Thursday, August 25, 2011
30 DAYS TO A CHAMPIONSHIP: TRAINING, COMPLIANCE, INTERVIEWS AND STRENGTH TRAINING
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
KEVIN EASTMAN'S BULLET POINTS (PART I)
KNOW the game
SEE the game
FEEL the game
DEFENSIVE COMMUNICATION
1. Gives you a head start
2. Can wake up a disengaged defender
3. Talk can intimidate (call out opponent's plays)
4. Voice and Fingers (transition defense)
BEST DEFENSE -- ALL IN!
...physically
...mentally
...verbally
3 KEY WORDS TO CELTICS DEFENSE
1. Position
2. Awareness
3. Alertness
QUESTIONS
Where does your defense begin
Where does your defense end
Great defensive players/teams give the appearance/illusion of no gaps
Hedge on ball screen must re-route the ball
BASKETBALL IS A SHOULDERS GAME
Post Defense/Ball Defense -- defender get shoulders lower than offense
Ball Defense wins Games
Help Defense wins Championships
Excellent Concept: "the body and the mind doesn't have to be at the same place on defense."
Coaching U Live was an absolute must-be-at clinic -- and if you weren't, here's your chance to see and hear what you've missed! http://coachingulive.com/?p=756
COACH BROWN UTILZIES GPS ANALOGY FOR RESULTS ORIENTED EXAMPLE
To begin our individual workouts we discussed "process oriented thinking" vs "results oriented thinking".
To make our teaching point, we used the analogy of a GPS. We empasize the next best action. Just as a GPS gives "turn by turn" directions, one at a time, to lead you to a destination.
In our team meeting we set our Vision and Goals for the pre-season, non-conference and season. However, we must focus on the "turn by turn" process to reach our "destination".
Life, just as in driving, offers detours and many times we have to "recalculate", re-route and continue the process to our destination. Some times these detours are because of choices we make, clutter that we allow to interfere with our process and often the detours result from things outside our control.
If you are not checking out Coach Brown's blog, you are missing out on some great stuff:
http://ucfwbbthoughts.blogspot.com/
THE FIVE DYSFUNCTIONS OF A TEAM
Here is the opening sentence in the introcution of the book: “Not finance. Not strategy. Not technology. It is teamwork that remains the ultimate competitive advantage, both because it is so powerful and so rare.”
Dysfunction 1: Absence of TrustIn the context of building a team, trust is in the confidence among team members that their peers’ intentions are good, and that there is no reason to be protective or careful around the group. In essence, teammates must get comfortable being vulnerable with one another.
Dysfunction 2: Fear of Conflict
All great relationships, the ones that last over time, require productive conflict in order to grow. This is true in marriage, parenthood, friendship and certainly businesses. It is important to distinguish productive ideological conflict from destructive fighting and interpersonal politics.
Dysfunction 3: Lack of Commitment
Great teams understand the danger of seeking consensus, and find ways to achieve buy-in even when complete agreement is impossible. They understand that reasonable human beings do not need to get their way in order to support a decision, but only need to know that their opinions have been heard and considered. Great teams ensure that everyone’s ideas are genuinely considered which then creates a willingness to rally around whatever decision is ultimately made by the group.
Dysfunction 4: Avoidance of Accountability
The essence of this dysfunction is the unwillingness of team members to tolerate the interpersonal discomfort that accompanies calling a peer on his or her behavior and the more general tendency to avoid difficult conversations. Members of great teams overcome these natural inclinations, opting instead to “enter the danger” with one another.
Dysfunction 5: Inattention to Results
The ultimate dysfunction of a team is the tendency of members to care about something other than the collective goals of the group. An unrelenting focus on specific objectives and clearly defined outcomes is a requirement for any team that judges itself on performance.
JORDAN ON BULLS' TITLES: WON WITH ROLE ACCEPTANCE AND FUNDAMENTALS
And that’s why we were able to beat more talented teams. There are plenty of teams in every sport that have great players and never win titles. Most of the time, those players aren’t willing to sacrifice for the greater good of the team. The funny thing is, in the end, their unwillingness to sacrifice only makes individual goals more difficult to achieve.
The minute you get away from fundamentals, the bottom can fall out.
Fundamentals were the most crucial part of my game in the NBA. Everything I did, everything I achieved, can be traced back to the way I approached the fundamentals and how I applied them to my abilities.
They really are the basic building blocks or principles that make everything work. I don’t care what you’re doing or what you’re trying to accomplish; you can’t skip fundamentals if you want to be the best.
You have to monitor your fundamentals constantly because the only thing that changes will be your attention to them. The fundamentals will never change.
Get the fundamentals down and the level of everything you do will rise.
