What is the overall effect of an extraordinary event on a single team? The death of Alexei Cherepanov during a game triggered an eight-game slide for Avangard Omsk in the K. The Superbowl champion New York Giants lost four of their last five games after receiver Plaxico Burress shot himself in the leg. Teams can collapse when a key player is suspended or experiences a breakdown on the court. Yet other teams rally together when they experience a critical injury. What is the difference between a positive and a negative outcome in the face of adversity? A lot of a …
Information, Uncertainty, Game Theory, and Quality
Tryouts are a case of adverse selection because coaches rarely have the opportunity to see a player’s complete skill set. It’s certainly a matter of imperfection information and coaches must develop signals that reliably reflect the ability of perspective team members. Sometimes teams make a draft pick because of “unlimited potential” or a “high ceiling”. This logic becomes absurd if it causes players who have been seen in greater detail (therefore exposing all of their skills and flaws) to be overlooked. In 2005 and 2006, Chris Paul and Brandon Roy were seen as the collegiate players most ready for the …
Another Way to Die
A door left open: Bo Schembechler said “prepare, prepare, prepare.” John Wooden said that “failing to prepare is preparing to fail.” You can’t get upset on the court or in life when you are let down by something you should have foreseen and prepared for. A woman walking by: In every life, short-term pleasure can’t overcome long-term pain. Treat the source, not the symptoms. Correct the player’s attitude so that they buy-in and become willing to correct their technique. A man on your side: Another inch of your life sacrificed for your brother. If it impedes productivity, deal with it …
Basketball Relativism
Seeking to avoid the tendency to move players around like Stratego pieces but still recognizing that the basketball season is like a game of Labyrinth. Balancing the motivation of a group of student-athletes towards meaningful goals while encouraging them when they falter. Generating elite performance from the team on the court and inspiring personal improvement away from it. Coaching becomes much more challenging than diagramming a sideout play down two with two seconds left on the clock. As a moderate Platonist, I try to avoid moral relativism. I think that there are standards of success, of good performance, that shouldn’t …
Player Development, Part I
Today, Ettore Messina held a clinic at the University of Toronto regarding the development of the young post player. I thought that it was a very insightful presentation and included some technical elements which are not usually covered in North American coaching literature. First of all, Messina spoke of developing trust with players. I agree with his point that players will respect you once you prove that you can help them improve. To me, it’s highly logical and creates relationships based on respect, not the one-sided interactions that have become prevalent in schools and teams in North America. As I …
Relationships and Individuals
Coaching is often described as relationship building, bridging people together. When two random squads play the team with superior talent, the players most physically and mentally ready to play, will win. Sometimes, the talent comes pre-packaged, hence the importance of recruiting and motivation in short-term scenarios. When a coach possesses the luxury of time, what attributes become necessary? Does relationship-building remain paramount? When is it necessary to know the game and develop talent? Where do high standards fit in? A sophisticated project requires a sophisticated approach. The Canadian National Soccer Team faces turmoil because certain key players were dismissed for …
Ifs and Buts
If he were alive, Red would be proud: a Boston Celtics squad that sacrificed individual glory for team success and when faced with adversity knew no other recourse that to turn up the defensive intensity won the Association title. And they smoked the Los Angeles Lakers to do so. Certainly the team had talent – a modern triad to match Russell, Cousy, and Havlicek – but they came closer to the Auerbach intangibles than any other recent champion. These Celtics didn’t necessarily run the court but Pierce and Garnett dominated the screen and roll at both ends of the court. …
House Alone
In the fourth season premiere, House – without his usual team – faces a philosophical dilemma. Normally, the doctor believes that people lie but symptoms speak truthfully. Throughout the episode, the patient’s reactions contradict the information on her chart and her health deteriorates. Cuddy becomes so infuriated by House’s actions that she commands him to find a new team and orders other hospital staff to “stop enabling him” with conversation. The solution is simple: an allergy goes undetected because family members have misidentified the victims of a building collapse, resulting in swapped charts. The delay was not necessarily caused by …
Why Did Carleton Lose?
