Making Hard Decisions: Cutting Players From Your Team

Posted by Eitel in For Coaches | 0 comments

Sometimes a team can do everything in its power to become better and improve, and sometimes it will seem like nothing is working. Training will be tweaked, as will the practices themselves, they will be increased or decreased. While many changes can be attempted, they may not work and sometimes this can leave the coach in quite the bind. The coach may have to cut a player from the team for one of many different reasons. Lack of skill, along with a lack of respect, and causing distractions to the team are a few of the reasons that come to mind immediately. No coach likes to cut players from their team, but eventually they will have to.

Making the Hard Choice
While it is hard to cut players from a team, it may come down to the simple fact that they do not fit in the current system. They may be better elsewhere and they aren’t happy, and if you are currently losing you likely aren’t happy either. Although winning teams may also look towards cutting people as well if they become an issue that causes negativity for the team.

There are too many reasons to simply list them all hear, all that anyone can do when thinking about cutting a player is sit back for a few moments and ponder if the cut will actually improve your team. Sometimes players are cut and made into scapegoats. This is what a coach has to avoid doing. Coaches while accepting input from the players, and other coaches with the team, need to ensure that the reasons for the release are completely professional and do not boil down to one player not liking another player. Politics, while you cannot deny it has a presence in the game; you can deny it a presence in your decisions.

Cutting a player is the last resort. After you’ve tried to work with them, taken corrective measures, and tried everything that you can think of, cutting them may be the only option. Sometimes it may even be a temporary cut and they could be welcomed back to the team when a certain action is taken and completed. It could be a few steps required, either way it needs to be analyzed and needs to be well thought out before it is done. It is not something you can just tell a player you are thinking of doing, because that can instantly demoralize them, and can instantly cause them to act out.

They also are likely already aware that it is a potential action, and are likely already trying to remedy it. Sometimes simple reminders in practice that roster spots are not guaranteed and only go to those that work and perform to their highest potentials and that give it their all game in and game out, will remain on the roster. Sometimes this simple and small speech worked in properly will jolt people to make the required improvements themselves, or seek out the help they need, or even remove themselves if it is realized it just isn’t working out.

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How to Teach: Concepts of Teaching

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Teaching is an abstract art. As a teacher one must enter the mind of one’s student with the intent to engage. A teacher must engage ones student in the process of absorbing, understanding, applying, and then retaining new knowledge. It is said that it takes the average human 21 days to create a new, repetitive behavior. It takes 30 days to make the habit part of one’s everyday life.

In games of physical sports the mind and the body must come together to take the knowledge given by a teacher to a new level. Not only does the basketball student have to incorporate their cerebral cortex but also their body in the learning of new concepts to master the game. The athlete must transcend the mind to bring to the court physical performance. In regular classroom settings, students learn concepts and facts that they may never use in their day to day living. Special techniques are required to take concepts from the chalkboard to the court.

The magic happens when coaches spark the desire of the athlete to use their bodies to perform the mental pictures and concepts in their minds during the heat of competition. It may be difficult to explain to the athlete that one must use ones instincts about one’s body, to learn one’s body, in order to become a phenomenal player. Concepts like power from the legs, concentration, focus, adrenaline, may not be at first easy for the young athlete to understand. Mature athletes will say that the best teacher they ever had was experience. This is where the concepts of teaching come in to assist a coach in helping their young athlete learn while they gain that experience. When creating your lesson plan on how to train a basketball player keep these basic concepts in mind.

