PREPARE YOUR TEAM FOR THESE 20 LATE GAME SITUATIONS

I have put together a list of late game situations that coaches need to prepare their team for.  You may not even encounter some of these situations during the season, but don't get caught off guard, and prepare for them. These are situations that as a coach you need to think about so you at least know what your choices will be if you are faced with them.

1. Score is tied or you are behind. Full court. Baseline OB. Dead Ball. Less than 3 seconds on the clock.
2. Score is tied or you are behind. Full court. Baseline OB. Dead Ball. More than 3 seconds on the clock.
3. Score is tied or you are behind. Full court. Baseline OB. Clock is running.  Less than 3 seconds on the clock.
4. Score is tied or you are behind. Full court. Baseline OB. Clock is running. More than 3 seconds on the clock.
5. Score is tied or you are behind. Sideline OB near half court. Less than 3 seconds on the clock.
6. Score is tied or you are behind. Sideline OB near half court. More than 3 seconds on the clock.
7. Score is tied or you are behind. Sideline OB near free throw line extended or lower.  Less than 3 seconds on the clock.
8. Score is tied or you are behind. Sideline OB near free throw line extended or lower. More than 3 seconds on the clock.
9. You are behind 2 or 3 points with a few seconds left and your player is at the free throw line with one shot. 
10. Tie game with one minute left to play. Your team has the ball.  When do you attempt to score?
1. Do you hold the ball for one shot?
2. Do you take the first available shot?
11. Tie game. Your team has the ball with 10 seconds to play. No timeouts. What do you want your team to run?  Do you want them to attack the rim? Get the ball inside? Run a specific set play? Who do you want to take the shot?
12. You are down 3. Opponent has the ball with 10 seconds left.  Do you foul or play it out?
13. You are down 3. Opponent has the ball with 4 seconds left. Do you foul or play it out?
14. You are down 3 and on defense. If you decide to not foul on a big possession late in the game, how will your team defend ball screens?
15. Your team is on defense. You are behind by 1 point with 30 seconds left in the game.  The offensive team is in the bonus. When, if at all, do you foul?
16. You are ahead by 2 with 10 seconds left in the game.  You are on defense.  Offense will take the ball out baseline OB and has to go the length of the court. Offense is in the bonus. How do you defend them? 
1. Do you apply a full court press?  If so, what type?
2. If you don't apply full court pressure, where do you start defending the ball?
17. You are on defense.  Your team is ahead by 4 points with 20 seconds to go.  You have two fouls to give.  Do you have your team commit non-shooting fouls?
18. You are down 10 points with three minutes to go in the game. At what point to you start fouling and put the other team on the free throw line?
19. You are ahead in a one possession game (1, 2, or 3 points). Your team is on defense. The opposing team calls a timeout with 8 seconds to play.  You've played zone defense the entire game.  Do you play man-to-man on this last possession if it is something you have in your team's arsenal?
20. Do you have a delay game on offense when you are attempting to secure a lead late in games? If so, when do you start using it?

RECOMMENDED BOOKS FOR COACHES

This is a list of a few of the books I took the time to read so far this summer that I feel can help us as coaches. Happy reading!

Toughness by Jay Bilas
I recommend you put this at the top of your reading list. You want a tough team, this is the book that can help you start implementing strategies to use with your players/team. Bilas shares his own thoughts along with other people, from a variety of professional backgrounds, to share their thoughts on toughness.

The Golden Whistle by Jim Burson
Coach Burson uses a story of an up and coming coach to share his thoughts on how a coach can be successful.  He shares his own experiences from a variety of situations that can help coaches make a positive impact on their team on and off the basketball court.  Coach Burson has put this book into a format that makes it easy to read, and easy for coaches to apply strategies with their own team.

The Politics of Coaching by Carl Pierson
This is the actually the second time I've read Coach Pierson's book. And it will not be my last.  His book is a must read for younger coaches, but is equally as beneficial for veteran coaches.  Pierson provides so many helpful hints that will give coaches a great opportunity for longevity in the coaching profession. I have given this book to new coaches coming into our program.

