GREG BROWN'S "THE BEST THINGS I'VE SEEN IN COACHING

After tweeting a picture of Greg Brown's recent book "The Best Things I've Seen In Coaching," I've been flooded with request for information on the book can be purchased.  I certainly understand all the request -- Greg, who worked with both Coach Don Meyer and Coach Pat Summitt has penned a book with a large collection of notes he took during his tenures at Lipscomb and the University of Tennessee.

There are three reasons why you MUST purchase this book:

#1 It will make you a better coach.
There is so much information in these pages about teaching, motivation and organization from two of the best that have ever coached and Greg has done a magnificent job he formulated the book.

#2 It will improve your team.
Within in this book is so much material that you can share with players individually or with your entire team.

#3 The proceeds go to two great charities.
Proceeds from the book will be divided among the Meyer and Summitt Foundations.

For ordering information, click HERE.

PRESS THOUGHTS FROM BILLY DONOVAN

Teaching Point: On inbounds denial- we are always going to have our hands up in the air.
·         “Show the official our hands.”
·         Do not foul in the press
·         Don’t want to get beat over the top or to the middle
·         Ball Defense-pressure: linebacker blitzing the quarterback
·         Pressing is hard to coach because you are giving up freedom
·         We do not want to allow offense to clear us out and bring the ball up.
·         Do not influence the side line

Trap:

·         Short choppy steps-“close down the trap”
·         Don’t allow “step thru”
·         Back tip: don’t lunge… run through the ball… tip with inside hand
·         “Trap on the ball, steal off the ball”
·         When do you trap the first pass
    o   Ball inbounded small side, below the block
    o   “Coffin corner”
·         What we do in regard to full court press is based on who takes the ball out of bounds
·         May not turn them over but want constant pressure-goal is to be disruptive

Unsuccessful Press:

1.       Foul
2.       Give up lay-up
3.       Or an open 3

·         Inbounder defends goal-don’t let ball get inbounds
·         Level of commitment if you want to press
·         Steal: pass quickly cause defense will converge
·         On trap on the side- all 5 defenders must be on ball side of court
·         Stunt vs. shaky ball handler-“we want him to handle.”
·         It’s the duration of constantly pressing that makes it effective
·         Passing teams take away preparation time from their opponents because they    
           spend extra time on press offense

HANDLING HIGH EXPECATIONS

We often blog about what teams have to do to improve.  We blog about turning a program or a player around.  But there are those teams that don't need to be turned around.  They have established themselves as the best among the best.  Unless you have been fortunate enough to coach in those situations, you may not realize the difficulty in keeping that type of team/program focused and moving forward.  There are many distractions and pitfalls for successful teams/players and you must have a philosophy and plan to keep your team growing.

This past week we had a road trip.  I like to grab a book and magazine/internet articles to take with me while we travel and get some reading in.  Often I will grab previous read items that I have earmarked as worthy of another read.  This past trip, one such article for me was written by my friend Don Yaeger -- an article from 2008.  Having been blessed with being involved with some outstanding programs, Don's article gives a lot of insight about the challenges involved with and how to continue to improve when you are at the top.

I strongly encourage everyone to click here and read the entire article -- it's a tremendous read as Don gets input from UNC's Roy Williams along with Joe Torre and Tom Coughlin.  Here are some of the nuggets I pulled:

Roy Williams doesn't hesitate in saying which he prefers: "Give me great players and big goals anytime."

Roy Williams: "But I want them to have dreams, not expectations. I want them to have goals, not be concerned about what others say.  I wanted them to realize from the earliest point that others who have lots to say have nothing invested.  We will be successful if we make the investment and ignore the hype.  If you have dreams and goals and are committed to them, are working toward them, it becomes easier to block those outside forces."

Joe Torre told Tom Coughlin: "Leading when everyone expects you to win really requires that you convince every member of your team that last year doesn't matter.  And that's tough to do because all year long they're seeing the words Defending Champion placed before their names.  The only thing that winning last year means is that your opponents are looking forward to playing you."

Roy Williams: "I recruit character as much as I recruit ability.  And if you've built a team of character, they can handle moments that others cannot and they accept coaching on how to manage pressure."

Joe Torre: "The second you think you've arrived, someone passes you.  You have to always be in pursuit."

Roy Williams: "Most elite teams have elite players.  And the guy others look up to also happens to be dedicated to constant development, that's a dream situation.

Roy Williams: "...the way you deal with expectations is to focus only on today.  Yes, we have a plan for the entire year, but it all begins with what we are going to do today, you're preparing yourself to be the best you can be tomorrow.  It sounds simple, but it's not.  If each of us works every day to be the best we can be on that day and then come back and do the same tomorrow, then we have a better chance of being our very best at year's end.  Will the be enough to win a national championship?  That's hard to say in college basketball today.  But handling as high expectations as we are gives us our best chance for success."

VCU HAVOC PRESS DEFENSE NOTES

The following come from notes listening to VCU Assistant Coach Mike Rhoades at both A Step Up AssistantCoaching Symposium and Coaching U Live.  Also, make sure you scroll to the bottom and click on the link with a great article on the VCU Havoc press defense from SI.

