GOLD STANDARD COACHING - @CoachLok

The first thing that coaches need to continue to tell themselves during tough times is that it's never going to be as important to them as it is too you. Even on a championship team it isn't. It's the coaches career and we passionately think about it all day. They think about it a couple hours at practice. The second thing to remind yourself that you hadn't forgotten anything in the past year or years since the last successful season. Coaches are no "worse" a coach when they struggle than they were when they were successful, so try not to determine your "self-worth" based on the record. Sometimes it's not the X's & O's but rather, the Johnny's and Joe's! We tried to build some pride in playing * one possession at a time *. This really was the foundation behind a championship year in which we won a title. We had them convinced that a single possession in practice should be approached with the same intensity and focus as a pla...

It was only one possession, Why must my coach scream, My poor defense permitted the basket, But what can one hoop mean? As the pass comes my direction, And I fumble it into the stands, The coach's voice rings loud and clear, "Catch with you eyes and hands!" C'mon, coach, it's a single possession, Our team will be okay. It's just the first two minutes, My gosh, we've got all day. At the 10-minute mark I remember, That the center is strong and stout. A putback for two, quite simply due, To my failure to turn and block out. But it was only one possession, I didn't commit a crime, My team is ahead and I'm playing well, And there's still plenty of time! As the halftime buzzer is sounding, And I watch the ball bank in, I know that I will hear from my loving coach. Of my questionable effort to defend. But it was only one possession, Coach - don't have a heart attack! We're down by one, but we're having fun, I know we'll get the lead ba...

In "The Legend of Baggar Vance" the movie was in a golf setting but was a tremendous analogy for coaching, life, or the game of basketball. The title character is a mysterious caddie and in many ways, the consummate coach. Bagger Vance helps a down-on-his-luck golfer named Junuh find the deep place inside, where his ego is quiet and where he can “be” with only himself, and where he can be at one with himself. The vehicle for his transformation is the game of golf where he becomes one with the game. This is only possible when he sets aside his ego and the need to validate himself with individual achievement. At one critical point in the movie Bagger says, "...it’s time...time for you to see the field...feel that focus. Alotta shots to choose from, duffs `n` tops `n` skulls. But only ONE shot is in perfect harmony with the field. An "authentic shot". And that shot chooses YOU. There’s a perfect shot out there trying to find each and every one of us - and all we g...

I had an opportunity to finally read Positive Coaching Alliance founder and Executive Director Jim Thompson's newest book Positive Sports Parenting from cover to cover on a flight to Florida on the day of the BCS National Championship game - unfortunately to Tampa and not Miami !:?) . Jim's book is a must read for parents whose kids are participating in youth sports. It is a very easy read and provides some real tangible tools for parents to provide the best experience in sports, navigate some youth sports landmines, build a great coach/parent partnership, and strengthen their relationship with their children - which is far mor important than any athletic success.

We've been highlighting the 2-Guard Continuity that is, primarily, an offense used vs man-to-man defenses, and some specials run out of it. Now we've "tilted" the offense for use against a zone, leaving the *continuity* from position to position as the same. However we now use cuts and slides to put pressure on the zone, rather than setting and using screens to help get players open. This allows the offense to be as effective against all zone defenses and match-ups as it is against a man-to-man. I prefer a zone offense that relies on the principles of ball and player movement, getting into gaps, and penetration via the pass or the dribble. However, many match-up or very active zones make that a bit more difficult. When facing a match-up zone, one of the toughest things for the matchup to cover are multiple cuts which force decision making on who will defend what cut, and whether the cutter will be passed or "bumped" to another defender. When run against a ...

After years of writing for Lifetips.com as their basketball "guru" they made an offer to publish some of the over 600 tips that I've written over the course of the past seven years if I would compile them into a book. The first of those books is now available at Amazon.com 101 Basketball Tips contains some of the most important fundamentals and is written in short, concise, stand-alone tips that are void of too much technical jargon and diagrams. It gives written descriptions of the fundamentals and should be a great tool for the coach looking to find a way to build a knowledge base, or the coach who may be looking for a different way to present the fundamentals they are presently teaching. While these might not be the 101 most important tips in the game of basketball, I hope that there is something for everyone. I've tried to provide some ideas that may not be mainstream, some might be presented in a different manner than usual, and a few that initially might not co...