Please enjoy this recent publication from Basketball Coach Weekly titled “Adjusting Your Coaching Approach.”
I hope this article may help others in the coaching profession as they attmept to balance coaching and their personal lives.
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Here is Michael McKnight’s article from the August 29th, 2016 issue of Sports Illustrated regarding clock management in the NFL.
Article link: Second Nature
Even at the highest level, mistakes are made in critical junctures of the game. It is our responsibility as coaches to ensure that our players are comfortable playing in a multitude of scenarios in the critical moments of competition, no matter what your sport is.
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Here is a short video that Kevin Clifford, Head Women’s Basketball Coach at Buffalo State, sent me today:
Two things coaches at any level cannot forget to teach is proper footwork and the basic rules of the game (travelling, double dribbling, etc.).
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Here is my latest publication from the most recent edition of Basketball Coach Weekly – Issue 126.
As always your comments below are greatly appreciated.
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Here is a great piece by NBA and NCAA Champion, Shane Battier, about what it means to be a ‘Glue Guy’.
It just goes to show you that ‘glue guys’ are important in order for teams to be successful. Most coaches would agree that the intangibles and things that don’t show up on the stat sheet are what make the difference come playoff time.
As a coach, do you have a way to chart or identify ‘glue guys’ in free agency or the recruiting process? If not should you if ‘glue guys’ are this important?
Leave your comments below and thank you for the feedback!
Follow Bert DeSalvo on Twitter @CoachDeSalvo
No matter if you are involved with business, education or athletics, you must surround yourself and your organization with hard workers who have a realistic view on their strengths and weaknesses and those who understand that entitlement is root of failure an organizations demise.
I was thinking about this as I watched last night’s episode of “The Profit” which involved an entrepreneur’s son who felt that he was owed a 10% equity stake in the company for no particular reason. It reminded me of a similar situation that occurred in my coaching career.
I once had a player come in to speak with my coaching staff about how they “deserved to play”. Keep in mind, that this was a freshman who had no real recourse for this statement and in the coaches eyes was uncoachable, lacked certain on the court skills and was not invested in their teammates (or the program’s) ultimate success.
What was the thought process behind this statement?
I have an idea although it is most likely a mixture of factors and not just one lone piece. I imagine it is that this individual was spoiled/coddled by their parents (cruises, new car, etc.) and were never told “no” in any real sense. If I were to guess, they probably got “things” when the got an A on a paper or if they merely cleaned their room.
The expectation was that they got something, instead of just doing something their best or the right way because that’s how it should be done 100% of the time. Their reward was a material item, not self pride in knowing they did the job the right way.
I don’t want to make this solely about parenting, because I still believe that each individual has a choice to make regarding if they will have an elitist/entitled attitude or not. However, this type of parenting, surely doesn’t help the child.
Moreover, in athletics especially when players are used to winning, either because they play in small high school leagues with minimal competition or AAU teams that play in low brackets and simply are more talented, constant success creates a climate where hard work and constant improvement is not really that important. The mentality of “if I work hard we will win by 25 and if I don’t we will win by 15” eventually catches up to the student-athletes in athletics, education and life.
As one can imagine, I chuckled (on the inside) when I heard “I deserved to play” thought process. I was quick to point out that “nobody deserves to play and that this program is a meritocracy and I play those players who can help our team be successful. Not one minute more or one minute less.”
Coaches must be weary of having ANY players in their program that “deserve” minutes, to start, be the leading scored, etc. One leads to two, and two leads to three, and it becomes a vicious cycle.
As the head coach, I try to instill that nobody is bigger than the program by doing ALL OF THE LITTLE THINGS to show (not say!) that not even I am above the program. Carrying uniforms, gear, sweeping the gym floor, etc. are all “menial” tasks for some head coaches, but to me it shows my players that if I can do the daily tasks and pay attention to the details, they can too.
It’s about work and success not image and attitude.
Leaders must address this behavior immediately, especially if coaches are taking over a new program and did not get to build relationships with player(s) during the recruiting process. If the player(s) cannot change their mindset coaches will be doomed to DEATH BY ENTITLEMENT or coaches will have to remove them from the program.
This is the only way to lay the foundation for building a true championship culture.
Follow Bert DeSalvo on Twitter @CoachDeSalvo
‘Tis the season…to return all the clothes that don’t fit, the Blu-Rays that you already have or that one thing that you will never, ever use.
To keep with the spirit of the holidays, here are three things that coaches should return for the holidays:
What I like about all of these “Returns” is that YOU can control all of them. They don’t require a budget, just a little bit of creativity and some mental toughness.
What would your three “returns” be?
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Attached is an article from Coach & Athletic Director in Jeff Janssen, from the Janssen Sports Leadership Center.
Janssen’s article focuses on Getting the Most from Your Assistants ( Getting the Most from Your Assistants – Jeff Janssen ) and he ranks his top categories.
The categories are as follows (in order of importance):
Are there any categories that need to be added, subtracted or revised?
The only thing I would mention is that assistant must be able to cross between all of these categories. For instance, having a compatible philosophy (#12) and having people skills/communicator are important when recruiting because assistant must be able to get the head coach’s vision for the program out to families, etc.
Head coaches should remember that their program will only be as strong as your assistants. While assistant must remember to make the head coaches life easier.
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I recently published an article for Basketball Coach Weekly – Issue 107 regarding AAU/High School student-athletes transferring to other programs.
I would like to thank all of those who were kind enough to give their feedback on this topic for this publication.
I appreciate Mark Katarski (Head Women’s Basketball Coach, Seton Hill University), Dave Saur (Assistant Women’s Basketball Coach, UMass-Lowell) and Jeff Osterman (Associate Head Women’s Basketball Coach, University of South Florida) for their expertise and perspective on this subject matter. Their opinions and experiences give the article a tremendous amount of credibility.
I would also like to give a special thanks to Joe Ticotsky, Director of the CT Starters AAU program. I respect Coach Ticotsky’s opinion immensely and it is one that parents and players should also strongly consider.
Lastly, another special thanks to Ulysses Garcia and Heather Glezen, Co-Directors of the CT Attack AAU program who I had some great conversations with about this topic and helped inspire me to write this piece.
Follow Bert DeSalvo on Twitter @CoachDeSalvo
Here is an article I wrote for Basketball Coach Weekly: Distinguish Players In 5 Steps
This piece discusses ways that High School and AAU coaches can help their players attract attention and distinguish themselves during the recruiting process.
Enjoy!
~Coach DeSalvo
#SEIZE
Expressions from the Hardwood 