The importance of mental training

Playing the sport of basketball requires, amongst many qualities, tremendous strength and discipline. Not only physical, but mental. Being disciplined requires players to have a "present focus" (applies to coaches too). Players need to learn how to let go of mistakes as they happen so that they can then re-focus on the present moment. Here are some ideas to help your players with their discipline:

• educate them that the LAST play (or shot) does NOT affect the NEXT play - every moment in a game is independent of others
• teach your players how to "park" their negative thoughts. Letting go of, or moving beyond, negative thoughts is essential to success as an athlete
  
• watch your player's body language (make sure they are aware of the enormous difference between positive and negative signals)
  
• pay attention to your player's tone and choice of words
• help your players understand THEY are in control of their thoughts and reactions to events that involve them
  

Offence - penetration and kick

On offense, there are several keys to an effective penetration and kick attack. Coaches should emphasize:

• sprint all cuts and fill positions with a purpose (nothing easy for the defense)
• bring speed to all screens
• make use of the six perimeter spots - two each of corners, 45 degree wings, and elbow extended
• on penetration, the four players without the ball must be moving (harder for defense to react and recover - beat them on recovery from help)
• post players need to move with their hands high - cut, react, and roll
• on the weakside of the floor, the ball must always be able to see you
• teams need to work on defensive balance and offensive rebounding from day one
• after the kick out pass, pause in the lane to read the next attack and maintain proper spacing
  

Ideas and expectations for my Assistant Coaches

Philosophy

• get to know the players – coaching is all about relationships
• challenge me and ask questions
• don’t be a locker room lawyer – players complain to me
• nothing is told to you in confidence by a player – player must understand that
• everything WE talk about is in confidence
• absolutely no drinking or partying with the players
• no cell phones at practice, games, meetings, etc.
  

Practices

• breakdown drills – most will be mass taught
• during team drills, take a responsibility – defense, offense, rebound – EVERY MISSED BOX-OUT/T-UP SHOULD BE POINTED OUT
• coach/teach/communicate
  

Games

• check the scorebook
• contact news media with game results
• pick up videotape/statistics on the road and at home
• keep me informed about fouls, shot clock, time and score
• offer suggestions
• coach players when they come off the floor
• MAKE SURE I ACKNOWLEDGE IMPORTANT INFO

Travelling with teams

Regardless of the ages of your athletes, when traveling with your team you need to expect the unexpected. Prepare for the worst. Hope for the best. At all times, as much as coaches are watching OVER their players, coaches must also remember that they are being watched BY their players. Leadership, especially when facing adversity, will be expected of everybody - coaches and players alike. People are best measured when they are greatly tested. To teach your team to work in harmony with life's circumstances, there is nothing better than the challenges brought about by airports and flights. Many events happen beyond a team's control - in airports, as in sport. In order to build a strong team bond, it is important to face challenges in a unified and harmonious way.

Of equal importance is what takes place after trips. Coaches need to ask their players what they liked best, as well as what they learned. If players are younger, ask the oft-used 'apples and onions' question. This encourages players to reflect on their experiences. Unless prompted, some players may not naturally grasp the value or cost of an experience. Some may take the effort, planning, and preparation for granted. We want them to appreciate the experience. When players reflect, they are able to gain an appreciation for things that previously went unnoticed.

Learning from BIG games

Big games are part of every team's schedule. You have to prepare for them. Kentucky and Louisville had a well publicized one yesterday. As much as it was not necessarily the best game ever, in a way it was - because it was real. Yesterday's big game in Lexington proved that sports are played by people, not robots. There may have been moments during the game when the two coaches wished they had robots on the court executing, but the learning and teaching of young men would not have happened.

Yesterday's much-hyped game between two historic rivals provided many lessons for coaches and players alike:

• there is no such thing as TOO MUCH work on individual fundamentals such as shots from in close, layups, footwork (offence and defence), passing, box-outs, close-outs, staying on your feet when defending up fakes, etc.
• players are NOT robots, emotions play a role in their games and those emotions need to be self-controlled (so that their coach is not forced to remove a player 8 seconds in to the game in order to have a nose to nose discussion about maintaining a cool head)
• teams can NEVER GIVE UP, whether they are down 13-1, 25-12 or any other score, there is always an opportunity to fight back and be up 42-41 after plenty of dedicated play
• teams need to always be working on small and large group concepts of spacing, talking, proper rotations, defending ballscreens, group rebounding, trapping, etc.
• given the pace of play and expended energy, proper hydration becomes even more important (to maintain energy, prevent cramps, etc.), especially for the players that will log the most minutes
  
• in order to best replicate a high stakes game versus a tough opponent/traditional rival in an away gym with an unfriendly crowd, practices must resemble chaos with multiple odds stacked against a group of five players that they must then battle through with poise
• a disruptive full court defence must be practiced - yesterday's game proved that a tough D is effective against even the most highly rated and determined point guards (in practice, it also serves to better prepare your own point guard for what they should expect to see from tough opposition - in that way, it is mutually rewarding)
• you don't always have to buy professional dvd's about certain aspects of the sport - taping an important game for your own viewing pleasure and analysis is equally, if not more, beneficial
  

Offence - high handoff

This play sets up well to provide opportunities for a big that can attack the rim after a handoff and for a wing that can shoot well off a screen. Shooters (2 and 3) are spaced to corners, ball (1) is up top with both posts wide and out. Another option is to have the rim post start low and join the action up top with the trail post opposite. 1 penetrates and kicks to 5 and then sets a flex screen (away and low) for 2 to use cutting across the lane (looking to catch and play). If no low feed materializes then 2 continues to screen away for 3 while 4 replaces the vacancy of 1 at the top.

After flashing to the weakside elbow, 1 receives a pass back from 5. 4 looks for a handoff from 1 on 4's basket cut - 4 must read the defence and cut based on how they are being defended. 5 and 2 stagger screen to open 3 for a shot on the weakside. 3 has to read both screens and cut based on the defensive reaction. 3 could receive the pass from 1 (early or late) or 4 (as a kickout from a prevented drive) and needs to space to the smart spot of the court. If no pass received (hence not a shooter), 2 looks to roll from the weakside . 5 must be aware, plus shot and rebound ready. 1 stays top as a fill for the drive by 4 or as a step-back shooter from a kickout pass by 3.

Preparation is the key

This point of the season brings many challenges. Athletes are coming back to competitive practices and games after a brief layoff. Some have been disciplined enough to maintain a level of fitness, others have perhaps let their training slide. Coaches are getting ready for conference play, the meat of their schedule, intense tournaments, the bulk of the season. One question to ask, especially long before any important challenges between the lines begin, is "are we ready?"

The journey to the ultimate tournament of any season is a collective marathon of short sprints and teams need to be ready for both aspects. Preparation is the key to successful execution. Many clinics have preached it, many coaches have written about it. Coaches need to ask themselves if their team is ready to handle the adversity that it will no doubt face. The challenges will come - physical fatigue, mental readiness, an unfriendly gym away from home court familiarity, a tough call by an official, a tight schedule, a relentless pressing defence, an unexpected travel delay, etc. The question remains, is your team ready for all that it may face? Have you limited or eliminated the risks? Have you prepared in practice using an unfair advantage to simulate extraordinary pressure? Have you allowed for extra travel time due to unpredictable weather? Has your team tried to play when it can't hear you because of incredible crowd noise? Have you provided your players with the mental training that will allow them to find cues that will keep them calm and focused? There are so many variables. As successful coaches have suggested, in order to NOT be surprised by something, your team needs to have already experienced it. The responsibility of preparation, among many, belongs to the coach. It's never too late to make an improvement.