Elite level coaches are superior motivators.  While there is wide range of motivational techniques and styles (look how different Doc Rivers is from Gregg Popovich or Brad Stevens is from John Calipari), the most successful coaches at every level are masters at finding ways to get each player, thus their team by default, to play to their potential on a consistent basis.

Regardless of your style, here are 9 keys to motivating players:

1. Know the game. Players can spot incompetence from a mile away. You don’t have to have Bobby Knight or Hubie Brown’s experience or acumen, but you certainly need to constantly hone your basketball I.Q.  If you are a young or inexperienced coach, you must become a student of the game and work on your craft every day.  Only coach what you know and work hard to find out what you don’t know.
   
   
2. Discipline them. Players actually crave discipline because it shows you care.  They also know, way down in their subconscious, that discipline is a key ingredient to success.  They will lose respect for you if you don’t.  No one is motivated by a person they don’t respect.
   
   
3. Show them why. Players need what’s called ‘perceived relevance.’ They need to know that what they are doing will help them become the best player they can be.  They need to know that the drill they are doing today in practice will better prepare them to perform this Friday night when the lights come on and the cheerleaders start dancing.
   
   
4. Praise them.  Players need to be caught doing something right! That which gets praised, gets repeated.  Be as specific as you can in your praise. For example, “Joey, that was an excellent screen you set to get Johnny open.  You took the perfect angle, kept a wide base, and held your ground. You were the reason we scored on that play.” Trust me, Joey will take pride in setting screens for the rest of the season after that type of praise.
   
   
5. Be honest. Players need to hear the truth.  They might not want to hear what you have to say, but they will ultimately respect your for it.  If a player isn’t going to see much playing time this season, let them know what their role will be.  If your team is a 20+ point underdog in your game, let them team they need to play hard, play smart, and play together regardless of who they play, that they aren’t measuring themselves against their opponent, but rather measuring themselves against what they are capable of.  But make sure they know that on any given night… they can beat anyone.
   
   
6. Bring ENERGY.  Players respect coaches that work just as hard as they do. Make your enthusiasm and passion contagious. You don’t get what you know. You get what you bring. If you happen to be a younger, inexperienced coach (mentioned above in #1), your daily energy & enthusiasm can make up for your lack of acumen for the time being.
   
   
7. Use innovative drills.  Gene Hackman’s famous line in Hoosiers (‘My practices aren’t designed for your enjoyment.’) doesn’t fly with today’s player.  Players have short attention spans.  Boredom causes demotivation. It’s not your job to reinvent the wheel, but it is your job to constantly search for ways to get that wheel to run smoother and faster!
   
   
8. Be authentic. Players can spot a phony just as quickly as they can spot incompetence.  Be true to yourself; don’t try to be someone else.  If Brad Stevens tried to coach like Bobby Knight, it wouldn’t work. Coach to your strengths and create your own style, philosophy, and culture.
   
   
9. Love them.  Players don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. If you truly care about your players, on and off the court, they will run through a brick wall for you. Literally.

Your warm-up lays the foundation for every workout, practice and game.  If you want to keep your players motivated, you have to find ways to keep them engaged when laying that foundation.

Try this warm-up before your next practice:

If you can think of additional ways you’ve used to keep your players motivated, please post them on Twitter. Make sure you tag me (@AlanStein) so I can learn from you!

Alan Stein

http://www.About.me/AlanStein

I am thankful to have had the opportunity to work with, learn from and talk shop with several Hall of Fame caliber basketball coaches over my 14-year career.  From dinners with Bobby Knight & Hubie Brown to watching Coach K & John Calipari run practice to private meetings with Kevin Eastman & George Raveling to working for Mike Jones at DeMatha – I’ve been able to closely observe the qualities of a master coach.

I recently had the pleasure of spending time in Mexico with two of my mentors, and two master coaches in their own right, Don Showalter and Tates Locke.  Coach Locke had a list in his notepad that inspired this blog.

