From our video conference the other night with Coach Randy Brown, there were several ideas and concepts I took out of that mtg that coaches need to do in order to get themselves off to a great start to the basketball season. The first involves basic organization and planning. Randy advises that coaches put together their Master Practice Plan; everything that they want their team to be able to do during the year. For example there would be a section on defenses and here you might write in man to man, 1-3-1 half court trap and a 2-1-2 zone. For offenses, what are the schemes you want to run vs man defense, odd or even zone and any special set plays? There would be a section for skills and fundamentals, practice drills and types of small sided games. Basically everything that you use during the season…have in your Master Practice Plan. This becomes your source for how you schedule practices and what you cover in those practices. Developing a calendar of when to teach and reinforce those skills/schematics also needs to be done.

The coach should also seriously consider what are their “Top Three”? According to Randy, coaches should emphasis 3 concepts/skills and they should be prevalent at everything that the coach does. For example, if the Top Three were defense, rebounds, and ball movement, then everything in every practice should reinforce, support and focus on that Top Three. Any coach should be able to see your practice and immediately determine what are your Top Three.

Coaches should also focus on how they can best develop skills and higher basketball IQ in their players. They need to focus on building a solid basketball foundation in their players before focusing on the X’s and O’s. Too often, coaches worry about their set plays, their offenses or special situations rather than in teaching the game of basketball. They are focused on having their team ready for the first game. Too often coaches go right into 5v5 full court without first teaching them 3v3and then 4v4. (See previous blog article on the importance of 3v3 in practice) Coaches need to teach proper fundamentals, take those fundamentals into drills and progress into some sort of competitive game, especially if it is 3v3, emphasizing those skills. Unfortunately coaches are limited to time constraints and feel that they have to have their team ready for their games. That means a focus on X’s and O’s instead of developing basketball skills. In the long run, their players will suffer. A different approach would be to focus on skills and in teaching the game in 3v3 competition. Once they master those concepts skills they can progress to 4v4 and eventually to 5v5. However this may take a few more practices and yes, their first game may not be as smooth as one would hope. However in the long run your team will have the skills and understanding to handle the X’s and O’s needed. That coach will have built a solid basketball foundation.

One of the tools that helps Randy is his “40 Skills Checklist”. He has gone through and written down all of the skills he wants his players to master during the season. This list will change depending on the age and skill level of the players but it helps to keep coaches focused on their task of skill development.

Lastly, coaches need to remember the most important lesson/skill they can teach. It’s not about the basketball skill or knowing X’s and O’s but rather how to be a great team mate; how to be a better person. What will you be doing to teach/reinforce these important life skills?

In our video conference the other night w/ Coach Randy Brown, the emphasis and importance of playing 3 on 3 during practices was discussed. Before players and coaches play 5 on 5 or even 4 on 4, they should learn how to play 3 on 3. As Randy pointed out, “So much of the game comes down to 3 on 3.” He mentioned the Triangle Offense as a great example of the natural progression that playing 3 on 3 has to a full court game. According to Randy, there is “no hiding” in 3 on 3 and playing it will expose your weaknesses. Players will get more touches and opportunities with the ball and defensively the three main positions of “ball”, “off-ball” and “help” get reinforced. As a coach, it is much easier to focus on the 6 players rather than trying to watch 10.

Coach Brown also shared a document where after just three passes in a 3 on 3 game, there are over 36 different skills that need to be taught. Skills such as passing, catching, getting open, the Triple Threat position all get broken down.
So what does this mean to youth basketball and even HS basketball. For HS basketball it means that a lot more practice time needs to have 3 on 3 incorporated as a teaching tool. It brings that level of competition that practices need as well as taking the skills and fundamentals into a game-like situation.

For the youth several thoughts come to mind especially for the U-12 age groups. Do we really need to have them playing 5 on 5 full court and have games end up 8-6? Are they really developing their skills? Or is it for the parents’ benefit, that their child is playing “real” basketball. Would the players’ skill levels be better served in a 3 on 3 setting? What are the chances of 3 on 3 leagues being formed instead of traditional leagues?

Here’s the rest of the list.

15. The Rookie hopes their team has good leadership. The Veteran teaches and develops excellent leadership.
16. The Rookie hopes players understand their roles. The Veteran constantly explains individual roles.
17. The Veteran uses both captains and seniors to communicate the importance of their contributions. The Rookie takes this responsibility totally upon themself.