VCU Defense — all about pressure

1. Must be unselfish — on both ends

2. Want players to play so hard that they HAVE to come out

3. Style of offense/defense all about putting pressure on opponent

Why Pressure?

1. It’s fun to play

2. Creates offense

3. Play a lot of players

4. Morale

Secret to success is morale

Smart has his players pick up full-court in pick up games

Goal: make opponent uncomfortable when they take the ball out of the net.

They will press at times with no trapping

VCU wants it to be uncomfortable to get the ball in, but they don’t deny the ball in — want to force it to be inbounded close to the baseline.

Man on Inbounder is referred to as “Mad Man.”  Toes on baseline...goal is 3 to 5 deflections on inbounds pass.

Unbelievable what other teams will do against pressure.

Ball inbounded — never get beat on sideline rip...1 man trapping.

Off of the ball — you are one-third off your man.

Allow no passes forward — NONE

VCU Zig Zags everyday — keep score

“Stunting” the ball (our “sting” — Knight’s fake trap) — VCU wants the ball to see the help and worry they might get trapped.

Utilize our 3/3 2 Bounce Drill

Video is important in teaching — always show the 3 best stunts from last practice/game

Over exert on trap — Rule: if you are not sure, trap!

Don’t trap behind the foul line...trap at the top of the key.

VCU doesn’t like sideline trap.

Help defender: read the eyes and should of offensive player with the ball

In the summer, VCU works on offense

In September, VCU works on defensive trapping

First 3 steps are key for all defenders in full court defense

Drills:

2/2 Heat — 2/2 full court w/no trapping...work ball and stunt

2/2 Trap — 2/2 full court w/trapping

VCU opens practices because Smart appreciates the opportunities he has got.

Diamond Press

1.  Allow man on ball the freedom to stay or trap.

2. Backside defender must take backside block

VCU is big in teaching back tipping

 

Here is a great article in Sports Illustrated on VCU's Havoc Press Defense

CAREER STARTER BOOK #5: THE SCORE TAKES CARE OF ITSELF

A few weeks ago, I had a post about a book and made reference to the fact that I would have loved to have read it when I first started coaching.  In fact, it would be in my Top 10 books that I think could've impacted me greatly as a young coach just starting out.  I have since received a great number of requests asking for the complete list and so each day, over the next few weeks, I will list a book that I think young coaches would benefit from reading as they start their coaching journey.  I would imagine that many will be looking for X&O books -- just as I did when I first started coaching -- but instead you will find a list of books that will not only make you a better coach, but a better person. Books that concentrate on teaching, goal setting, communication and leadership.

Book #5

The Score Takes Care of Itself
Bill Walsh, Steve Jamison and Craig Walsh

This is a phenomenal book written by a phenomenal teacher.  In his forward, Hall of Fame quarterback wrote, “That was his thing about perspective: Being really good wasn’t good enough.  He taught us to want to be perfect and instilled in the team a hunger for improvement, a drive to get better and better.  We saw his own hunger for perfection, and it was contagious.

CONTROL WHAT YOU CAN CONTROL
1. Flying by the seat of your pants precedes crashing by the seat of your pants.

2. Planning for foul or fair weather, “scripting” as it applies to your organization, improves the odds of making a safe landing and is a key to success. When you prepare for everything, you’re ready for anything.

3. Create a crisis-management team that is smart enough to anticipate and plan for crises. Being decisive isn’t enough. A wrong call made in a decisive manner is still the wrong call. I hadn’t planned for the “crisis” up in the booth against the Oakland Raiders, and we lost; I had planned for the “crisis” against Cincinnati when we got the ball with two seconds left on the clock and won. The former desperate situation was, indeed, desperate; the latter was not, because we were ready for it.

4. All personnel must recognize that your organization is adaptive and dynamic in facing unstable “weather”. It is a state of mind. Situations and circumstances change so quickly in football or business that no one can afford to get locked into one way of doing things. You must take steps to prepare employees to be flexible when the situation and circumstances warrant it.

5. In the face of massive and often conflicting pressures, an organization must be resolute in its vision of the future and the contingent plans to get where it wants to go.

6. You bring on failure by reacting in an inappropriate manner to pressure.

HANDLING BIG GAME PRESSURE
The key to performing under pressure at the highest possible level, regardless of circumstance, is preparation in the context of your Standard of Performance and a thorough assimilation by your organization of the actions and attitudes contained within your philosophy of leadership.

I might do even less strategizing for a Super bowl game, because in the midst of the extreme pressure I placed a premium on fundamentals, the skills and the execution ability the team already possessed as a result of our concentration and hard work going all the way back to day one of training camp and the previous training camp and the one before that.

STANDARD OF PERFORMANCE
I approached building the 49er organization with an agenda that didn't include a timetable for a championship or even a winning season. Instead, I arrived with an urgent timetable for installing an agenda of specific behavioral norms -- actions and attitudes -- that applied to every single person on our payroll.