Here are 14 qualities of a master coach:

1. A master coach has a purposeful mission.
   
   
2. A master coach is a big thinker.
   
   
3. A master coach has high character.
   
   
4. A master coach embraces change.
   
   
5. A master coach has empathy.
   
   
6. A master coach takes calculated risks.
   
   
7. A master coach has a high basketball I.Q.
   
   
8. A master coach is decisive.
   
   
9. A master coach uses authority appropriately.
   
   
10. A master coach is an effective communicator.
    
    
11. A master coach is a servant leader.
    
    
12. A master coach is courageous.
    
    
13. A master coach is fully committed to the betterment of their players (on and off the court).
    
    
14. A master coach works on their craft every single day.

How many of these do you do?

To piggyback on #13, master coaches constantly search for resources to help their players.

This video is an excellent resource for players looking to gain body weight during the season:

Train hard. Train smart. Get better.

Alan Stein

www.Twitter.com/AlanStein

www.Facebook.com/StrongerTeam

PS: Like the rest of the basketball world, I was saddened by the loss of Coach Rick Majerus. My thoughts go out to the Majerus family and St. Louis basketball program.  I had the honor of having dinner with Coach Majerus several years ago. He was a basketball savant and engaging storyteller. He was absolutely a master coach. R.I.P.

In 2009, I accomplished the ambitious goal of reading 50 books in one calendar year (http://blog.strongerteam.com/post/2009/12/09/Mission-Accomplished.aspx).

While I didn’t set a specific goal for 2010, I am proud to announce I still managed to read 40 books.  Not bad for someone who had twin sons born in March!

I tried to read a wide variety of books and did my best to choose books I believed would help me become a better coach, a better businessman, or most importantly – a better person. 

I rated each book on a scale from 1 to 10 as well as marked which domain I found the book most beneficial – coaching, business, or personal. Anything marked for “coaching” would be beneficial for players as well.

So, without further delay…

1. Everyone Hates A Ball Hog But They All Love a Scorer by Koran Godwin
   
   6 – Coaching – quick and easy read with insight from a former college player
   
   
2. Last Words by Tony Hendra
   
   8 – Personal – the final chapter in the life of my all-time favorite comic, George Carlin
   
   
3. The Social Media Marketing Book by Dan Zarella
   
   8 – Business – helpful resource for anyone utilizing social media
   
   
4. YouTube for Business by Michael Miller
   
   5 – Business – average resource for anyone who uses YouTube for business
   
   
5. Young, Black, Rich and Famous by Todd Boyd
   
   8 – Coaching – controversial look at today’s NBA players
   
   
6. Personal Foul by Tim Donaghy
   
   10 – Coaching/Personal – Fascinating account of the infamous referee gambling scandal
   
   
7. Viral Loop by Adam Penenberg
   
   7 – Business – average resource for anyone using social media
   
   
8. Strengths Finders 2.0 by Tom Rath
   
   10 – Business/Personal/Coaching – Brilliant book on personal development (*MUST READ)
   
   
9. Assess and Correct by Eric Cressey
   
   8 – Business/Coaching – a very in-depth look at correcting human movement & posture
   
   
10. Effortless Success (A) by Michael Neill
    
    8 – Business/Personal – great concepts on self development
    
    
11. You Can Have What You Want by Michael Neill
    
    8 – Business/Personal – carbon copy of ‘Effortless Success’
    
    
12. Playing for Knight by Steve Alford
    
    9 – Coaching – incredible insight told through the eyes of an Indiana legend
    
    
13. My Story by Bob Knight
    
    10 – Coaching – Straight from Bob Knight’s mouth. Enough said. (*MUST READ)
    
    
14. Season on the Brink by John Feinstein
    
    9 – Coaching – A behind the scenes look at a tumultuous Indiana season
    
    
15. Purple Cow (A) by Seth Godin
    
    9 – Business – A fundamental concept for anyone who owns their own business
    
    
16. The Nordstrom Way by Robert Spector
    
    9 – Business – Specifically outlines why customer service is so vital to business’ success
    