18. Half-time and pre-game talks are intense with the Rookie. They always try to cover every aspect/situation/possibility and their talks are long-winded and ineffective. The Veteran is focused, clear, concise and simple.

19. During practices, the Rookie has drills with long lines of players waiting their turn; lots of standing around. The Veteran has players in constant motion, getting more touches, hits, reps and are usually in game-like situations/activities.
20. The Rookie runs drills. The Veteran understands that calling out players names during drills helps players feel wanted and needed.
21. The Rookie teaches x’s and o’s. The Veteran teaches “whole-part-whole” and how the x’s and o’s fit into the system.

22.. The Rookie will argue every call with the referees. Will blame the loss on the refs. The Veteran goes with the flow and realizes that officiating is part of the game.
23. The Rookie thinks they know everything. The Veteran knows he needs to keep learning.
24. The Rookie tends to have numerous rules. The Veteran simplifies with one rule such as “Respect yourself and others at all times” which incorporates everything under one easy to understand rule.
25. The Veteran enjoys coaching and being there for the players.

In one of my long car rides with a good friend of mine who was a very successful college baseball coach, we talked about poor coaching. What is it that makes some coaches “bad”? And we were not talking about the coaches who have losing records rather we were looking at the coaches who just don’t “get it”. The coaches that have this negative aura around them. The coach who creates a lot of tension around his players and their parents. The coach who just can’t explain/teach fundamentals. The coach that gets little respect from the players.
We agreed that some folks just don’t have the experience to be good coaches; it’s not for lack of effort; it’s for lack of experience. Heck, I look back at my first 2-3 years of coaching and I regret some of the ways I acted and treated my players. Of course 25 years ago, the coaching culture was still very much a coach-centered mindset; a one-way street. I used to get so upset about their mistakes. Every mistake needed to be dealt with or acknowledged. I actually allowed the actions of 14-17 year olds to impact my general well-being. It wasn’t until we got a new AD who worked with the coaches that I became a much stronger coach. The AD never talked about winning and losing but rather about building relationships w/ the players. He got me to realize the bigger role of sports and coaching…being a mentor and teacher to the players.

Good thing about “rookie” coaches, we hope they learn and improve. What we need to watch out for are the “veteran” coaches who still make the “rookie” mistakes that causes them to be “bad”. So what are those “Rookie” mistakes? Those habits of poor coaching?
See if any of the following apply to you either when you first started out coaching or heaven forbid, they still apply to you.

1. The Rookie talks about winning. The Veteran talks about playing the game the right way.
2. The Rookie talks about their win-loss record. The Veteran talks about their players.
3. The Rookie takes credit for wins and blames players for losses. The Veteran blames himself for the loss and gives players credit for the win.
4. The Rookie tends to allow players to blame others (players, refs, coaches), while the Veteran teaches accepting responsibility and the meaning of “my fault”.

5. The Rookie wants to do everything and be the one in charge of everything. The Veteran develops and trusts their assistants.
6. The Rookie micro-manages his assistants. The Veteran oversees his assistants.
7. The Rookie hires less knowledgeable assistants, the Veteran surrounds himself with the best people.
8. The Rookie wants to control everything. The Veteran will ask the team to design uniforms, choose footwear, and even contribute to practice and game plan strategy.

9. The Rookie coaches through intimidation. Will yell and scream at players. The Veteran has a sense of humor and has developed a relationship w/ each player. The Veteran knows that each player in motivated differently and knows how to motivate each player.
10. The Rookie corrects players negatively. The Veteran attaches something positive with the comment of correction.
11. The Rookie is more apt to bench a player immediately for a mistake, while the Veteran will not embarrass the player but even use the situation to build the player’s confidence.

12. The Rookie focuses on the starters. The Veteran also works with the “role players”.
13. The Rookie talks to the media about their star players, while the Veteran talks about their role players and the contribution of their subs.
14. The Rookie tends to hand out MVP and high scorer awards. The Veteran believes in “practice player of the year” and “defensive” awards.

Part 2 Coming Soon!!!!

Appreciate the contributions from
Bob Rikeman- former Rollins College Baseball Coach
Jack MacMullan- former AD at Haverford and McDonogh Schools

St Pauls Head Coach Rick Brocato discusses what he looks for when scouting opponents.

Gilman Lacrosse Coach Brooks Matthews discusses the role of captains at Gilman.

Coach Andy Hilgartner discusses the roles of the captains at McDonogh.