• Begin teaching by using clear language. Make sure that you explain basic concepts of basketball. Do not assume that all players have come with the same experience. Teach what you want to be known on your court.
• Break concepts down into basic components. Do not teach offense and defense in the same day. Separate your concepts. Create a curriculum where you build on knowledge day by day. Use only words and visual aides to explain the concepts. Do not bring the physical side of the concept into the lecture.
• Allow for your students to ask questions and to take notes. Sometimes athletes are not taught to incorporate things like literature and note taking in their game but it is important for their development. Athletes are intelligent and should view themselves as using their brains while playing. Reading books on your topics and concepts is also a good idea for the development of your athlete.
• Watch videos of examples of the concepts that you are teaching.
• Explain that mistakes are made while learning new concepts and that is how growth and progress are gained. Encourage the student to practice their skills daily.
• Once your concepts have been introduced and the student athlete has learned the basic form to be used begin the court drills or exercises with a game. Make up games for the student athlete that will bond them with their peers. If for instance you are teaching the concept of offense you can play a game of hot potato with the basketball. If you are teaching the concept of free throws, after the youth athlete releases the ball into the air throw them a small piece of candy. If they catch it they can eat it. If they make the free throw then they get a second piece for doing an excellent job. For the youth athlete it will build self-esteem. Be creative in your curriculum.
• There are many ways to introduce concepts to your youth athlete. If you make the learning part of the game fun and memorable it will encourage the youth athlete to not only practice, but also to relax. This will enhance their overall game
• Give constructive criticism in a kind, gentle way. Explain concepts like discipline early on and help the youth athlete to achieve small goals as they learn new concepts.
• Have your youth athletes keep journals where they can keep their notes on concepts and questions or concerns. Go over their journals with them once a week and respond to their needs accordingly. Let your student athlete know that you are there for them.

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Setting Goals and Milestones with Your Team

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A team that has its sights on a solid objective is bound to work hard to achieve that objective. This objective is also known as a goal. A milestone on the other hand is basically like a timetable of the project life. For example, if you set ‘reaching the state finals’ as your goal, one of your milestones would be ‘ranked top five by the first quarter of the season’.

Goals and milestones complement each other like bread and butter. Having one without the other will render one ineffective. A goal acts as a source of inspiration and a sense of objective that is shared by the whole team. Each and every member will have an idea of what needs to be done in order to achieve that goal.

The milestone on the other hand comes in handy as a check and balance system towards achieving the goal that was set. As mentioned earlier, milestones are set points along your project lifespan to achieve certain smaller objectives. Therefore, if the team is unable to achieve a certain point as scheduled, it is indicative that something needs to be done to resolve the lag.

When setting goals and milestones, it is important that you set them ‘with’ your team rather than ‘for’ your team. By including every team member in this process, a sense of ownership towards the goals will be developed. This will later be reflected in their sheer commitment towards achieving all the milestones. Also, having clear goals will avoid misunderstandings between your players and your support staff with yourself.

Goals should be set so that they are realistic and achievable. This is important to give the goal a sense of credibility to it. Although it’s not wrong to dream of big goals, just be sure that those goals are realistic. By having realistic goals, you and your team can work together progressively towards achieving them.

In addition to this, the goals and milestones that you set with your team must be specific, measurable and time related. Specific simply means that what needs to be achieved and when it needs to be achieved are mentioned explicitly. For example ‘everyone must be able to sprint below 10 seconds before 31st January’ is a specific goal that can be followed. This goal is also time related and measurable.

To make sure that everyone chips in their ideas towards setting up the goals for the team, talk to them beforehand about this. Tell them about the importance of goals and how they can help the team. After that, ask them to go home and put serious thought into it.

When you see them during the next practice session, take up some time after or before practice to discuss on the goals. Try to get the team to agree on certain goals. Once this is completed remind everyone of their commitment towards the goals.

The good thing about having these goals is that you will be able to use them as a source of motivation for your team. Always remind them of what the team as a whole wants to achieve and how the team agreed to work towards achieving them.

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9 Essentials for planning a Basketball Camp

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

Players who want to learn how to play good Basketball, usually take the time to join a basketball camp in the off-season. On the other hand, there are also talented individuals who, actually, dedicate themselves to create basketball camps for avid basketball player wannabes.

