Here are the final 21 thoughts for new coaches. If you have any additional thoughts that I can add to the list I would love to hear about them!

1.   Start your own basketball camp

2.   Become an incredible note taker

3.   Understand the value of attention to detail

4.   Learn how to be a rebounder and passer for drills and individuals

5.   Be loyal to yourself and coaches in your program

6.   Get a job description typed early and follow it to the letter

7.   You go to all the classes and get all the best grades

8.   Be the best at everything you do

9.   Be ready for grunt work and to suck some scum

10.  Be ready to make no money for a while

11.  Have a plan written out for what you want to do and what level you want to work

12.  Start a coaches club –  a network of coaches  that share information with each other

13.  Make your own business card if your program doesn’t provide one

14.  Get to know your boss and help him become better and more successful

15.  Make a portfolio of ideas, strategies, drills, offenses, defenses, etc;

16.  Become proficient with video technology, editing machines, computers, copy machines, fax machines, and telephone systems

17.  Establish goals and work on them everyday

18.  Establish yourself as a winner

19.  Remember the stories of Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Edison, Joe Torre, and John Elway (Perseverance)

20.  Remember only a certain small percentage make it to the “big time”

21.  Pray to God and have faith that everything will turn out for the best.

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While working on my current eBook, A Comprehensive Guide to the 2-3 Zone, I was looking through my files and came across something interesting that I thought was worth passing along to new coaches looking to get on the fast-track of success in this profession.

While there was no author attached to this paper, I don’t think I could have said it better myself!

There are 36 items on the list. Here are the first 15:

1)     Relationships are more important than wins

2)     Learn how to speak well

3)     Be professional in all aspects – Talk, body language, dress – First impressions last a lifetime

4)     You will be judged by wins and losses, you be the judge of your own values, morals, ethics

5)     Work basketball camps to meet new contacts, learn strategy, understand the game

6)     Attend a basketball clinic every fall for new ideas

7)     Learn to recruit – You will recruit everyone you come in contact with parents, referees, students, administrators, high school coaches, high school players

8)     Be positive in everything you do – People are watching (Image) (Perception)

9)     Be willing to do anything for the team within reason

10)  Talent is not over rated – Recruit Talent and Character

11)  Know how to break film and become very proficient with X’s and O’s

12)  If you want to coach at the college level – Have a very good player that you can give to the college coaches

13)  Start your own AAU program

14)  Make sure you are with a program that will promote winning

15)  Become a personal ambassador for the game of basketball

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If you want to rebound like Kevin Love then you need to avoid these common rebounding mistakes!

1. Standing still and watching the flight of the ball.
2. Assuming the shot will be made and running down to the other end of the court too early.
3. Assuming a specific teammate or specific opponent will rebound the ball.
4. Thinking you can just out jump your opponent so you don’t screen out
5. Running under or getting pushed too far under the basket.
6. Moving into a position directly behind an opponent and then staying here. (Players who do this often get stuck with the nickname “Velcro”)
7. Being afraid of contact and not fighting for crucial inside position.
8. Not anticipating where the ball will come off the rim and then racing to that spot.
9. Rebounding with only one hand instead of two.
10. Bringing the rebound down below your waist where the defense can grab it

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Careless fouls are the politically correct term for what most coaches call “Dumb Fouls.” No matter what you call them, they need to be avoided if you want to be an outstanding defensive player. The following list comes from former coach and current author Ernie Woods.

What constitutes a careless or lazy foul?

1. Reaching instead of moving your feet to establish good defensive position.
2. Reaching because you are tired and out of condition.
3. Fouling out of frustration after a bad call or play.
4. Committing a technical foul. Since most leagues now count technical fouls toward disqualification, loss of control not only puts you in foul trouble but also creates an unforced turnover!
5. Fouling because you are too slow getting back on defense and are out of position.
6. Trying to block shots instead of taking a charge.
7. Going over the back of an opponent for a rebound instead of establishing good rebounding position.
8. Fouling a player in the act of shooting.
9. Playing defense by standing behind a player in the low-post area.
10. Establishing defensive stance after your opponent has already received the ball.
11. Fouling a dribbler from the side.
12. Committing an offensive foul by driving into a crowd.
13. Creating a foul on your teammate by coming off a screen before the screen has been set.

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A couple of weeks ago a newspaper here in Utah wrote a nice story about HoopSkills and how the website came to be. It’s an interesting read for those who are new to this site.

Thanks for all the support over the years. If it weren’t for our subscribers and our loyal blog readers we wouldn’t exist!

Here’s the link to the article.

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Long time basketball coach JD Barnett developed a well deserved reputation as being an outstanding defensive coach and mentored both Tubby Smith and Tom Izzo.

