6th Annual COBA Can-Am On-Court Basketball Coaching Clinic

6th Annual COBA Can-Am On-Court Basketball Coaching Clinic

It is that time of year for the 6th Annual COBA Can-Am On-Court Basketball Coaching Clinic in Windsor, Ontario. This year's clinic features Del Harris and Pete Gillen. The clinic takes places June 3-4, 2011 at the St Denis Centre on campus at the University of Windsor. CLICK HERE for a clinic brochure. NEW this year if you cannot make the clinic dates contact Coach Oliver today to find out more information about how you can access the clinic video.

WHY THIS CLINIC? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Most clinics focus on providing you with a variety of speakers for a very short time. At the COBA Can-Am On-Court Basketball Coaches Clinic we want to take you more in depth into the minds of some of the best coaches in North America. Our clinic will feature multiple sessions with each speaker so that each can provide a complete picture of their topic. On-court demonstrations and progressions will be used to teach you their offensive and defensive systems. More importantly, you will get more of an opportunity to interact with the clinicians through question and answer periods. Watch video of past clinicians here by clicking any of the names: Chris Oliver, Dave Odom, Greg Kampe, Mike Katz, Larry Shyatt, 2008 Clinic Compilation

ABOUT OUR CLINICIANS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Del Harris is one of the most sought after clinicians in the world. He was an NBA head coach for the Houston Rockets, Milwaukee Bucks, and Los Angeles Lakers. He also served assistant coach for the NBA's New Jersey Nets, Chicago Bulls, and Dallas Mavericks. Harris has been a part of the NBA Playoffs 26 times as an assistant and head coach. During his for four seasons (1994-1998) as the head coach of the Lose Angeles Lakers Harris compiled an impressive 218-110 (.665) record, highlighted by the 1997-98 season's 61-21 mark, the best record ever for a Harris-led club. He joins Pat Riley and Phil Jackson as the only coaches in L.A. franchise history to register three consecutive 50-plus wins in a season. He was named the 1995 NBA Coach of the Year with the Lakers. prior to his stint with the Lakers, Harris coached in Milwaukee (from 1987-88 through the first part of 1991-92). Harris was an assistant coach under Rudy Tomjanovich with the US national team in the 1998 FIBA World Championship, winning the bronze medal.Harris also served as coach of the Chinese national men's team, where he coached NBA All-Star center Yao Ming and led China to a surprising upset victory over Serbia and Montenegro in the 2004 Athens Olympic basketball tournament. Prior to becoming the Lakers' head coach Harris was also a special consultant of Canadian national men's basketball team and their then head coach Ken Shields. Pete Gillen has a vast coaching background. Helaunched his collegiate coaching career as an assistant at the University of Hawaii with Rick Pitino. Gillen followed that with assistant coaching stints at Virginia Military Institute, Villanova University and the University of Notre Dame. He was head basketball coach at Xavier University from 1985 to 1994, Providence College from 1994 to 1998, and the University of Virginia from 1998 to 2005. At Xavier, Gillen compiled an impressive record, taking the Musketeers to the NCAA tournament seven times and to the NIT tournament once (1994). Gillen is still the most successful coach in school history at Xavier, having won 202 games in the third-longest tenure ever for a XU coach. Following his success coaching success, Gillen has worked for Westwood One and CBS College Sports Network.

CLICK ON THE QUICK LINKS TO... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FOLLOW COACH OLIVER ON TWITTER FOLLOW COBA CAN-AM CLINIC ON FACEBOOK HOLIDAY INN HOST HOTEL INFO (To reserve space - CAN AM COACHING CLINIC. Group code is COH) CLINIC BROCHURE

CONTACT INFO

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chris Oliver | 519-253-3000 ext. 4047 | coliver@uwindsor.ca

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

COMPLETE Understanding

As he shared with our coaching staff in the past, at the beginning of every season, Coach Don Meyer would hand out a slip of paper to each player and staff member. On it, were three simple words - Coach, Player, and Official. Each person in Coach Meyer's program was asked to circle ONE choice on the paper - they could only be either a coach, player, or official. That meant the OTHER two duties had to be left to others. Makes sense. Drives home a very important point to all involved.

However, in order to have a COMPLETE understanding of one's own role, it helps to understand the roles of others - "walk a mile" in their shoes, see the world through their eyes, it will make you better. Know how it feels to BE another person, and then you will have a better idea of how to interact with them.

