Sunday, February 21, 2010
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Building Confidence Without Wins
Recently, I was asked by the coach of a winless basketball team about confidence. Her team was weary from the beatings they were taking and she was looking for ways to build their confidence even when her team wasn't winning on the court.
It's no secret that the best way for a team to build confidence is to win games. Winning cures everything. It builds confidence and team chemistry. Players start to believe in themselves and each other.
But what can be done when victories prove to be elusive? What, if anything, can be done for the winless team that has players who KNOW that they aren't very good?
It isn't easy. Confidence is built through accomplishment. The better the accomplishment, the more confidence one can attain. Confidence cannot be built up artificially through talk or by beating teams that you know you should beat. Saying "great job" 100 times a practice will have no lasting effect. False confidence will not serve a team well during crunch time. You have to achieve something you weren't sure you could do.
For the team that may not win another game, this must be done through goal setting. Time a drill in practice. Set a goal for how fast a three man weave drill should be completed up and down the floor. Set a goal for going mistake free in a drill for a set amount of time. Count baskets made in a shooting drill. When improvement in these drills can be shown, that will be a confidence builder. Goal setting can also be done during a game. Setting a halftime goal to out rebound a team in the 2nd half or cut down a lead during the third quarter are a couple examples. The goal should be difficult, measurable, and achievable.
It will not be easy, but I commend this coach for wanting to try. All coaches should care about their kids and want to provide as good of an experience playing their sport as possible. All too often, coaches at younger levels bail out on their players and go through the motions until the end of the year. Good coaches do not do that. Good coaches respect the game and never stop teaching.
It's no secret that the best way for a team to build confidence is to win games. Winning cures everything. It builds confidence and team chemistry. Players start to believe in themselves and each other.
But what can be done when victories prove to be elusive? What, if anything, can be done for the winless team that has players who KNOW that they aren't very good?
It isn't easy. Confidence is built through accomplishment. The better the accomplishment, the more confidence one can attain. Confidence cannot be built up artificially through talk or by beating teams that you know you should beat. Saying "great job" 100 times a practice will have no lasting effect. False confidence will not serve a team well during crunch time. You have to achieve something you weren't sure you could do.
For the team that may not win another game, this must be done through goal setting. Time a drill in practice. Set a goal for how fast a three man weave drill should be completed up and down the floor. Set a goal for going mistake free in a drill for a set amount of time. Count baskets made in a shooting drill. When improvement in these drills can be shown, that will be a confidence builder. Goal setting can also be done during a game. Setting a halftime goal to out rebound a team in the 2nd half or cut down a lead during the third quarter are a couple examples. The goal should be difficult, measurable, and achievable.
It will not be easy, but I commend this coach for wanting to try. All coaches should care about their kids and want to provide as good of an experience playing their sport as possible. All too often, coaches at younger levels bail out on their players and go through the motions until the end of the year. Good coaches do not do that. Good coaches respect the game and never stop teaching.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
When Less Means More
As a coach, you have a lot of decisions to make offensively. What offense to run. How many offenses to run. How many set plays to run. These decisions are important and, of course, it goes without saying that the coach needs to be comfortable with the offense inside and out. Plus the offense needs to fit your team. But one aspect of this decision that cannot be overlooked is how much offense to run.
I've known coaches who never hesitate to install a new offense or set play. They feel that their X's and O's will give their team a competitive advantage. And in some instances that may be true. But from what I've seen, many more times you will see confused faces on the court, broken plays, and frustrated coaches. In the end, I think that less is more. Below, I have sited eight reasons why I feel that way.
1. Confidence- players know what to do under pressure since the few set plays that you do run are "over-learned". They have run these plays over and over again, probably for several years. When the game is on the line, rest assured that your nervous basketball players will not have blank stares on their faces when you call for a set play.
2. Freedom to substitute- reserve players who get less reps in practice will still be able run your entire offense.
3. More team depth- Players can play multiple positions. In effect, this gives you more quality depth, because your best players off the bench can play multiple positions.
4. Better execution- Teach your players how to play rather than how to run a bunch of plays. In order to get the timing and execution to the level that it takes to compete against the best defenses in your league, you are going to have to break down your offenses to their individual parts.
5. More time for fundamentals- Less time spent learning and practicing plays means more time for shooting and skill development.
6. Scouting- If your players know exactly who "we are" and what "we do", you can spend more time on who "they are" and what "they do".
7. Special situations. Players can become very comfortable with what will expected in every late game situation they encounter because a simple system allows more time for that.
8. Halftime adjustments. If a coach knows his system inside and outside, he/she will know exactly how to adjust to anything an opponent does to slow the offense down. If the offense isn't too complex, you will, as a coach, have a greater ability to make adjustments in the huddle and at halftime. If players are already on information overload, any additional wrinkles added during a game will only create confusion and result in a frustrated coach on the sideline.
I've known coaches who never hesitate to install a new offense or set play. They feel that their X's and O's will give their team a competitive advantage. And in some instances that may be true. But from what I've seen, many more times you will see confused faces on the court, broken plays, and frustrated coaches. In the end, I think that less is more. Below, I have sited eight reasons why I feel that way.
1. Confidence- players know what to do under pressure since the few set plays that you do run are "over-learned". They have run these plays over and over again, probably for several years. When the game is on the line, rest assured that your nervous basketball players will not have blank stares on their faces when you call for a set play.
2. Freedom to substitute- reserve players who get less reps in practice will still be able run your entire offense.
3. More team depth- Players can play multiple positions. In effect, this gives you more quality depth, because your best players off the bench can play multiple positions.
4. Better execution- Teach your players how to play rather than how to run a bunch of plays. In order to get the timing and execution to the level that it takes to compete against the best defenses in your league, you are going to have to break down your offenses to their individual parts.
5. More time for fundamentals- Less time spent learning and practicing plays means more time for shooting and skill development.
6. Scouting- If your players know exactly who "we are" and what "we do", you can spend more time on who "they are" and what "they do".
7. Special situations. Players can become very comfortable with what will expected in every late game situation they encounter because a simple system allows more time for that.
8. Halftime adjustments. If a coach knows his system inside and outside, he/she will know exactly how to adjust to anything an opponent does to slow the offense down. If the offense isn't too complex, you will, as a coach, have a greater ability to make adjustments in the huddle and at halftime. If players are already on information overload, any additional wrinkles added during a game will only create confusion and result in a frustrated coach on the sideline.
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