Coaching for special situations

Basketball is not like football where the action stops after every play. It is not like baseball with pauses in the action between every pitch. Basketball players must think and react on the fly. It's important for coaches to prepare their athletes for special situations so that confusion and indecision doesn't become a factor in the outcome of the game.

Here are a few general practice guidelines to follow:

1. Always try to expose your players to everything that can possibly happen in a game.
2. Devote practice time to enable different players the opportunity to inbound the basketball.
3. Players need to be able to react instinctively to any situation on the court. Use repetition.
4. To be successful, you need to run offenses and options that your players are confident will work against many different defenses.
5. Take the ball out of bounds from the corners, end line, etc.
6. Practice your inbounds plays with varying amounts of time on the clock.
7. Instill and insist on learning how to win in all of your practice drills and situations.

Shot selection

Place limitations on players. Players must understand what is a good shot for them. In general, players should be able to hit a shot better than 50% of the time in practice drills in order for it to be considered a good game shot. For three point shots, players should hit better than 35% from that range in practice in order to look to shoot that shot in a game. You should want your best shooters shooting most of the shots.

Good teams rarely take the first shot they see because they understand that the second or third look is usually better. Of course, when I use the term "good" team, I'm referring to a team that passes the ball well. They also understand spacing and how to move productively without the ball. These teams almost always break down a defense and create high percentage shots.

Two other important reasons not to take the first shot that you see is that quick shots can make it tough for offensive rebounders to be in position for the rebound and for others to get back in defensive transition.

One last thing on shot select, it's wise to discourage your post players from taking three point shots. I want our post players to be offensive rebounders and physical, inside players. It depends on personnel and the type of offense you want to run, but in any case, coaching shot selection will certainly help your team to get better quality possessions. Andn the long run, your team will play closer to its potential.

Giving feedback

Players want feedback. The worst thing you can do as a leader is give no feedback. Team morale deteriorates on teams that have coaches who give very little feedback until they’ve finally “had enough” and explode on their players. Players want to have their efforts recognized, and most want to become better players. Any advice that would help in that regard in a plus.

Athletes are people too. They want attention, but too many negative comments from a coach will usually wear on an athlete. Try to use the 80/20 rule. Eighty percent of what you say should positive. Recognize things that you like in their play and hope that those things become habits. When you do make a positive remark try to focus on encouraging a player rather than complimenting them. Encouraging players is more effective than complementing players because it will inspire them to continue working rather than think that they’ve “arrived”.

Remember too that mistakes are part of the game. Be careful not to punish players for making performance mistakes. This can lead to tentative play and the fear of failure.

Enthusiasm

The best teams have a cooperative spirit that brings out the best in everyone. Some people call this team work. But how do you cultivate team work? One way is through enthusiasm!

Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm. Even difficult drills can be fun if an enthusiastic attitude is created toward them. Enthusiastic people are natural motivators. And remember, enthusiasm is contagious.

Goal setting

The best single motivational tool is goal setting. You must set long-term and short-term goals. We want to stress process goals as well as product goals. Process goals are defined as the steps that you take on your way to achieving a product (outcome) goal. Winning a game, for instance, is an outcome goal. When coaches focus solely on winning, team morale will deteriorate much more easily if the team does not win.

Process goals are oriented toward improvement and, as long as it is measurable, these goals can be set for any aspect of our team objectives. You may compare our progress to where you were at a certain time last year. This could be as easy as setting a goal for a drill and measuring how well your team does in a certain drill (use a stop watch or count made shots). Improvement can be measured easily that way. Process goals can be individual as well as team oriented.

Another idea for outcome goal setting is to divide the season into four or five sections. Establish a definite five game goal, or a goal of where we want to be at the end of the month or after a home stand. Focus on three game stretch or a tournament. Give kids a chance to look forward and not dwell on past failures.

The bottom line is that winning matters. But by giving kids more to focus on than wins and losses, personal stats, and playing time, you are giving your team more avenues to increase motivation. Don't put all of your eggs in one basket.

Make your season about more than just Friday night's final score.

Team Building

Team building is the greatest challenge of coaching. It may be the most overlooked aspect of athletes by mediocre coaches.

• You need to emphasize and model the values of your program. Speak often about what you believe in. Pay attention to the language patterns you use-- speak in "we" rather than me or you.
• Show the players that you are loyal to them and confident in them. Do this in your everyday actions as well as how you personally respond to adversity.
• Monitor the climate of the team closely since every season is long and there will be highs and lows. The coach is the guardian of the team. Sometimes players must be disciplined for the sake of the team. Players expect to be disciplined and you may need to step in a “put out the fire” in order to protect team unity.

Planning practices

One of the biggest advantages great coaches have over the others (besides better players!) is their practice planning. Here are a few ideas one should consider in planning your practice schedule.


Maintain a positive atmosphere in which players will look forward to practice and play with enthusiasm. Plan every practice carefully. There is a direct correlation between how you practice and how you will perform at game time. Make drills competitive whenever possible. Work harder than your competition. Instill a great work ethic in your athletes. The best way to get players to play hard in practice is to ask them to do challenging drills. Keep a quick practice tempo; no walking on the floor. Our players must believe that they work harder than everyone else so that they feel that they deserve to win.

• A general practice breakdown could be 50% fundamentals, 25% team offense, and 25% team defense. Shooting should be worked on every day. When working on the team aspects of the game do not rely only on scrimmaging! Execution is often improved best through 5 on 0 and breakdown work.
• Correct mistakes. We can get an edge on the competition paying great attention to detail. Uncorrected errors and poor effort are condoned by you in the eyes of the players.
• Teach new concepts in the early stages of practice.
• Use repetition so that every player understands what we are trying to accomplish.
• Use short, intense drills that simulate game conditions, emphasize concentration and demand execution.
• Conditioning is essential, since most games are decided in the fourth quarter. Design practices that condition players throughout the entire practice rather than only at the end.

Confidence

Confidence
As a coach, you must exude confidence, and maintain an atmosphere on the team that will allow them to develop more confidence. A tense and worried team is not likely to perform at their best. Coaches should not doubt themselves publicly either. Players need to believe and trust their coach. They need to believe in the game plan. As a coach, you need to remember that no one else will believe in you unless you first believe in yourself.

Make sure you allow your team to build up confidence in its natural course. Building up false confidence can come back to haunt you since it will come crashing down when the team experiences unexpected failure. Confidence is stronger when it is built through accomplishments rather than words. In other words, success builds success. Beating good opponents builds more confidence than beating lesser teams.