My previous blog, Be Authentic, caused a firestorm of emotional responses… some supporting my views on the use of profanity in coaching and others staunchly opposed (including some folks who were ‘disappointed’ and/or ‘appalled’).

I appreciate those that took the time to respond – regardless of whether or not they agreed with me. I never have an issue with differing opinions as long as they are expressed respectfully.

A few follow up thoughts:

·         I am not endorsing foul language – I am simply encouraging being authentic. In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with appropriately peppering in curse words as a part of your communication repertoire if that is authentic to your personality and coaching style.

·         I have never looked at words themselves as either good or bad. Your intent and the context in which you use them is the determining factor.

·         Using foul language to demean, bully, or embarrass a player is unacceptable.  

·         Using profanity around children younger than high school age is also unacceptable.

·         Dean Smith and Morgan Wootten are two Hall of Fame coaches who chose not to curse.  Does that mean they were better coaches, better human beings, or better role models than Mike Krzyzewski or Bob Hurley (Hall of Fame coaches who use profanity)? No way! Their use of profanity hasn’t even remotely reduced their legacy as coaches, role models, or humanitarians. Nor has it tarnished the positive impact they have on their players.

·         As a father, I will have no problem with my sons playing for a coach who uses profanity (under the parameters I have outlined).

·         As a coach, if you choose to occasionally use profanity, you have the responsibility of making sure your players understand that what is said in the locker room or on the court may not be appropriate at the dinner table or in the classroom. There is a time and place for everything.

The underlying issue here is that everyone’s values are different. Our values are based on how we were raised, where we grew up, our religious beliefs, etc.  All of these things shape who we are as individuals.  We need to respect that we have different views. 

There is no right or wrong to this issue.

I make my decisions based on my own values.  I need to be able to look myself in the mirror and ask:

·         Do I have a positive impact on the lives of my players?

·         Do I respect and care about my players?

·         Do they respect and care about me?

·         Am I a role model to them? Do I set a good example?

·         Do I do everything in my power to help them be successful on and off the court?

·         Do I represent myself, my school, and my family with character and integrity? 

Profanity or not…according to my value system… my answer to each of these questions is a resounding YES!  I say that with full confidence and no hesitation.

Even with that said, I am all about personal growth and development.  

So I am challenging myself to drastically cut down my use of profanity. 

Significantly reducing my profanity will help me accomplish the three focal points of my life:

1.    To be the best father I can be.

2.    To be the best husband I can be.

3.    To be the best coach I can be.

I have no intention of eliminating profanity.  That would prevent me from being who I am. That would keep me from being authentic. 

I owe it to myself and to the players I work with… to be me!

On a different topic, as someone who has been around high level basketball for the past decade, I have seen plenty of overbearing parents… but none quite as bad as the guy in this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGDPCn1wJbM

Don’t go calling child services. That’s me in the video with my 11 month old twin sons, Luke and Jack.  I am ‘raising champions’ in the game of life.

Love your kids, support your kids, encourage your kids, inspire your kids... but don't force your kids.

Let them mature at their own pace... and let them enjoy being kids. If it's in them to be superstars... don't worry... that will reveal itself over time.

I would love to hear more of your thoughts on this follow up blog and my pledge to reduce my cursing.

Feel free to email me privately at Alan@StrongerTeam.com or share your thoughts publicly through www.Twitter.com/AlanStein (put @AlanStein in your Tweet) or post comments at www.Facebook.com/StrongerTeam.

I value your input,

Alan Stein

www.StrongerTeam.com

www.Twitter.com/AlanStein

www.Facebook.com/StrongerTeam.com

PS: I removed the ‘comments’ section from my blog months ago because of SPAM.  I was getting 50+ SPAM comments/messages per day.  I am working to have a comments section implemented again very soon. 

“Basketball is a complex dance that requires shifting from one objective to another at lightning speed. To excel, you need to act with a clear mind and be totally focused.”

