You must be willing to take a step back with your team when things are not going right and not be concerned about a potential negative impact on the players or on your coaching.
For example, I have a team that shows "promise" running a zone defense during practice. Once they get into a scrimmage or game, they fall apart. I have players wandering from their zone to the opposite side of the court or standing next to their own teammate. I will admit sometimes they even mix zone with man to man and that is a unique defense and can actually confuse other teams as well as themselves.
After watching the team in their last game, I feel it is time to take a step back. I feel my role of a coach is to pick the best strategy that the players can actually execute. I want them to see themselves as successful regardless of the outcome of the game. I feel that I can accomplish all of this by being willing to take a step back in games (allow them to stay focused on known fundamentals/strategies) and keep moving forward in practices so that they can gain the confidence of the new plays/defenses...
A counter to this is to not over react and stay focused on the game plan. Mix in some video review sessions so that the players can see what they are doing right and where they need to improve. I am in no way implying that we should abandon new strategies. I am suggesting that as a coach, you must do what is best for the team.
Though most may understand what is being taught, it is in the failure of the execution of that knowledge that is impacting the scores of the game and in turn potentially negatively impacting a players confidence.
Monday, June 4, 2012
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Team chemistry
I was thinking about what I have focused on in the past that did not help me in terms of a successful season. I started making a list and it was growing quickly ... instead I decided what is the one constant, regardless of ability, that helps a team win. "Team Chemisty" immediately came to mind.
The one thing that I always strive for is good team chemistry. I feel that if the team plays well together, as a team they can make up for the individual inconsistencies that will always plague players. I know you are saying to yourself, duh, this is obvious and it is. I am not a ground breaking coach. It is important to point out these things for the why it is important, not just the statement of its importance.
I have seen plenty of coaches look for the tallest players or the quickest players only to not win ... and I am not saying these players are not desirable. I am of the opinion that if you have 1 star, the others will at times rise in ability, unfortunately not all the time. Players will tend to fall back into the relying upon the star to get them out of a jam and soon feed the ball through only that player. There is no real coaching in "give it to the big guy" or telling the players to idly stand by while they let that player 'just drive and shoot" ...
It seems to me that if you are going to go through the effort of coaching a team, why not have the players learn something about themselves as well each other, therefore it is paramount to build good team chemistry. The players learn to depend on each other as well as gain confidence of being the one relied upon. the role of the coach is not only strategy and victories over losses, it is our responsibility to teach the players more than that. It is our responsibility to give them lessons that can be applied outside of the lines. Team chemistry helps with that. Bad chemistry can be very destructive to an individual player or groups of players and turn them off to the game.
The one thing that I always strive for is good team chemistry. I feel that if the team plays well together, as a team they can make up for the individual inconsistencies that will always plague players. I know you are saying to yourself, duh, this is obvious and it is. I am not a ground breaking coach. It is important to point out these things for the why it is important, not just the statement of its importance.
I have seen plenty of coaches look for the tallest players or the quickest players only to not win ... and I am not saying these players are not desirable. I am of the opinion that if you have 1 star, the others will at times rise in ability, unfortunately not all the time. Players will tend to fall back into the relying upon the star to get them out of a jam and soon feed the ball through only that player. There is no real coaching in "give it to the big guy" or telling the players to idly stand by while they let that player 'just drive and shoot" ...
It seems to me that if you are going to go through the effort of coaching a team, why not have the players learn something about themselves as well each other, therefore it is paramount to build good team chemistry. The players learn to depend on each other as well as gain confidence of being the one relied upon. the role of the coach is not only strategy and victories over losses, it is our responsibility to teach the players more than that. It is our responsibility to give them lessons that can be applied outside of the lines. Team chemistry helps with that. Bad chemistry can be very destructive to an individual player or groups of players and turn them off to the game.
On the bench
So, off the heels of coaching a team to its first title (4 years into it) ... I thought maybe I could start blogging about coaching and what I think about in terms of strategy, plays and such ... my hopes are someone can gain some insight that might help them as well as help me review my seasons with 20/20 glasses.
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