Scottie Pippen On The Player’s Greatest Challenge

By Joe Haefner

“Sometimes a player’s greatest challenge is coming to grips with his role on the team.” – Scottie Pippen

As a player, you need to realize that there are many different ways to contribute to a basketball team and be successful. Ben Wallace shot just over 40% from the free throw line and he has NBA championship rings, because he knew that his strengths were defense and rebounding.

Jason Kidd dominated basketball games without scoring a point by playing suffocating defense and distributing the ball to open teammates. There is a reason that Jason Kidd NEVER lost an International basketball game.

Ask your coach what you can do to help the team. When the coach tells you, do it.

As a coach, we need to emphasize the importance of each player’s role, even if they are practice players that get very little playing time. Too often, we don’t do this enough and that’s why players want to score the ball and take little pride in other areas of the game.

All great coaches motivate their players to do the little things.

It’s also part of the reason we produced and highly recommend the DVD, Danny Miles’ Value Point System.

When & How Do You Promote Selfishness?

By Joe Haefner

Extreme selfishness is not a quality you want with your players. Sometimes, selfishness can destroy a team full of great individuals. Most coaches experience these type of players and have developed good tactics to handle them and promote team unity.

But coaches also come across players that are too unselfish. Too unselfish to the point that it is hurting your team. Athletes usually become unselfish for many different reasons ranging from confidence to social acceptance.

So what do you do when the player is too unselfish?

Recently, while reading a PCA article about promoting selfishness for certain players, I saw this quote. The commenter named Eric talks about his Rugby experience and how he communicates to his basketball team when unselfishness becomes a problem:

“I had an epiphany one day when I played rugby. When I began playing, I always liked being in the action but didn’t necessarily want to be a “star”. Anytime I got near to scoring I’d pass the ball to a teammate. I surprised one with a pass one time when I was practically at the goal line, and we botched the play. Finally I realized that my unselfishness, if that’s what it was, was counterproductive. Doing your job includes scoring when you have an opportunity. I found out that if I got more aggressive with looking to score, it would focus more attention on me from the other team’s defense, and I could then create more opportunities for my teammates. Since then I’ve realized that when I scored, the points went to the team, not me. I’d tell your player that when she scores, she’s giving her team the points, and probably setting her teammates up for a lot more opportunities later. I’ve used this for some of my shyer basketball players, who don’t always like to shoot. The emphasis for these selfless players should be that they can take pressure off of their teammates by trying to score.”

What are your ideas to promote selfishness when you need to?

How to Develop “Mentally Tough” Players With Geno Auriemma

By Don Kelbick

Mental toughness, what is it? Aside from being probably the most overused phrase in coaching, can anyone really describe it? I am not sure you can. I have been coaching for a long time and I can’t figure it out.

I get very concerned when people use some traditional terminology without examining its meaning. Too many times, I have seen coaches torturing players in the name of building mental toughness. They take the fun out of the game, wear down their players then blame them when things don’t go right. I would like to give you another way to look at mental toughness.

Confident players are mentally tough. Players who believe they will attain success in the end regardless of what they go through on the journey are mentally tough. These players are bred of success. There can be no understating the benefits of experiencing success. Putting your players in the position where they can experience success will pay dividends.

I was really struck by some comments that were made by members of the University of Connecticut Women’s Basketball Team, after they won their most recent championship. I don’t normally watch a lot of women’s basketball. There is nothing wrong with it but they play a different game and I really don’t like it. But, UConn is different. At the time, I was speaking to a good friend who is an assistant for a Div. I women’s team so I thought it was appropriate to watch. In case you missed it, UConn scored 12 points in the first half. That is the lowest point total in a half in the history of the women’s Div. I championship playoffs. It seems to be ironic when the best team in history turns in the lowest scoring half in history. After they came back to win the game, I watched the player interviews afterward. A lot of the questions centered on the first half and how they turned it around. To a player, they all said they were unconcerned because their coach, Gino Auriemma, creates an atmosphere of success no matter where they go. They all said that he convinces them that if they continue to do the right things, regardless of the situation, they will come out successful. He is a tough, demand coach but there is never a time where he makes them feel that they can’t accomplish what he asks. Everything in their program revolves around the belief that they can be successful. Philosophy, basketball drills, game plan, etc, all center on rewards of success and not penalties of failure. They always want to make the next play.