Phil Jackson

If you want to maximize your play on the court you have to learn how to ‘Play Present.’  There are as many as 150 individual plays over the course of a game (roughly half on offense and half on defense).  The best players in the world are totally focused on the present moment – because that is all they can control.

Great players don’t worry about a missed shot or a bad call.  They don’t get distracted by trying to think about winning and losing.  They focus on the here and now.  They ‘Play Present.’

The ability to ‘Play Present’ is a skill that takes practice – just like shooting and ball handling.  Basketball is a highly cerebral game.  As Coach Jones has said, ‘you can’t just play the game; you have to think the game.”  That is where mental training comes in.

Whether you are a player or a coach, you need to practice ‘Playing Present.’  You need to constantly remind yourself to be focused on the task at hand.  Build your self-awareness so you recognize immediately when your mind starts to drift.  Over time, you will be able to sustain focus and concentration during the chaos that occurs during a game.  This will drastically improve your performance.

Think about this hypothetical scenario.  Imagine if at a random time in the beginning of practice or in the first quarter of a game, you called your players over and said, “If you get a stop on the next possession, I will buy each of you a brand new pair of Jordan’s.” 

Do you think they would get a stop? I do!  Why? Because your players wouldn’t be thinking about anything in the world except for getting that stop.  They would have razor sharp focus and make sure they were in position, were playing as hard as possible, and were communicating.  They would be ‘Playing Present.’ The key to success is learning how to achieve that level of focus every possession!

Like any skill, if you want to learn how to ‘Play Present’ – you have to practice! 

A mental training exercise you can do at home is called “100.”  Find a quiet spot to sit and relax.  Close your eyes.  Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth.  When you breathe in, say the number 1. When you breathe out, say the number 2.  Repeat all the way to 100.  In the beginning, your mind will be elsewhere and you will be thinking of all kinds of distracting thoughts.  But the goal is to ‘Play Present’ and bring your focus back to your breathing and to the next number.  Do this every day (only takes a couple of minutes) – when you first wake up or right before you go to sleep.

Another powerful mental training exercise is called the MVP (Meditate – Visualize – Positive Talk).  This is perfect to do before your team’s pre-game talk and warm-up. 

Meditate: Sit in silence with your eyes closed, take 15-20 slow breaths, and focus on the moment. Let the day’s distractions leave with each exhale. Get present.

Visualize: Using all of your senses, recall a time when you played in the zone, a time when you played (or coached) your best basketball.  See it and feel it. 

Positive Talk: Repeat your favorite motivational affirmations and quotes to yourself.

Another concept that goes along with ‘Playing Present’ is the concept of ‘Next Play.’  Whether good or bad… the last play doesn’t matter… let it go… focus on the ‘Next Play.’

Learning to move to the ‘Next Play’ is the foundation of how you ‘Play Present.’

I learned about the concept of ‘Playing Present’ (as well as the exercises above), from my friend and colleague Graham Betchart.  Graham is the founder of GB Performance Coaching (www.GBPerformanceCoaching.com) and is a wealth of knowledge.  I am extremely thankful for everything Graham has shared with me. He has made me a better coach.

In the past 20 years, few college programs have played with the mental toughness (and thus success) of the Duke Blue Devils.  Coach K is a firm believer in the concept of ‘Next Play.’

Here is a quick peek at their pre-game warm-up: http://TinyUrl.com/DukePreGameWarmUp

Train hard, train smart.

Alan Stein

www.StrongerTeam.com

www.Twitter.com/AlanStein

www.Facebook.com/StrongerTeam

PS: We (DeMatha) are currently ranked #14 in the nation and will face off against St. Anthony's (#3 in the nation) this Saturday at 4:00pm EST on ESPN.  Set your DVRs if you can't watch it live!

For those of you that follow me at www.Twitter.com/AlanStein or www.Facebook.com/StrongerTeam, you know we lost our first game of the season yesterday to St. Andrews Prep (RI) and their All-American shooting guard, Michael Carter-Williams (Syracuse commit).  We played them in a showcase in Wheeling, WV.