    
17. Hard 2 Guard Newsletter Volume 1 by Brian McCormick
18. Hard 2 Guard Newsletter Volume 2 by Brian McCormick
19. Hard 2 Guard Newsletter Volume 3 by Brian McCormick
    
    10 – Coaching – Tremendous insight from someone who knows basketball (*MUST READ)
    
    
20. Drive (A) by Daniel Pink
    
    7 – Coaching/Personal – Makes some great points; a little drawn out and dry
    
    
21. Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh
    
    10 – Business – Explains what makes Zappos.com so successful (*MUST READ)
    
    
22. Basketball Training by STACK
    
    9 – Coaching – Fantastic training resource for basketball players and coaches
    
    
23. Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath
    
    9 – Business – Another fundamental concept for anyone who owns their own business
    
    
24. Good to Great by Jim Collins
    
    6 – Business – Decent concept; a bit out-dated and not very entertaining
    
    
25. $#^! My Dad Says (A) by Justin Halpern
    
    5 – Personal – The Tweets are funny; this book was not
    
    
26. Go-Givers Sell More (A) by Bob Burg and John David Mann
    
    10 – Business – Should be the foundation of EVERY business (*MUST READ)
    
    
27. The Go-Giver by Bob Burg and John David Mann
    
    10 – Business/Personal – A must read for every human on the planet (*MUST READ)
    
    
28. The Strangest Secret (A) by Earl Nightengale
    
    5 – Personal – Here is a secret… don’t bother listening to this 
    
    
29. 50 Powerful Ideas to Help You Keep Your Customers by Paul Timm
    
    7 – Business – Good concepts; just out-dated
    
    
30. Getting Your Way by Jeffrey Gitomer
    
    10 – Business/Personal – Excellent book on being influential (*MUST READ)
    
    
31. Free Prize Inside (A) by Seth Godin
    
    8 – Business – Similar to ‘Purple Cow’ – valuable resource for anyone running a business
    
    
32. What the Dog Saw (A) by Malcolm Gladwell
    
    9 – Personal – Captivating stories; very entertaining
    
    
33. UnMarketing by Scott Stratten
    
    10 – Business – a must read for anyone who owns their own business (*MUST READ)
    
    
34. Guerrilla Social Media Marketing by Shane Gibson
    
    10 – Business – a must read for anyone who uses social media for business (*MUST READ)
    
    
35. Play Their Hearts Out by George Dohrmann
    
    10 – Coaching – an eye opening view of the pitfalls of elite youth basketball (*MUST READ)
    
    
36. Me 2.0 by Dan Schawbel
    
    10 – Personal – you are your own brand; crucial concept for all young people (*MUST READ)
    
    
37. How Lucky You Can Be by Buster Olney
    
    10 – Coaching/Personal – an inspiring and emotional story of a legend (*MUST READ)
    
    
38. How To Do It Standing Up: The Friars Club Guide to Being a Comic by Barry Dougherty
    
    5 – Personal – a few funny excerpts; longer than War & Peace
    
    
39. How Full Is Your Bucket? by Tom Rath
    
    10 – Personal – should be mandatory reading for every high school student (*MUST READ)
    
    
40. The Score Takes Care of Itself by Bill Walsh
    
    9 – Coaching – useable advice from a coaching icon

I would love your feedback and thoughts on my list as well as hear about any books you recommend I read in 2011.

I also challenge each of you to read 50 books in 2011. Don’t think you can find the time? You are right. You will never find the time to read 50 books… you have to make the time to do it!  If something is important, you have to make it a priority.

Are you up for the challenge?

Also, if you are looking for some last minute holiday gifts for the coach or player in your life, in addition to picking up a few of the books mentioned above, check out some of the basketball specific training equipment featured in my newest video:

http://TinyUrl.com/BasketballMetabolicWorkout3

Email me directly at Alan@StrongerTeam.com if you want info on the equipment featured.

