I am trying to develop a point system for practices, games, etc. for my team as a way of rewarding players and motivating them. For example, the kid with the most points at the end of practice either gets a Gatorade or gets to not run some sprints or whatever. Even looking at having them for games, and also end of year awards for practice and games like a Sweat Shirt or something. I want to be able to even apply it to certain drills also. Here are some of my thoughts so far.

I want to be fair about giving the points so the kids know what I am looking for in the drills and practice in general. I will point those out before we do a drill. If everyone is not doing the drill or doesn’t have the chance to get reward points it wouldn’t be fair.

I would look at even taking points away for certain things, like not blocking out, mental errors, etc.

Coaches Discretion Points (CDP)– Score from 1 to 5 pts.

Test Questions- about team offense/defense etc.
Hustle
Leadership
Team Unity
Communication


DEFENSE
Deflection
Taking Charge
Defensive Rotation
Break away follow up
Loose Ball
Tie Ups
Help Defense
Communication
Block out
Chinning Rebounds/protecting ball

OFFENSE
Offensive Rebound
Impact Screens (CDP)
Passing Assist
Impact Outlet passes
Pass Fakes
Shot Fakes
Unselfishness (CDP)
Exceptional Move (CDP)

I would have a manager score things at practice for me or something like that. I would call name out and tell how many points and for what. This should give them that extra verbal motivation also.

PLEASE HELP ME ADD TO THE LIST AND GIVE ME SOME OTHER IDEAS!

Coach: you seem to have covered all that needs to be covered in your point system. I believe a point and reward system is good but don't ever give up on the power of the spoken word. In my 35 years of coaching, i live by this philosophy, "Its not so much what you coach but what you emphasize that really counts. I have done many camps in Maryland with the great Morgan Wooten of Dematha and have developed a close friendship with him. Morgan says: Your coaching philosophy will tell you what you want to emphasize, but remember that your players will react to what you are emphasizing. In their eagerness to please, they will try to do what they know is important to you.

To reward good individual play, I lavishly heap praise on that individual and do it in front of the entire team. Conversely, I never punish a player rather I discipline to teach and do that with the player privately. This in turn allows you to complement your use of rewards with a disciplinary system that leaves no doubt as to what is unacceptable in terms of effort, conduct, and court decorum. Further, it wont cause your players to be so frightened of the consequences following a miscue that they become hesitant or even refuse to try. Best of luck in your coaching career Coach Mac

Great thoughts Mac....

Coach, I can see that you have given this a lot of thought ...
and while the point system is great... please tell me how you are going to find the time to do all this DURING practice? For games you can watch tape...

I don't think that I could do this during practices or games. I was too busy watching everything that was going on, thank God I had an assistant that I could trust and help me out a lot.

IF you could trust this system to a manager or someone like that, maybe it could work out for you? ( I don't want to rain on your parade here )

Coach Mac, I read where you spent a lot of time Morgan Wooten and so did my assistant ( Rick Ryan ) does that name ring a bell? He was / is a great coach and added another 7 years to my coaching career.

Coach: I did several summer camps at Mr St. Mary's in emmittsburg Md. Your assistants name really doesn't ring a bell but there were a lot of coaches there. I had a strong girls travel team out of Ontario that the woman's coach at Mt St Marys was trying to recruit a few of them. I had great times at that camp, at the end of the day, they would sit us down and always had a feast and then there were the times with Morgan. I gleaned a lot off Morgan in the seven years I attended there. He is a great coach and I still use his pressure stuff even at the pro level. thanks for asking ....Mac

Mitch,

In regards to your point system, I would suggest that "less is more". You have obviously put some thought into the points, which is a good thing. That's what it takes to make this type of thing work.

However, I think you're trying to do too much. First, it's a lot of work to track all that. Second, it can confuse you're players because there is just too much to think about. The different types of points get so diluted that it's hard for your players to think about them and also hard for you to come up with a good point system.

I believe you should focus on the critical few points (aka: metrics, stats, etc). For example, what does it really take for you to win games? Score more points that the opponent.

So instead of focusing on minute things (there are hundreds of little things like that), focus on missed shots, turnovers, made shots, rebounds, and things like that.

I have been in your shoes before and at one time I tried to measure everything in my business. I found that I measured too much and that it was much more effective to just measure and report a couple key things. If the employee did not do the "little things" then they would not hit their goals for the metrics that we measured. I gave them more ownership of solving the problem their own way. The end results was the only important thing.

I know personally these types of metrics applied in business work in basketball too. It's very effective but not for everyone. With my background and beliefs, a point system like you suggest works wonders. But like Coach Mac says, you still need a philosophy to show your players what is important. It's all about what you emphasize. So he's certainly right that you need more than a more point system.

I think every coach has to find what works for them and everyone is different. I love using metrics and point systems. I actually started writing about the subject but got sidetracked. I'll have to look and see if I can find anything I already wrote.

Have you looked at the Danny Miles Value Point System?
http://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/pr/value-point-system.html

He has obviously perfected his point system. He uses it in scrimmages during pre-season to pick starters, etc. For him it really improves player performance and give coaches and players an objective measurement of how well they performed. It gets his players focusing on what he wants them to focus on (taking care of the ball, rebounding, taking good shots, limiting fouls, etc).

If you have any more questions, let us know.

Coach Sar: 442 posts, Do you have a life? lol I love your enthusiasm and dedication to the game and the Kids. Coach Mac

Coach Mac,

Thats what retirement gets you! 442? Who's counting. :-)

I love this game and I always liked helping kids and coaches too.
I feel like its giving back to the game that gave me years of enjoyment... why waste the experiences I had?