While we certainly played extremely hard, we did not play particularly smart, and thus did not deserve to win.  We had more than enough opportunities and we didn’t capitalize.  In the final minute of the game, a series of mental mistakes took us from a 4 point lead to a 3 point loss.

Basketball is a game of execution and effort.  To win consistently, against quality teams, you need to do both.  Teams that play hard on every possession and minimize mental mistakes are almost always successful.

As coaches, we can live with physical mistakes.  We have no problem with playing aggressive defensive and getting called for foul when attempting to block a shot or run through a screen.  We know that when players are assertive and attack the basket that occasionally turnovers will happen (traveling violation or offensive foul).  These are physical mistakes and they go with the territory.

But mental mistakes need to be eliminated. A lazy perimeter pass that gets stolen and taken in for an easy lay-up is a mental mistake. Not closing out with a high hand and a sense of urgency on a great shooter is a mental mistake.  Not finding a man and boxing him out is a mental mistake. And missing free throws down the stretch is a mental mistake. Those are the plays that really hurt you… not the physical ones mentioned above.

Great players and great teams are consistent.  Our team isn’t quite there yet.  We play really, really well for several minutes at a time… and then revert to stretches where we breakdown.  Even at 11-1 (4-0), we are yet to string together 4 solid quarters in a row on both ends of the floor.  Our team’s calling card is our defense.  When we lock in, focus, and eliminate mental breakdowns… our defense is stifling.  We have held several teams to less than 5 points in an entire quarter.

Unfortunately, we aren’t as consistent as we need to be – we will go from holding a team to 5 points in a quarter – to giving up 10 points in the next two minutes.  All because of mental breakdowns.

We have a few players in particular, who are unbelievably talented, but aren’t as consistent as they need to be.  They are trying… and they are coachable kids… but they just haven’t gotten over the hump of becoming elite players because of their erratic play.  They will make a highlight reel play one minute – and then be ‘vacant’ the next.

We have a gifted wing player who only crashes the offensive boards about 20% of the time.  The other times he is caught standing and watching.  Guess what happens when he does crash?  He gets the rebound almost every time (as most high school age wing players don’t box him out). On several occasions he put the offensive rebound back with a thunderous dunk! Our goal as coaches is to get him to be consistent – to crash the offensive glass every time a shot is taken.

In most cases, high school age players don’t see the same thing we see as coaches.  That is why film can be an invaluable tool if used appropriately.  Coach Jones had one of our managers film this player with an HD Flip camera for the entire game. Didn’t film the game, just filmed this player – to show him exactly what we see from the sideline.  The result? The next game he had 6 offensive rebounds and was our leading scorer.

While our staff was certainly disappointed in our loss, we are hoping this serves a wake-up call to our players and hammers home the fact that we need to be more consistent and we need to eliminate the mental mistakes if we want to be a impressive basketball team.

We also learned about the character of our team in the locker room after we lost.  No one pouted. No one pointed a finger.  They accepted the loss together. I am very proud of the way our players handled themselves and am confident they will respond positively.

As Coach K once said, “You can’t win every game, but you can learn from every game.”

I sure hope we did.

Train hard. Train smart. Enjoy the ride.

Alan Stein

www.StrongerTeam.com

PS: A few days ago I posted a NEW pre-game warm-up at http://TinyUrl.com/NewDeMathaPreGameWarmUp 

PSS: This warm-up ‘worked’ – we came out like gangbusters and won the 1^st quarter 16-5!

Wow, what an amazing NCAA Championship game!  Congrats to Coach K and the Duke Blue Devils.  I also want to congratulate Coach Stevens and the Butler Bulldogs for an amazing season.

A lot has happened since my last blog post.

Jack and Luke came home from the hospital and are doing very well.  They have each gained a pound since birth, which is funny because my usual recommendation for weight gain for high school basketball players looking to add muscle in the off-season is to try and gain a pound a week!  Looks like my boys are already on the program.

