END OF GAME STRATEGIES FROM HOOP TACTICS

This comes from my latest email newsletter from Hoop Tactics. If you aren't subsrcribing to their email newsletter you are missing out. Go to: http://desertventures.com/HoopTactics/blog/. They also have a pay site that is an amazing resource!

When behind late in game
The clock is the enemy, not the opponents. Seconds are precious. Every effort should be made to prevent time from running off the clock. By proper use of time outs and fouls the last few minutes of a game can be an eternity so don't ever give up.

1. Take a charge.
2. Create a five (5) second violation.
3. Steal the inbounds pass.
4. Give a foul
5. Rebound aggressively at both ends. Putbacks and second efforts are vital.
6. Push the ball on offense. Be quick but do not hurry. Make successful passes.
7. Go strong to the basket. The opposing players usually play poor defense since they do not want to foul.

When ahead late in the game
The clock is your ally. Do not stop it (unless in very serious trouble). Be sure that players know how many timeouts are remaining and if they have a foul(s) to give. Being aware of the timeout and team foul situations can make the difference in winning or losing.

1. Maintain disruptive pressure without fouling.
2. Deny dribble penetration. Build cushion staying between your opponent and the basket.
3. Pressure all three point shots with both hands up high.
4. Use half court press to defend against fast breaks and slow game tempo.
5. Box out and rebound. Do not allow any second efforts.
6. Take care of the ball offensively. Maintain proper spacing and use sharp accurate passes.
7. Move the ball and do not allow the opponent to stop the clock by fouling.

Intentionally missing a free throw
Chances are good during the season that an end of game situation will be encountered that requires the intentionally missing of a free throw; therefore, teams must be prepared for it. Intentional missing a free throw must be taught and practiced. Players must recognize and know what their assignments are on an "intentionally" missed free throw situation. Shooters must not only practice the intentional miss, they also need to be aware of the rule that the ball must hit the rim on the attempt.

JOHN WOODEN'S DESIRABLE COACHING TRAITS

From the Coaching Toolbox comes John Wooden's Desirable Coaching Traits...we've listed these before but they certainly deserve repeating:

Attentiveness to Detail

You must prepare to win in order to be a winner. Failure to prepare is preparing to fail.

Impartiality

This is a must, but you must remember that you must not treat everyone alike as they are all different. Give each one the treatment earned and deserved.

Teaching Skill

It isn’t enough that you know the game, you must be able to teach it. Follow the laws of learning.

Discipline

Most essential for proper concentration and group organization.

Affability

The coach must be of an affable disposition because of the various groups with who he must associate.

Forcefulness

You must be firm without being bullheaded.

Alertness

Constant observation of all going on around and about are necessary for improved learning and decision making.

Optimism

The pessimist isn’t likely to produce a confident team that will play near to their full capability.

Desire to Improve

Lack of ambition will result in complacency and laziness.

Vision

A Picture of the possible must be shown to your players to provide a goal for them.

Consideration For Others

You must be truly considerate of others if you expect them to be considerate of you. You must listen to them if you want them to listen to you.

Resourcefulness

You must be ever ready to make necessary adjustments according to the situation and the personnel that you have available.

Cooperativeness

An essential for all who work with others and are dependent on others in various ways.

Leadership

Trust be commanded, not demanded. Others are working with you, not for you. Be interested in finding the best way rather than having your own way.

Industriousness

There is no substitute for work. Worthwhile things should never be easy to attain.

Enthusiasm

If you are to stimulate others, your heart must be in your work. Enthusiasm brushes off upon those with whom you come in contact.

Sympathy

You must be truly interested in those under your supervision and be sympathetic with their problems.

Self-control

Good judgment must be exercised in your decisions and they must be made through reason not emotion.

Sincerity

Insincerity can be spotted very quickly and cause loss of respect.

Check out Brian Williams article (and site)...scroll to the bottom to watch a video interview with Coach Wooden: http://bit.ly/95AfUl

THOUGHTS FROM LOU HOLTZ

More thanks to Coach Eric Musselman for passing on these thoughts from Lou Holtz:

"The only things that change you from where you are today to where you are going to be five years from now are the people you meet and the books you read."

"There are certain things in this world we all have in common, such as time. The difference is what we do with that time and how we use it. "If you're killing time, it's not murder, but pure suicide."