• Coach - benefit from being a parent or communicating with parents, listen and learn about what issues players face in their lives (school, work, etc.), spend time talking to officials (away from the game) in order to determine what officials are looking for/experience in games (even BE an official - volunteer or otherwise - very humbling)
  
• Player - go to a coaching clinic or read coaching blogs/books/articles in order to understand why coaches approach player development the way they do, communicate with officials (away from games) to better understand how refs view contact plays/footwork faults/player advantages (again, volunteer to be an official for a younger age group), speak to parents so that the player truly grasps the sacrifices that parents make so that kids can participate in sports
• Official - either speak to or be a parent so that they know why parents want the best for their kids (and may be passionate in the stands), talk to players to fully understand what happens on court in games (the speed of the game, the challenges, rules interpretations, inconsistencies, etc), and finally coach at any level to comprehend what is involved with being a leader on the sidelines
• Parent - communicate with coaches in areas of philosophy, skill development, nutrition, fitness, etc. (don't assume that coaches are not approachable, don't judge them) - even better, try being a coach in order to completely understand the joys and pressures of the role - talk to players and learn, as athletes, what challenges they face, and either learn the rules of the sport (in order to best appreciate what is happening on the court), ask for the help of an official, or BE an official
  

A DAY IN THE LIFE: COACH BEILEIN & THE WOLVERINES

Somebody sent me this article outlining a day in the life of John Beilein at Michigan. There is so much to do in a day but only so many hours – and those hours seem to fly by so it is not surprising to see that his days are full.

In reading the article it brought to mind a recent article in the Globe and Mail that outlined the evils of multi-tasking that argues multitasking doesn't save time. In fact the only benefit of it might be that it provides a sense of accomplishment. For coaches and teachers the lesson is clear and that is to focus on the task at hand. This is often difficult with the phone ringing and your email buzzing but I have found that if I create times of the day devoted to video, phone calls and emails that I am much more efficient, not to mention much more relaxed, in getting the necessary tasks done. This is sometimes easier said than done I admit. One of the biggest challenges is disciplining yourself to focus only on one task. This requires priority setting and an understanding that "the other things" will get done in time. I can say with conviction however that this process helps me get everything done. My goal is always that when I return home at night after practices or games that my work day is done and I can now focus on family and relaxation.

An inspiration for me was the book the 4-Hour Work Week. The concept of a four hour work week is highly implausible in my mind but some of the concepts do hit home. The first is that time is valuable. After reading this book I’ve started to value my time more. If I am reading something and it is not relevant or interesting than I will stop reading it. Simple really – don’t waste time on things that aren’t important to you. Time away from activities that bring me pleasure and from loved ones needs to be justified. I’m no longer willing to spend all of my time on work. There needs to be more to life. There are simply some tasks that are either really time consuming or we just don’t want to engage in. I learned from this book also that outsourcing can be done at almost every level. The benefit to all of this outsourcing is that you have more time to focus on your business or to do whatever it is that you enjoy doing. I have tried to find more ways to outsource or eliminate some tasks that take me away from what I value and enjoy.

Click here for the full article A DAY IN THE LIFE: COACH BEILEIN

3 examples of unselfishness

Putting others first, ahead of yourself. Truly being unselfish. Recognizing you are a part of a team. Realizing that you will need help from others in order to achieve your goals. These thoughts have appeared in this blog before, but three shining examples came to light this past week.

• The "Tradition" of Windsor Men's Basketball was on display and celebrated by so many people - all of whom, we are fortunate to hold close to the heart of our program. Last Saturday, our program was pleased and proud to host its annual Past, Present, and Future reception. To gather together, celebrate, and be reminded of the ways in which so many have selflessly contributed to a common purpose, was very humbling. We remain grateful to each and every one of our program's many supporters.
• Jerry Sloan, the longtime, successful coach of the Utah Jazz, retired this week. Coach Sloan is an outstanding example of a person being steadfastly committed to doing things the right way. His discipline, his purposeful approach, and unselfish commitment to making other people better are to be commended. He has improved the lives and careers of so many - in basketball, and beyond.
• This is not a political statement - merely an observation. A truly historic event took place in a unique part of the world. The citizens of a region may have indeed changed their future by putting others ahead of themselves, realizing they were one small part of a large team, and knowing that the help of others would be needed in order to achieve their own personal goals.
  

All-Access with Oakland U Basketball

Oakland University head basketball coach Greg Kampe is a past speaker at the COBA Can-Am On-Court Basketball Coaching Clinic - Here are some of his clips: 1-4 Ballscreen Stagger Set and 1-4 Ballscreen Set (Note: This year's clinic is June 3-4, 2011 in Windsor, ON and includes Pete Gillen)

This video provides an inside look at Coach Kampe and his basketball program. Coach Kampe is an excellent teacher. I have had the chance to watch his team's practice. They are very organized and he is demanding without being demeaning. His team is currently 17-9 and in 1st place in the Summit League. They have a great chance to do some damage in the NCAA tournament as they have already beaten Tennessee and had a close game vs. Michigan State.