Despite having newborns, my wonderful wife allowed me to sneak off to Columbus, OH to work my 5^th straight McDonalds All-American Game.  It is such an honor to work that event each year and a real pleasure to re-connect with many of the players I worked with this past summer.  The McDonalds folks bring me in to conduct warm-ups before each practice (and the game) and to serve as a strength & conditioning resource for the players and coaches who don’t have such expertise at home.

Here is a video of one of the warm-ups I took the players through: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ufai44l1ic

I also posted a video of the halftime show, a talented group of exhibition dunkers called Team Flight Brothers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eDilgrA820

After the McDonald’s game I flew back in time to join Montrose for our game against Montverde Academy in the 2^nd Annual ESPN RISE National High School Invitational.  For those who weren’t there or didn’t see it on ESPNU, we lost a heartbreaker by 2 points.  We led most of the second half until Montverde’s point guard hit an off-balance lay-up with 2 seconds left in the game.  While I would have certainly preferred to win, I am at peace with the loss because our team played very well.  We played hard, played smart, and we played together.  We just came up a bit short… very similar to the way Butler did.  Butler has nothing to feel bad about and neither do we.

Here is one final update on a variety of resources to help you this off-season:

For those of you on my email subscription list, you will be receiving an email at the beginning of next week announcing the release of several new off-season training products.  There will be a dozen new downloadable PDF documents for sale, including a comprehensive, detailed 12 Week Off-Season Basketball Strength & Conditioning Program. This program will outline exactly what needs to be done this off-season – exercise by exercise, day by day, and week by week.  It will be available next week at http://Shop.StrongerTeam.com.

In addition to info on these cutting edge training products, I will also be sending a few FREE “coaching nuggets.” These “coaching nuggets” are handouts, notes, and stories I have accumulated from some brilliant basketball minds.  I plan to send out a “coaching nugget” or two every month, so make sure you join our email subscription list at www.StrongerTeam.com.  You can sign up directly under the menu bar on the left side of the homepage. 

Last week I selected the 6 participants for our new series called “Can He Dunk?” I chose 6 local high school age players who can’t currently dunk. I will document their training program and see if I can get them to dunk by the end of the 10 weeks!  Their workouts begin this week and I will air the videos at the end of May or beginning of June. Make sure you subscribe to www.YouTube.com/StrongerTeamDotCom so you don’t miss any of the action.

I was all ready to launch my 100 Exercises in 100 Days promotion on April 1^st, but hit a slight snag with the production company that did the filming.  I am still waiting on the final clips.  As soon as I receive those I will post one clip a day for one hundred straight days.  This exercise library will be an asset to any player or coach (and it’s FREE)!

Clips will be posted in the Stronger Team media gallery: http://www.strongerteam.com/Global/Gallery/Default.aspx?g=album&aid=5

Last but not least, below is my spring schedule, with the contact info for each event.  I will be conducting clinics and group workouts in Wisconsin, Maryland, Ohio, Utah, Texas, New York, Michigan, Virginia, Missouri, and Iowa. I hope to see you there!

If you need anything else, or if I can be of service in any way, don’t hesitate to email me at Alan@StrongerTeam.com. I will respond as quickly as possible.

Train hard. Train smart. Deserve success.

Alan Stein

www.StrongerTeam.com

Alan Stein 2010 Spring Event Schedule:

Clinic Features:

• Movement Preparation

• Dynamic Flexibility

• Reaction, Quickness, Agility & Footwork

• Core Strengthening Exercises

• Basketball Specific Conditioning

• Motivational Life Lessons

Nike Championship Basketball Clinic in Dells, WI (April 24)

http://www.basketballcoach.com/cgi-bin/basketball/clinics/2010/wisconsindells-wi-basketball-clinic.html

Cutting Edge Reaction, Quickness, and Agility Clinic in Madison, WI (April 24)

Email Mr. Seneca Blue at blue24553@aol.com  

Alexander Basketball Academy Clinic in Frederick, MD (May 1)

