Best Things I've Seen In Coaching--Game Management

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Listed below are twelve thoughts we discussed recently at the Texas A&M Coaches Clinic. It has been a great process reviewing and putting these thoughts on paper as we prepare for our upcoming season. 

Obviously so much of "game management" is the preparation put in during the pre-season, team meetings, staff meetings, IDW's and practices.  However, below are some specific concepts to look at while preparing for these in game moments.

 

GAME MANAGEMENT

1. Process oriented mentality discussed earlier
2. Players want reassurance during timeouts
3. Half Time 3 Offense/ 3 Defense
4. Players write on board at half-time
5. Pat--"How can we help them?"
6. Pat--each assistant watched and responsible for element needed during that game…added that to practices as well
7. What you accept in victory, you must accept in defeat
8. How do you want to lose?? How can you put your head on your pillow, knowing you did everything you could to help the team prepare and compete?
9. Game Sheet--notes/ adjustments
10. Post Game breakdown--evaluate the scouting report and go over where the breakdowns were with the team on the following day
11. Correction period on day after game
12. Timeout organization--how much time wasted before going into the huddle…What's the manner for communication…What's to be communicated…What's your process??

Best Things I've Seen In Coaching--Culture

I recently had the opportunity to speak at the Texas A&M Women's Basketball coaches clinic.  Coach Starkey and I talked about sharing the experiences and lessons learned from working with Coach Meyer and Coach Summitt.  

One of Coach Meyer's best DVD in his series is one called "The Best Things I've Seen In Coaching", so we decided to steal his title.  I tried to hit 12 bullet points on 10 Topics.  Listed below are is the outline I used to talk about "Culture."

CULTURE--not the WHAT, but the HOW

1. The "Hokey "Pokey"--Started every camp with the rookie coaches on stage in the alumni auditorium demonstrating along with the campers the concept of "Putting your wholeself in."
2. No one looking for shortcuts.
3. Appreciation of the past, anticipation of the future.
4. Eliminate bad basketball, be fundamentally sound, be tough and smart
5. Players can recite our vision and what we represent
6. Team vs Bunch of players running around in the same jersey
7. Six things generally make 80% of the difference-->Seek, Study and Go To Work On
8. NBA--Next Best Action (actually Next Best Thought)
9. Deserve--merit earned through hard work
10. Daily choices--some conscious/ some unconscious..but every choice affects the team
11. What's Us vs What's Not Us-->Evil is anything that imperceptibly lowers our standards just a hair
12. We get what we Expect, Inspect & Accept

Coach Meyer Workshop & Courses

3 Questions For Recruiting--Can Play, Succeed, Thrive

Throughout this summer in either a conversation with a college, high school coach or just someone talking basketball one statement was regularly repeated--"She can PLAY for ______" or they would ask can she PLAY at that level and so on.

I have kept thinking about the question.  But there are two better questions...The simple ability or opportunity to PLAY for a team/school is one question.  Another question and a better one I think is can she (and the team) succeed at ______ school.  That raises the bar and the variables involved.  It's a question from a different perspective.

But the best question for coaches and recruits, I believe, is "CAN YOU THRIVE?  CAN THE TEAM THRIVE?  Thrive raises the level again.  Plus, it takes into account all four aspects of a student-athletes experience.  Academic--Spiritual--Skill--Career...To Thrive one must have four areas aligned.  Student-Athletes and Coaches have to evaluate in terms of Thriving.

Study Winning Ways With Coach Meyer

ith 923 wins, Don Meyer is one of the most successful coaches in NCAA men’s basketball. Neither a near-fatal car accident - which claimed most of a leg - nor a diagnosis of inoperable cancer could keep him away from the game he loves.

 

Don’t miss his inspirational story and lessons of leadership both on and off the court.

 

For more information, call 1-855-678-3983, email online@northern.edu or visit Northern's Online & Continuing Education page.

 

 

Please explore Coach Meyer’s award-winning DVD collection.

 

 

 

 

   

Upcoming Coach Meyer Workshops & Courses at Northern

 

 

• PE 492/592 Tp: Advanced Theory and Coaching Basketball

 

Course Dates: Aug. 27-Dec. 14, 2012

Cost: $140 (3-credit course)

 

This course will be an intense review of coaching theory and will take learners into all aspects of Coach Meyer’s basketball program. Specific topics to be covered include individual development workouts, preparing for games, special situations, building a team concept, developing internal leaders, and more.

 

  

• BADM 492/592 Tp: Don Meyer Leadership Series
 

Cost: $40

 

This online course takes the wit, wisdom, and winning ways of Coach Don Meyer and brings it to business leaders, community members, and other participants. The first half of the course focuses on what it takes to be a servant leader and the second half describes the processes necessary to build a team of servant leaders. Participants may take the course for one (1) Undergraduate or Graduate credit.

 

Locations:

August 23 in Aberdeen, SD

AmericInn Lodge, Suites and Event Center

310 Centennial St.

Aberdeen, SD 57401

 

August 28 in Jackson, MS

Jackson Prep.

3100 Lakeland Drive

Flowood, MS 39232

 

August 30 in Pierre, SD

Best Western Ramkota River Centre – Amphitheater I

920 W Sioux Ave

Pierre, SD 57501

 

September 5 in Bismarck ND

Bismarck-Mandan Chamber of Commerce

1640 Burnt Boat Drive

Bismarck, ND 58503

Find The Winning

One of the truly great coaching books is a hard to find classic written by Bill Walsh and Brian Billick, "Find The Winning Edge".  The title alone is enough.  They outline every aspect of the San Francisco 49er's operations. 

Coach Walsh notes that success like theirs doesn't just happen.  It is the result of years of innovative planning, dedicated preparation and flawless execution.

Below is from a section called, "Developing Players"..We have used this book as a great outline for building a program.

"The need for organizations to have a process and procedure in place that ensure that the skills and talents of each member of the organization are refined and utilized in an appropriate way has been demonstrated several times over the years...."

"As a coach, I had to understand the skills that were required in my system of football and then develop a method for teaching those skills that would help the athlete develop to his full potential..."

"A team should do everything possible to ensure that the skills and talents of each player on its roster are developed, refined and utilized in an appropriate way.  A team's players are obviously the core building blocks for a successful organization.  One of the best investments a team can make in those "building blocks" is to establish a systematic plan to train and develop its players to their fullest potential...."

"The essence of such a plan is to create an environment where meaningful learning can occur.  The progress of each player should be measured.  All instructive procedures and programs should be reevaluated and changed, as appropriate  A team must have a strategy for providing systematic training and development for its players.