dates were October 5, 1872, and October 14, 1910, respectively. If self-confidence is an essential ingredient to be a successful coach, then that explains the reason for their success. And their confidence was reflected in their teams’ demeanor.
Other similarities of these two Naismith Memorial Hall of Famers include:
Excellent, accomplished athletes—one of Wooden’s two inductions into the hall of fame was for his accomplishments as a player
Great free throw shooters–Wooden once made 134 straight in professional game competition with the Kautsky Athletic Club, while Blood at age seventy-four, calmly sank 484 out of 500 after a practice session
Physical conditioning enthusiasts. With Wooden, it was an obsession
Adherence to clean living was a must
Adamantly stressed the importance of teamwork
Recognized the importance of speed and quickness as essentials
Strange eating habits
Proponents of a controlled offense, fastbreak, and full court pressing defense. Blood pioneered these innovations and referred to his full court defense as “offensive defense”
Shy in social situations
Honest to a fault
Far ahead of their time as basketball tacticians
The only enemies they had were people who were jealous of their success
Neither believed in charging a team up before a game. They wanted a calm assurance in the dressing room and in the pre-game warm-ups.
Prof Blood often said: “I train boys for the game of life—not to win basketball games. If I succeed in that, I have accomplished something worthwhile.” In Prof’s way of thinking, winning remained incidental.
The Story of Basketball’s First Great Coach: Ernest Blood
Before little John Wooden was a twinkle in Joshua Hugh Wooden’s eye, Prof was equating basketball to the more important game of life. While reading John Wooden’s book They Call Me Coach, you could insert Blood’s name for Wooden’s. You would be accurately describing Blood’s philosophy as well.
The major differences between the two behemoths of the game were their eras of dominance (’20s and ’60s) and their arenas (high school and college). They had their priorities straight; they were teachers of the game of life. The differences between the two lay in society’s memory. Wooden has become a household name synonymous with basketball coaching excellence while Blood’s story has never accurately been told until now. His accomplishments, contributions to the game and tribulations that have been lost in the annals of basketball have been resurrected in Prof Blood and the Wonder Teams: The Story of Basketball’s First Great Coach.
There isn’t a basketball coach who knows an X from an O who wouldn’t benefit from becoming more familiar with basketball’s first great coach. Prof’s biography should be required reading for all high school coaches and fans.
***
Chic Hess, Ed. D. is the author of Prof Blood and the Wonder Teams: The True Story of Basketball’s First Great Coach, available at www.profblood.com. Hess is a former NAIA College District and NABC-Kodak National Junior College Coach of the Year.
Scheming the right defensive system for your team remains one of the most important parts of preseason preparation for any basketball coach. While defensive principles may largely be the same from year to year, the athletes on the team might not be. Coaches must gear their strategies and approaches to fit the capabilities of their players. That makes systems like the Funnel Down Defense so valuable. Funnel Down stands as a versatile defensive weapon for any team, no matter the level.
The Funnel Down Defense
The basic principle of this defensive set up is to prevent opposing offenses from comfortably using the middle of the floor. Funnel Down creates “gutters” outside the volleyball lines, which are present on most high school and even college courts. Defenders force dribblers into these gutters and funnel them down the line to the next man. The ball is pushed down to the baseline and toward “strike zones,” or trap areas in the short corner.
Ideally, the offense never centers the ball, or swings the ball to the weak side of the floor. This defense focuses on shrinking the court for opposing offenses. Funnel Down tries to prevent offenses from effectively using 60 percent of the court.
Funnel Down is purposefully built to get opposing offenses out of their normal rhythm and flow, resulting in turnovers, and bad or rushed shots. When deployed in games that feature a shot clock, the effectiveness of this strategy is further amplified because the offense must spend time getting out of the trap zones.
Why Use Funnel Down?
This defensive system provides coaches with a versatile set up, adaptable to almost any talent level. Funnel Down can be paired with any base defense. It doesn’t matter if a team normally runs man-to-man or zone, funnel down can work either way.