Alan Stein

www.StrongerTeam.com

www.Twitter.com/AlanStein

www.YouTube.com/StrongerTeamDotCom  

PS: In addition to the books on my list, I have subscriptions and read the following periodicals every month: Fast Company (Business), Basketball Times (Coaching), Men’s Health (Personal), SLAM (Coaching/Personal), Training & Conditioning (Coaching), Dime (Coaching/Personal), Money (Business), and CopyBlogger’s Daily Blog (Business).

PSS: Six of the books on my list are Audiobooks (they are marked with an “A”). I enjoy listening to Audiobooks on my iPod during long car drives and plane rides. 

This blog will be kind of an amalgam of numerous thoughts as well as a quick update on what’s to come in the next several weeks.  Similar to any practice or game plan, things constantly change and you have to be flexible to be successful and I want to keep you as up to date as possible.
 
Before I move on I want to highly recommend the book “Chicken Soup for the Soul: Inside Basketball” by Pat Williams.  It is an easy, enjoyable read for any basketball player, coach or fan.  The stories are both inspirational and touching.  And if I haven’t mentioned, one of my goals for 2009 is to read 52 books; a book a week average.  This includes audiobooks from iTunes which have become a staple when I travel.  So far I am on pace and have read (or listened to) 20 books!
 
Hopefully everyone is enjoying March Madness so far.  This is always my favorite time of year as a fan.  At the time of this writing, two of the four Final Four teams have punched their ticket; Villanova and Connecticut.  I have been fortunate enough to get to know the Villanova program really well as Coach Wright and his phenomenal staff has been frequently seen recruiting at Montrose for the last several years.  Two of our seniors, Mouph Yarou and Isaiah Armwood have committed to play for the Wildcats next year. And while I have had the opportunity to work with three of their players in high school (Dante Cunningham, Scottie Reynolds, and Dwayne Anderson), I wanted to share a quick thought on why their trip the Final Four is particularly special to me.  I have known and worked with Dwayne “Duece Duece” Anderson (his nickname comes from the fact he wears #22) since he was a senior at St. John’s High School in Washington, DC.  Duece was an All Met player and one of the best in the very competitive WCAC conference.  Despite a decorated high school resume, his first few years at Villanova were very tough for him as he saw extremely limited playing time.  His lack of defense and a consistent jump shot prevented him from earning more minutes.  This went on for three years. Yet Duece stuck with it.  He worked brutally hard every off season and exercised great communication with the Nova coaching staff on not only his desire to earn playing time, but exactly what he needed to do to earn it.  He basically worked as hard as he could to fix the areas he (and the Nova staff) found weak in his yearly evaluation.  In other words, he didn’t make excuses or point the finger and he didn’t feel entitled to more playing time… he rolled up his sleeves each and every off season and put in serious work. He was focused and determined. This should give you a glimpse as to what a solid person he is.  And here, four years later as a senior, Dwayne “Duece Duece” Anderson is a starter, a captain, and a major contributor (had 17 points and 4 rebounds in the Elite 8 against Pitt) on a team going to the Final Four!  And the best part is he truly deserves his success. I could not be more proud of him.
 
I also want to make one quick note about a quote from the legendary Coach K of Duke (to whom I have always been a fan).  After their loss to Villanova in the Sweet Sixteen, when talking about his players and how he felt about the loss, he said “I am disappointed for them, not disappointed in them.”  A classy line from a classy coach.
 
I am leaving this morning for Miami to work the prestigious McDonalds All American game.  This is my 4th year working the event and it is always both an honor and a pleasure to be a part.  I have worked with most of the players before at either the Nike Skills Academies and several of them accompanied me on a trip to Brazil with a Nike USA U-19 team.  As for my role, I am in charge of warming up and stretching out both the male and female players before each practice and the game on Wednesday night (which is live on ESPN at 8pm EST).  I also serve as a resource to the players and coaches so they understand exactly what they will need to do to compete at as high of a level as possible.  I will post a blog on Friday April 3rd with my behind the scenes insight and thoughts to this event.
 