The Hard Hat: 21 Ways To Be A Great Teammate by Jon Gordon
I'm a big fan of all of Jon Gordon's books, but this one blew me away.  This is what I call a Wow! book.  It will make an impact on you not only as a coach, but as a person.  This is Gordon's first "true story" as it is written about about a former Cornell lacrosse player named George.  So many valuable lessons for coaches, players, and people in general in this book.  It's a quick read, but it is one that you will no doubt refer back to many times.

Leadership Lessons Of Abraham Lincoln edited by Meg Distini
This book is full of quotes and thoughts from Abraham Lincoln.  The author does a nice job of organizing them into different topics such as discipline, communication, leadership, conflict resolution, and determination.  This is a book you can pick up and read for a few minutes at a time and pick up some valuable gems to get you to think.

5 OFF-SEASON TO-DO'S YOU SHOULD BE DOING...NOW!

1. ANALYZE YOUR PERSONNEL
One of the first things you need to consider when your off-season begins is personnel.  Figure out what the strengths and weaknesses are of each one of your potential returning players.

2. ANALYZE YOUR X'S AND O'S
Once you have a good grasp of they type of players you have returning, now you have to see how your next team will fit into the X's and O's you are currently using.  You may have a 'system' or a way you always do things, but based on personnel some changes may be needed.  These changes might be large or possibly a small adjustment is needed.  The fact is that you need to have X's and O's that will help put your players in the best position to be successful.  When personnel changes, so might your X's and O's.

3. MEET WITH YOUR PLAYERS
Schedule time to have exit interviews with your players after the completion of your season.  This is a time for player can coach to share thoughts on the previous season and where to go from this point on.  Coaches can also use this time to give players guidance on what they need to work during the off-season.  Also, check in with your players from time to time when you see them in the gym or at school. 

4. SCHEDULE YOUR OFF-SEASON ACTIVITIES
This should be done sooner than later.  Give your players a calendar with all of the off-season opportunities your program offers.  Getting this calendar of events earlier gives your players a chance to start planning their own summers. 

5. MEET, SHARE, LEARN, GROW
One of the great things about the coaching profession is that coaches are willing to share ideas.  If you are interested about a certain concept or topic, contact a coach who might.  Or plan a get-together with a group of coaches and share thoughts and ideas.  This can be as easy as sitting down at a restaurant to diagram X's and O's or share philosophies of coaching.  Coaches will share.

TIPS TO GET THROUGH THE DOG DAYS OF YOUR SEASON

1. Shorten the length of practices as the season progresses. 

• Keeping your players fresh is important.  As you get into the last 1/3 of your season you may want to consider shortening the length of practices.  Fewer minutes on the court can be a psychological boost to your team.
  

2. It's ok to have some fun in the gym on occasion - just for the sake of having fun.

• Organizing some fun basketball related activities at the end of an occasional practice session will keep your players spirits up.  Get your work done first, then allow your players to experience some fun together on the court.  Let them see the coaches enjoying it too.

3. Give your players a day off. 

• If your schedule allows you to give your players a day off, go ahead and do it if you feel your players need it.  Make sure you give your team enough practice time before your next game though.  
  

4. Add a variety of new drills to your practice routine.

• Coaches emphasize in practice what they want their teams to be good at - or known for.  Those emphasized areas are drilled throughout every practice.  As the season progresses coaches need to create a variety of drills to emphasize these priorities.
  

5. Without overloading your team, add new X's and O's to your team's inventory.

• Adding a new wrinkle to your offense or defense can add some much needed excitement to your players.  
  

6. Arrange for a guest speaker to visit with your team.

• Give your players a chance to be motivated by others outside your program.  Bring in an ex-player, a business leader in your community, a respected teacher, or someone who has experienced success in their area of expertise to deliver an inspirational message to your team.

7. Have your team re-evaluate team goals that were set early in the season.

• Allow your team to meet without the coaching staff to discuss and possibly adjust the goals that were set at the beginning of the season.  It is possible that the goals may need to be scaled back.  Or it could be that they would like create even higher goals for the remainder of the season.

8. Organize team bonding activities.

• Getting your team together outside of the gym is important.  It allows them to have fun and get to know one another better without having to deal with the rigors of basketball.