When used correctly, this system disrupts any offense by keeping the ball on one side of the floor. Funnel Down seeks to “pin” opposing offenses to the sidelines and forcing them into traps. This creates an urgency in dribblers that often speeds them up to a point where they are uncomfortable. By speeding up the dribbler, the offense becomes more mistake prone, leading to game-changing turnovers.
And this defense can be taught by any coach, to basically any team. The lesson linked below provides all of the video tutorials, drills and practice plans needed to implement this system. Funnel Down might be the only defense a team needs!
The versatility of this set up allows for any type of athlete to be used on the floor. The defense creates difficult angles for passing and shooting, especially once the ball handler enters that baseline trap area. Funnel Down uses the sideline and the baseline as extra defenders to leverage pressure on the floor.
Incorporating this system into your routine forces opposing teams to spend extra time preparing. That ultimately robs opponents of time to prep for other parts of their game plans.
For more on how to implement this game-changing defensive system, Click Below for the Limited Time Offer!
Basketball coaches often find themselves scheming for different ways to defeat the best team on their schedule. Many of those schemes are oriented around the defense. Coaches searching for ways to streamline their practices and become more efficient in their instruction need to look no further than the Funnel Down Defense. This approach provides coaches with a tried and true defense system that dictates pace and generates turnovers.
The Funnel Down Defense
Funnel Down uses something most basketball courts feature and many coaches dismiss: the volleyball lines. This defense focuses on shrinking the court for opposing offenses by pushes ball handlers outside of that key stretch of the floor. Funnel Down tries to prevent offenses from effectively using 60 percent of the court. Instead, it forces them to the perimeter, operating on just 40 percent of the floor.
This approach attempts to keep the ball on one side of the floor. It speeds up opposing offenses to the point where they become mistake-prone. It also shrinks the usable floor space for the offense.
Funnel Down is purposefully built to get opposing offenses out of their normal rhythm and flow, resulting in turnovers, and bad or rushed shots. When deployed in games that feature a shot clock, the effectiveness of this strategy is further amplified because the offense must spend time getting out of the trap zones.
Three Key Concepts of the Funnel Down Defense
1. Pin the ball on the sideline
2. Funnel the ball to the baseline
3. Trap and Rotate in the short corner
The design of this defense borrows its terminology from bowling. The task of the defense remains to “funnel” the ball along the “gutter” of the court to the baseline, where a trap awaits in the “strike zone.” Funnel Down seeks to keep the ball out of the “alley,” which is the main stretch of center court inside the volleyball lines. The traps occur in “strike zones” positioned at the short corners.
Ideally, defenders pressure the ball into the gutters, avoiding the centering pass. This is called a “pin.” This tactic overplays the ball handler away from the middle so that the ball can’t be swung. Defenders stay ahead of the ball handlers by sprinting, not sliding, trying to stay half a body width ahead of the dribbler. This discourages penetration and funnels the ball toward the trap areas.
The defender “up the line” covers a man below the ball level on the court. This defender needs to remain between his man and the ball in order to help. The defenders continue to “funnel” the ball along the sideline, encouraging the dribblers to head toward the baseline. Once the ball enters the “strike zone” in the short corner, that triggers a trap and weak side rotation.
For more on how to implement this game-changing defensive system, Click Below for the Limited Time Funnel Down Defense Offer!
I think it is safe to say that there has never been a course created or an experience a coach could pull from on how to plan for and attack this situation. This has been a trying time for sure. But ultimately, this has been a time where, if done correctly, players and teams could still have improved. At Gibson Southern High School in Fort Branch, Indiana, the Lady Titans basketball program, like everyone else, has experienced our share of challenges and has taken many steps to combat the challenges of coaching in a pandemic
Challenge 1: Coaching with Masks On
Like all coaches, this has been a change for our staff. The biggest part of this is the difficulty in communicating and talking in a loud gym and the inability to show emotion in our facial expressions. There are many coaches, just like the great Pat Summit, who used emotion in their facial expressions to help coach their players. This is something that we have had to adjust in our practices to ensure we are able to continue the teaching of the game that is necessary to improve as a program.