Upon my return, Montrose will be playing in the first ever RISE / ESPN National Invitational Tournament.  This amazing event marks the nation’s top high school post season and a dramatic first step in a playoff to determine a true national champion.  This inaugural event boasts four teams in the top 10 in the country; including the nations’ two top teams – Oak Hill Academy and Findlay Prep (ranked #1 and #2 respectively).  Montrose drew the 3rd seed and will have to beat both Findlay and Oak Hill to win the championship!  Considering our only two losses this season were to Oak Hill, the chance to play them a third time… in the NHSI Championship…. Live on ESPN… would be the opportunity of a life time! For more information on the event, teams, brackets, dates/times, and ticket info please visit www.nhsihoops.com. Win or lose, I will post a blog on Monday April 6th with my behind the scenes commentary on this historic tournament.
 
If you would like to contact me about this blog, my training and/or camps and clinics, please email me at Alan@StrongerTeam.com.  I will respond as quickly as possible!
 
Train hard.  Train smart.
 
Alan Stein
www.StrongerTeam.com

Our game with Oak Hill last night was not the instant classic I had anticipated and hoped for.  Granted, it was still two of the top programs in the nation going head to head, with high level players making an array of nice plays and monstrous dunks, as a whole, I am extremely disappointed my Montrose Mustangs did not rise to the occasion and did not make the most of the opportunity.  Oak Hill won by six.

First and foremost, I want to thank the tremendous support we received from the community; the game was standing room only and we had a ton of folks rooting us on.  There were tons of college coaches and basketball media present and the Georgetown Prep facility was stunning; a perfect place to hold a game of that caliber. As always, ESPN did a phenomenal job.

I also want to congratulate Coach Steve Smith and Keith “Tiny” Gallon, who played an extraordinary game.  I got to spend a week in Brazil this past summer with Tiny, he was one of the players chosen to represent the Nike USA Select Team I worked with.  Tiny is a fantastic person and obviously a very gifted basketball player with a bright future.

As I mentioned in the letter I wrote to our guys on Wednesday, last night was all about opportunity.  It was the opportunity to play a top ranked opponent.  The opportunity to avenge our double OT loss in December.  The Opportunity to play on national TV.  The opportunity to prove we are one of the top teams in the nation.  The opportunity, for certain individuals, to prove they can play at the highest of levels.  And at the end of the day, we didn’t take advantage and we let each these golden opportunities slip away. Bottom line, Oak Hill got it done and we didn’t.  No excuses. 

And just to be clear, I can handle losing if we play up to our potential.  But we didn’t. We didn’t deserve to win, we didn’t earn it. When we lost to them in December it was a different story.  We played very well that game and we did deserve to win.  I really thought we were the better team in December.  I didn’t feel that way last night.

We didn’t necessarily play bad, but didn’t play as well as we were capable of playing.  Even more disappointing, we played most of the game with a severe lack of passion and emotion. I thought we played hard and gave good effort, but we were played as if we didn’t care, as if nothing was at stake. We looked as if we were just going through the motions. And to me, that is the biggest disappointment. I hate indifference.  I am a person who thrives on passion and on caring, in every facet of my life. Even after the game, our guys showed no emotion or passion.  No anger.  No tears. Nothing.  Just a quiet sea of dumbfounded faces.  