Watch the All-Access with Oakland University

Transform Versus Conform

In order to fully have an 'others' focus, players need to differentiate between TRANSform and CONform. I will explain. So that they can grow and develop, people need to realize that they will need the help of others to help get them to where they want to go. I have reinforced this concept with recent tweets at twitter.com/Chris__Oliver (or @Chris__Oliver).

If players (and coaches) recognize that help from others is needed, then they also need to have an 'others' focus so that they develop the proper unselfish mindset themselves - another example of balance. In order for that to happen, those same players need to change their thinking away from "my teammates and coaches need to CONform to my style of play." If teams are going to succeed, the unselfish mindset of "I need to use my skills and adjust my attitude to TRANSform to my team's goals and style of play" needs to prevail.

On paper, this is all wonderful and good. In reality, this is only accomplished through personal maturity, a true unselfish approach, and a genuine desire to make others around us better. Individuals on successful teams transform - they do not expect team members to conform. The difference is enormous, the results are obvious.

COBA Player Development

Wondering what COBA is all about? Here is a video highlighting some of the drills/skills and basketball specific athletic development that takes place during COBA skill development sessions. CLICK HERE FOR THE VIDEO. Better basketball players and coaches are developed during the off‐season. However, it is common for players and coaches to put many hours into developing without maximizing their returns. Our development sessions will help you become a better basketball player and coach by developing and refining your basketball‐specific skills, athletic ability and knowledge. There are two types of COBA camps:
2 DAY COBA PLAYER/COACH DEVELOPMENT SESSIONS which combine player development sessions with a coaching clinic as we show you how to teach the drills and skills we use to develop our players.
5-Day COBA PLAYER DEVELOPMENT CAMP which combine on and off court basketball specific player development skills and drills.

Butler and Brad Stevens: What we can learn

A recent ESPN.COM article examines Butler and its coach Brad Stevens a year after its national final loss to Duke - Butler and Cindrella, a season later.

The article makes two main observations: (1) Stevens is well-adjusted and extraordinarily grounded, more so than just about any other Division I coach you'll ever meet, let alone one in just his third year on the job; and (2) this 2010-11 season -- the season after -- could've turned into a joyless, six-month slog if Stevens wasn't as sane and smart as he is.

Perhaps the most relevant part of the article is how Butler has become every opponent's biggest game. They now have a "target on their back" that comes with the responsibility of being good. All of their losses get magnified because of the expectations for the program. The advice for coaches dealing with expectations is that our teams must learn how "enjoy the process." As Stevens says 'Look, you've gotta enjoy this process and enjoy the fight to win. And when you do win? Never take it for granted. You've gotta enjoy that, too. I'm not saying jump on the scorer's table and wave towels and yell. But hug each other. Enjoy each other. Enjoy all of it. Never "expect" it.'"

Pops 4 on 0 Fullcourt Drill

We are big fans of having game-like drills. While I have nothing against a 3-man weave full-court I find it hard sometimes to recognize the translation to a competitive situation. It certainly works on fundamentals (Passsing/catching/running/teamwork etc) but we prefer drills that have more of a transfer of skills to game situations. In this 4 on 0 Drill (Click Here) we got from Gregg Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs we use a full-court passing drill that combines outlets, hit ahead passes and our fastbreak principles (run the wing wide, sprint to half and don't look back until you get there, look over your inside shoulder with your butt facing the sideline etc). Obviously the drill is simple but you can create your own modifications. For example on return trips we will have them come back into a 4-0 offensive breakdown sequence.

The masters of the left corner

Nearly every player on the New York Knicks' roster operates with one rallying cry repeated daily by coaches: "If you're open, shoot it." The left corner on the floor has become the Knicks' Promised Land. According to the article - The Masters of the Left Corner - the Knicks' have made 49% of their 112 3-point shots from the left corner. The league average on all 3-pointers is just 35.9%.

The left corner is the prime real estate for a number of Knicks: five players shoot at least 50 percent from there, including Mr. Felton's 80%, Shawne Williams, 73.3% and 50% from Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari.

What makes the left corner so effective? D'Antoni's philosophy is based on his belief that 3-point shooting skills are inherent in nearly every NBA-caliber athlete. His staff immediately started preaching the corner 3-pointer for the floor space it creates for other players to drive to the basket and for the increased reward it produces on the scoreboard. The article also discusses the impact of Raymond Felton and Amare Stoudemire's pick n' roll game that creates open shots. Different than traditional pick n' rolls D'Antonio has always run spread pick n' rolls.

Some excellent lessons for the advantages of 3-point shooting and the use of pick n' rolls to create advantage situations.

