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 …
Transferring the Summer to the Season
Summer’s over, student-athletes are back in classes and high school practices will soon be underway. Many players spent a lot of hours working on their game, training and putting up shots. The next step is to transfer that hard work to the court and turn workouts into wins. Push Others to Get Better After working out throughout the summer, you have become a better player. But you are only one player and basketball teams demand rosters consisting of twelve athletes. Raise the level of those around you by showing teammates how to work out and encouraging them to join you …
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’ …
Protect the Rim
Not only did the outcome (a buzzer beater to win the game) suggest that Indiana should have defended Miami’s last shot differently but the process behind the Pacers defense was also flawed. Michael Jordan may have said that he would force LeBron James to the left (however, I think that he would have cut him off before the rim). The zone shooing percentage of the Heat players suggested that the Pacers should have used 7’ Roy Hibbert, helped from anyone but Ray Allen or double-teamed the ball to force LeBron to pull-up or pass. Indiana could not have been surprised …
The Heat Beat the Raptors on the Court and in Basketball Leadership
Miami’s 108-91 win over Toronto on St. Patrick’s game not only showcased the Heat’s elite talent but a wide gap in leadership between the two teams. When games are competitive in crunch time – this game was tied at 77 with 11:06 to play in the fourth quarter – the Raptors’ leadership fails. There is a lack of organizational leadership, leadership by example and vocal leadership. Keep pulling the rope together.
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If
If by Rudyard Kipling (and Recent Observations from the Wide World of Sports) If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you, If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too;
Clouds Forming in the N.B.A. Finals
Game 1 showed that Oklahoma City had the talent to pressure Miami on defense and score explosively at the other end as the Thunder overwhelmed the Heat in the second half. Game 2 showed that OKC had yet to overcome some of their mental errors as they were not ready to compete and gave up a 16-2 run to start the game. The postseason has shown that they have the talent to win, but Game 3 showed that championship basketball is played in a very narrow zone, between too much or too little intensity. Oklahoma City played like a dysfunctional …
Tale of Two Transitions
Miami is a top ten team in fast break scoring and Toronto is in the top ten of fast break scoring defense. However, during their game on March 30th 2012, the Raptors had trouble coping with the Heat’s speed and aggression, in addition to their good habits while pushing the ball.
Decisions on Defense
LeBron James passes instead of taking a shot. Any time, especially Utah, would be content for someone else on Miami to take the game winning shot instead of James. The players with the ball in crunch time must read the defense, know the situation and make good decisions.
Hooray for Dallas (and Basketball in General)!
Any basketball coach would appreciate the recent victory by the Dallas Mavericks in the Association Finals — unless they were a member of the Miami Heat coaching staff. A coach would not mind if the Super-Friends trio of Chris Bosh, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade won a title after overcoming some adversity that required them to improve themselves but nobody wants to see three players claim a crown without earning it, due to self-entitlement that has developed over years of acting like a person of significance without actually achieving any significant deeds. So it was a pleasant sight to watch …
The Decision
Miami compiled their trifecta of superstars and boasts high hopes for the next six years. Certainly, the concept of three top players has worked in the past, on both a short (Boston 2008: Allen, Pierce, Garnett and Philadelphia 1983: Malone, Erving, Toney) and long-term (Boston 1980s: Bird, McHale, Parrish and San Antonio 2000s: Duncan, Ginboli, Parker) basis. The concept of elite trios has also fallen short just as frequently (Los Angeles 1970s: West, Chamberlain, Baylor and 2004 Minnesota: Garnett, Spreewell, Cassells). While the transactions of July 8th will give the Heat a very strong chance, it is no guarantee. There …
When the Game Was Ours
Over the years, the game of basketball has greatly changed. Whether it is an evolution or not has yet to be determined. Although it contains plenty of anecdotes about its two co-authors, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, the most interesting aspect of When the Game Was Ours is the contrast between basketball in the 1980s relative to the game today. In addition to new Association rules, players have different attitudes today. Less emphasis is placed on winning. Firstly, it’s unlikely that we will ever see teams with multiple hall of famers like the mid-1980s Los Angeles Lakers (four) and Boston …
Get Confident, Stupid
Whether athletes achieve their goals seems intricately connected to their feelings about themselves. Coaches over the years have seen body language, a lack of energy, and fear of making a mistake result in poor performance just as players have noticed how their self-talk, mental imagery, and focus on specific objectives contribute to their success. LeBron James dropped thirty-one points in the first half on Portland tonight but the Trail Blazers reversed their fortunes by coming out for the second half with much more determination. They moved the ball and took better shots. They played improved team defence and curtailed Cleveland’s …
Cleveland-Boston, Again
Based on the most miniscule sample, I can report that nothing has changed in the Association’s Eastern Conference. Cleveland is too one-dimensional to be a threat to seize the championship and Boston – when healthy – should prevail in the post-season. The two sides clashed last night; the former was incredibly cavalier in their execution and the latter performed superbly under pressure. Cleveland’s side-out consisted of a player coming to the ball and handing off to LeBron James, who would then attack one on three. Cavalier guards made five out of fifteen three-point shots when the defence collapsed. However, it …
Rising to the Occasion
Criticisms abound regarding Bob Delaney’s pass on the contact between LeBron James and Bruce Bowen during Cleveland’s last three-pointer Wednesday. Whilst Bowen’s physical defence straddles a fine line between fair and foul and his persistence on the perimeter is certainly a challenge that his opponent must overcome, the play in question was not particularly relevant to the outcome of Game 3. The Cavaliers’ poor execution throughout the encounter, including the three and a half minute scoreless stretch between 5:28 and 1:54 of the fourth quarter, is mostly responsible for their loss. The Spurs provided countless chances but the home team …
The Blind Side
Michael Lewis’ latest novel, The Blind Side, is part-sport, part-economics, part-psychology, and part-sociology. While writing an article about his high school baseball coach that was published as the novella Coach, he re-connected with teammate Sean Tuohy, who was adopting a 6-5, 350 pound offensive lineman who played left guard for the Briarcrest Christian School football team that Tuohy coached. That student-athlete, Michael Oher, became a living example of how sport and money have become intertwined while the rich and poor and black and white have grown apart. At the beginning of the book, Oher is a marginal student and physical …
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