We should all learn from that. If you want to build mental toughness, the foundation is success. Reward, don’t punish. Catch players doing the right thing as opposed to jumping on them for the wrong thing. Teach them to crave success, not fear failure.

It shows on the court. That is coaching. That is mental toughness.

Practice Players Versus Game Players - Why Do Some Play Better/Worse In Games?

By Don Kelbick

Question:

Why do some players look so good in tryouts/practice but totally become invisible during a game, while some look average in tryouts/practice but then go kick butt during a real game? How can I decipher through this during tryouts/practice to choose the best game players? Thank you.

Answer:

What you are asking about is one of the challenges of coaching and there is very little you can do about it.

Firstly, let’s look at basketball tryouts. What is it that you do in the tryouts? How long do they last? How many days? If you are running one of those one day tryouts where players are on the court for 10 minutes and then they are done, you are working with a very small sample size. Have you ever had a bad 10 minutes on the court yourself, maybe gone 0-5 from the floor in your 10 minutes. If that is the only time someone will look at you, they will think you can’t shoot. They won’t see (or care) when you hit your next 32 shots in a row because they weren’t in your tryout time.

Players who shine during practice but not in games usually have one of two (or both) issues. One is talent. When playing in practice against his teammates, he might be more evenly matched with his opponent because, as a coach, you are trying to make practices competitive. You construct your competitions by finding players that are evenly matched so they are challenged but can experience some success. In a game you don’t have that luxury. He might be simply playing against a better player in a game.

More than likely, though, his problem is self image and confidence. Practice is a very comfortable atmosphere where there are more knowns than unknowns. That comfort breeds confidence and better play. In a game, where all the situations are different and the competition is a mystery, poor self image and doubt control the situation. It also has a tendency to snowball. If you don’t understand what is happening, think about how confused your player is. You have to be very careful how you handle this situation. Once he starts believing he can’t do it, he can spiral downwards and never become an effective player.

In regard to the second situation where a player is hidden during practice and plays well in games, again, there might be two issues. One is he might be bored in practice. You have to find different ways to focus him and to teach him the value of practice, even if he feels he isn’t challenged.

The second situation is simple, players play better with good players. In practice, everyone gets on the court. In games, theoretically only the better players get to play at the higher levels of basketball. It could be possible that his game is helped by the other players. Getting the ball at the right time in the right spots, having other threats on the floor to occupy the defense would even make my game better.

As far as how can you decipher as to what players will do in games, become a coach and guess with the rest of us.

The Gold Standard by Mike Krzyzewski (Coach K)

By Ken Sartini

Here are some key points from the Gold Standard by Mike Krzyzewski of Duke.

* Remember that everyone on a team must adapt, including the leader, so that your team benefits from the best of each member. Your team will not be the best that it can be if everyone adapts to a single individual.. …remember that the sacrifice is worth the reward because teams can accomplish things that no one individual could ever accomplish alone.

* The way you practice will determine the way that you play….I do believe that strong relationships are the foundation for great teams and that team bonding is essential… Players improve individually when internal competition is created during practice.

* The practice plan is a living thing; it is fluid and ever-changing. But writing out the plan beforehand is a step I always take. I can’t ask my players to be prepared to improve and to pursue our goal if I am not prepared.

* I love practice. It is when a coach exercises the most control over the improvement of his or her team.

* I constantly told our team…”We are not going to let them run plays. We want to force them to make plays.” If we could disrupt their system, we could reduce them to a group of individuals on the court as opposed to a team.

* On our team, there were two things that we talked about every single day; the gold medal and defense, our goal and our competitive edge.