Email Mr. John Alexander at John@ABasketballAcademy.com  

Cutting Edge Reaction, Quickness, and Agility Clinic in Cleveland, OH (May 2)

Email Mr. Sean O’Toole at SOToole@Ignatius.edu  

The Big Game Fundamentals Conference (with Stronger Woman Basketball) in Lehi, UT (May 6-7)

Email Ms. Steph Wood at StrongerWomanBasketball@gmail.com  

Cutting Edge Reaction, Quickness, and Agility Clinic in Dallas, TX (May 8)

Email Mr. David Kilpatrick at David_Kilpatrick@sbcglobal.net  

Nike Championship Basketball Clinic in Verona, NY (May 15)

http://www.basketballcoach.com/cgi-bin/basketball/clinics/2010/verona-ny-basketball-clinic.html

Smarter Team Training Clinic in Wixom, MI (May 22)

Email Mr. Rob Taylor at RPTaylor@loyola.edu  

Cutting Edge Reaction, Quickness, and Agility Clinic in Richmond, VA (May 23)

Email Mr. Kevin Brooks at KBrooks@modis.com  

Pure Sweat Basketball Clinic in St. Louis, MO (May 29-30)

Email Mr. Jason Frye at JasonF@smtcstl.com  

Kingdom Hoops Basketball Clinic in Ankeny, IA (June 9)

Email Mr. Julian Seay at JulianSeay@gmail.com  

1 on 1 Basketball Camp in Germantown, MD (August 2-6)

Email Mr. Brett Isaacson at Brett@1on1Basketball.com  

Here is an update on last week’s blog, which if you have been following for the past month, can probably agree it would make for an excellent PBS after school special… “The Roller Coaster Life of a High School Strength Coach: The Alan Stein Story.”

Our leading scorer, Terrence Ross, who withdrew from Montrose upon our arrival back from Florida, has re-enrolled in his old high school (Jefferson HS in Portland, OR).  He is petitioning the state for an exemption to allow him to finish the season with them. If that goes through, he will be eligible to suit up early next week and help them pursue a state championship.  Is it just me, or is there something monumentally wrong with this?

Due to the inclement weather, we did not make the trip to New Jersey for the Nike Primetime Shoot-out.  It was very disappointing to not have the opportunity to play against legendary coach Bob Hurley and his high octane St. Anthony’s HS team.  I had been looking forward to that game since our schedule was released.  I have so much respect for Coach Hurley; it would have been an honor to play him.

So now my anticipation in seeing how our guys will respond to our back-to-back losses will have to wait until tomorrow when we play Ballou HS in College Park in the Comcast Center at the University of Maryland. 

We have not played a game since January 30^th. This past Monday marked only our third practice in the month of February!  In hindsight, I firmly believe the extended time off from the snow has been both a gift and a curse.  On one hand, it has given our guys some much needed time away… to reflect on (and hopefully mature from) our recent adversities. On the other hand, the only way you can get the taste of losing out of your mouth is to win… which means our back-to-back losses in Orlando have been lingering for nearly three weeks. We are ready to play!

All of that is behind us now.  No sense in living in the past.  It is time for a fresh a start.

Pause. Deep breath. Smile.

This blog is the first of a two part series on a subject that I hold near and dear to my heart:

 “Traits and Habits of Successful Basketball Coaches”

I am a coach to the core.  I just happen to coach the X’s and O’s of strength & conditioning instead of the X’s and O’s of basketball.  I am passionate about coaching and have dedicated the last 10 years of my life to becoming the absolute best coach I can be.  I have read hundreds of books, watched dozens of DVDs, and attended countless coaching clinics.  I have subscribed to just about every basketball coaching resource available.  I have filled binder after binder with hand scribbled notes. My commitment to my own professional development is at times, overwhelming.  But I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love it! Coaching is what makes me tick.