"Everybody has enthusiasm. Some people have it for thirty minutes. Some have it for thirty days, but the individual who can possess enthusiasm for 30 years will be the one people feel has been born on third base."

"Self discipline is the greatest asset any individual can possess. Without it, we cannot control our own destiny. We have scientists who have conquered space and the oceans but we cannot conquer ourselves."

"I have never known anyone who stood up and said the reason I'm successful is drugs or alcohol, but I have seen and read ofthousands who said my life is a mess because of drugs and alcohol."

"Ability determines capability; attitude dictates performance."

"We don't sell the next 4 years to our players. We sell thenext forty."

DEL HARRIS ON DEFENDING CUTTERS OFF SCREENS

Via Coach Eric Musselman comes a comment from Del Harris on what a player should do after he has been screened:

"Keep coming after you get screened. A common strength of good defenders is that they are hard to screen. And, if they get screened they just keep on coming through the hit and pursue their man relentlessly. "The average defender will stop or straighten up when hitand that puts a lot of pressure on his teammates to cover for him until he decides to get back into the defense again. "Be tough and aggressive--make the screener feel pain-- and keep coming. Don't be the one the team defense has to bail out all the time."

COACH SABAN: COACHING TODAY'S ATHLETE (PART II)

The following is the 2nd of four parts of notes taking from a Coach Nick Saban clinic talk while he was coaching at LSU:

What is success? Success comes from consistency in performance. People who have consistent performance do it a certain way.

No one goes to the army anymore and gains that natural discipline. And very few people have ever worked on a farm. The old adage, you reap what you sow, is probably the most significant true statement that we could ever have.

How can you overcome adversity and beat the system if there is no suffering? If you are going to be persistent you have to fail at something. You have to have a negative experience. You have to be able to bounce back from a negative experience and make it into a positive experience. You can’t get frustrated. If we show our frustration to a player when he doesn’t do something right, he learns to show his frustration. Don’t let your ego get in the way of coaching. If you think a player’s poor play is a reflection on your coaching and you chew his butt out for it, you are wrong as a coach. I tell my coached that all the time. We need to teach him for the next play.

The player won’t know how to compete on the next play if they are frustrated or you are frustrated with them. That is the key to success.

I will not allow my players to put their hand on their knees or show in their face they are tired going into the fourth quarter. If they do, they are going to get their butt whipped. If they do that, they are showing the other team they can be beat.

People have to go through the process to improve. The bad thing about today’s athletes is they don’t think there is a process to go through. They think they are good from the start so there is no process to go through. Coaches are all about the process.

The best example I can give you about persistence was a commercial Michael Jordan did for Nike about three years ago. He pulled up in a limo and was going into the back door of the gym. The announcer was giving a lot of statistics about Michael Jordan. He said he had missed 26 game-winning shorts and he had missed 2,963 shots as a NBA player, and he had lost 293 games in the NBA. Michael opened the door, looked at the camera, and said, “Because I fail is why I succeed.”

Earle Bruce was the coach then, and Woody Hayes hadn’t had anything to do with the team or the school since the incident in the bowl game against Clemson. We got him to go on a trip with us and come and address the team. His speech centered on this statement: “There can be no great victories in life unless there is tremendous adversity.”

He turned all the adversity into opportunity.

BRIAN TRACY: CHARACTER REIGNS SUPREME

Another great email posting from Brian Tracy on the importance of character. It reminds me in a way of John Maxwell's thoughts 360 degree leadership and his philosophy that in great organizations everyone shoulders some responsibility for leadership regardless of position. The same is true with character. Certainly it must start at the top. But truly great teams have coaches with great character...administrators with great character...and players with great character. In regard to the players, it can often be a situation of developing character. But is must be prevalent in order to have a quality program. Here is what Tracy has to say about it:

The fundamental glue that holds our society together is the quality of character. It is the foundation of happy families, companies, and organizations. It assures survival, civility, and blessings of a peaceful cooperation. Your character is the crystallization of your true values and beliefs, your innermost convictions. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said with regard to character, "What you are shouts at me so loudly that I can't hear a word you say."

Choices and Decisions
Everything you do in life involves a choice, a decision on your part. Because you have so many options, you are constantly choosing among alternatives, between what you value more and what you value less. Your choices and actions tell you and others what you truly value the most, or intend that reveals your character. It is only what you do at the moment of choosing, especially when you have to choose between what is right and what is expedient.

