THE PRO SHOT -- Motivation

Coaching is all about personal relationships. Only way to succeed is build trust.
Way you stimulate, motivate and lead others has a lot to do with your overall success.
Good coaches are usually pleasant. Good coaches are appreciative.
Good coaches don't take people for granted. Show recognition for good work.
Show an interest in players and well being.
The coach is the one who gets things done, the one who points the way, provides the challanges and helps others to achieve.
Praise players in public. Criticize in private.
Kids want to be pushed, disciplined, motivated. They many not admit it, but they do.

Team Cohesion

To have togetherness on a team, we must have

Mutual respect
Effective communication
Feeling of importance
Common goals
Fair treatment

Team meals.
Team outings--bowling, softball game, minature golf, college practice.
Being together in the team room.
Team evaluation sheet.

Judging Players

Do I want to play with him?
Does he make himself visible?
Does he make others better?
Does he make the play, shot, pass?
Does he have passion for basketball? What is important to him?
Is he a good person? Does he have character?
How is he in the classroom?
Is he disciplined? Punctual?

Basketball Practice Ideas

Teach facets your team can do. Be detailed but not confusing.
Practice effort should be game-like.
We must have players constantly thinking (change rotations or directions) and moving throughout practice. No one should stand for a long period of time.
Best players need to work the hardest in practice.
Teach leadership and communication.
Pump up your average players to be the best.
Have a practice plan but don't be a slave to it.
It is not the length of your practice that matters. It is the content.
Have reasons behind the use of a drill. Don't use it because you saw another team
incorporate it. Does it fit within our philosophy?
Important to condition in practice with the ball. You should not have to run sprints after a practice is over for conditioning purposes. Your drills should take place for sprints.

Last Minute Game Coaching

What we are to tell the team during a timeout if we're on offense:

What offense or play are we to run?
How many timeouts do we have left?
Are we in the penalty?
If we score, what defense are we in?
If we're behind, what are we in?

Pressure makes players forget. We must reinforce.
Remind player to grab hand on intentional foul.

What we are to tell the team during a timeout if we're on defense:
Who do we foul?
Who's the best offensive rebounder?
Who's their three point shooter?
Are they in the penalty?
What's their main play?

When there is only a few seconds left in the game, we need to dribble up the sideline.
We need to take the last shot at six seconds.
Can your '"closer" create with no shot?
Can your "closer" pass?
Can your "closer" freethrow shoot?
Down five late in a game--go for two first and three pointer later.
Do players know the rule that the freethrow shot must hit rim in order to rebound?
Understand defensive stops and make sure your team understands the importance of defensive stops late in a game.

The Fastbreak Game

What we want to do:

We want to score within four seconds on a missed or a made shot.
We want to move the ball quickly. This is usually done first by the pass and not by the dribble.
We want to look long by the lead pass for the quick score.
We want to always have offensive balance.
We want to attack the defense.
We want to score as easy as possible.

How we can do it:

We must be in awesome shape. We must also play through fatigue. Teams that get fatigued don't win. Winners don't get tired.
Fastbreak teams must want to run. They must "live" to run.
Fastbreak teams must practice full court fastbreak drills daily.
It is best to grab the rebound, turn, and speed dribble toward the basket. If the player is a wing, a guard needs to flash to the middle and the wing needs to quickly fill the lane. By doing this, we attack the defense. Don't have a wing outlet and look aimlessly for an outlet man. The break is probably already over. Determine who can grab and go off of a rebound. You may have a post or two that can't dribble and shouldn't be allowed to lead the break. Give each player set limitations on the break.
Get fastbreak teams outlet near the hash mark. Poor fastbreaking teams outlet below the freethrow line extended.
As coaches we must constantly stress: getting out into the lanes wide
always seeing the ball
getting the ball to a guard and having the guard push it middle
making the guard pass with a reach-around pass
unselfishness
finishing the play with a score
Teach decision making on fastbreak passing.
Players need to know who they are passing to.
Passing rules:

Don't pass to a big man before he cuts.
Don't pass tricky to a player that has problems catching a simple pass