* I do believe that strong relationships are the foundation for great teams and that team bonding is essential.

* Just as a team gets better as a whole in the face of competition, players improve individually when internal competition is created during practice.

* My goal was to seek out at least three guys at each practice and try to have personal interaction with them…..a leader wants all members of a team to feel included and invested all the time.

* I also try to think about which players I may want to single out for personal interaction, whether it be on the bus, while the players are getting taped and lacing up their shoes, during practice itself, or while they are working on individual shooting at the end.

* I can’t ask my players to be prepared to improve and to pursue our goal if I am not prepared.

* I love practice. It is when a coach exercises the most control over the improvement of his or her team.

* Part of what makes practices successful is attention to detail and respect for the opponent.

* I always tried to explain to the players their roles on the team, roles that were always evolving…. when you give time to a person and explain their ever-evolving role, it makes them feel good. It is a reminder to them that their role is important enough to warrant explanation.

The Meaning of Success

By Joe Haefner

We got this quote from our coaching friend Ken Sartini on the meaning of life. We thought it would be a good idea to share it:

“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; to leave the world a little better; whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is the meaning of success.”

Will Smith’s Wisdom

By Joe Haefner

This a great motivational video from actor Will Smith.

Skill is only developed by hours and hours of HARD WORK.

Decide and do it!

Building Team Mental Toughness - Are You Doing This?

By Joe Haefner

Use this great rule for your team that I picked up from Alan Stein:

Do not allow players to bend over and put their hands on their knees when they’re tired. If so, discipline with some conditioning.

Have you ever tried this when you’re tired? It’s tough, and it’s supposed to be. This little intangible will help tremendously in building your team’s mental toughness.

Not to mention, it messes with the opposing team’s psyche if you never look like you’re tired.

8 Secrets To Success & How They Relate To Youth Coaching / Parenting

By Joe Haefner

Here are the 8 secrets to success mentioned in the video:

1. Passion
2. Hard Work
3. Get Good
4. Focus
5. Push Yourself
6. Serve Others Value
7. Ideas
8. Persist

Is it a coincidence that passion is listed first?  I don’t think so and I think almost everybody would agree that being passionate about something is probably the first step in being successful.  If you’re passionate about something, it’s a lot easier to work hard, get good, focus, push yourself, serve others value, come up with ideas, and persist through the “CRAP”.

If this holds true, why do so many coaches and parents push their kids into organized sports, make them practice, and act like drill sergeants?  I don’t know about you, but this treatment would  most likely cause me to resent the sport rather than love it.

Do you think MJ would have loved basketball if his dad was yelling at him every day to get on the court and practice?

Let the kids develop their passion and help guide them to succeed.

When a parent loves doing something and makes that same activity enjoyable for the child, the child will be more likely to pick up that same passion.  Is it a coincidence that my dad and brother were coaches before me?  I don’t think so.

What do you think?

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Creating Team Unity With Coach K

By Joe Haefner

Have you ever watched a Duke game and noticed what happens if there is a Duke player on the ground after a dead ball?

Every single Duke player on the floor runs to the player on the ground and helps him up.  I’m certain that Coach K engrains this into his players from day 1 and it’s important that you do too.

How does this help your team?

1. It builds the team unity. 

2. Intimidates the other team, especially if they do not represent the same team unity.  Not many people like to feel like it is 5 versus 1 or 5 versus 2.  If they do, they’ll never accomplish much in a team sport like basketball.

Put yourself in the player’s shoes.  If you get knocked down, what feels better?  To have 4 teammates sprinting over to help you up or seeing your teammates just looking at you and you have to get yourself up.   I would think knowing that your teammates have your back no matter what would be the better feeling.  This feeling naturally boosts confidence as well.

When your team helps each other out like this, it natrually builds that togetherness that you want.  This unity leads to the extra pass being made, teammates setting better screens for each other, and players playing harder for each other.   

 It’s the little things that separate the great teams from everyone else.

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