Challenge 2: Keeping Everyone Healthy
It is imperative to emphasize the importance of masking up and putting ourselves in positions to remain healthy. We have consistently talked to our players about avoiding situations where they could be compromised and possibly contract COVID or become a close contact.
Challenge 3: Volatility in Schedule
We had arguably the best schedule our program has seen in over a decade scheduled for this season. Then we had received an invitation to play in an 8-team holiday tournament with seven schools more than double our size, many of which routinely play for sectional championships. Due to our county COVID status, we were forced to drop out of that tournament. Luckily, we were able to get in a shootout with two other quality teams to partially make up for the games lost in the holiday tournament. We have had multiple other games rescheduled or dropped within 24-48 hours of tip off. This volatility of scheduling has been very difficult to coach through. Needless to say, our Athletic Director has earned his money this season.
Challenge 4: Inability to conduct Team Gatherings
One of the things we pride ourselves in as a program and staff is developing a strong team culture/bond. One way we do this is through team gatherings and give-backs. We were unable to host our annual holiday giveback, where we’ll volunteer time to ring bells for the Salvation Army and/or donate gifts and time at our local YWCA. Unfortunately, we were unable to have our annual team Christmas Party as well. We have had to become more creative to help develop these strong bonds.
Challenge 5: Ticket Guidelines
In Indiana, every county has different ticket guidelines. Some counties allow two tickets per player. Others allow two tickets per player but can only be parents. Some allow six tickets per player. Others tickets are sold at gates, while others sell online. It can be a major challenge to stay on top of the various ticket guidelines from game to game.
With the volatility in our game schedule, it has become that much more important to network around the state with other coaches. I talked to a veteran coach this past week and one thing he mentioned he will miss when he retires is the camaraderie of the coaching fraternity. Every coach can understand and relate to the difficulty of fulfilling a schedule during these trying times. This season has shown the needed importance of developing those relationships with coaches around the state.
Step 3: Ornament Party
In an attempt to keep some semblance of normalcy for our players and do some form of team-building activity, we held a socially-distanced ornament party with our players. We got the players soft drinks and individually packaged snacks. With Christmas music playing, the girls paint their own ornaments. We then took the ornaments and had them “fired up” at a local pottery store that finished the ornaments. Many of the girls commented on how fun this activity was and we feel it met the important goal of team-building and improving our culture.
Step 4: Ticket Sales
One piece of advice: Try to have your athletic director conduct ticket sales online. This could take the collection of money and distribution of tickets out of your hands. It is important to be organized and have a system in place to ensure all money is collected and all tickets are distributed. As much as can be done online or via mobile sales, the better.
In conclusion, while this time is difficult, it is important to look at it through the lens of we still have a great opportunity to coach this great game and see young people grow. If we view this time as a positive, our players and those around us will view it the same way. Good luck and coach them up!
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2. Offense and Defensive Curriculum (Levels 1-4) designed for Coaches to compete at youth high school – Total value $500.00
3. Building. Program Course (Levels 1-4) How to turn any program into a winning program from a nationally renowned coach – Total value $325
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8. Weight Training, Youth Basketball, Individual Workouts (Video & Printable PDF) Total Value $480
9. Monthly Office Hours and One on One Mentoring with a Nationally Ranked High School Coach. Total Value $500 10. A Private Basketball Community of like minded coaches Total Value : Priceless
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When I was in college I would get through some of the most tedious lectures by drawing out basketball plays within my notes. And that evolved into designing offensive sets that would seamlessly flow from one right into another. At the time I didn’t have a big picture in mind but I was being creative and I was trying to solve a problem.
Little did I know the problem was already being solved. And the journey through the rabbit hole began.
Concerns About The Princeton Offense
The Princeton Offense is more often than not a polarizing topic for offensive basketball discussion. Coaches seem to either love it or they will say, “you’ll never catch me running that offense!”
There are three main reasons coaches will not entertain running Princeton and these are the actual words they say to me:
1) The Offense is too much. It is too hard to learn. It’s a slow down offense… and even if I wanted to run it, I don’t even know where to start.
