Analyzing Game Statistics effectively

Posted by Eitel in For Coaches | 1 comment

Many people do not realize that a basketball coach’s job does not end when the game does. After a game, there are statistics to analyze, performances to judge, and decisions to make. Learning how to analyze game statistics effectively and accurately to get the information you need is critical to your success as a coach and your team’s chances of achieving victory.

There are a number of different ways to analyze game statistics. Much thought has been given to getting the information you want with a minimum of time and effort. Learning how to scan a sheet of numbers and gain a perspective on how your team is performing is one of the greatest skills a coach can have because they can take that information and use it to determine what kind of drills to run and which players to concentrate on.

Preparing kids for their first Game

Posted by Eitel in For Coaches, For Parents | 0 comments

Dealing with youths is slightly different then dealing with a professional lot of players. Youths are fresh to the game, and while they are still competitive, they are more playing the game to make friends, be with friends, or because it’s something to do. Very rarely are youth in a league to take their team to the championship, or to go undefeated. They are there to blow off steam and have fun. Coaches need to nurture this while teaching the basics of the game without attempting to force the competitive side of the game.

Thoughts on Post Game Talks

Posted by Eitel in For Coaches | 0 comments

The other weekend we lost a close game, and my girls were down a little. I was too, but I didn’t want to show it at first, because I needed some time to pass and think about why we had lost. Thinking of how to cheer the girls up without putting fingers in wounds, I came up with a couple of thoughts on a Post Game Talk. Here they are:

• Post game talks are an essential and crucial part of game development. No matter the outcome of the game if you win, it’s a chance to praise hard work and … if you lose, it’s still a chance to praise effort. In either case it is a great time to point out areas that need some improvement, and also just to suggest something fun post game to blow off steam and have a little bit of fun. Post Game talks are not the time to point fingers, or assign blame, it’s the time to as a whole decide where improvement is needed, and act on it in the next practice. Personally, I always feel to gain more from a game we lost, than when won. By looking at the things that made you lose the game, you are on a good way to improve and minimize those errors.

What to eat after a Game

Posted by Eitel in For Players, Motivation & Health | 0 comments

Basketball players should not only eat healthy before and after games but in their every day lives. Basketball burns a lot of energy therefore, eating more foods which contain the nutrients your body needs will give you lots of energy for running up and down the court.

Proteins and Carbohydrates
If you are a serious basketball player then there are two food groups you need to familiarize yourself with. These food groups are called carbohydrates and proteins. Carbohydrates are good for brain function. “Carbs” go directly to your muscles and liver after being converted into glycogen. You can find “carbs” in bread, potatoes, pasta’s, honey, jam and rice.

Preparing Mentally for Game Day

Posted by Eitel in For Coaches, For Players | 0 comments

Game day preparation isn’t all stretches and drills. While a lot of people tend to focus on the physical aspects of the game, it is definitely worth your while as a player to focus on the mental aspects in your preparation routines. If you neglect it you can end up being distracted, and even if it doesn’t happen to affect you personally, it can affect your team, and when you affect your team in a negative fashion, it will end up affecting you individually and can lead to things like being benched, or even sent home for a game.

If you are going into a week pregame and you have some major events in your life, good or bad, get them off your chest. If you have it swirling in your head it will distract you in one way or another, or at the very least cause a delay in your reaction time. When you go into a game you need to clear your head and keep your mind on game related things only. This isn’t to say that you have to forget about things that are important to you, or that you are to forget about personal matters, it’s just best to temporarily put them on the back burner so that you can concentrate.

If you need some time to just clear your head, without any fancy breathing techniques or work out methods, just sit in a room, dark or light, and relax. This allows you to get these thoughts worked out, it allows you to clear your head, and allows you to just take a moment and be alone with your thoughts. Too often these days we don’t take enough “me” time because we are too busy and put it to the back burner for far too long.

If you find yourself tense, and have things bottled up inside, you could do one of a few things to release some of that pent up tension. You can drink some water and just sit and relax, this will allow you to gear down a bit and release some of the tension.

If you find that isn’t working, a quick work-out may assist you in burning off some of your bottled up feelings. If you just ignore your emotions and let them bottle up inside, you will reach a critical point in which you will just become mentally exhausted. Much like physical exhaustion you will just be worn right out, and will be playing at a fraction of your normal play. You will now be focused and you will not be in your grade A playing shape.

If you find yourself in a situation in your day to day life that just has you up in arms mentally to the point that you are losing sleep, or just need to take care of things before you get back to playing, make sure to let your coach know. Some people will try to just ignore it and play through thinking that it will go away or they can just forget about it. Bottling up problems and emotions is just like hiding injuries, it just gets worse.

Photo credit: Zach Klein