A C.I.S. observer suggested that the premature defeat of the Carleton Ravens at the Final 8 Tournament was partially due to the absence of tight games on the Ravens’ schedule. I disagree, specifically and generally speaking. Although Carleton did not execute well during the last possessions of both regulation and overtime, inexperience did not lead to this poor performance. The team was comprised of largely juniors and seniors who had played close games together throughout the previous seasons. During their run of five consecutive championships, the Ravens had defeated Brandon, U.P.E.I., Guelph, St. F.X., and Ottawa by five points or …
Carpe Diem
Brock University’s C.I.S. Men’s Basketball National Title victory on Sunday – following Acadia’s 82-80 double-overtime defeat of five-time defending champions Carleton in the semi-finals – proved again how anything is possible, in sport and life. Any Canadian team would have won out and claimed the W.P. McGee trophy. In fact, the dark jerseys won seventy percent of games played at the Final 8 Tournament. The odds finally caught up to the Ravens. At once they faced an intransigent opponent, shot poorly, saw calls go against them, and did not recover every lucky bounce. A team can often overcome one or …
I’m Not There
Six actors, portraying six diverse phases of Bob Dylan’s life. Under aliases, a half-dozen stories intertwine smoothly, roughly, and sometimes indescribably. Certainly, the creativity of the protagonist(s) and the director remain the film’s defining quality. Themes such as conformity, change, and challenges also abound, as illustrated by forums like a Macarthyism-style hearing, a 1960s documentary, and a fictional epilogue for Billy the Kid, if he survived Sherriff Garrett’s bullets. Spectators draw their own unique conclusions, branches of the same tree. Everything is nothing without the people who define it. Je est un autre. Jane Jacobs argues that every city, neighbourhood, …
People Who Play Sport
When asked about Bill Belichick’s coaching success, analyst Chris Schultz said that New England’s coach understood the difference between football players and people who play football. When asked about Sam Cassell’s potential as a coach, Sam Mitchell said that Los Angeles’ point guard must learn what to do when players don’t see what he sees. Major-General Isaac Brock was appreciated for the charisma he employed while commanding British forces in Upper Canada. Colonel Roger Sheaffe was equally disliked for his aloofness and occasionally cruel management style. The critical trait was to treating the 49th Regiment of Foot as a group …
Nurturing Nature
Last week, during a Cleveland win over San Antonio, Mike Brown and Gregg Popovich left three timeouts each on the table. Confident in the ability of veteran players to execute quality possessions, the coaches allowed the play to flow back and forth. The Spurs lost 90-88 but Manu Ginobli released a steady, open, and transition jumper from the foul line as time expired. After a 6-5 shootout win over Pittsburgh, Bruce Boudreau commented that one of the first moves that he became Washington coach was to make the Capitals a four-line team. Rather than over-emphasize match-ups – dumping the puck …
Coach People, Not Players
Joe Gibbs retired for a second time Tuesday, six weeks after an ignorant timeout decision costing a November game in Buffalo brought critics out of the woodwork only to be silenced by Washington’s determined four-game winning streak to make the playoffs. Gibbs will be remembered for controlling the line of scrimmage with brutal line play, amassing yards and points with innovative offensive sets, and making the most of each player’s talents. The most recent stint with the Redskins proved that Gibbs could connect with a new generation of players, despite conventional wisdom purporting that such team building was irrelevant in …
Patience is a Virtue (Most of the Time)
The Globe and Mail reports that Sam Mitchell has been keeping an even keel lately, amid the Raptors’ uneven performances. Somebody once told me – as I was raising my voice in a team huddle – that you can only feel embarrassed if you choose to feel that way. The observation was astute and memorable but all seasons reach a point when the coach needs to rise above modeling the way and make things better, as soon as possible. Intensity has its time and place. Players’ inner motivation is far more effective than any external forces exerted by the coach. …
Reaching the Next Level
The Raptors failed another key test Sunday (the Miami Heat and Golden State Warriors have established that the Dallas Mavericks are not yet a true test). Boston won a putrid game, the 90-77 score unsuccessful in describing the ineffectiveness of Toronto’s play. Boston is good, but not great. Three superstars anchor a solid rotation and the team has demonstrated the ability to play well without any one of the featured players. The Celtics played under control and relied on solid fundamentals.