Building a winning program

Mike Carey, who has turned around women's college programs at Salem College and now West Virginia shares some ideas about his success in turning around losing programs: Mike Carey has turned program into winner. Some of his ideas are super lessons for all of us in coaching or business interested in creating a winning culture:

1. The players excepted the coach's personality - Coach Carey is intense and competitive and his player's took on that personality
2. He convinced his players that it was in their best interest to accept that he would never let up n them and push them constantly to get better - "He stays on us constantly," said sophomore center Asya Bussie. "On the court, he won't stop yelling, he'll never stop. He wants us to be perfect."

The lesson is clear. Coach to your personality. And get your players to buy in to that personality by explaining why and how it will help them improve as individuals and a team.

Finishing School Drill

We work a lot in our program on finishing around the rim. Here is one of the drills we use that we call Curls. Players curl around the big block, catch and finish. We shoot 2-foot hooks/push shots, 1-foot hooks/push shots, shot fakes, step through shots and 2-foot fades. We also encourage our players to be creative - different arc, release points and targets. A big emphasis is for our players to follow through, not just with their shooting motion, but also their eyes by keeping them on the target through the release. We also add a defender to disrupt vision. Check out the drill here from the 2010 COBA Can-Am On-Court Basketball Coaching Clinic: Finishing School - Curls

Confidence in coaching

When you hear Raheem Morris, the young Head Coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, speak you hear a person with incredible confidence. As coaches, we know that confidence in players develops from demonstrated ability. Coach Morris is an example from whom we can all learn.

Currently, ESPN is running a series of profiles in promotion of "Content of Character" - a tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. (this year is the 25th Anniversary of MLK Day). In the profile of Coach Morris, his friends and players (including veterans) commend him for his passion, commitment, dedication, and a little bit of swagger. He endears himself to his players because he really tries to understand what is happening in their lives, and he works hard to connect with each of them. One of the best lines in the commentary is a quote from Coach Morris, one that clearly demonstrates his confidence, focus on being positive and believing - "in order for there to be a reality, there must be a mentality."

San Antonio Spurs "Pounding the Rock" Philosophy

Greg Popovich, coach of the San Antonio Spurs, was asked recently about the Minnesota Timberwolves. His comments were interesting. He said despite Minnesota's losing record their players play like winners - Spurs coach believes Wolves aren't far off

Popovich cites a quote by Danish-American social reformer Jacob Riis that's posted in several languages around the team's locker room and has become synonymous with Spurs basketball. "We call it 'pounding on the rock,' that saying we have in the hallway down there," Popovich said Sunday night.

"It's a perseverance, a belief that the game really is 48 minutes and you keep doing your job for 48 and see how it breaks. They're mature. They believe if they stick together and believe in each other, some good things can happen.

The Wolves, in contrast, are what Popovich calls "very talented," but they are also young and unsure. If San Antonio plays 48 minutes knowing something good eventually will happen, the Wolves at this point in their development might just play suspecting exactly the opposite.

What we can gather as coaches is that our team's must believe that whatever happens in a game something good will happen eventually because your team does things the right way on a daily basis.

First Time Coach Learning Lessons

Fred Hoiberg, hired by Iowa State with no prior coaching experience, has found some early success and this article from the Wall Street Journal examines some of the factors Is this guy Hoiberg for real? Hoiberg said he learned much from his former coaches - Larry Bird with the Indiana Pacers and Kevin McHale with the Minnesota Timberwolves -who took their first coaching jobs with no prior experience. "Neither of those guys had experience, but they were great at communication and surrounded themselves with the right people," says Mr. Hoiberg. Hoiberg hired former Charlotte coach Bobby Lutz who offered this advice - how to "tell people 'no' from time to time" in order to balance his coaching, recruiting, public speaking, administrative and family responsibilities; and when to play the tough guy. Some excellent lessons for all of us coaches.

Defense Wins Championships

Larry Shyatt, assistant coach at the University of Florida, spoke at the 2009 COBA Can-Am On-Court Coaching Clinic, and these were his detailed notes about his defensive system. The detailed notes can be found here. Coach Shyatt was an excellent teacher. His language was precise and his intensity and passion was evident during every drill. Here is Coach Shyatt teaching a Ballscreen Shooting drill so you can see his passionate teaching. We are excited about this year's clinic as it is always wonderful to be around such excellent teacher's of the game.

Clever and simple language

In coaching, clear communication is essential. The English language sometimes offers some clever word connections that coaches can use to their advantage. One such twist is the word listen. When speaking to players, and demanding attention, coaches may want to point out that listen contains the same letters as the word silent. Coincidence? You be the judge.