If you want to do a basketball camp, either for children or adults, it is wise to do the planning first. You must put it at the top of your priority. Now, planning is very crucial because there are lots of things that you should consider. A great advice would be for you to sit down, clear your mind, breathe deeply, and then get a pen and paper. Organize your thoughts, and then think about the things that you need to do in building a successful basketball camp. Write all of the things that come into your mind. Write it down until there is nothing more you can think of, and then go over to the things that you have written. Organize them and place them in order so that you can come up with a plan that is orderly arranged. This is just my idea on how to start your planning.

Now, let us move to the planning of basketball camp. I will share you some ways which you can make use of to plan an efficient basketball camp. In planning, always remember to be SMART: to be Specific; and plan should be Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-bounded.

1. Decide on a specific length, or duration, for the completion of the camp.
If interested attendees should stay long enough, it may cost you a great deal of monetary demand, and would likely make the entire camp shorter than expected. On the other hand, if you can make it to a point that the camp can spend some time each day, you can extend it to longer periods of time. Learning takes time. So, it is best that you take enough time for the attendees to absorb the information and give them a chance to make use of the learned things in a practical way, too.

2. Take a look at the best time to assemble the camp.
You must consider the availability of the attendees to present themselves on the meetings. A camp usually targets numerous groups of individuals. So you must intelligently pick a date that will make it possible to mosth of them to access the said camp. Usually, camps are done during the summer since there are no classes, and the youth have the opportunity to attend the camps.

3. Set your target on a special age group.
The wider the range, or intervals, of the attendees’ age, it is difficult to implement activities that would suit each of their level of skills or competency. There may be cases to set a standard that they must have acquired certain abilities to qualify for the camp. In this way, you can have an initial assessment of their capabilities, and can group them accordingly. Moreover, you can also set your attention to areas of their skills wherein they still have to work on more.

4. Decide the location of the camp.
Consider how much it will cost you to set up the camp. It will be best to choose a place that has the facilities needed for the camp to work. You can either choose to rent a private gym, or establish your camp in a local school or club. If you go on to select the private gym, it may cost that much, while if you spend it on a local school, you may be able to save money on the fees.

5. Organize a staff with assorted basketball backgrounds.
Athletes respond uniquely to persons who teach them. Selecting a staff with diversified basketball backgrounds can help you increase your options to which staff should handle a specific age group. Some attendees may easily build their trust to someone who has long experience in basketball coaching, or they can easily draw their attention to a staff that is currently playing the sport. Learners love to see a lot of basketball demonstration. It is like in reading books: It is more interesting when there are pictures that present basketball visually.

6. Analyze how much it will cost you to build the camp before setting out the fee.
Consider the things or facilities, that you will be using during the entire camp, eg. T-shirts, drinks, snacks, and deciding whether to give rumbling meals or dealing a high-priced gym could heavily impact the value. Also, do not forget to include your coaching staff into the cost. Maintaining a harmless indicator of supervising is requisite. You should have staff members that would look over a certain number of kids, for example, 5 or ten kids, perhaps.

7. Create activities before starting the basketball camp.
These activities should vary depending on the age and skills of the attendees. Activities may include the fundamentals of shooting, dribbling, and footwork. This will enable the attendees to easily embrace the physical demands of playing basketball. And also, this can speed up their level of learning of the sport. However, challenge the more skilled basketball players by not spending more time in doing the same drills that they are used to.

8. Obtain speakers ahead of time.
Speakers should be informed well ahead of time before the scheduled camp. Give them the time to formulate information with great quality. Do not simply drag someone to teach basketball just for the sake of having a speaker. Interested attendees will surely get excited to anticipate a speaker who is a certified professional basketball player.

9. Publicize your basketball camp program.
This is an effective way to get people informed that you are settling a camp for individuals who are interested to learn more about the game of basketball. It increases the chance of drawing people and increasing the number of your attendees. Publicizing means seriously advertising your camp. When you advertise, include the location, contact number, time, gender, possible speakers and activities, etc. to inform the public.

Basketball camps are useful for aspiring basketball players, especially for the youth. It is wonderful that talented basketball players, or coaches, take the time to go out in the public and share their knowledge and experience of the game.

Photo credit: Tulane Public Relations