It comes down to a very simple saying: There is a right way and a wrong way to do things. You can practice shooting eight hours a day, but if your technique is wrong, then all you become is very good at shooting the wrong way.
If you don’t back it up with performance and hard work, talking doesn’t mean a thing.
From "I Can't Accept Not Trying" by Michael Jordan
30 DAYS TO A CHAMPIONSHIP: A DAY OF MEETINGS
9:00 AM -- Meet with Nike rep
10:00 AM -- Presentation on upgrading WVW website
Noon -- Lunch with a longtime Bobcat booster
Afternoon -- Individual Player Meeting
The player meetings are on-going and important. Building trust in each other is not a one-time event -- it is forever evolving. I can tell you this -- the more I meet with them the more I'm loving my new team!
I will also take some time to start putting together our pre-season workouts...finally some basketball X&O's!
And then I am working to finish up interviews for our staff positions -- this is a tough process. It's such a critical hire. You want to get the staff on board as quickly as possible but you can't rush the process to hire the right people.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
30 DAYS TO A CHAMPIONSHIP: THE 1ST TEAM MEETING
Team Attitude and Expectations
HUMILITY: Know who we are
PASSION: Maintain an individual and team hunger
UNITY: A successful team beats with one heart
SERVANTHOOD: Make your teammates better
THANKFULNESS: Be appreciative for what we have
Overriding Purpose is Team AttitudeEverything we do should be TEAM FIRST!
Practice and workouts must be with a
HIGH INTENSITY and ENTHUSIASM
EAGER PLAYERS vs. WILLING PLAYERS
Attitude Toward Wesleyan CollegeYou are a part of the student body, “Just like everyone else”
Hello ___, Say it with the person’s name
Yes sir, No sir, Thank you, Please
Make other students want to come and see us play
Support your fellow athletes and their sports
It’s hard not to like people who like you
You are Your Brothers Keeper!
Vets help rookies.
Seniors are responsible for the team, but everyone must be their own captain.
Boys to men, we must have men.
Those who work the hardest, smartest, and together never surrender!
Freshmen will be home sick, don’t use this as an excuse to fail!
Together we will achieve
Team MeetingsDo not be on time, BE EARLY
Always have your notebook and pen ready to take notes
Eyes and Ears on speaker
Team meetings serve a vital purpose, use them to your advantage
GOALS:Team GPA
Conference Championship
NCAA Tournament
Great Experience
BUY-IN!
“The worst thing you can do for someone is do for them . . . . what they can do for themselves”
ELITE HOOPS COACHING CLINIC SET AT DeMATHA
At DeMatha High School
Saturday, September 10th, 2011
Elite Hoops Basketball is excited to host the Elite Hoops Basketball Clinic at DeMatha Catholic High School on Saturday, September 10, 2011.
Come out and hear from the 4 newest college coaches in the DMV, representing the ACC, CAA, and the Atlantic 10, as they share their respective plans and basketball knowledge with you. You will also hear from the DeMatha Coaching Staff as they approach this season.
Early bird discount and group rates are available. Don’t miss out on this tremendous opportunity. Get a jumpstart on your winter season by learning from the BEST!!!
We look forward to seeing you on the 10th!!!
SPEAKERS:
Pat Skerry is known as one of the best up and coming Division 1 coaches in the USA. He was named the new Head Coach at Towson University on April 5, 2011 and is ready to bring the Tigers to the top of the CAA. He has coached for 19 years, including time at Pitt, Providence and Rhode Island, before arriving at Towson.
Mike Lonergan is a DMV native and former National Championship coach at Catholic University. He led Vermont for the past 6 seasons to be one of the most successful mid-major programs in the USA. He has a career record of 377-156. And is primed to lead GWU to the top of the A-10.
Mark Turgeon comes to College Park after leading Texas A&M to 4 straight NCAA Tourneys and at least 24 wins in each season. Before that, he was the Head Coach at Wichita State and led them to 4 straight post-season appearances. Coach Turgeon was the Big 12 Coach of the Year in 2010 and 2011.
Paul Hewitt arrives at GMU after successful stints at both Siena and Georgia Tech. Coach Hewitt has coached in the Final Four, has coached numerous NBA players and is widely considered as one of the top coaches in America. He brings his impressive resume to a very talented Mason program.
Mike Jones is entering his 10th year as the Head Coach at DeMatha. He has led his teams to 6 of the last 7 WCAC Titles as well as the DC City Championship. He has a career record of 241-62. Since taking over the program, his staff has sent over 50 players on to play college basketball.
INDIVIDUAL COACH COST:
Pre-register - $50
Walk-up - $60
For a flier, email: Alan@StrongerTeam.com
HOW MANY HUDDLE SITUATIONS DO YOU HAVE?
Doc tried to explain to him that you could.