2) The Offense is too complicated, too hard to break down, and takes too much time to install in practice.
3) I just don’t have smart enough or skilled enough players to run it. And my best players won’t buy in. It will bog them down.
And on the surface… these concerns ARE valid.
Simplifying the Offense
1) Yes the offense can be overwhelming and yes most teams run it as a slow down offense. But did you ask “why” those teams slow the game down? For example: Princeton University vs any Tournament Program. Northwestern vs The Big Ten. The Air Force Academy vs The Mountain West.
The teams we typically see run the offense slow it down because of who the can recruit and more importantly who they compete with. Have you seen Chris Mooney’s Richmond teams play lately?
2) Sure Princeton looks like an extremely complicated offense. It has many moving parts and an unorthodox philosophy. But have you actually seen a good coach break it down “correctly” in a practice situation?
One thing I have done is I’ve completely abandoned the “Whole-Part-Whole” philosophy of teaching. Sure that is a little controversial. But what I’ve learned is teaching (especially Princeton) in a progression based manner which I am calling The Progression Method, is much more efficient at getting reps and covering every scoring action and counter action. And it is simple because it addresses them step by step.
3) Having less than skilled or instinctual players is something we all battle with. But I am going to repeat some of the best advice i’ve ever received as a coach, “So you’re players aren’t good… Well, Coach Em Coach!”
The Princeton Offense: Helping the Role Players
The Princeton Offense will actually do MORE for your role players because it has the ability to “manufacture” shots that they cannot create on their own. So the advantage of running an offense like that versus one where you hide your role players is this. Now the defense has to stay honest and they cannot as easily target your best player with double teams and stopper defensive philosophies. I actually argue Princeton can actually “FREE” up your best player(s) rather than coup them up.
The Princeton Offense is designed to take the tension out of the game and to help even the playing field especially for the underdogs. And it might be the championship game but eventually we will all be the underdog. How will you compete to win that game?
And when you do have players, alright who wants to lace them up now!!!
By: John Wheeler
If you want to learn more about The Princeton Offense go to www.teachhoopsprinceton.com for a free training. Coach John Wheeler has 20 years experience with The Princeton Offense in both girls and boys programs and has a unique ability to simplify what is complicated and emphasizes the details of the game that elevates a players’ ability to execute under pressure.
As the days of summer heat up, stay cool inside and watch some classic basketball movies! Here’s my top 10 basketball movies and a few honorable mentions.
For Free Basketball drills, videos, practice plans and much more CLICK HERE
This might be a stretch, as far as basketball scenes, but I have fond memories of watching this my senior year in high school. “A struggling high school student with problems discovers that his family has an unusual pedigree when he finds himself turning into a werewolf.”
The revolution of the Air Jordan brand helped this movie become a cult classic. “A 14-year-old orphan becomes an NBA superstar after trying on a pair of sneakers with the faded initials “M.J.” inside.”
I could not put Anchorman on this list so Semi-Pro had to do. “Jackie Moon, the owner-coach-player of the American Basketball Association’s Flint Michigan Tropics, rallies his teammates to make their NBA dreams come true.”
Not sure this deserves to be on the list but it shows the corruption of college basketball. “A college basketball coach is forced to break the rules in order to get the players he needs to stay competitive.”
I had to list one romantic, date night movie. “In 1981 in L.A., Monica moves in next door to Quincy. They’re 11, and both want to play in the NBA, just like Quincy’s dad.”
A cult classic that everyone should watch at least once, not to mention it has a young Julius Irving! “The Pittsburgh basketball team is hopeless. Maybe with the aid of an astrologer, and some new astrologically compatible players, they can become winners.”
A great movie showing the pressure of family and basketball in today’s society. “A basketball player’s father must try to convince him to go to a college so he can get a shorter sentence.”
Another favorite movie from my childhood. “David Greene is a New York basketball enthusiast, who wants to coach. He is then offered the coaching job at a small Nevada college. He brings along some players, who are a bit odd.”
A historic story that changed our game forever. “In 1966, Texas Western coach Don Haskins led the first all-black starting line-up for a college basketball team to the NCAA national championship.”
