GOLD STANDARD COACHING @CoachLok

Managing blowout games is always an issue in youth and high school sports due to the great disparity in the skill level of players, goals of each team, first round tournament match-ups of top vs bottom seeds, and imbalanced leagues that cause these games to occur. I've written about this a couple times before, and my most recent post on " Mismatch Etiquette " is here In an attempt to handle those blowout situations a youth basketball league has implemented the following rule: 12.1 REMOVAL OF TOP PLAYERS - If the mercy rule is in effect at the start of, or any time during the 5th period, it is mandatory for the opposing coach to select a maximum of three (3) players to sit out the balance of the game or until the difference in the score of the game is 15 points or less. Eligible substitutes must be available and the removal of players cannot force a team to play with less than five (5) players. I asked for some opinions of this rule and my friend Matt Grahn (who writes a ...

From Championship Productions web page: Ray Lokar's Fundamentals Factory for Youth Basketball with Ray Lokar ("Coach Lok"), 30+ year basketball coach at the youth, high school and college levels; Positive Coaching Alliance/Stanford University - Lead Trainer; Director - Basketball4All,net Editor - Basketball-tips.com Ray Lokar presents his "Fundamentals Factory," a place where developing basketball players go to build their game in a competitive, fun environment! Coach Lok simplifies the fundamentals of basketball, highlights the key points, and leads the demonstration of fun and effective drills, competitive contests, and short-sided games to benefit any youth basketball team. Prepare to encounter fresh and innovative concepts and insightful teaching points from a basketball coaching veteran that will help you improve all of your players, on both sides of the ball, in all areas. Learn about: The "Golden Triangle" The ball-man-line Why you need "yo...

Has there ever been a team covered with as much scrutiny at the beginning of a season than the Miami Heat has at the dawn of the 2010-11 NBA season? I would only say... be careful what you wish for, you just might get it. The scrutiny has been brought on by their actions and now that they've made their own bed, they must lie in it. So is it justified? Lebron has been set up for this scrutiny since high school, some he brought on himself, some of it no fault of his own. The national media exposure (TV games, books, documentaries, etc) was not his fault, although those around him allowed it to happen and benefitted from it is well. However Lebron contributed to it as well as he embraced the MJ comparisons while saying he wanted to be "a global icon." That will turn up the expectations, across the board, for sure. At that point you better play, and act, accordingly. Jordan was the first real global basketball player and in such made the largest impact on the game today. LB...

A good friend of mine on Twitter is Clarence Gaines, a former scout and front office exec with the Bulls in their heyday. Clarence also the son of Clarence "Big House" Gaines , Hall of Fame coach at Winston-Salem. @cgrock24 , as he is known on Twitter, offers some great insight on the book "Play Their Hearts out" by George Dohrmann. @cgrock24 said: "Finished "Play Their Hearts out" by @georgedohrmann What can be gained by reading this book? If you're a parent of a talented basketball player, it's a must read. You'll learn a lot about the pitfalls of youth basketball and the importance of shepherding your child through this maze of deceit, corruption and confusion. Hopefully, readers will understand the folly that is grassroots basketball and how it's not a necessity in the middle or early high school years to expose your child to the endless stream of games that are a part of travel team basketball." ...read the rest here

When I used to coach my daughters youth team , we ran a 5 out offense with alot of give & gos, pick and rolls, and backdoor cuts. I used an interesting teaching technique with this young team that provided a nice visual guideline for spacing. To teach them proper positioning and spacing I put 5 "hula hoops" on the floor (point, 2 wings, and 2 short corners) and made a girl stand in each one. The object would be to have the hoops next to the ball filled at all times.The girl with the ball would pass and then cut to the basket, looking for a give & go, thus leaving her "hula hoop" open. The player closest to that open hoop must v-cut and fill that hoop, leaving her hoop open. The player next to an open hoop must fill that hoop. Eventually the 1st cutter ends up filling an open hoop in the weakside short corner. All the players have to do is look around for the closest "open hula hoop". If you have a cutter that is especially adept at inside play, ...

This is a great podcast featuring Jim Thompson, who talks with NBA coaching great and Positive Coaching Alliance National Spokesperson Phil Jackson, who shares his insights on how to build a true community within teams, finding voice for star players while encouraging role players to embrace their vital place on any successful team. Phil also shares his philosophy on balancing talent versus effort, the role of rivalries to motivate teams, and how to extend the lessons of sports beyond the court. You can download the podcast or the transcript of the interview here:

( That's S ide l ine O ut-of- B ounds ) It's always a good idea to keep a pad & pencil handy when watching a game. As I was cleaning out my desk, I came across an old pad of paper. Here's a Sideline Out-of Bounds play I jotted down while watching the Spurs this past season. They are one of the best teams in the NBA with Special Situations after time-outs.

I remember a comic strip, I think it was Frank & Ernest, where one of them was praying and said "God,how long is a million years? "A voice from above said, "To me, it’s about a minute." The man asked, "God,how much is a million dollars? "The voice bellowed, "To me, its a penny. "In the next frame the man smiled and asked, "God, can I have a penny? "God answered, "In a minute." I think of this all the times when something doesn't seem to be happening on MY schedule or as fast as I want it to. In the coaching profession so many coaches are looking for that next job, or how to "move up". Life's not always on OUR schedule. Keep working. Do the right thing. Make the big time wherever you are. Be patient. Have faith. An often overlooked feature of John Wooden's Pyramid of Success are the sides of the Pyramid - which is the mortar that holds the 15 blocks together. Notice the mortar at the top of the Pyrami...

People all around the world have different lives, different, jobs, different cars, different homes - but we all have one thing the same and that is TIME. Every day- everyone has the same amount of time. 60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in an hour, 24 hours in a day. 86,400 seconds. How those 86.400 seconds are used often defines ou lives. Now, one of Coach Wooden's most famous quotes is, "Don't mistake activity for achievement." Many folks get caught up in going, going, going and "appear" really busy. Often times those people are in a a hurry - and we all know to "Be Quick - but Don't Hurry" . I See people rushing around all the time because they are in one of two extremes. They either lack planning or preparation and "Failing to prepare is preparing to fail." At times they are at the other extreme where they micro-manage and work far harder than they need to. The key is to work smarter , and that often involves organization. So...

Need a summer improvement program? Do mine w/me in honor of Coach John Wooden. Pick up a copy of Coach Wooden:One-on-One . It's a 60-day devotional reading. Each day starts with a 1-page Guiding Principle presented by Coach Wooden and a supporting scripture from the Good Book Coach drank most deeply from. A former UCLA assistant, and co-author of the book, Jay Carty then presents a 1-page message. I hope it will be a discussion starter for the rest of each day on how it impacts our coaching, our daily lives, and what we can do better. Beginning Saturday July 3rd I will start every day at 6 AM PST and Tweet the subject and the scripture Coach & Jay have chosen, maybe followed by a commment/question. ( you can follow me at http://www.twitter.com/CoachLok ) I'll create a list of everyone contributing so you could follow the list too. If we "hashtag" each "tweet" with #JW1on1 it will create a searchable database of related posts. The rest is up to us.