Don't fool yourself into thinking that your technical knowledge of the game is the only measuring stick of your coaching ability. There's more to it than that. Your players need to know that your first priority is their best interests. How you demonstrate that you care will vary according to your personality and situation, but the bottom line is...intelligence isn't everything. Coaching basketball is not a chess match. Those are people you're leading. They won't 'run through walls' for you until they know that you care.
Stupid is as stupid does.
Judge your players based on what they show you...not on what other people say or on any preconceived notions about their ability, decision-making, or character.
When I got tired, I slept. When I got hungry, I ate. When I had to go... you know... I went.
Your job as coach is to "Give them what they need to know", not to show them everything that you know. Be responsive to your team's learning threshold. Adding plays and schemes progressively, as your players and team develop, is good coaching. Putting in 17 different time-and-score schemes with players who still have not learned how to set or use a screen is intellectual self-gratification.
Momma always had a way of explaining things so I could understand them.
If your players aren't able to take what you give them and transfer it onto the floor, it's time to consider how to change your teaching methods so that you are communicating in a way that players can understand.
What you know is not nearly as important as your ability to get players to take what you know and do something productive with it.
I gotta save Bubba!
Two Points:
1. One surefire way to get loyalty is to give it. If your players feel that, "we're all in this together" - "we" in this context MUST include "YOU", the coach - your players will usually be responsive to you, and loyal. This is an important element on teams with lesser talent - the ones that cause the coach to worry about "losing players" because there aren't enough wins in a season to justify the coach's demands. If your players know that you're in it with them, they'll play hard for you even if you're losing. With that in place you can continue to teach and to push players beyond their comfort zones (which you have to be able to do if you're coaching a mediocre team - if you don't, the losing won't ever stop).
2. The "bunker mentality" is an extremely powerful motivator, can help forge a team's identity, and often leads a team to new heights. Example: Can you name the only team to rise to championship levels in the Jordan, Magic, & Bird era besides the Bulls, Lakers, and Celtics? The Bad Boys.
Jenny taught me how to climb. And I taught her how to dangle.
You can learn just as much from your players as they can learn from you. My personal experience is that I never realize this until after the fact. But I always realize it, with every player and every team I coach.
My Momma always said you've got to put the past behind you before you can move on.
Holding a grudge against a payer in your program is a waste of energy and does nothing to improve that player or your program.
Try to 'clear the slate' every day with your players and team. If you had a horrible practice yesterday that ended with you kicking everybody out of the gym, put it behind you. You'll save yourself a lot of needless grief and will usually be surprised to find that tomorrow isn't nearly as bad as today. Your interactions with your team should be based on what they are doing right now. Practice this consistently and, over time, players will come to understand that you are criticizing their actions, rather than who they are as people.
Momma always said, "Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get."
Every team has a different personality, set of strengths, and collective potential. Try to coach to your team's strengths and work to identify weak spots - they will differ from team to team.
Also, hold your team to a standard of playing to its maximum potential every day. Each team sets its own unique standard. Holding one team to a standard set by another group of players can be unrealistic and, in certain situations, unfair.
Disclaimer: All information on this site is provided for informational purposes only! By no means is any
information presented herein intended to substitute for the advice provided to you by any health care or other professional
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