We have a tremendous group of young men in our program who are not only great basketball players, but great people as well.  And I care about them unconditionally.  But I was very disappointed in them last night. I didn’t sleep very well, so I got up super early this morning and watched a tape of the game, twice. I took a few pages of notes and hit the rewind button a hundred times.  And while the taped version didn’t make it seem as bad as I thought it was live; my initial reactions were actually pretty accurate:  As a team we played hard, but not particularly well, and we played with very little passion and we didn’t value the ball.  We made countless mistakes you just can’t make in big games.  Here is a quick recap:

1^st Half

We started the game by settling for short jump shots instead of taking the ball hard to the cup (started the game 5-19 from the field). We made a handful of lazy, telegraphed passes that they quickly converted to lay-ups or dunks.  We didn’t step in, on three occasions, and take a charge.  We let them leak out and make full court passes off of defensive rebounds for easy lay-ups.  Twice we fouled them and let them score an old fashioned 3 point play. Oak Hill finished around the basket, we didn’t. While it certainly wasn’t all bad, we did make several nice plays here and there, but overall, we played a very, very poor half by our standards.  Despite all of that, we were only down 7 at the half!  That is what coach stressed at half time.  He said, “Look guys, you can’t play any worse than you just played… and you are only down 7 points to the #2 in the nation! You are three possessions away.  Let’s play like we are capable of playing and do this!” 

2^nd Half

We started the 2^nd half strong, scored two straight hoops including a thunderous dunk, but we could never quite get over the hump. Every time we closed the gap, they scored.  We made several runs, but never got the defensive stops when we needed them.  Part of that was good offense, but a good part of that was poor defense. And defense is all heart and all toughness, two things we lacked in spurts last night.  While we played a better second half, we still made a handful of errant passes and costly turnovers, and again, you can’t do that in big games and expect to win. Yet with 1:53 left we were only down 5 points.  We still had a chance if we could have just mustered up some emotion and got a few stops.  But we didn’t.  And then we got hit with two technical fouls in the last two minutes of the game, which certainly didn’t help. And that is very atypical of the Montrose program.  We take pride in carrying ourselves with the utmost professionalism and getting technical fouls are unacceptable.  The first was a double tech, when one of our players and one of the Oak Hill players got in a shoving match. Again, if we could have kept our cool and they got the tech, that could have potentially been 5 points for us (2 FT’s and a 3 pointer) and the game would have been tied! The 2^nd tech, a minute later, was a very poor call.  I watched the replay several times and it was absolutely a bad call.  There was some incidental contact after a held ball and the Oak Hill player just flopped.  I assume the refs, who overall called an outstanding game and did an excellent job, only caught the flop out of the corner of their eye and assumed it was something more.  Assumed our player bumped him or something. They hit one free throw and then scored on the ensuing possession.  That 3 points sealed the deal, we were dead in the water. But that is neither here nor there, as that call didn’t reallyaffect the outcome of the game; they had all of the momentum at that point anyway and we weren’t playing well enough to make the comeback.

When you play at the highest of levels, there are no moral victories.  You have to take advantage of big time opportunities. You have to play hard.  You have to play with emotion.  You have to execute.  You have to play well. If you don’t, you lose.  End of story.  We learned that last night.

I sent the team a text message this morning that said; “Our loss last night should hurt. You should be disappointed. You should be upset.  That’s OK. That means it means something to you. You have to learn from what happened, but it behind you, and move forward.  How you respond to adversity and disappointment will show your true character.  Try to enjoy your weekend. Let’s get back to work next week.”

It will be very interesting to see how our kids respond, especially knowing this is going to be a very tough month.  Last night was our last regular season game, and assuming we get an invite to the ESPN / Nike High School National Invitational on April 3-5^th, we won’t play another game until then.  That means three weeks of practice.  It’s like November, the most grueling month of the year, all over again. 

However, there is a very bright light at the end of the tunnel… as that ESPN tournament is another tremendous opportunity for our program. It will be another opportunity to play against the best in the nation (4 of the top 10 teams in the nation will be playing, including Oak Hill). It will be another opportunity to play on national TV.  And it could potentially give us an opportunity to play Oak Hill for a third time this season!

Will we take advantage and rise to the occasion this time?

If you would like to contact me about this blog, my training and/or camps and clinics, please email me at Alan@StrongerTeam.com.  I will respond as quickly as possible!

Train hard.  Train smart.

Alan Stein

www.StrongerTeam.com