MAKE AN INVENTORY "PUT IN" CHART

The start of the season is still weeks away.  Coaches have all kinds of ideas for their offense, defense, and special teams.  Some of the things that the players will be taught will be a repeat from previous years, but chances are there are some new wrinkles added to the team's X and O inventory.  Regardless if something is new or old to the players TIME will be needed to implement it into your team's arsenal before the first game of the season.

How do you know when to put everything in?  The answer to that is to create an INVENTORY PUT-IN CHART.  This chart is a pacing guide for you as you map out the start of your season.  Coaches must have a plan well in advance to figure out when to put in each of their X's and O's.  You can't fly by the seat of your pants and do things on a whim as you start your season...plan it out!

What is an Inventory Put-In Chart?  What you need to do is create a calendar that starts with your first day of practice through your first game of the season.  On another piece of paper you will need to write down all the of the X's, O's, and special teams you need to have in before the first game of the season.

Prioritize.  You need to decide which is the most important for your team to focus on before the first game.  This will become your top priority and you will want to make sure that is put in first.  Continue from there through each practice leading up to your first game.  You can't do it all early in the season.  Coaches must realize that you don't need to have every single set play, BLOB, SLOB, or defense in prior to your first game.  Start small and work your way up to adding more as the season progresses.

One thing to consider is to add one or two new things a day for the first few weeks.  Doing this will allow you to focus part of your practice in implementing X's and O's, while using the remainder of your practice to review X's and O's already put in and skill work.  If you decide to spend an entire practice implementing a bunch of different X's and O's you are wasting time.  The result of doing this would be too much standing around by the players as they listen to the coach talk, and an overload of information for the players.

Below is an example of a two week "Put-In" chart.  Listed are only the new things being put in.  Obviously you will be reviewing others X's and O's you have already put in throughout the two weeks leading up to the first game.

Nov. 12                Nov. 13                    Nov. 14                   Nov. 15                     Nov. 16
5 Defense            Transition O            Wildcat Zone O       Set Play 4 vs Zone    121 Press
Flex Offense       Press O                     55 Defense                                                BLOB 1
                            Set Play 1 vs Man

Nov. 19                     Nov. 20              Nov. 21                          Nov. 22              Nov. 23

Set Play 2 vs Man    BLOB 3             Set Play 5 vs Zone         Jump Ball          SLOB 1
BLOB 2                   121 Soft Press    Full Court :04 seconds  Free Throw D    Pre-Game
                                                                                                                             BLOB 3

Nov. 26                       Nov. 27
SLOB 2                      GAME #1
Set Play 3 vs Man

FOR FANS OF YOUR TEAM: PROMOTE AND COMMUNICATE WITH A TEAM NEWSLETTER

One of the best ways to promote your team is to send out a team newsletter.  It is also a great way to communicate with parents, fans, your administration, and alumni.  People like to read about what is happening with the team.  A simple newsletter can create some excitement for your team or overall program.  With today's technology you have the capability to reach people all over the globe, and can do it so it doesn't cost you a penny.

Creating a newsletter might seem intimidating to someone who hasn't done it.  My response to that is it will be as intimidating as you want it to be.  Your newsletter can be very basic and easy to create, or it can be as fancy as you can make it.  Either way the goal of promoting your basketball team and communicating with the fans of your team is being accomplished.

You will want to be careful as to what kind of information you include in your newsletter.  Obviously you would never want to write about information that could cause any type of turmoil.  Keep the information positive.  Remember you are promoting your team, program, and the wonderful that are a part of it.

Listed below are some things to remember when creating a team newsletter:

1. You can save yourself a lot of money by sending your newsletter via email only.  You will need to compile a list of email addresses to start.  In each newsletter you might need to add a blurb to your readers for them to forward the email (newsletter) to anyone who they think might be interested in receiving it (former players, school alumni, relatives, community members, etc).  In the newsletter you will also want to include a message on how someone could get on the email list to receive future newsletters.  Your email list will grow as a result.
2. The newsletter can be as plain as a simple email or you can create something more appealing with different tools, one being in Word.
3. When sending out your newsletter list it would be advised to use the bcc to include the email addresses.  This will hide all the recipient's email addresses.  Why could this be important?  One reason is that there might be a reader that would rather not have their email address known by someone else.  Another is that there could be a disgruntled parent/fan that could type up an email by hitting "Reply All" and it would be sent to all your newsletter readers.  This is just to protect yourself.
4. Create and send out the newsletter on a regular basis. Weekly, monthly, bi-monthly, and quarterly are times to consider.
5. Information to consider putting in your newsletter:

