5 THINGS NEEDED TO MAKE IT IN COACHING

HAVE A PASSION FOR COACHING
You have to have a passion for coaching if you are going to make a career out of it.  You just can't go through the motions and do just enough to get by.  If you are not "all in" your player will see right through you.  Doing just enough won't be good enough and if this happens you won't be coaching too long.

KEEP LEARNING
The second you think you know it all, you will quickly be reminded that you don't.  If you think you know it all, you know nothing.  There are so many resources out there for coaches to continue learning and growing:  coaching clinics, dvds, books, internet, other coaches, etc.  It is important that you remain a student of the game.


SURROUND YOURSELF WITH THE RIGHT PEOPLE
Surrounding yourself with good people makes a better environment for everyone involved.  The more you are on the same page with the people you work with or coach, the more organized your program will be.  Find people who believe in the same things you believe in. 

SET EXPECTATIONS
Set expectations for coaches and players.  If your players understand what is expected they will then have a better chance to be successful.  Set expectations for how you want your players to represent our program, set them for each drill you do, and set them for each game.  It is unrealistic to assume that things will go exactly as you want them just because expectations were set ahead of time.  But...Vince Lombardi said it best when he said, "Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence."

DEAL WITH PEOPLE THE RIGHT WAY
Coaching is about dealing with people, so have to know how to handle and deal with people.  You might know everything about basketball but if you don’t know how to deal with people it doesn’t matter what you know. 

IMPROVE COMMUNICATION ON DEFENSE

"TALK!!!!!"  How many times have you ever said that to your team?  I'm guessing you have all had your blood pressure rise because a player or players on your team neglected to talk on defense.  Communication on defense is just as important as a team's ability to guard the ball, box out, or getting to proper help position. 

If you want your players to talk then you have to do more than ask them to talk.  You have to put your team in practice situations where they are required to talk to be successful.  The more you do this, the more they do it naturally.  Eventually it will become second nature with your players.

Below are some simple, yet effective, drills to use that will help promote communication with your players on the defensive end of the floor.

DISADVANTAGE DRILLS
Play 3-on-2, 4-on-3, or 5-on-4.  You can do this in half court or full court situations.  These drills put the defense at a tremendous disadvantage because they have one less player than the offense.  Remind your players because of the disadvantage not to be discouraged on defense if the offense has success from time to time.  In these drills you need to require your players to call out "ball!" when they are on the ball, "help!" when they are in help position, and "deny!" if they are in a denial position (or "gap" if you play a gap control defense).

BALL SCREEN DEFENSE DRILLS
There are several ways to defend ball screens.  No matter what your philosophy is on defending ball screens you will need your players to talk on defense.  You can do simple 2-on-2 drills where the offense must set ball screens while the defense defends them the way you require.  Players must call out the screen and side it is being set on.  Also, if you are trapping the dribbler you will need a buzz word the players will call out to signify the defense on the screen.  Example:  "Hot!"  If your philosophy is to hedge on the dribbler, you may also want a buzz word for that to signify and remind the defenders what they are doing.  Example:  "Bump!"

Another good ball screen defense drill is to play cut throat at one basket.  You can set a rule that when the team is on offense they must set ball screens.  This will give the defense many opportunities to communicate and work on their ball screen defense.

These are just a few ways to help promote communication amongst your team when they are on defense.  The more your players talk, the more aware they are.  And the more aware they are, the tougher it is for your opponent to score.

Good luck!