Found One !

Well, tryouts are over and a team has been selected upon. While it was not her first choice, it appears to be one that will be very beneficial for DS.

You see, where we are from there is an elite league where the top girls from the province will be playing this year. To sum up the elite league, it was developed to keep the competition level even for all high level teams.

To develop as a player there are two main ways to do so. One is by playing against higher competition and the other is to receive high quality coaching. DS is very fortunate in that this year she will be receiving some very high level coaching.

Unfortunately for DS the season doesn’t start for a couple months yet, so her biggest obstacle is going to be not getting lazy in the meantime.

The beginning

I will refer to this young lady as DS. DS has not yet been able to achieve her desired success level in basketball to this point in her career. However despite not being able to play on her high school team due to circumstance not to be mentioned she has managed to maintain a high degree of passion for the game. Her passion has allowed her succeed and continue playing where many players have decided to stop playing or pursue other interests. She has been described by her coaches as a very hard worker with a very intelligent mind for the game. I believe given the proper opportunity she will be able to demonstrate that she is really an elite player who can play with anyone.

Two or Three Seasons ?

The search begins……

When it comes to basketball there is really three seasons not two as per popular belief. Firstly there is regular season, pre-season and try-out season.

Regular season gets all the glory. Pre-season is where players are made. Try-out season for many is the most stressful of them all.

You see for almost every team there is always anywhere from two to six spots that are up for grabs and who gets those spots on the team is determined during the try-out season. Players put it all out on the line here whether it is rookie ball or WNBA try-outs everyone wants to make “THE” team. There are not a lot of smiles during this time unless it is between old teammates who know that they have secured a spot already. In fact it is quite interesting to see players battle it out during try-outs then end becoming good friends after each has made the team.

Of course the stressful part comes after the try-out when all are wondering if they have done enough or caught the right coach’s eye at the right time. “Did he see that great pass?” “Did he see me miss that shot?” the questions go on and on.

Now the waiting game begins where everyone is checking their emails more regular or having the phone lines open.

Only time will tell ……. “Did I make it?”

Coaching observations

I just came back from one of my daughters practices and noticed a few things.


1) It seems everyone is a coach, especially parents. We coach in the car, in the parking lot, at home and on the sidelines. The only difference is that some of us do it more upfront and others are just more vocal.

2) One of the most underrated aspects of coaching a team is the concept of knowing your players. You can coach a bunch of players with quite honestly limited skill sets put together only once a week in the same manner as a provincial team of the most highly skilled players. Yet for some reasons some of coaches fail to realize that.

Physical vs Mental

Still no news on coaching.
I went to watch the provincial u17 girls team work out today and while they were amazing to watch I couldn't help to think how similar they are to the rest of the basketball players who play the game.

During one stretch near the middle of practice they were required to make 8 out of 12 shots as a team and yet they were unable to do so. So naturally the punishment was running and then do it again. This happened three times until the team finally made 11 out of 12 shots. A little later in practice they tried again but once again they were unsuccessful.

The coaches kep stressing the importance of keeping thier routine and not changing anything but watching the girls you could tell they were rushing the shots.

It was not a matter of themn being unable to physically doing it but more a matter of focus, focus , focus and more focus. There comes a time when your mental game has to be just as strong or perhaps even stronger than your physical game.

Shooting fouls shots for the elite player has to become a mental exercise and once they can realize that they will taking a step closer to being a complete player.

Style of Coaching Preference

Teaching vs. Adjusting

I was watching my eldest tryout for a team that gets to travel to the states for a weekend and found myself asking myself, “What is better coaching to teach or coaching to adjust?”

Allow me to explain , as I was witnessing these 17 year old girls doing basic dribbling drills I was amazed that some of them were still unable to perform some fundamental two ball dribbles that I have my 9 year olds completing I began to think that one of the wonders of coaching is being able to make each player better in some way throughout the year.
It also reminded me how much I miss coaching, well that is a whole other subject.

But you see , when I coach beginners I tend to focus on teaching the fundamentals of the game while with the elite team I am applying for it is more a matter of making minor when adjustments to their game and more focus on game strategies. I am wondering if I will miss the teaching aspect of the game …..

I guess only time will tell .

Greatest coach

11 NBA Championships for Phil Jackson !!!

Can we now close the debate as to who the greatest professional coach?

He is one of the coaches I look at when I try to model myself. Especially when dealing with a group of elite athletes and his ability to recognize and utilize his players full potential.

What does a team player look like ?

Sitting here watching “The Heart of the Game” , the movie about Darnellia Russell and so many things run through my mind from how great the game of basketball is to the impact it can have on people’s lives but one scene always seems to resonate with me.


The team is up by two in the championship game for the state championship and the other team is on the foul line. They miss the first shot and then call a timeout. Everyone in the gym knows that the team plans to miss on purpose then get the rebound. Coach decides to put some height in the game to prevent them from getting the rebound and preserving the lead. At that point a young girl named Maggie says “ put her in for me , I am short “. Now that is what I call teamwork and doing what is best for the team.

Losing one of the Great Ones

During UCLA's run through the 2006 NCAA basketball tournament to a championship game loss to Florida, Bruins coach Ben Howland frequently honored the legacy of former coach John Wooden.


