What Makes a nightmare sports parent?

Every parent should read this article. Ive played, coached, and am a parent. Parenting is the most difficult of the three. The problem is that players have camps to attend, coaches have clinics, but there is nothing available for parents.
The following article provides some very good info on the topic.

http://www.bermudian.k12.pa.us/attachments/article/80/What%20Makes%20A%20Nightmare%20Sports%20Parent.pdf

The 10 Worst Things We Do as Coaches by Mike Dunlap

1. Take time to explain what we want from our players. We must strive for clarity
first.

2. Demonstration after we tell our players what we want; there must be a
demonstration each time. We need to give our players a picture demonstration
before we get into repetition.

3. Building blocks are the only way to develop a player. For example, if we do not
address a players feet and be specific about how we want him to pivot then it will
cost us down the road. Do not rush your teaching. We should do one thing at a
time.

4. Teaching your team to be physical takes technique, sequential instruction, and
patience. It is easy to call a player a "nutless wonder" without considering that
most players have never been taught the finer points of hand to hand combat. If
we would spend a little more time with football coaches we would figure out how
to teach our team to be physical.

5. Be objective about an all out effort. We demand that a player go at 100%
effort. What is 100% effort and has there ever been a player who knew what that
meant. Probably not? For instance, put a heart monitor on a player and measure
their heart rate. The instructor can be more objective about individual effort this
way. Yet, we talk and sometimes yell at our players about going "all out" all the
time. What a stupid statement when you really think about it. How can a player
read and think? For example, a good offensive player must learn how to change
speeds with cutting and ballhandling. This requires that the offensive player
control his body and NOT play at 100%. Too many times we buy into the myth of
the 100% effort and forget about going after a player's intellect before asking for
a quality effort.

6. Demanding perfection. What a bunch of crap! The more a person chases
perfection the less they can enjoy each act. How can a perfectionist be happy
with anything? The least enjoyable person to be around is the perfectionist; I find
a lazy dog to be just as unpleasant. Demand that people do the right thing, yet do
not fall into the trap that nothing is ever good enough. If you are always chasing
perfection then how can you teach a player to enjoy a job well done. As Coach
Wooden stated, "A man must find balance, be it emotional, physical, spiritual, or
intellectual.". Why is it that certain coaches will say that they were devastated by
the loss at the end of a 33-1 season? If you believe in your preparation and
teaching process then how can any loss devastate you? In other words, losing is
part of sports; you learn from it and move on. A disciplined mind comes in many
different forms and being mentally tough also requires that you must accept the
brutal reality that no one is perfect and a quality effort is a joy in and of itself
regardless of outcome.

7. Follow through. If you want discipline in your organization then follow through
with consequences for actions. Our discipline breaks down when we do not
quickly punish the transgression. How come so many coaches fall prey to this
area? Because it could hurt the outcome of your season if you lose a certain
player. My experience tells me just the opposite. For example, George
Gwoldecky, head hockey coach at Denver University, benched his best player for
the national championship game. Coach Gwoldecky made a statement for all
time- period.

8. Take care of ourselves first. Whether it is our mental and physical health (i.e
eating, exercise, prayer, reading, etc) daily schedule, finances, family, and other
personal matters, we need to address those things first. Why? Because if you are
not in order how can you fully give to your team, staff, and school? You cannot.

9. Apologize. We demand so much from others and we want them to see their
mistakes and fix them. In short, we set ourselves above our own vulnerabilities;
we should openly admit our errors. Once you have done this in front of your team
it will be much easier for them to acknowledge their mistakes. This is an
imperative act by the head coach if you want quality communication.

10. Allow for failure. Part of learning is the margin of failure and sometimes you just have to let the players fall flat on their rumps. This is difficult but necessary.

Baylor Individual Guard Workout

Baylor Individual Guard W-out.docx

Stevens, Crean, Painter clinic notes

BradStevensClinicNotes.pdf

Steph Curry Skills Academy handbook

Steph Curry Skills academy.pdf

Team USA plays

Team USA.pdf

Team USA practice notes

USA training camp.docx

John makes Team USA for the World University Games

Congratulations to John on being named to Team USA that will play in the World University Games in China!

Roy Williams on relationships

The following are thoughts on coach/player relationships by Coach Roy Williams in his book, "Hard Work: A Life On and Off the Court."

Coach Smith taught me that your players are always your top priority. If I have a player in my office and the phone rings, I will not answer the phone. I have a Plexiglas paperweight that reads, “Statistics are important, but relationships last a lifetime.”

When it comes to mentoring my players, I look at myself like a teammate. I am playing as hard as I can every day to get them to believe in what I believe in: that there’s a right way to conduct yourself, there’s a right way to answer people, there’s a right way to dress when you go into a restaurant or get on a plane, and there’s a right way to play basketball.