• A message from you, the coach.
• Upcoming game schedule.
• Information on any upcoming fundraising events, promotions, or special events that are associated with your team/program.
• Action photo(s) of your team.
• A description and diagram of a drill you do in practice.
• News about other teams in your basketball program (youth teams).
• Spotlight on one of the coaches in your program.
• Spotlight on one of the players in your program.
• Spotlight on someone who does behind the scenes work for your team (custodian, administrator, booster club member, etc).
• A motivational quote that you use with your team.
• Highlight recent accomplishments of your team or players.

If you would like to see a sample of a newsletter that I have sent out I would be happy to send you one.  Email me at dietelgreg@gmail.com to request an actual newsletter I sent out.

A newsletter is a tool to use that can keep basketball in the minds of your players, fans, parents, and alumni no matter what time of the year it is.  That alone is worth the time you would invest creating your newsletter.

PRIORITIES FOR A HEALTHY COACHING STAFF

Head coach Norman Dale & assistant Shooter

Having a healthy relationship amongst your coaching staff is extremely important.  Whether your staff consists of just two or as many as six coaches there are some priorities for both the assistant(s) and head coach to consider.  Players can sense and see the rapport a staff has, and the healthier it is the better chance the rapport among the players will be strong as well.

PRIORITIES FOR THE ASSISTANT
1. Work ethic.  Be a good example for the players in your basketball program.  Show the head coach and athletic director that you are willing to go above and beyond.  Help work with the youth programs, work summer camps, help with scouting assignments, etc.
2. Loyalty.  An assistant coach needs to be loyal to the head coach.  Support the head coach publicly.  There will be times when you disagree with the decisions of the head coach, but you have to keep that within your staff.  Letting people in the public know you would have done things differently is unhealthy for your program. 
3. Assertiveness.  The last thing a head coach needs is for an assistant to be a "Yes Man".  It is completely healthy for an assistant coach and head coach to have discussions about things they disagree on.  Coaches that speak their mind to one another help each other to continue to grow as coaches.  This in turn will help the continued growth of the program you help lead. 
4. Knowledge.  Make sure you understand the system and style of play of your team.  Each coach has their individual beliefs and style, which is great.  But there are going to be some things in the program the assistant is going to have to know completely.  Examples could range from anything from an offense, defense, to how you teach a defensive stance.  Whatever it is, the assistant must know it well.
5. Patience.  Many assistant coaches want to move up the ladder and become a head coach.  Assistant coaches must remember that your journey to a head coaching position is not going to happen overnight.  In most cases it takes some time.  Be patient.  To help you get to the top quicker the best thing for you to do is to continue to the best assistant coach you can be.  If this is your goal, keep that goal at the forefront of your mind, but control what you can control right now.  if you do this your time to become a head coach will come soon enough.

PRIORITIES FOR THE HEAD COACH

1. Delegate.  Give your assistants specific jobs or responsibilities.  Some assistants can handle more than others.  Know the strengths and weaknesses of each assistant.  If they have a particular strength, let them use that to help make your team/program better.  No matter how big or small you feel it is, the fact that your assistant(s) know you trust them to be in charge of something will do wonders for the overall atmosphere of your staff.  It will also help them continue to grow as a coach.
2. Collaborate.  Include your assistants in the decision making process.  The head coach will make the final decision, but discussions amongst your assistants will help make the best decision.
3. Lead.  The head coach needs to be the leader.  Even though the head coach will delegate and collaborate there should be no doubt they are the leader of the team and program.
 4. Mentor.  The head coach does more than teach players how to run an offense, run a defense, how to set a screen, or seal on a post up.  They also are a mentor to their players and assistants.  It is the responsibility of the head coach to make sure their assistants are continuing to learn the game of basketball, showing them how to run a program, and how to treat people.  Your assistants will more than likely want to be a head coach someday.  If the head coach is a good mentor for for their assistants they are in essence "paying it forward" to ensure the game will continue to prosper.
   