"He was a better person than a basketball coach," Howland said more than once.

Considering that Wooden was arguably the greatest coach in the history of the game, it was quite a statement.

And, perhaps, no exaggeration.

Wooden died Friday night of natural causes at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, according to the university. He was 99.

Coaching ......does it make an impact ?

I was watching the ultimate fighter series last night and was quite surprised at the reaction of grown men to something that you would think only young people would be affected by. These grown men who train to beat other people up were genuinely upset that their coach was fired from the series. Not only were they upset by the dismissal of coach Tito they also seemed saddened when he didn’t say goodbye to them. Now he did eventually come back to say bye to the guys but watching them get emotional over someone they have only know for five weeks was quite the experience.

I have known from a firsthand perspective how much influence adults have as coaches as sometimes we are put in the same category as teachers, which I like to think is a key role of any coach, to teach. I have witnessed firsthand where coaches can manage to get young children to do simple things like even putting on their coats before they go outside when they have been told by their parents to do the exact same thing but the child for some reason listens to the coach before the parent. I am not saying this is right but rather as a coach it is important to realize the dramatic impact we can have on our player both good and bad.

I try not to take myself too seriously but I do take the role of coaching very seriously.

The Free Throw ... Is it really Free ?

There are only mere seconds remaining in the game. The score is tied or worse there is only a 2 point differential and your shots will determine if the team wins or loses. The crowd is silent; no one is in front of you. It is just you, the basketball and the net! Every eye in the building is watching you, not their child or favorite player BUT only you and waiting to see what happens. You dribble the ball, you spin it backwards, you look to the net and you shot. As the ball is in the air all eyes are watching its path and you are hoping that all your practice has paid off.


THE FOUL SHOT !!!!

Commonly known as the Free Throw, it is far from free as even though you have no one guarding you the pressure can be intense . I like to refer to it as the hardest shot in the game. In the pros you have the fans from the other team doing everything they can to distract you but in the youth leagues you can hear a pin drop. Talk about pressure, knowing that everyone is waiting for you to either make the shot or in some cases miss the shot.

Now some can handle the pressure and that is what makes the difference in a game. I have seen youngsters at the age of 9 years old hit nothing but net with 1.2 seconds in a tie game and that is a sign of what you call a player. Of course there is the likes of Ray Allen of the Boston Celtics who can be depended upon to hit both shots in a crucial playoff game but even when he is shooting you can still feel the tension even watching on television.

So next time you see a player go to take a foul shot do not think about how lucky they are to have no one guarding them but rather watch to see how they handle the pressure.

Basketball for Parents or Youth ?

At what point does parental involvement become too much? We have all heard or seen that parent who screams and yells at kids games. I am not referring to that parent who screams and cheers for their team but rather that parent who insists on criticizing the refs for everything they do. And I mean seeing this scenario at a game where kids are only 8 and 9 years old. There are multiple advertisements and pamphlets which remind us that the game is for the youth and for them to have fun. Now these scenes can be dismissed as a crazy parent but when parental involvement starts to go on behind the scene then I believe it has gone too far.


I can recall instances where parents have complained that their child did not get enough playing time and this was after the first game of the season and they players were if the fine age of 10 years old. Now unfortunately this continues to happen all through the playing career of a youngster. I have even recently heard of a case where a coach in university basketball was forced to leave their job because the parents complained their child was not getting enough floor time. This last instance makes we wonder at what point do we just let the kids play !!!!!!!

I urge all parents to sit back, watch enjoy and just let kids of all ages just be kids.

Building Confidence

Confidence .. What is it ?


How do we instill and nurture it ? At what age does it becomes a non-factor ?who is responsible for it self, parent or coach ? Is it possible to have too much ?

Webster’s dictionary defines it as the following:

Main Entry: 1con•fi•dence

Pronunciation: \ˈkän-fə-dən(t)s, -ˌden(t)s\

Function: noun

Date: 14th century

1 a : a feeling or consciousness of one's powers or of reliance on one's circumstances b : faith or belief that one will act in a right, proper, or effective way

2 : the quality or state of being certain :



In the game of basketball it can be boiled down to the simple definition of willingness to shoot the ball. But many times it goes way beyond being willing to shoot as it can affect the way a player plays the game. Are they passive on the court or do they play aggressively ? Unfortunately something that is so fragile in many is often very hard to not only recognize when a player has it and also very easy to destroy.

As a coach one of my main goals is to not only instill confidence in my players but also nurture it throughout the season. I do not claim to have any special secrets but I have found that communication is definitely a key to this character building in a person. As a teacher we quite often let our students know where they made a mistake and help them to correct their errors. I have seen far too often where a player is substituted or even finished a game and never are they informed of where their errors were made and worse there is not corrective measures put in place. As a coach I strive to give my players feedback in both manners not only when they don’t do well but also when they do something very well. A simple “ nice screen” can go a long way in letting a player know they are doing alright. In education we use the term of praise sandwich, a strategy that be used in many areas of life. Basically provide positive feedback then some constructive criticism then one more piece of positivity . This method can work wonders for getting along with others.