Doc said they had charted possessions for Boston and that they averaged 92 to 93 possessions a game. When you add up free throw situations, timeouts, dead balls and end of quarters, you had "more huddle situations than you think."
Doc's challenge was what do you do with your "huddle situations?"
THOUGHTS ON HALF COURT OFFENSE (PART III)
In the second part of our series we talked about the key components that go in to the making of a good half-court offense. If you missed that post, you can re-read it here: http://bit.ly/p5bCOe.
Today we want to talk about how to teach good half-court offense. Though years of coaching and, more importantly, watching some of the best teach in their programs, I have noticed a few common denominators.
Individual Player Development
My first recommendation for being a better half-court offensive team is to create better players. Never minimize the importance of individual player development along with the need to teach and maintain the fundamentals of the game.
Coach Don Meyer would always ask, "When the playoffs come around, would you rather have better plays or better players?" The logical answer is better players. However, I think the goal should be to have both. Developing players to become better can only enhance everything you do -- including half-court offense.
There are several ways to go about it. The one that has been most successful for me is the "Pre-Practice" period. Everyday before practice, we are going to breakdown between 20 and 30 minutes and work on individual development. This would include everything from ball handling, dribble passing, cutting, screen and shooting along with defensive fundamentals. The Pre-Practice segment forces us to think in terms of breakdown everyday which is important when you get into February. We like to cut practices back a little bit but we still find time for our Pre-Practice session.
Breaking It Down In Parts
The next phase is to break down the important parts of your offense or plays and develop them for maximum execution. If were a Flex coach, I'd run some 3/0 and 3/3 Flex drills everyday. If I were a UCLA High Post coach I'd break down the initial UCLA cut and also the duck-in action on the high post feed. If I utilized ball screens, I would break them down into parts to work on technique and execution. If I ran set plays, I'd take a part out of the play that I thought was the primary scoring option and work to improve our performance in that area.
There things that are important to players in breakdown teaching include:
1. What do you want us to do?
2. How to you want us to do it?
3. Why?
All three are important in terms of having a good breakdown series but "why" might be the most important in terms of having success when you carry it over to whole method.
With and Without Defense
Whether you are part or whole method, there are good reasons for working on your offense against no defense as well as against defense.
Working against no defense allows you to have better concentration on timing and technique and I think it is an important part of developing offense. Of course, running offense against defense brings recognition into play and that is critically important as well. There is a time and place to do both.
Flow into Your Offense
It's important to practice getting into your offense in conversion situations. The possibilities include:
Dead Ball into Half-Court Offense
Transition into Half-Court Offense
Press Offense into Half-Court Offense
Special Situations into Half-Court Offense
Some coaches spend too much time running half-court offense from a dead ball situation. Even worse, starting the ball "up top" and running sets. These teams may execute well in that environment but they will struggle with a defense the picks them up high and pressure the ball and entry passes.
Spend time "flowing" into your offense -- a lot of time -- actually the majority of your time. We have been believers of starting at 3/4 court and then having two conversions when working on half-court offense. It allows us more of a game situation along with working on transition components.
When you work on your inbounds offense or sideout sets, let the team flow into your half-court offense if they don't score of the special situation play and then let them convert one time.
Restrictions
These are big part of teaching motion offense but they can really help develop any offense you run. Restrictions are how we dictate the thought process in our offense. For instance, if we aren't reversing the ball enough in our offense, we will tell our team, "two reversals before a jump shot." Now with our restrictions, we all them off for a lay-up. No matter what we call, if a we can cut or drive directly to the rim, we are going to allow it. Maybe you want a better inside presence. "We need two low post touches before anyone shoots a jump shot." This tells your post players they better get to work and lets your perimeter players know they better be looking inside. Maybe you have a special player. At LSU, in practice (and sometimes in games) we would instruct our team, "Seimone gets two touches before anyone shoots." This tells Seimone she has to work to get get open -- post up, space out and utilize screens. It tells the rest of the team that they better screen for her and get her the touch when she is open.
Video
Of course video is important -- players today are such visual learners. Make sure you watch video of your team from practice as well as games. And I think it is very important that they see clips of proper execution as much as possible. It is easy to show them failed possession -- and it is needed as well. Be make sure they see correct play as much as possible. We have even shown them clips of some of our previous teams executing well. And even shown them clips of another team, college and pro with good execution.
Stats
Finally, utilize stats as a way to help develop your half-court offense - and I'm not just talking about shot attempts, assists, offensive rebounds, etc. In motion, screening is important so we chart screens. Getting the ball inside is important so we utilize a post feed chart. The post feed tells us what post players are getting touches and which players aren't as well as which players are feeding the post and which players aren't. This gives you a lot of valuable information. Don't be afraid to use your imagination to develop a stat to bring attention to a needed area of your offense.
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