The only documentary on the list and one of my all-time favorites. “A film following the lives of two inner-city Chicago boys who struggle to become college basketball players on the road to going professional.”
A story of a coach who puts the game in perspective. “Controversy surrounds high school basketball coach Ken Carter after he benches his entire team for breaking their academic contract with him.”
I love this movie and thought it was a great twist of live action from Michael Jordan, one of my favorite players, and cartoons. “Michael Jordan agrees to help the Looney Toons play a basketball game vs. alien slavers to determine their freedom.”
This movie gives every high school player a dream of winning it big. I remember the day I watched this movie for the first time as a freshman in college. I wanted to live that dream and did it with 3 state titles! “A coach with a checkered past and a local drunk train a small town high school basketball team to become a top contender for the championship.”
For Free Basketball drills, videos, practice plans and much more CLICK HERE!
Where can you find the best basketball coaching podcasts? I have always loved listening to podcast and especially podcasts that would help my basketball coaching. I look for podcast that not only inspire me, but also are inspirational, interesting and very entertaining.
Look no further! Every basketball coaching podcast you need is listed here! Some of the podcasts will be X’s and O’s others might talk about the psychological part of the game.
I like to listen to podcasts while I’m in the car, mowing the lawn or walking my dogs around he neighborhood. They’re perfect to fit into your day at any point when you are doing a task that doesn’t require your full attention….which during the Covid process is most of the time!
This is a shameless plug for my own podcast, but I am really proud of it and it comes out 5 days a week. It is a mixture of Coaching tips, interviews, Drills, X’s and O’s and everything in between. This Podcast will discuss basketball C with Coach Steve Collins. Coach Collins will do this with interviews and on topic discussions. (Discussion will revolve around basketball topics such as: Offense, Defense, Motivation, Team Building, Youth Basketball, High School Basketball, college basketball and much more…) We will publish weekly shows at 6:00 am….. Please check out our site if you like our podcast. C
Are you on the hunt for exceptional leadership strategies for your basketball team? Your search ends here! Step onto the court of knowledge with Coach Collins and Coach Berge as they unveil the ultimate guide to cultivating standout leaders in your basketball community.
Explore a treasure trove of practical tips and transformative techniques that are tailor-made for easy implementation.
Unlock the secrets to turning your team into trailblazers, setting the standard in your league.
Embrace the true essence of visionary leadership, translating into not just wins on the court, but a legacy of inspiration.
This podcast isn’t just for coaches or players – it’s a must-listen for anyone who loves basketball.
Tune in to level up your leadership game, because champions aren’t simply born; they’re shaped through mentorship, strategic insights, and an unwavering commitment to excellence. Make a mark on your calendar for the highlight of your Thursdays, brought to you by Coach Collins and Coach Berge. Get ready to soar high above the competition!
This podcast is an extension of the Coaching U education and training program. Coach Brendan Suhr moves the lessons off of the court and into your earbuds with interviews of coaches on their career journeys, coaching philosophies and challenges they have overcome. Weekly podcast featuring the best coaches in the world hosted by 2-Time NBA World Champion, Brendan Suhr.Each episode Coach Suhr and his guests give you insight into some of the best and newest trends, techniques, philosophies and lessons from not only the game of basketball; but also in leadership, culture, professional development and life.
A Discussion all about being and coaching Basketball at the High School Level Scrimmage, Preparation, Practice Planning, Parents, Getting your Players to Play Hard, and everything in between MUCH MORE….
Coach Raveling is considered by most as the godfather of college basketball coaching. On his podcast, Coach Raveling shares lessons for personal and professional growth through his conversations with other coaches. This is truly a hidden gem that I found several years ago…
The 1.Question Leadership Podcast is designed to highlight executive and organizational leadership with a heavy emphasis on college athletics. 1.Question is primarily hosted by @TaiMBrown, but features occasional guest hosts.
