GOLD STANDARD COACHING @CoachLok

At Basketball-tips.com I get players (and coaches) asking for how they can improve any number of different skills or strategies. Everybody`s "wish list" is a little different -some are thoughtful and some are...interesting. Players usually want to know how to increase their vertical, or dunk in no time flat. Rarely do they ask how to execute a proper jump stop, bounce pass, or mid range jump shot off the glass. Some coaches want that one drill or play that will turn their team into championship contenders. It`s good to add drills and plays to your arsenal - as long as we don`t forget to simply teach players HOW to play.The amazing thing about the game of basketball is that there are NO short cuts. It`s different than Christmas. There is nothing "magical" that is going to happen one day, nothing that is going to show up under your Christmas tree that will make you instantly better. Santa Claus is not going to bring you an amazing vertical or a pure jump shot. Kris K...

I saw a couple of great acts of sportsmanship recently, just days after reading about basketball scores like 89-9 and 110-30. The University of La Verne was beating the Banana Slugs (their nickname, really!) from UC Santa Cruz 97 - 61 with under a minute to go and a starter reentered the game and immediately called a huddle with the other LaVerne players. They then proceeded to run out the clock without trying to reach the 100 point threshold that always seems so important to players and fans. In another sport, Jeff Tedford, the football coach at Cal , had the game in hand and perched to score with the ball on the 13 yard line when he ordered his quarterback to take a knee and let time expire. A bigger win may have impressed voters to invite Cal to a bigger bowl game, but Tedford stuck to what he knew was right. Some basketball-tips to deal with large victories posted from the message board at The New Southern California Basketball Server : Coaches, 1st half - do your thing...

When Naismith invented the game at the old YMCA Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1891, the game of basketball began. Given the cold Massachusetts winters, Naismith needed to find a recreational activity that could be played indoors and he preferred a sport that would develop skill and one that was not exclusively relying on strength. How far away from that have we gone. The game is very much about bigger, faster, and stronger. Now we need to add "smarter". We need to get back to the game of skill that Naismith intended. Originally the game was going to be "Boxball" but the janitor didn't have any boxes. So the "baskets" became old peach baskets that the janitor nailed to the balcony railing (that coincidentally were 10 feet high). Basketball in it's infancy was sometimes a rowdy game. Fans would try to reach over the running track (balcony) to deflect the shot (the basket was mounted on the facade of the overhead running track)...

One of my favorite reads every couple of days is Blog Maverick - www.blogmaverick.com . It is the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban's, (almost)daily blog. Like him or not (and I do) Cuban is usally right on with his thoughts commments. Or at least he and I just agree. Here is what he says, "Thank you David Stern. Thank you Ronnie Nunn. Thank you Stu Jackson. Because of the initiative and action taken by the NBA to call the game by the rules as written, we have the seen the game become much more free flowing, and as a result the scoring is way, way up , reversing a long trend of decline. I know that Ronnie Nunn and Stu Jackson put in a lot of hours going through tape, coming to the realization, correctly so, that contact on the perimeter slows down play, impacts shooting percentage and gives the defense an advantage that shouldnt be there. I know there are some playground purists that think the league 'should let them play'. Suggesting that if th...

The future is NOW! As I was "blogging yesterday about Basketball4all 's involvement with the ACE IntelliGym tm around the world other news agencies were posting this article on their websites: "MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- Memphis forward Simplice Njoya sat hunched over a laptop, testing an theory first studied on Israeli fighter pilots. The premise: Skills he picks up playing a complex computer game can make him a better basketball player. 'The theory is, it's going to be the weight room for the brain,'' Memphis assistant coach Ed Schilling said. The on-screen action looks nothing like a basketball game but is designed to work on the visual and decision-making skills a player needs. Basketball programs at Memphis and Kentucky are testing the game to see if it gives players an edge. Called IntelliGym tm , the game was created by Israeli company Applied Cognitive Engineering Inc .".... read more

Basketball for ALL endorses the ACE IntelliGym : "How many times do you see a player and say, "he ...really has court sense"...sees the floor"...understands the game"...or...has a high basketball IQ"? If you're like me, not often enough. In the '60's and '70's basketball training was all about fundamental skill aquisition and footwork. In the '80's and '90's it was about physical training and getting bigger, stronger , faster. Now it's time to address the final frontier..the brain! ACE (Applied Cognitive Engineering) has developed a revolutionary training tool that enables basketball players to dramatically improve their game-intelligence skills. The ACE IntelliGym tm directly stimulates the brain-functions responsible for basketball's cognitive skills. By doing so, this unique trainer enables super-quick development of proficiencies that, until now, were considered an 'instinct', something th...