I have been extremely fortunate in my career to have had access to some of the best basketball coaches in history.  I have spent 7 years under the direct tutelage of Coach Stu Vetter. I have had lengthy conversations with Coach K, Jay Wright, Rick Barnes, Tubby Smith, and Gary Williams. I have had dinner with Hubie Brown, Bob Hurley, and Rick Majerus. I have spoken at clinics with Don Meyer, Chuck Daly, Tom Izzo, Jim Boeheim, and Billy Donovan. I have attended camps run by Dean Smith and Morgan Wootten. I have assisted camps with Tates Locke and Kevin Eastman. I have worked alongside numerous coaches at the McDonalds All-American games, Jordan All-American Classic games, and the Nike Skills Academies.  And I did my absolute best to soak up as much knowledge as possible from each of these iconic figures. And please know, I don’t mention these names to brag, but more to give thanks for the impact they have had on my development.  And while I have mentioned several high profile names, I can’t even begin to compile a list of every coach who has helped me, taught me, inspired me… and left their mark on me. And don’t get it twisted; it’s not about the names. Some of the finest coaches I have ever been around are not necessarily famous… but are remarkable coaches, teachers, and motivators. I have built some incredible friendships along the way, and as I mentioned in last week’s blog, I am eternally grateful to be a part of the coaching fraternity.

With that said, I wanted to do a blog that highlighted some of the things I have learned in the past 10 years as well as share a handful of resources I have collected along the way.  I will elaborate at the end of this post, but all you have to do is email me at Alan@StrongerTeam.com and I will happily send you several powerful “coaching nuggets.”

This blog series will be structured a little different than my previous posts (change is good, right?).  This past December I did a phone interview with my friend Andy Louder from Hoop Skills Academy (www.HoopSkills.com).   The topic was “Traits and Habits of Successful Basketball Coaches.”  What follows is an edited transcript from that interview.  I will post the remainder of the interview next week in the second segment.

Andy Louder: The first question I have deals with a broad topic of coaching in general. When I look at exceptional, top notch, hall-of-fame caliber coaches, I generally see three things they possess. They’ve got exceptional leadership skills, they’re great motivators, and they’ve got immense basketball knowledge. Now for a beginning coach, obviously it’s very hard to acquire all three of these things at once. Which of these areas do you recommend newer, inexperienced coaches focus on the most?

Alan Stein: While coaches wear many hats, and their job is all encompassing, I completely agree with you as far as narrowing it down to those three areas. It is difficult to pick which one should ultimately take precedence, but I’d have to lean towards leadership. I think great coaching always begins with leadership. As a coach at any level, you’re basically the CEO of a small company (your team) and it all starts with you and the environment and culture you create. It starts with the habits you instill and the standards you establish with everyone in your program. All three of the areas you mentioned require distinctly different skill sets.  I think especially for newer coaches, the Xs and Os will come over time and through experience.  Growth in coaching is learning through trial and error and seeing which things work and which things don’t. The basketball portion can be learned. You can attend clinics and get DVDs to pick up the basketball drills, concepts, and sets. So I suggest focusing on the leadership aspect and developing a strong culture with your program. You also need to work hard to develop a quality relationship with your players and staff.  You must build mutual trust and respect. You need to work hard to be the type of leader your players want to follow. Remember, as a coach, it all starts with you. Coach Don Meyer once said, “An army of asses led by a lion will always defeat an army of lions led by an ass.”

Andy Louder: Very good. I think the first thing most new coaches gravitate towards is the Xs and Os. They think they’ve got to be a wizard on the court and know all the right plays. I agree with you Alan, I think it’s more about taking control of your team, being a leader, and getting everybody to focus on the same goal. OK, next question. Basketball practices are obviously a very important component to success. How would you recommend maximizing practice time?

