1. Familiarize yourself with the player you are coaching. Learn to listen more than you talk. A player wants to feel comfortable with you and have confidence in you before they work with you. At times you will coach a player that will feel that you think he cannot shoot. Always start with what the player is doing well. 2. Coach each player individually. You do not want a player to learn everything that you know about shooting. You want each player to learn what he wants to know in terms of … [Read more...]
Coaching Tips on Out of Bounds Plays
One of the great old basketball coaching books in my collection is Pressure Basketball by Dr. Jack Ramsay. The book, published in 1963 while Coach Ramsay was at St. Joseph's, is a top-notch coaching guide that shows how to coach and teach an aggressive style of play. There is a ton of step-by-step coverage of offense and defense but one of the things I really like is that he ends each chapter with coaching tips. This article highlights his tips on coaching the out-of-bounds situation. If … [Read more...]
You Blew It. Now What?
A momentary lapse of concentration cost Holland’s speed skating king, Sven Kramer, a gold medal in the 10,000m at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. But it wasn’t his concentration that failed him. His coach, Gerard Kemkers—momentarily distracted while recording split times—looked up and incorrectly instructed Kramer to cross into the inside lane. Kramer instinctively followed the directions and though he finished first by four seconds, the blunder disqualified him, costing him not only the gold … [Read more...]
Lombardi’s Recipe for a Winning Team
I’m a perfectionist in the kitchen. I want to know exactly how much of each ingredient to add so the finished product tastes just like my mom’s! Similarly, coaches want to know the recipe to create a winning team. How much practice, weight training and conditioning will it take? What about perseverance, inspirational quotes or team bonding experiences? The amounts may vary, but according to former Green Bay Packer coach, Vince Lombardi, it takes three main ingredients to make a winning … [Read more...]
Coaching Difficult Players
Unguarded, the ESPN documentary about former NBA player Chris Herren and his struggle with addiction, received tons of positive reviews this week. A powerful story of redemption and hope that with help, we can overcome the addictions that seek to destroy us. I'd imagine that a number of Chris' coaches along his tumultuous journey didn't know what to do with him. Maybe you have players like that on your team. Perhaps they're not addicted to cocaine like Chris was, but act out in ways that … [Read more...]
Basketball Coaching :: 3 Keys To Successful Bench Coaching
Article by: Pat Anderson http://www.Online-Basketball-Drills.com Game Day Coaching While most basketball coaching will occur during practices, bench coaching, or coaching during game play, is also very important. Coaching from the bench provides both direction and morale during intense games, when the team needs it most. Successful bench coaching will leave the players feeling confident and ready for their next challenge on the court. Before the Game The keys to preparing for a … [Read more...]
Kids Basketball Coaching – Drilling The Vocab
Article by: Pat Anderson http://www.Online-Basketball-Drills.com A strong foundation in the basics is essential for young basketball players. The following beginner basketball drills teach both movement and vocabulary, so athletes can better respond to coaches' plays during games. Instant Response In the Instant Response drill, players pair up and space out on the court. The coach yells a basketball move, and the player with the ball must execute the move within 3 seconds. If the … [Read more...]
Basketball Coach Offseason To-Do List
During the summer months, what can we do as coaches to improve in our craft? What opportunities are we giving our players? This post will give several ideas of things we can and should be doing over the summer months to become better basketball coaches. Study & Learn New Things The smart basketball coach knows that there is always more to learn. In today's world, there are so many ways we can learn more about the game. Back in the day, coaches might have only had books to read, a few … [Read more...]
10 Teaching Methods for Successful Basketball Coaching
If you want to be a successful basketball coach, you certainly need to have a thorough knowledge of basketball fundamentals, drills, offense and defense X's and O's. However, having that knowledge alone will not make you a successful basketball coach. The successful basketball coach is able to teach. He or she must be able to present the basketball material in such a way that every player can learn and understand quickly. He is not only able to teach the team as a whole, but can … [Read more...]
Force Baseline or Force Middle?
Which direction should we force the offense? That is a good question! One of the greatest coaching debates in basketball is the man-to-man defensive philosophy of forcing the offense to the baseline or forcing the offense to the middle. I don't know that I will end the debate here, but I will give you my choice and the reasons why. Having experience with both methods, I do have an understanding of how and why each method is taught and executed. As I grew up playing basketball (junior high and … [Read more...]