{"id":1422,"date":"2019-11-01T07:42:56","date_gmt":"2019-11-01T12:42:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.breakthroughbasketball.com\/haefner\/?p=1422"},"modified":"2019-11-10T06:46:51","modified_gmt":"2019-11-10T12:46:51","slug":"why-you-need-a-team-identity-and-important-club-guidelines-for-developing-players","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.breakthroughbasketball.com\/haefner\/why-you-need-a-team-identity-and-important-club-guidelines-for-developing-players","title":{"rendered":"Why You NEED a \u201cTeam Identity\u201d and Important Club Guidelines for Developing Players"},"content":{"rendered":"

This winter I\u2019m coaching a 7th grade boys Iowa Prep club team.\u00a0 My son Evan is on the team.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d like to share what we\u2019re doing — and what I consider to be important aspects of both winning and player development\u2026<\/p>\n

What I Consider to be Good Club Guidelines for Developing Players<\/h2>\n

Iowa Prep is one of the few clubs in the state that says \u201cplayer development\u201d is a priority — and they actually back up that claim with their actions.<\/p>\n

Almost every club says \u201cdevelopment\u201d is a priority.\u00a0 But very few clubs have the discipline to see that claim through.<\/p>\n

Some of their player development guidelines that I like include:<\/p>\n

– 3rd-6th grade must play 100% man to man defense. 7th-12th grade must play man to man defense at least 75% of the time.<\/p>\n

– Coaches teach motion offense and universal offensive concepts (UOCs) to players.<\/p>\n

– Coaches must spend at least 35 minutes of SKILL training at every practice.<\/p>\n

– Once you\u2019re in the program, you\u2019re in. Since the emphasis is \u201cplayer development\u201d, they do not cut players.\u00a0 Automatic renewal for athletes on each team from year to year (unless there is mis-conduct by parent or players).<\/p>\n

– They require coaches to be USA Gold Certified and have policies in place to help protect children from abuse, bullying, and so on.<\/p>\n

This is not a pitch for the club.\u00a0 This is simply an example of what I think are good guidelines.<\/p>\n

And a few things I think you should consider looking for when choosing a team or club for your child.<\/p>\n

Coaches:\u00a0 Why You Need a Team Identity<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Even with high school teams, when you practice every day, you can’t be great at everything.<\/p>\n

There just isn’t enough time to be a \u201cgreat\u201d at uptempo transition, half court execution, BLOBs, handling pressure, half court defense, full court press, passing, shooting, driving, screening, teamwork, motion offense, EOG plays, rebounding, zone offense, etc, etc.<\/p>\n

If you try to be great at all those things, you end up bad or mediocre at almost everything.<\/p>\n

So I try to pick a handful of areas we want to be GREAT at and come up with a team identity.<\/p>\n

We want a few things we can hang our hat on.\u00a0 That doesn’t mean we’ll ignore the \u201cother things\u201d.\u00a0 It just means we’ll put extra effort into being great at a small set of things.<\/p>\n

Almost every championship team I can think of at NBA, college, and high school level had an identity.\u00a0 This seems to be a recurring theme.<\/p>\n

I think all the really good teams out there have identities.<\/p>\n

Should youth teams have an identity?<\/h2>\n

Good question.\u00a0 Should a 3rd grade coach be too concerned about a team identity?<\/p>\n

I believe all coaches (including youth coaches) should have a deliberate \u201ccoaching philosophy<\/a>\u201d that guides them\u2026 keeping them on the straight and narrow.<\/p>\n

But when it comes to establishing a clearly visible team identity, at the 3rd-5th grade level, I don’t think that is a super high priority.\u00a0 But if you take the right approach, it can potentially help.<\/p>\n

For example, a good identity at 3rd grade might be \u201cwe\u2019re going to have fun, be positive, and play hard\u201d.\u00a0 Our identity is we hustle, get after rebounds, and we have fun\u2026 we have smiles on our faces and we\u2019re giving out lots of high fives!!!<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a pretty good identity for a 3rd grade team that I think would have a positive impact.<\/p>\n

So, in my opinion, the identity should be based on development (fun, fostering a love for the game, and maybe effort)… not tactics for winning like you might see at the NBA level.<\/p>\n

Team Identity for Our 7th Grade Boys this Season<\/h2>\n

With our 7th grade club team we have established an identity.<\/p>\n

To come up with our identity, I asked our players for input.<\/p>\n

I think it\u2019s very important for players and parents to buy in the team identity.<\/p>\n

So I started by explaining the importance and asked our players:<\/p>\n