To put it bluntly, I would teach each person in the organization what to do and how to think. The short-term results would contribute both symbolically and fictionally to a new and productive self-image and environment and become the foundation upon which we could launch our longer-term goal, namely, the resurrection of a football franchise.

While I prized preparation, planning, precision, and poise, I also knew that organizational ethics were crucial to ultimate and ongoing success.

It began with this fundamental leadership assertion: Regardless of your specific job, it is vital to our team that you do that job at the highest possible level in all its various aspects, both mental and physical (i.e., good talent with bad attitude equals bad talent).

THE TOP PRIOIRTY IS TEACHING

I was insisting that all employees not only raise their level of “play” but dramatically lift the level of their thinking – how they perceived their relationship to the team and its member; how they approached the vagaries of competition; and how willing they were to sacrifice for the goals I identified.

On the field (and elsewhere) the assistant coaches and I were conscientious about educating players so they appreciated that when Jerry Rice caught a touchdown pass he was not sole responsible, but an extension of others – including those who blocked the pass rusher, receivers who meticulously coordinated their routes to draw defenders away from him, and the quarterback who risked being knocked unconscious attempting to throw the perfect pass.

Victory is produced by and belongs to all.

Likewise, failure belongs to everyone. If you or a member of your team “drops the ball,” everyone has ownership. This is an essential lesson I taught the San Francisco organization: The offensive team is not a country unto itself, nor is the defensive team or the special teams, staff, coaches, or anyone in the organization separate from the fate of the organization. We are united and fight as one; we win or lose as one.

Leaders sometimes wonder why they or their organization fail to achieve success, never seem to reach their potential. It’s often because they don’t understand or can’t instill the concept of what a team is all about at its best: connection and extension. This is a fundamental ingredient of ongoing organizational achievement.

Combat soldiers talk about whom they will die for. Who is it? It’s those guys right next to them in the trench, not the fight song, the flag, or some general back at the Pentagon, but those guys who sacrifice and bleed right next to them. “I couldn’t let my buddies down,” is what all the soldiers say. Somebody they had never seen before they joined the army or marines has become someone they would die for. That’s the ultimate connection and extension.

The leader’s job is to facilitate a battlefield-like sense of camaraderie among his or her personnel, an environment for people to find a way to bond together, to care about one another and they work they do, to feel the connection and extension so necessary for great results. Ultimately, it’s the strongest bond of all, even stronger than money.

Bonus blog post from The Score Takes Care of Itself on Bill Walsh andbeing a leader – 12 habits plus one.

 

PRESSURE: GOOD AND BAD

From his book, "Sunday Morning Quarterback," Phil Simms talks about playing for Bill Parcells:

On game days Bill never put pressure on us. I never remember him giving us ultimatums or saying something that would make us tight or wouldn’t make us confident about what we were doing. In fact, his other great saying on game day was, “Hey, remember, it isn’t going to go perfect. Don’t worry about it. This game is not about being perfect. Something’s going to go wrong. Just keep going.”

He puts you in a situation where, if he ever says, “You did a good job,” you know it means so much more than that. It’s a proud moment.

Everybody thinks he’s just a curmudgeon and a mean man, but he definitely cares about his players as people. His approach wouldn’t work if he didn’t care. There were times in my career when I would struggle and he would just find the right moment and the right words, and say them to me.

Here’s another Bill Parcells saying: “If you keep pressuring the other team and apply enough pressure to them, eventually they’ll succumb to it.” What that really means is play as hard as you can play, play smart, and just by doing that—never letting up and continuously coming out every round ready to battle and showing no signs of slowing down—sooner or later the other team will say, “They’re never going to quit, so we might as well just get it over with and pack it in.”

Your philosophical beliefs determine whether you win or lose. What you believe in, deep down, as a coach and as an organization, forms and becomes your team. How you dress it up with some of your X’s and O’s and all the cute stuff is the final piece that really gets you over the top to win. However, what you believe in—great physical conditioning, toughness, practicing under pressure—forms the core, because that’s how you’re going to play.

There has to be a master plan. You’re not going to go out on the field on Sunday and be overly aggressive and the roughest and toughest bunch out there if you don’t work on it in practice. No coach can go through a week where it’s always easy, and then all of a sudden say, “All right, men, let’s turn it on.”

Playing aggressively and having that edge is a deep-seated mentality that you can only develop over a long period of time and through constant reinforcement. It’s something you just can’t create overnight. It’s something you have to learn to accept.

Establishing a foundation is the hardest thing for coaches to do. But once you establish what you are, what your team is, what you’re going to be as an organization, the reinforcement kind of takes care of itself. When the newcomers arrive, the coach doesn’t have to sit down and teach then everything because he knows his incumbent players and his organization are going to mold them. You learn quickly what is accepted and not accepted. The coach doesn’t even have to give the newcomers his agenda-setting speech because his other players are going to snap them into shape. They tell them, “For this to work right, for us to win, you’ve got to get in line with the rest of us.”

Everybody needs disciples. You’ve got to have people help you spread your message. You teach the whole group, but really you need the core guys, the ones making a lot of plays for you, to sell your ideas to everybody else.