Alan Stein: From a coaching standpoint, whether you’re a new coach or you’ve been a coach for 30 years, it’s very important you develop your basketball coaching philosophy and you need to stick to your convictions. You need to be authentic to yourself and your personality.  Learn from other coaches, but don’t ever try to be another coach. You need to have a priority list of what’s important to you and your program. You need to have a philosophy from a leadership standpoint point as well as an Xs and Os standpoint.  What do you believe in? What are your values? You have to be consistent in what you preach. Every program is going to be a little bit different in what they prioritize. If you’re going to be a running team, constantly looking to press and fast break, then that needs to be a high priority during practice (as does your teams’ conditioning level).  You get what you emphasize!  I also recommend being as time efficient as possible. If you can efficiently get in everything you need in an hour and a half… then don’t drag the practice out to two hours.  Focus more on the intensity of effort and the quality of effort as opposed to the quantity effort. This is really important towards the end of the season to alleviate both physical and mental burn-out. At Montrose we are very big in standardization and consistency. All of our practices follow a similar template and a pre-planned practice schedule. We work on different things every day, but the template is always the same. There is always a player led structured warm-up followed by “pre-practice,” which is 10 minutes of individual, position specific skill work where we divide the bigs and the guards. Then we have a 3-minute team meeting at the jump circle where we share a quote of the day, we have an offensive emphasis of the day (ex. “penetrate the gaps against a zone defense”), and a defensive emphasis of the day (ex. “close out on all shooters with a high hand”).  Then we break in unison and usually start practice with one or two of our fast break drills. This gets the players running and communicating and sets the tone for the rest of practice. At Montrose, we hold our kids accountable for everything they do during practice. We chart missed layups, free throws, charges taken, and dives for loose balls. At the end of practice, there are rewards and penalties for those types of plays. Every detail is important in our program. Our goal is to create consistent work habits. Repetition is not a form of punishment!

Andy Louder: So you would say, rather than just bombard your players with all sorts of thoughts, ideas and drills and going from one idea to the next, get your few simple ideas in place for each practice and really stress on doing them well… so they can eventually master those things?

Alan Stein: Absolutely.  And you need to find balance throughout the year.  The off-season is a great time to do more individualized skill work, where players work on specific moves and address specific weaknesses. Once the season starts, more focus should be placed on the overall team concept during practice time (players should be encouraged to do their individual work on their own; outside of practice). But it is all about balance. We certainly do individual shooting drills during practice, because we want our players to get in quality reps; but those drills take up a much smaller percentage of time than they do in the off-season. We spend more time involving team concepts such as practicing different end of game situations (down 3, the other team has the ball, 1:24 left in the game, both teams in the bonus). We coach both offense and defense during these situations. We want every person on our team to develop… not just the starting 5.  This is how you build a program, not just a team. We are also constantly trying to find ways to maximize our personnel and find who plays well together. It’s very rare that the five best players win a championship. It’s usually the five players that play the best together that win!  A true team is made up of players who understand and accept their role and maximize each of their strengths… while minimizing each of their weaknesses.  And figuring out that winning combination is one of the challenges of coaching! And establishing each player’s role… and getting them to accept it… is arguably the most difficult challenge.

Alright, that’s the end of “Traits and Habits of Successful Basketball Coaches Part I.” I will post the second segment next week, so please check back.

As I mentioned earlier in the blog, I have collected a variety of “coaching nuggets” over the years. I just recently sifted through them and pulled out my favorites… including some wisdom, advice, and stories from some brilliant basketball minds. If you would like them, please email me at Alan@StrongerTeam.com.  I am happy to share them with you and encourage you to forward them (with a link to this blog) to all of your colleagues.

And as always, check out (and subscribe to) www.YouTube.com/StrongerTeamDotCom.  I just posted the Maryland Basketball Pre-game Warm-up.  My friend and colleague, Paul Ricci, does an outstanding job as their strength & conditioning coach.

If you would like the two songs I have been using in all of my recent videos, “Game Time” by S.K. and “Hoop Connection” by Chip Da Ripper, send me an email and I will gladly send them to you.  They are great for pre-game warm-ups or to listen to on your iPod during an individual workout.

As always, if you need anything else, or if I can be of service in any way, don’t hesitate to email me at Alan@StrongerTeam.com. I will respond as quickly as possible.

Play hard. Have fun.

Alan Stein

www.StrongerTeam.com

www.Twitter.com/AlanStein