The Core Quality of Character
The core quality of character is integrity. This can be measured by how absolutely honest one is with himself and others. The depth of your integrity largely determines the strength of your commitment to each of your other values. A person of great character is one who would never compromise his or her "sacred honor" under any circumstances.

The Measure of Character
Strength of character can be measured on a scale from one to ten, from lowest to highest. In addition, each separate quality or virtue can be organized on a scale of intensity from one to ten. How high a person ranks on the scale of one to ten in any particular virtue and in the measure of character overall is determined by the percentage of the time that individual practices that quality throughout his or her daily life.

Justification and Rationalization
Most people know there is something inherently wrong with taking free money, with living off the government, with being dependent and making no contribution to the society in which they live. To compensate for this deep inner feeling of unease, people who are getting something for nothing create elaborate justifications and rationales to explain to themselves, and to others, why they are entitled to this free money. Every rationale or excuse comes back to the same explanation, those people have low moral character.

The Need to Lead
The greatest need we have today, in every area, is for men and women to practice the values of integrity, discipline, responsibility, courage, and long-term perspective, both as individuals in the workplace and with their families. These are the key qualities of leadership. Our society needs leaders at all levels that have high moral character, and know the difference between right and wrong.

Find out more about Brian Tracy as: http://www.briantracy.com/

3 FACTORS IN "ZOOM-FOCUSING"

It's about zoom-focusing with your mind, too. Every day you'll have a million distractions coming at yo, and you'll need to tune them out and focus on our priorities. To do this you'll want to use these three techniques.

1. First, ask one question.

Each day when you wake up in the morning ask the question, "What are the three most important things I need to do today that will help me create the success I desire?" Then each day take action on those three things.

2. Second, say no and yes.

My friend once told me, "If the devil can't make you bad, he'll make you busy." He reminded me that we need to stop scattering our energy and wasting our time on trivial things that have nothing to do with our vision and goals and start saying yes to our priorities and to what truly matters. Each day we must make choices, and those choices include saying no to some people and opportunities is that we can say yes to the greater work we are meant to do.

3. Third, tune out distractions.

Don't listen to what other say about you. After all, we don't talk this game, we play it. Tune out the distractions and zoom-focus on what you need to do every day to be your best. Do your talking on the field. Don't compare yourself to others. Don't look at the depth chart. Don't listen to the naysayers.k Every day, focus on continuous improvement and getting better.

From Jon Gordon's "Training Camp"

CHECK YOUR COMPASS

From, "The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork" by John C. Maxwell:

Check your compass!

A moral compass (look above): “A great business is seldom if ever built up, except on lines of strictest integrity.” -Andrew Carnegie

An intuitive compass (look within): “Visions spring forth from our intuition. If necessity is the mother of invention, intuition is the mother of vision. Experience feeds our intuition and enhances our insight.” -James Kouzes and Barry Posner

A historical compass (look behind): “Don’t remove the fence before you know why it’s there.” Anytime you cast vision, you must create a connection between the past, the present, and the future. You must bring them together. People won’t reach for the future until they have touched the past.

A directional compass (look ahead): “If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.” -Henry David Thoreau

A strategic compass (look around): As Vince Abner remarked, “Vision isn’t enough—it must be combines with venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps; we must step up the stairs.” People need more than information and inspiration. They need instruction in what to do to make the vision become reality and a way to get there. A strategy provides that.

A visionary compass (look beyond): A truly great vision speaks to what team members can become if they truly live out their values and work according to their highest standards.

Without a challenge many people tend to fall or fade away. “You must have a long-range vision to keep you from being frustrated by short-range failures.” -Charles Noble

SEND TEX A NOTE

From Ernie Woods and Bob Kloppenburg's Hooptactics.com site comes information on Tex Winter:

You may or may not be aware that Tex Winter, Triangle Post Offense, is recovering from a serious stroke. He has now progressed to a point where he can read. For those of you who like to take the time to write him a short note his address is:

Tex Winter c/o Springridge Assisted Living,

32100 SW French Prairie Road

Wilsonville, Oregon 97070

Your well wishes, appreciation, and support would be deeply appreciated and helpful.

THE MOST IMPORTANT DAY...THE MOST IMPORTANCE MINUTE

I loves this posting on Coach Sundance Wicks facebook page today:

"I always say to my guys, 'The most important day of your life is today. This very minute is the most important of you life. You must win this minute. You must win this day. And tomorrow will take care of itself.'"

-John Chaney