BASKETBALL COACHING: KEEPING IT SIMPLE

What do you think coaches are full of?  You guessed it, coaches are full of...knowledge.  Whether a coach is in their third year or twentieth year they have probably been exposed to many different offenses, set plays, defenses, schemes, philosophies, etc.  Like all sports basketball is evolving as there are new ideas being formed by coaches all the time.  Coaches are looking to learn about the new trendy offense, defense, or concept so the information out there for coaches is multiplies daily.  This new information gets stored in a filing cabinet, a file on a computer, and some of it is stored in the back of a coach's mind.  The coach never knows when they will need to reach into one of these files to use with their team.

DO NOT OVERLOAD YOUR PLAYERS

Coaches have to be careful NOT to overload their players with too much information.  A coach has to have a good idea as to how much information their team can handle.  Some years you will be able to have more in your X & O arsenal while other years you may have to use far less.  Whatever the situation is the coach still needs to be careful not to overload their players.  Is it really necessary for your team to have 10 baseline out-of-bounds plays?  5 man-to-man offenses?  5 zone offenses?  10 set plays?  4 different full court presses?  ABSOLUTELY NOT!  Coaches need to remember "It's not what you know that counts, it's what your players know."  Give your players only what they can handle.  Givng players too many X's and O's will cause them to be hesitent on the court.  Players will be too concerned about where they are "supposed to be" rather than just reacting and playing. Giving your players a few things to know well allows them to play more free and aggressively.

One of the challenges of coaching is to take this knowledge that has been acquired over time and figure out which pieces of it can be or should be applied to your team.  There are two times of the year when coaches can add to what their teams do, off-season and in-season.

ADDING DURING THE OFF-SEASONEach coach has a general philosophy as to how their teams play (if they don't they better establish one).  Each coach needs to look at their returning roster and see if what they are doing in terms of style of play fits the ability of their players.  The off-season is the time when a coach can make a bigger change in style of play because the off-season gives the coach time to learn all the ins and outs of whatever their new X or O is.  Bigger changes during the off-season makes sense.

ADDING WHILE IN-SEASON

Changes made while the season is in progress should be more subtle than the off-season changes. Coaches need to be careful not to revamp everything they do in mid-season.  Keep the changes small. One example would be to add a set play to your offense that is a counter to your regular man-to-man or zone offense.  If you run the Flex Offense, a good idea would be to add a set play that starts out of your Flex set.

To review...

1. Gather as much knowledge as you can.
2. Decide what you can use with your team.
3. Do not overload your players with too much.
4. Bigger changes are made in the off-season.
5. In-season changes need to be subtle.

TIPS FOR RUNNING A GREAT PRACTICE - PART 2

continued from yesterday...

1.  Maximize your gym space.  As a coach plans for their practices it is important to use as much of the space and/or baskets as possible.  By doing this the coach is creating a practice that will allow players to stay active and prevent them from having to stand in line for periods of time waiting for a rep during a drill.  During drill work players should spend more time "doing" rather than "waiting".

2. Create an environment where players will want to work hard.  There are two key factors in helping create this type of environment.  One is the coach setting expectations.  When setting up a drill or scrimmage session in practice the coach needs to communicate clearly to the team what the expectations are.  Don't give the team a list of ten expectations, keep the number low to give players a chance to focus on what the coach feels is needed the most.  The second factor is the coach needs to be firm but fair with players.  Every coach has their own coaching style that is a reflection of their personality.  Whatever the coaching style a coach can be demanding of their players.  Demanding does not have to mean the coach has to constantly yell at their players. Demanding means the coach pushes their players to meet the expectations set prior to the drill, scrimmage, or game.  How the coach goes about doing this is a reflection of their own personality.