Here are Coach Barnett’s Defensive Rules given at a coaching clinic when he was at the Uniiversity of Tulsa:

1. Contest every shot
2. Retreat quickly to the ball line which is the line parallel to the endline at the point of the ball
3. Allow no penetrating passes lower than this line
4. Allow all non penetrating passes
5. Always see the ball and your man
6. Try to intercept any lob or bounce pass
7. Jump to the ball on every pass
8. Maintain proper weakside position
9. Always trap the ball in the low post
10. Keep pressure on the ball at all times
11. Never foul a man who is not an offensive threat
12. Do not give up layups
13. Do not give up second shots

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I cannot think of many things worse than players getting comfortable and complacent with their game! I have noticed that many players become complacent midway through the season when they believe their spot is solidified and playing time is guaranteed. In order for everyone on your team to reach his full potential you must all adhere to Coach Christensen’s 7 Standards of Success:

1) Discipline: Doing the things that have to be done, when they have to be done, all the time no matter the situation

2) Commit to Being Excellent: There are very few things in life that are guaranteed. One of the things that is guaranteed is that life is not easy, especially the quest to become a champion! If you have your heart set on becoming the best you must commit to accept nothing less than
excellence!

3) Be Happy: There are only a few things that you can control. One of them is the attitude you bring every day. The glass is either half full or half empty. How you view the glass is up to you!

4) Be Accountable: If you wish to be successful you must learn responsibility and accountability! Before pointing the fingers at others, you must first hold yourself accountable for your actions, and especially your mistakes and weaknesses!

5) Be Prepared: Like a Boy Scout, always be prepared! Be prepared for class, be prepared for practice, and be prepared for life.

6) “It’s the Parts that Make the Whole”: Nothing great has ever been accomplished without paying attention to all the small details. Make time each day to focus on the small details and the whole will take care of itself.

7) Expect Nothing But Greatness: If you work like a champion, think like a champion, and persevere like a champion then you can expect to become a champion!

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Here are some thoughts on the subject from John Wooden, the most successful college basketball coach of all time:

- Promise yourself that you will talk health, happiness and prosperity as often as possible.

- Promise yourself to make sure all your friends know there is something in them that is special and that you value.

- Promise to think only the best, to work for only the best and to expect only the best from yourself and others.

- Promise to be as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.

- Promise yourself to be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.

- Promise to forget the mistakes of the past and press on to greater achievements in the future.

- Promise to wear a cheerful appearance at all times and give every person you meet a smile.

- Promise to give so much time improving yourself that you have no time to criticize others.

- Promise to be too large for worry, to noble for anger, too strong for fear and to happy to permit trouble to press you.

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Is it possible to have too much talent on a team? It is if everyone wants to be “the go-to guy” and won’t willingly accept any other role. In an article titled “A Will to Win; Rick Pitino on Motivation” on Allbusiness.com, Coach Rick Pitino talked about the importance of not only accepting team roles but embracing them for the good of the group.

I had one of the greatest college teams of all time at Kentucky in 1996. On that team there were seven guys who went on to play in the NBA. I started the five best players and we lost the second game of the season because it wasn’t a group that was cohesive. And then I took a walk-on point guard and made him a starter.

He was totally willing to sacrifice for the good of the team and worked to make the other players better. He didn’t care about scoring; he didn’t mind doing the dirty work. He just wanted to make the other people better. The other player who became a substitute still played the same amount of minutes and I made him understand that this was just about making the team better – it has nothing to do with your significance to the team.

We didn’t lose another game until the end of the season and we won a championship, all because that young man accepted his role.

I’ve written many times that I believe that there are guys (and girls) who play basketball and then there are basketball players and there is a HUGE difference between the two groups. Someone who gladly accepts and magnifies his role for the sole reason of helping his coach and his teammates is the ultimate basketball player!

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Few people in the country get to see as many college basketball games each year as television sportscaster Jimmy Dykes. Before getting into broadcasting Dykes was an assistant coach at several major college programs including Kentucky, Arkansas, and Oklahoma State and so he definitely knows his basketball. The following are some his thoughts on the game:

1. Coaches want ‘everyday’ players. (Play hard every possession, Go to class every day, Do the right thing all of the time)

2. Coaches must look at themselves first after game. (What did I not get done to prepare?)

3. If you are not tough, you will not win consistently!  (Get loose balls, Refuse to get screened, Don’t let one mistake compound)

4. If you can’t talk it – You can’t execute it.

5. You must score consistently from these three areas: 1. Free Throw line 2. Around the basket 3. Open shots

6. Quality of our shots vs. quality of our opponent’s shots determines Wins vs. Losses

7. Cut with a purpose. Cut like you are going to get the ball!

8. Must shoot 30% or better from the 3-point line. (Shot selection, Who is taking the shots?)

9. It’s not the number of plays you run, it’s how well you run them that matters. (Execution is everything!)

10. Great players embrace contact and get through it. They make plays regardless.

11. Protect against straight line drives to the basket. (Guard your yard)

12. Contain the ball in middle third of the floor.

13. Communicate on all ball screens.

14. Any form of selfishness must leave. It can’t be tolerated! (On the court and off the court)

15. Substitutions (Trust their effort, Trust their memory, Trust their talent)

16. Emphasize who you are every practice and every game. (Create and maintain an identity!)

17. Everything in your program is either taught or it’s allowed.

18. Fix problems immediately. Don’t let something small turn into something big.

19. Work them as hard as you are willing to love them.

20. Hold everyone in your program accountable for everything they do.

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