GOLD STANDARD COACHING - @CoachLok

I apologize in advance - I'm about to vent, ramble, and get on my soapbox. You've been warned! The days of the dictator coach are behind us. We need to find other methods of teaching and relating to players that are more meaningful than "My way or the highway." There are too many "highways" for kids to choose from. These days persuading is far more effective long term, than coersion. It is not my way, or my X's & O's that help us succeed. It is their daily efforts. You want kids to learn to do things because it is the right thing to do - not because they are afraid of the consequence or looking forward to a reward. Methods are adjusting for classroom teachers, and the basketball community needs to keep up with the times. In the classroom, teachers are continually finding ways of making their subjects more relevant and useful to their students, and applicable to the world that they live in. Most players(and students) now want to know “why” somethi...

When kids get down on themselves after a mistake, it is about *how they feel*. Feelings CAN"T be wrong. They are what they are. You can't tell someone not to *feel* a certain way. (Those that are married sure know what I'm talking about !:?) What you can try to help him realize is that allowing those feelings to effect his play is not being productive. As a sophomore he is probably trying so hard to earn respect from you and his teammates that he is pressing. I agree that it would not be effective having the other players talk with him. What he probably *feels* is, " I'm having a crummy day, I've let you and the team down, whoa is me, how will I ever be able to do anything right again, nobody loves me, everybody hates me, think I'll eat some worms." What we need to do is to help players get over those feelings and, as you say, toughen up. Mental toughness is just the ability to overcome obstacles and look forward to accepting a challenge. We help pla...

How many times before a game do you hear a coach or a player say, "take the guy who has you"? This happens more often in situations when no scouting is possible prior to the game to determine more appropriate matchups. So, generally, they guard someone of similar size, the point guard takes the point guard, the off-guard takes the off-guard, and so on...and vice-versa. This NBA Playoff season I heard more about "cross-matching" than I had ever before. "Cross-matching" is when defensive players on one team are guarding different players than are guarding them at the other end. During the Lakers/Celtics NBA Championship Series it happened often when Kobe Bryant would guard Rajon Rondo at one end, but at the other end Paul Pierce or Ray Allen were the preferred matchup on Bryant. This also would occur more often in situations where teams would switch screens and complete a possession with different matchups than where they started. That's where the probl...

You may have missed this report. Two boys were shooting hoops near the Championship Parade route, when one is attacked by a vicious Rottweiler. Thinking quickly, the other boy fires the basketball and managed to hit the dog in the head and thwart its attack. A reporter who was strolling by sees the incident, and rushes over to interview the boy. "Young Celtic Fan Saves friend from Vicious Animal..." he starts writing in his notebook. "But, I'm not a Celtics Fan," the little hero replied. "Sorry, since we're in Boston, I just assumed you were," said the reporter and starts again. "Red Sox Fan Rescues Friend from Horrific attack..." he continued writing in his notebook. "I'm not a Red Sox fan either!" The boy said. "I assumed everyone in Boston was either for the Celtics or the Red Sox. So, what team do you root for?" the reporter asked. "I'm a Knick fan!" the child beamed. The reporter starts a new she...

One of the most impressive aspects of the Lakers' rise back to the upper echelon of NBA teams, to me, is the manner in which Phil Jackson has allowed the team to develop. What was once a young, erratic and mistake-prone team is now back among the league's elite. Along with Kobe Bryant becoming a better leader and teammate, Jackson's patience and commitment to his players gave the players the confidence to begin to approach their potential. Phil is often criticized for being hesitant to call timeouts or substitute when players struggle, but that has also proved to be a strength. He trusts his players to make decisions and allows them to play through some difficult times by trying to self-correct their own behavior and performance. This gives players some freedom to play without the fear that a mistake will result in a substitute being sent to the scorers table or that an irate coach will call a timeout to read the player the riot act. Without this confidence the players may ...

One of the main differences between the Celtic defense and the Lakers defense (when they choose to play some( is the manner in which they *contest shots*. The Lakers, as coached by Phil Jackson, attempt to get to shooters but are instructed *not to leave their feet*. Jackson is somewhat of an "old school" coach and this is just how you played in the '60s and '70s. PJ has been true to that philosophy throughout his days as a coach. The Celtics, on the other hand, CONTEST shots! Maybe part of this is Garnett's influence, but Doc Rivers also played in a different era where leaving your feet is a little more acceptable. His final coach as a player, Larry Brown, really believed in contesting shots. The bottom line to a good defensive system puts players in position to contest as many shots as possible. The Lakers, typically, are not a very good off ball defensive team, and you need to be to contest shots. Players miss contested shots. And they tend to make open shots. ...

Some people claim that Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson, a nine-time National Basketball Association champion, ripped referees for giving Boston a huge free throw edge that helped the Celtics win Sunday. This is how Phil Jackson's post-game press conference began: What are you most struck by, your rally at the end or your difficulty scoring points on them the first three quarters? (Laughing) I'm more struck at the fact that Leon Powe gets more foul shots than our whole team does in 14 minutes of play. That's ridiculous. You can't play from a deficit like that that we had in that half, 19 to 2 in the first half in situations like that. I've never seen a game like that in all these years I've coached in The Finals. Unbelievable. ... Phil answered a later question with," The referees referee an illusion. Our guys look like the ball was partially stripped when they were getting raked but it was in the crowd so the referees let that type of thing go."...

Recently, on the Coaching Hoops Email Group a bunch of coaches were asked, "What are some times in your life where you had to sacrifice things for the better of your career? Or when did you have to put things on a higher priority list then you'd like? I think that another question to ask might be "... are some times in your life where you had to sacrifice your career for the betterment of your life?" As coaches we make choices as to what level we want to coach, and many of us enter the profession with the desire to coach at the highest level possible. As those opportunities are presented to us it becomes time to decide what is really important to us and what we are willing to do - and how we are willing to live to have "a career". Coaches spend a lot of time developing a Coaching Philosophy, but do we spend time regarding our Career Philosophy? We have Team Goals, but do we have Daily Life Goals? We work really hard at creating a winning Team Culture, but...

The most impressive aspect of the Lakers' rise back to the upper echelon of NBA teams, to me, is the manner in which Phil Jackson has allowed the team to develop. What was once a young, erratic and mistake prone team is now back among the leagues elite. Along with Kobe Bryant becoming a better leader and teammate, Jackson's patience and commitment to his players gave the players the confidence to begin to approach their potential. Phil is often criticized for being hesitant to call timeouts or substitute when players struggle, but that has proved to be a strength. He trusts his players to make decisions and allows them to play through some difficult times by trying to self-correct their own behavior and performance. This gives players some freedom to play without the fear that a mistake will result in a substitute being sent to the scorers table or that an irate coach will call a timeout to read the player the riot act. The Positive Coaching Alliance concept that "Mistakes...

A few ideas about the speaking portion of a teams awards banquet that I've seen done (or have done myself). If I remember, the team struggled a bit on the scoreboard. So take the focus off that by avoiding the "season talk" and focus on the other stuff. My daughters high school coach would go to the 99¢ store and buy a "gag gift" for every player. Maybe a box of band-aids for the player most often injured, miniature furniture for the player who "did the little things", a roll of toilet paper for a player who was teased about being soft, sunglasses for a youngster whose "future was bright", etc. My daughters most prized awards might be a rock she got as a sophomore because they were "going to build their program on this rock" (maybe a little sacrilegious for a Christian School) and a toy "Warrior" she received as a junior for playing thru injuries. Coincidentally, her college hired a new coach her senior year - and he gave ...