Are you a new or experienced youth basketball coach looking to cut through the noise and have someone just tell you what works? It’s easy to waste time and money learning how to coach kindergarten through 8th grade basketball on your own. Join season youth basketball coaches Bill and Steve as they give you the blueprint you need to succeed on and off the court. In each episode, you’ll discover easy-to-imp
9. Hidden Gem (No Pun Intended) IDAHO BASKETBALL Coaching (Click Here)
Interviews about coaching high school basketball in the Gem State. If you are a high school basketball coach and would like to talk hoops, send a DM on Twitter or email at Idahobasketballcoachingpodcast@gmail.com.
This podcast go through the Funnel Down Defense and how it can change the way you coach the game. The defense can be used with any type of athlete and any team. It takes your opponent out of there offense in seconds
Bonus; Here are some Bonus Basketball Coaching Podcasts and a few that are just fun.
Coaching Culture The podcast for leaders in athletics. Sharing practical ideas on how to build character and leadership with a like-minded community.
Teacher Side Gig Do you have a side gig? I have colleagues who drive for Lyft/Uber, work in the service industry, clean houses and businesses, run online businesses, drive trucks, and work in all sorts of other industries during the Summer AND school year. Some have even left teaching because their other job pays more and provides better benefits.
Greatest Game Podcast
The Greatest Games Podcast. Our intention is to create a light and fun environment where we can just talk hoops, and hopefully offer some wisdom to young coaches and seasoned coaches alike about some of the lessons we have learned along the way. We really appreciate you coming by.
A Pen and a Napkin: Great interviews and inspiration to take you on this great journey of coaching
Developing a practice plan can be one of the most daunting tasks for a coach at any level. Coaches need to consider the talent of their team when assembling the plan. They also need to keep in mind how they want their team to improve over the course of the season. That improvement gets jumpstarted in practice with targeted drills. Coaches often have a set of their favorite basketball practice drills aimed to do just that.
Here are Coach Steger’s 2 Favorite Practice Drills and a couple of videos below to show their use.
Basketball Practice Drills: Closeout
The first basketball practice drill that holds a great deal of value is a basic close out drill. This drill should be a regular for any team playing man-to-man defense. In addition, this drill aids in the instruction of help-side defense.
In this drill, two players start on the floor, occupying the wings. The defenders wait in a line beneath the rim and one positions himself in the “help side” spot in the lane. The drill begins with a skip pass from one wing to the other. The defender is expected to run from his help side position to close out on the shooter.
This drill can use a coach as the passer, or rotate players into that position. Coaches should emphasize defensive placement and positioning when integrating this drill. The close out defender should not over-run the shooter, but stop just before with one hand up.
This drill can be altered to force the shooter to drive baseline. The drill can incorporate another defender at that point, who also moves into help side positioning.
Basketball Practice Drills: DeMatha Finishing Drill
The next of Coach Steger’s favorite basketball practice drills is the DeMatha Finishing drill. This drill can be particularly valuable as both a practice drill and as a pregame warmup drill.
This drill pits two players against one another in a simple clash of offense and defense. It’s a high-impact, fast-paced drill where the offensive player attacks the basket and the trailing defender needs to recover. The drill features two lines and usually a coach for passing. Players can stand in for the coaches as passers if need be.
The drill itself can be situated in a number of different spots on the floor. Where the drill starts can be dictated by the coach and what the team needs are.
The drill itself is simple. The passer feeds the offensive player, who must finish at the rim from their starting point. The offensive player can try a dunk or layup. The defender, meanwhile, must contest the shot as best they can. Physical play can be encouraged for the defense to help the offense improve finishing through contact.
A valuable practice plan lays out the exact avenues of attack a coach wants to explore. Especially early when youth 
Dan Horwitz
Few basketball purists in California are aware of this first wizard of the hardwood. “Prof” was a shortened version of Professor. It was the name his players and students called him, but they spoke it reverently. Passaic High School’s Grey Thatched Wizard was known for his all-around coaching acumen. His teams enjoyed six undefeated seasons, and during another season, his team lost one game. His truncated stay at Passaic High School was a nonpareil 188-1. Furthermore, his teams would have undoubtedly won many more if jealous administrators and school board members hadn’t interfered.
The 
1. Pin the ball on the sideline
