As a coach, I always aim to improve my communication skills. While I have a firm grasp on my philosophy, as well as the team culture and style of play that I want to see, it is nothing if I cannot get the message across. As John Wooden would say: “You haven’t taught until they have learned.” Emphasizing a team culture helps youth adopt a different mindset, assuming the dominant characteristics of the group. Character skills are malleable, like intellectual and athletic ability (Tough, 2012, p. 97). Key words can be repeated in huddles and used as positive self-talk. It …
Thank You Tim Duncan
Tim Duncan retired this month, ending a nineteen-year N.B.A. career. Duncan was not a compelling superstar because of his style on the court or controversy away from it, but because of his excellence and consistency. The outcome – five N.B.A. championships – cannot be easily duplicated but players from all levels can learn about the process behind it all. Like the rest of the San Antonio organization, Duncan was about doing the right thing as often as possible. He let himself be coached. Gregg Popovich has been known to coach hard or “Go Serbian” and the three players who anchored …
Tryout Success
During the spring and summer season, basketball teams roam the continent, pursuing elusive scholarships, hype and respect. Camps, travel teams and training camps hold tryouts to determine which athletes should be selected and parents and players attend these sessions en masse. Consternation abounds but is this energy directed in the appropriate direction? Following some simple guidelines and putting forth one’s best effort will enable athletes to make the programs that they desire. Athletes succeed not only because of their bodies but also their minds. It’s not necessary to solve any mystery in order to make a basketball team but a …
Building the Spurs Culture
Gregg Popovich Explains How the Spurs Select Players: “For us, it’s easy. We’re looking for character, but what the hell does that mean? We’re looking for people — and I’ve said it many times — [who] have gotten over themselves, and you can tell that pretty quickly. You can talk to somebody for four or five minutes, and you can tell if it’s about them, or if they understand that they’re just a piece of the puzzle. So we look for that. A sense of humour is a huge thing with us. You’ve got to be able to laugh. You’ve …
N.B.A. ATO Plays
The first play after a timeout is an opportune time to re-establish stability on the offensive end and return to the team’s core principles. During play, the philosophy can become lost as emotions take over but coaches can take advantage of the break provided by the timeout to get back to basics. For some teams, basics means getting the ball inside to the post. Recent Toronto Raptors opponents the San Antonio Spurs (Tim Duncan, LaMarcus Aldridge) and Sacramento Kings (DeMarcus Cousins) have exceptional post players so they chose to counter a Toronto run by getting the ball inside. Little adjustments …
2014 Finals Preview
On the first day of training camp, Gregg Popovich screened the entirety of San Antonio’s Game 6 overtime loss to Miami in the 2013 Finals. He wanted the team to “park it” and forget about any lingering doubts: Kawhi Leonard’s missed free throw, the offensive rebounds or a play that would have made a difference had it unfolded otherwise. If the process behind the 2012-13 season was solid than they would live with the outcome. From that moment onwards, there was no hangover that could jeopardize the season. Now, as the rematch approaches, the hard fought loss has galvanized Spurs’ …
Utah Jazz Basketball Lessons
The John Stockton-Karl Malone era of the Utah Jazz, which began when Stockton was drafted in 1984, took shape when Malone was selected in 1985, picked up speed when Stockton became the starting point guard in 1987 and was consolidated when Jerry Sloan became coach in 1988 ended in 2003, providing many lessons relevant to today’s coaches and players. Some might argue that the team’s peak – back-to-back losses in the N.B.A. Finals – exemplified how the two players were ultimately unsuccessful but they still illustrated a number of concepts that any youth coach or player. The team definitely made …
The More Things Change…
San Antonio beat Dallas 97-94 last week. Same as usual (except for 2006). Tim Duncan scored the crucial points while Dirk Nowitzki fell short at crunch time. Each team demonstrated how the keys to success lie in the details. During the penultimate play, Bruce Bowen blocked Jason Terry’s shot. Duncan immediately took the ball out of bounds because he is the Spurs’ worst free throw shooter. He inbounded as soon as possible and since the Mavericks were ill-prepared, more time elapsed and San Antonio had the best chance for points from the line. Bowen deliberately missed the second shot with …
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 …
Crashing the Borders
Harvey Araton, sports columnist at The New York Times argues a two-fold thesis in his latest basketball work, Crashing the Borders: How Basketball Won the World and Lost Its Soul at Home. On one hand, basketball has reached incredible heights of popularity world-wide, becoming second to soccer as international players take up the sport and professional leagues thrive across the glove. Meanwhile, basketball in the United States is deeply troubled. Television ratings barely reach a third of the highs recorded by Michael Jordan in 1998 and less than a half of what “Magic” Johnson attained in 1980. Fundamental skills are …
Ball Movement
Movement makes basketball players and teams succeed: move yourself, move the ball, and help teammates do likewise. As a result of this movement, the ball will get inside with quality shots and possessions abounding. Phil Jackson and Tex Winter believe that the Triangle Offence is not effective without penetration. Obviously neither are screen and roll plays, motion sets, nor zone offences which is why San Antonio blew Utah away in the fourth quarter of Game 4 Monday night. Jackson believes in a 60-40 split between possessions devoted to guards and posts. According to the Lakers’ coach, offences are more productive …
2005 Finals Redux
Both opening games of the Eastern and Western Conference Finals demonstrated the importance of mental training. I’m disinclined to blindly use the term “experience” but feel that a large component of the differences between the respective winners and losers can be described as the “mental training that comes from being there before and making use of that experience appropriately.” Self-confidence, team chemistry, pre-game planning, and court-sense are among other elements constituting the mental training. Utah was totally taken to the cleaners by San Antonio; like the 1998 Lakers, the Jazz were unprepared as to what to expect when playing a …
Assertiveness and Coaching
Different coaches have different personalities, which contribute to the diversity of sport. Some display more energy than others, some have a stage presence, and some have a sense of humour about their job. Nevertheless, there is more than one way to coach successfully. Coaching and control are synonymous in the minds of many individuals inside and outside the profession but that is not an accurate description. Coaches motivate student-athletes to reach their potential as a group. Crafting systems that best suit the team is part of that task, managing every single detail of the team is not. Creating accountability among …