Take a step back

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.