3. Have a good tempo to your practice.  No matter if your team's style of play your practices need a good tempo.  One way to create a good tempo is to maximize your gym space (see #1 in today's blog post).  Another way to create good tempo is to shorten up your transition time in practice.  Transition time is the time between drills in practice.  If the coach is organized for practice this should not be an issue.  The more stand around and wait time the players have during transitions the worse the tempo to practice will be.  Obviously coaches need to allow time for their players to get water to keep hydrated, so this could take a bit more time during a transition.  But the quicker you can move your team from drill to drill the quicker the tempo will be.  You can get a lot more accomplished during a practice with a quicker tempo.

4. Recognize a time when things can loosen up.  Every coach wants their team to show a great work ethic in practice.  But a coach needs to recognize when things can loosen up for their players. The practice environment doesn't always have to be as serious as a tax audit every single minute your team is on the court.  Creating a fun drill or activity for your team can have a big boost for the overall mentality of the players.

5. Use other coaches.  So many times coaches feel they have to do everything on their own.  This is wrong, wrong, wrong!  If you are a staff of one, then you have to do it all on your own.  But if there are other coaches on your staff, use them.

6. Remember what you want your team to be known for.  Every coach should establish what their teams are absolutely going to be good at.  Do you want to be a defensive team?  A team that is great in transition?  A team that shows patience on offense?  A great rebounding team?  Whatever it is for your team, then practice it...every day.  It should be a big focus to all that you do during your practice sessions.   

If you have any questions, comments, or ideas to share with me regarding this post feel free to contact me at dietelgreg@gmail.com.

TIPS FOR RUNNING A GREAT PRACTICE - PART 1

1. Always have a practice plan written on paper for each practice.  Writing out your practice plan ahead of time means you have given thought ahead of time for your practice.  This will keep both you and your players organized.  Write out your practice plan in a way that makes sense to you.  Some coaches need only the time and name of the drill on paper to get them through practice in an organized fashion.  Others may need the time, drill, diagrams, and many notes to keep them organized.  Do what is best for you.

2. Make your practices competitive.  Create an environment that allows for competition in practices. Some ideas to keep your practices competitive are:

• Any drill that forces players to compete against each other.  This could be anything from 1-on-1 up to 5-on-5.  Have a winner and a loser within your drills and put a reward for the winner or an activity for the loser.  It could be something as simple as the losing player or team has to do 5 push-ups.  You would be surprised at how much harder players compete if they get the pleasure of watching their opponent do 5 push-ups. 
• Do things that are measurable.  Example A: If you are doing an individual shooting drill have players keep track of the number of makes.  Players can remember their score and then the next time they perform the same drill each player will have a personal best to try and beat.  Continuing with shooting, Example B:  During team shooting drills set a goal for number of makes in a certain amount of time.  This pushes the players to work hard in an attempt to beat the desired goal.  Example C:  When performing a traditional box out drill players need to get two consecutive defensive rebounds to be out of the drill.  Continuing with rebounding, Example D:  During a rebounding drill keep track of offensive rebounds. The player with the most offensive rebounds gets recognized in front of the team.  Remember that number and the next time the drill is performed the players have a goal to work for.  Having players work hard for offensive rebounds forces the defender to work at best effort when attempting to box out.
• The coach should set the expectations for each drill ahead of time.  Players should know exactly what is expected from them and why they are actually performing the drill.  This will prevent less hesitation from the players, and give your team the best opportunity to go all out in the drill.

3. Drill the fundamentals.  It doesn't matter what level of basketball you coach, the fundamentals of basketball will be the foundation for every team.  Dedicating fundamentals time to each practice is crucial to the continued development of your players and team.  Drilling the fundamentals can at times seem tedious to your players.  That is not always a bad thing because a coach can really gauge which players are mentally tough enough to continue working hard and not just go through the motions while working on the basic fundamentals of the game.  Coaches can create ways to make fundamental work fun and/or competitive.  Be creative!

4. Teach Whole to Part to Whole.  When introducing a new skill, concept, or an offense/defense use the whole-part-whole method.  Show them the end result first, then break it down to its smallest part, drill it and build your way back up to the end result.  Teaching this way gives your players a chance to truly understand what you are teaching.  The better a player understands the less time they need to stop and think about what is to be done.  This allows them to react and play rather than stop and think.

Tomorrow:  Tips For Running A Great Practice - Part 2