See the rocks in your path not as obstacles, but as opportunities to climb higher or If you want to leave footprints in the sands of time—you better wear work shoes. On the first day of preseason practice, the Thought for the Day is always the same: It’s amazing how much can be accomplished when nobody cares who gets the credit.

I try to never blow smoke with my players. I tell them what they need to hear, not what they want to hear. I tell them the truth.

The simplest way to get me mad is with selfishness, lack of concentration, or lack of hustle.

via Coach Bob Starkey

ACKNOWLEDGING CONTRIBUTIONS

The following comes from an interview by John Maxwell of Coach Wooden. Obviously there are many coaches who adhere to the philosophy of a player signaling to a teammate after a good pass. But do we as coaches and human beings look ways and opportunities to acknowledge the contributions of those that we work with and live with on a daily basis?


In 2003, when I interviewed UCLA basketball coach John Wooden, he told me how he would often teach his players who scored to give a smile, wink, or not to the player who gave them a good pass. “What if he’s not looking?” asked a team member. Wooden replied, “I guarantee he’ll look.” Everyone enjoys having his contribution acknowledged.

via Coach Bob Starkey

Warren Buffett's hiring guide

From Don Meyer's evening of excellence

3 things Warren Buffett looks for when hiring:

1. work ethic
2. intelligence
3. character

& Without character, work ethic and intelligence
don't matter

- Don Meyer

VCU roll-replace

This is a set from our friend Shaka Smart. We got to know Shaka quite well when he was an assistant coach at Clemson and recruited John Jenkins.

VCU pick n roll.pdf

Difference between coaching and teaching

“There is a difference between teaching and coaching. When you are instructing your team about the actual game, you are teaching them, transmitting knowledge and information to them. There are guys who don’t teach their players anything or much of anything, but who go around and recruit the best players and win—they’re coaches but not teachers.”
--Pete Carril

Kevin Stallings on playing with less talent

Coach Stallings was asked this question at the Vandy coaches clinic this past Saturday.


"What are some things you can do to make up the difference when you are

short on talent?"


Here are a few things he mentioned in his answer:

1. Be more physical (toughness, effort, loose balls, defensive rebounding, etc)
2. Take more time in offensive possessions without losing confidence, rhythm, & flow
3. steal points ex. tip play, baseline o.b. plays

TSU Fist offense

TSU Fist offense.pdf

Xavier Newsletter #5

Xavier Newsletter 5[1].pdf

Florida Coaching Clinic

Florida_Coaches_Clinic_2010[1][1].pdf

LSU Lady Tiger Defensive General Concepts

WE WANT TO TAKE AWAY THE PAINT AT ALL TIMES
◄When the ball gets to the paint it creates easy shot opportunities in the paint
◄When the ball gets to the paint it creates easy perimeter shots (especially 3’s)
◄When the ball gets to the paint it creates help and recover situations
◄When the ball gets to the paint it creates closeout situations
◄When the ball gets to the paint it creates fouling situations
......taking away the paint starts with transition defense
......stance, head, eyes and footwork are critically important
…...team defense — having the ability to help early — is a necessity

WE WANT A HAND ON THE BALL
◄When the ball handler has the ball and has not dribbled…
......we want to have a hand on the ball — constantly mirroring the ball!
◄When the ball handler is dribbling…
......we want the defender to have a hand on the ball as it is dribbled!
◄When the ball handler is attempting to pass…
......we want a hand on the ball as it is passed with the goal of deflecting it!
◄When the ball handler is attempting to shoot…
......we want a hand on the ball to block or alter the shot!

WE WANT TO TAKE AWAY THE OPPONENT’S STRENGTH
◄This will come from scouting and game preparation

WE WANT TO HAVE A COMMUNICATIVE DEFENSE
◄We want to be constantly talking at all times
◄This will increase our concentration and execution

WE WANT TO DO ALL THE ABOVE WITHOUT FOULING
◄Do not give your opponent’s easy scores and free throws are easy scores
◄Don’t bail out bad shots or bad plays
◄Make our opponent’s make plays

WE WANT TO FINISH WITH A BLOCKOUT AND A REBOUND
◄Grabbing the rebound is like picking up your paycheck at the end of the work week.

via Bob Starkey LSU

John Jenkins follow through

I couldn't help but posting this picture from camp last summer. John came and spoke to our campers and demonstrated proper shooting form. I thought this was a great pic of his textbook follow through and just wanted to share.

Tommy Bowden

I had the opportunity to hear Tommy Bowden speak last night at an FCA dinner @ First Baptist Hendersonville. He said that he wanted his teams to learn five things. They were:
1. Responsibility
2. Accountibility
3. Committment
4. Discipline
5. Sacrifice