I coach many girls who like to play basketball but are not Ballers. A baller wears a "Ball Is Life T-shirt "because she wanted to buy it. A girl who likes playing basketball wears the same t-shirt because it is fashionable. Over the past 20 years of coaching Alexis Washington, Charles Brown and I have coached some legitimate BALLERS. We have coached 10- D1 players, 35 – All-something players including 6 - All-metro and 2 POYs. Our greatest pride is in the 12 players selected as their team's McCormick's Unsung Hero Award. As a coach, I have experienced winning by 50 points and losing by 50. I coach multiple teams which occasionally mean I experience both extremes in the same day. I am entering my 12th year of coaching girl's high school basketball and my 21st year of coaching travel/rec/AAU/club basketball. I have been blessed to have coached against many great coaches at different levels. My unique coaching perspective occurs during the tine when my Recreation and High School seasons overlap. On in-house Saturdays, I coach players in every grade PK – 12.
I coach some Ballers, but I coach more girls who like to play basketball.
I have watched many of my players beg their parents to stay after a loss to look at a team of Ballers play. They could become the fans in the stands or the college student coming to the women's basketball games because they remember having fun playing the game. As they age, they might play in pickup games, college intramurals or recreation leagues. Those players should become Coaches, Referees, and crazy parents. Girls who like to play basketball would be Fans for Life if their basketball experience were fun.
They COULD become – They MIGHT play – They SHOULD become – They WOULD be but WILL they be Fans for Life?
Fans for Life will happen when their youth basketball experience is fun! I believe Fun comes in 3 parts.
A) Teammates -
The "Ball is Life" t-shirt should read "Ball is Social Life". If "mean" girl activities are going on -"Team Bye" that behavior will drive players away. Quick, fast and in a hurry.
As the coach, if my primary focus is on winning - the players' main focus will be on blaming teammates. Today, very few people take responsibility for their part in something failing, players are no different. If the coach's focus is about maximum effort - each player will have an opportunity to get praise. Players who are diving for the ball that is on the ground get the same praise as the player making a three-point shot. Each player is contributing to her effort; it is a win-win situation. The player feels good about herself, her teammates appreciate her more, and the coach is getting a team that each player is striving to give her maximum effort.
B) Playing Time -
The dilemma that has faced every coach of every team in any competition. No player enjoys being on the bench the entire game. No parent likes to watch their child on the bench the entire game. No coach wants the pressure of getting everyone in the game. None of them want to lose. What happens when you can't put a player in the game because she will crack under game pressure but she can't develop the toughness to play in game pressure if she doesn't play?
At the player level - She must understand what she must do to get more playing time. What type of learner is your player? The instruction must be specific, attainable and communicated in a manner that the player understands. Coaches shouldn't assume that the player knows all basketball lingo and terms.
At the parent level – have your daughter play in in-house leagues. In-house leagues (preferably all-girls) will provide girls who like to play basketball an opportunity to have fun playing in a relatively non-pressured environment, and it allows Ballers to play in a controlled pick-up game. Playing in this type of game will allow your Ballers to develop their rhythm of the game that you get in pick-up games. If your daughter wants to play travel, you should try to find a travel team with players of similar skill levels.
At the coach level – simple things like :
1) You should have your team play at the appropriate level. A simple measure is this – If your team is always losing by 20 or more points, you should find a lower level to play in. The exception- if you are beating the lower level teams by 20 points then you are where you are supposed to be.
2) If you are winning or losing by 20 points, play your bench. You shouldn't press a team that can't handle the pressure after you are up 20+ points.
3) At the elite youth level, you should have the best interests of players and parents by not adding players on teams that you know will get very limited playing time. You shouldn't take her if you are not going to play her. Colleges don't recruit teams they recruit players. At the youth travel level, if you have an elite player but a non-elite team you shouldn't stand in her way to play on a different team if she and her parents choose to play elsewhere
C) Coaching – I tell my new parents – the Lady Lions are a try it before you buy it program. I want you to participate in a couple of practices before you commit. This experience will give both the player and parents an opportunity to see how I coach. I believe to be a coach who will create "Fans for Life" provides a fun experience that incorporates the 4Cs – Consistent – Complimentary – Caring – Communicator.
Consistent – Players appreciate consistency from the Coach. If the Coach is there all the time, it is one less thing to she has to worry about while playing. She is already dealing with all this basketball stuff she is trying to understand, her parents' expectations plus she is excited just to be able to play.
Complimentary – the Coach should see everything going on in the game – large and small. There are plenty opportunities during the game to deliver compliments on the effort. A compliment on effort significantly enhances the player's confidence. A confident player will grow into a confident young woman. My good friend Coach Darryl Hunter preaches to his coaching staff – You have to make DEPOSITS before you make WITHDRAWALS! My personal goal when talking to the team or a player is, to begin my conversation with three compliments before I go into what you/we did wrong. I make extra deposits in practice because honestly, I will make a few withdrawals during the game.
Caring – In my living room, I have a memento from the WBCA 25-year celebration luncheon in 2006. It is a quote from motivational speaker former Baltimore Colt Joe Ehrmann. The quote states "There is a myth in America that sports build character. Sports don't build character Coaches do". If your players THINK you care about them and the team, they will play hard. If they BELIEVE you care, your players will run thru walls for you.
My full disclosure statement - I am one of those loud, expressive, passionate coaches but that is just my style – I am not advocating my style of coaching.
I believe that every coach, teacher or instructor cares about their players or students. We have a relationship with the team and a relationship with each player. A part of character building is providing constructive criticism. Constructive criticism is caring. From the player's perspective, constructive criticism is not what you say it is how you say it. In practice, if a player makes a wrong decision I ask them what other decision they could have made. Depending on their answer, I figure the best method on how I will explain to them: what is a better choice next time, why it is important and an example of how it would work in a game setting. How you deliver that message is depending on your coaching style. As stated in my disclaimer my style is my style, not the only style. I am consistent with my intensity the players and the parents know what they are going to see and hear from me. I am just as expressive with complimentary reactions to every effort play made by a player or any attempt by the team or individual player at executing what we do in practice.
Communicator – My communications professor at the University of Baltimore made a statement in class that has been my mantra ever since. She stated that the messenger has responsibility for the message being understood by the recipient. If the message is so important and vital to the beneficiary, then you as the messenger must adjust the message to one that the recipient can understand. Sometimes, it can be a simple as terminology. You are speaking a foreign language to them. You must make sure that they understand the words coming out your mouth. There are other times that the player doesn't know the reasons for doing what she asked to do so she can't see the benefit. I have found that once a player understands why she is doing something, the more effort she puts into doing it. A parent who brought their daughter to play with us told me "I like it here; everybody gets yelled at the same – the best player or last on the bench - you have no favorites."
Basketball is a fun game. It is a game where you can go through every emotion – happy, sad, mad, scared, excited – in one play. Coaches and parents can quickly change the culture if we modify the question from "Did you win" to "Did you play your best." If a team/player plays with maximum effort, then they are a success regardless of the score. The other team was better that day.
The Lady Lions' motto is: WE MEASURE SUCCESS BY HOW FAR YOU HAVE COME, NOT BY HOW FAR YOU HAVE TO GO!
Keep it Fun, and we create Fans for Life!
And That's All I Got To Say About That !!!
Change The World of a Child, and It Will Change You!