Basketball-Tips.com FREE weekly newsletter : "'We never know the love of a parent, until we become a parent ourself.' I think that once a coach becomes a parent, it changes his perspective on how to teach young people. Raising my children, I did not only want them to do the right thing because 'Dad said so' but rather because it was the right thing to do. Their comes a time when 'Dad'(or Mom) is not going to be there, and yet a correct decision must be made. In order for this to occur, they had to learn 'why' it was the right thing, and 'how' it was going to benefit them. I believe that a similiar approach must be taken in basketball coaching, and that is stressed at Basketball4all . We call it 'Parenting the Program.' "... read the rest here

A paragraph in the middle of an article regarding "overated" NBA players is very telling in the problems we are having in the game today. FOXSports.com - "Overated Basketball Players" : "The trouble starts in junior high school, where superior hooplings are recruited (in public and on the sly) by agents, sneaker manufacturers, AAU teams, and even colleges. Adults who should know better solidify their influence over these kids by telling what great players they are, and how much greater they will become if they sign up with the right people. Should one of these pumped up youngsters have a bad game, well, then, it's always somebody else's fault - his teammates, his coach, or the referees. Hey, kid. Want a free sweatsuit, free sneakers, and a free trip to play in a tournament in Paris? Stick with me, kid, and I'll make you a multi-millionaire." Read any magazine, message board, chat room and you'll see that this is, far too often, ...

Basketball-tips.com : "A while back, I mentioned that it would be interesting if more coaches looked at their position as 'working FOR' their players instead of the players playing for them. Let`s discuss that a little this week. The term Servant-Leadership was first coined in a 1970 essay by Robert K. Greenleaf entitled, The Servant as Leader. Greenleaf concluded that the great leader is first experienced as a servant to others and that this simple fact is central to his or her greatness. True leadership emerges from those whose primary motivation is a deep desire to serve others. That is the goal at Baketball4all . Here are two essential dimensions to leadership according to Greenleaf: one is the desire to serve others(players); the other is the desire to serve something beyond ourselves-a higher purpose(team, school, community, etc). I think that that these are absolutely necessary to be a truly successful coach. ...Read the rest at Basketball-tips.com "

Personal Pressbreak Program : At Basketball-tips.com I get questions all the time from players who lack confidence. We all have seen players that are really good "until you pull out the bleachers!" Or those that perform well in practice or warm ups and then struggle in games. Even players who we know have the ability but just never seem to be able to put it together. One of the main reasons that players don´t perform well in games is nervousness, and the main cause of nervousness is lack of self confidence. Players have to have to believe that they can play with the people on the court and not get intimidated. They have to faith that they will perform to the best of their ability every time out. Some games they may be a little "off," but you should stress to them to bring the same effort EVERY time. From Basketball4all's Personal Pressbreak Program : "Have you ever heard of the home court advantage? How often do you think a team wins on its home c...

Basketball.LifeTips.com : "An interesting way of looking at the player/coach relationship, is that players don't play FOR us, but rather we work FOR our players to assist them in developing into the players and people that they are capable of becoming. Naturally, we need to do this within the team concept and keeping in mind what is also best for the group. Finding that balance is truly the one of the most important tasks that the basketball coach has. The days of the dictator coach are behind us. Coaches involved at Basketball4all try to find other methods of teaching and relating to players that are more meaningful than "My way or the highway."...." read the rest at Basketball.LifeTips.com

Welcome to Basketball4all . I sincerely hope that we can use this site to your advantage and ask (or answer) some of the questions or concerns that we all have as basketball coaches and players. The constant quest for a "better way" is what makes our profession as coaches, and this game of basketball, an ever changing adventure. As long as we continue to grow and learn, the future of our sport is in good hands. Here, and on Basketball-tips.com you can get tips on Ball Handling , How to Be Better NOW! , Big Men , Books,Videos,etc , Coaching , College Selection , Conditioning , Defense , Dribbling , Fast Break , Footwork, Guard Play , History & Trivia , Individual Training , Injuries , Mental game , Offense , Passing, Players to Watch , Pressbreak , Pyramid of Success , Rebounding , Rules , Shooting , Sportsmanship , Terminology, Vertical Jump , and more. Spread the word about this site and you and our fellow coaches, or players, can voice our concerns, solve ou...