The 9 Most Important Questions for Every Basketball Coach. Ignore Them at your Peril.

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By the time you finish reading these questions, you'll realize that coaching is much simpler than you thought and you'll start to unlock the secrets to successful coaching.

Take a moment to answer the questions below. I promise you will become a better coach!

It really is this simple...

Tactical Questions

1 - How can you get more shots than your opponents?

HINT: How can your team get more rebounds than your opponents? How can your team commit fewer turnovers than your opponents?

2 - How can you improve your team's shooting percentage?

HINT: How can you get more lay ups? How can you get more uncontested shots? How can you develop better shooters?

3 - How can you lower your opponents shooting percentage?

HINT: Improve your defense by keeping the ball as far from the basket as possible and contest all shots.

4 - How can you get to the foul line more often than your opponents?

Intangibles

5 - How can you teach more life lessons to your players and set a better example?

6 - What are the most important character building qualities to teach your players?

7 - If the players on your team were your own children, what would you want them to get out of this experience?

8 - How can you motivate your players?

9 - How can you improve teamwork and the attitudes of each player?

These are the 9 most important questions you should be asking yourself. That's it.

Basketball really is this simple. It's a simple game. Don't make it too complicated. Stick with simple tactics that will help you improve in each of these areas.

When you stop to think, the only thing you can do to win is... shoot a higher percentage than your opponent and/or take more shots than your opponent.

That's all you can do. When you start thinking in those terms, the game becomes really simple. And your priorities become very clear.

How much time do you waste in practice doing things that do NOT greatly impact one of the 9 areas mentioned above?

I'll bet the answer is more than you want to admit. Save these questions and refer to them once a week. This will keep you focused on the important things and make your practices very efficient.

Hope this helps.

What do you think about about these questions? Please share your thoughts.

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hannah says:
8/10/2015 at 3:09:40 PM

what about girls basket ball.all i hear is boys basket ball

Coach T says:
9/24/2014 at 3:30:48 PM

I feel like as a coach you should not only be the authority figure on and off the court but a mentor as well. Student athletes need to understand the importance of academics and life outside of basketball. Not everyone gets that shot at the next level whether it's college or pros. We as coaches push them to turn that B to an A or that down and back to two down and backs that makes the different. Being mentally strong in this game can go along ways

Van says:
11/27/2013 at 11:09:49 PM

Our goals
1) Have fun
2) Learn Basketball
3) Be a great teammate
4) Appreciation for our opponents

I have found that when these goals are met, basketball is fun for everyone concerned. I have also found that these goals offer another one of the great compliments a coach can receive, Retention and your players moving to the next level. All of our players, not just our "shooting stars".

Ken says:
2/9/2013 at 2:08:04 PM

Thats one of the best compliments a coach can receive.

eric says:
2/9/2013 at 1:41:45 PM

we went 1-13 this year (12U Boys) but many parents told us it was their kid's best season ever. i learned many lessons myself too, and tried to focus on learning, skills, teamwork etc. instead of just winning. good stuff. thanks for all you do on the site.

Ken says:
2/9/2013 at 10:01:03 AM

I have had several kids that played for me YEARS ago contact me because of this site.
The last one, who I will meet up with in March, played for me 29 years ago. He is a very successful dentist who goes around the country making motivational speeches. He told me that he was thinking about me for several years and then he read a book by Johnny Wooden... that motivated him to find me.
He is just one of many that I coached that still keep in contact with me.... those are the things that make you feel good about what you did and how you impact their lives. I guess I must have been doing something right.
I think I will send him this page and ask him about how many of these I was good at. haha
I think that most coaches do the best they can to develop their players to be all around good people..... successful ones, not necessarily college basketball players.... but people who go out in the world and make a difference in other peoples lives.

JP Nerbun says:
2/8/2013 at 10:32:44 PM

These are a collective of some various obvious observations that many coaches ignore!

Danny Sexton says:
3/3/2010 at 2:04:37 PM

Thank you, all, for the stories and tips you share here. This is my first year coaching. I coach a 9-12 year old girls team. Without my assistant coach and breakthrough b-ball, Im not sure this season would have gone so well. Again, thanks for all the work that goes into this site.

Charles Hudson says:
2/16/2010 at 3:47:21 PM

Wow, Mike...... just, wow. I coach high school boys and
have never had anything quite so touching happen.
Thanks for sharing that....
Charlie

CoachWil says:
2/16/2010 at 10:08:19 AM

Yup, i believe each and everyone has their own style of coaching but the bottom line is well discussed in these 9 points and i believe that we coaches can all agree that we are the most important figure our players look up to. They all listen to us, and we too should listen to our players. Personally, i assess my players individually and don't shove things down their throats knowing they can't handle it. I make sure that they can do things i ask them to do coz this helps build their morale and eventually give them task which they believe they can do.
We are their 2nd parents. We make sure we guide them right to prepare them for the big fight in life.

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