4 Principles of Basketball Coaching
I live by 4 basic principles when coaching basketball and this isn’t a new concept. As I watched Coach Majerus, while he was at UTAH, prepare for teams I was amazed at how in depth he was. I was amazed at how in detail he was with what was expected of his teams. Any coach or player could learn from that. I learned my own 4 part strategy that I preach to young coaches:
Tell ‘em: Show ‘em : Tell me: Show me
I use this even in my job today that is not basketball related, but when any person is in a situation where training is involved it is absolutely key that these 4 things apply or you’ll have to do it all over again.
Tell ‘em: Each player/team needs to be told in specific detail what is expected. This includes drills, practice habits, offensive and defensive sets. Everything. You can’t be too detailed with the player in telling them what is expected of them in every situation.
Show ‘em: If physically able then show them what you want them to do so they can see it. Some players are visual learners with others being audial learners. By showing the players the correct way to run the offense/defense and everything else you’ll get both types of learners and satisfy them.
Tell me: MAKE THE PLAYERS COMMUNICATE BACK TO YOU WHAT YOU TOLD THEM. Ask them as a group or single them out. Establish some accountability but make them talk to you about what is expected.
Show me: Make the players show you everything that you taught them. Make it be perfect or close to out. Don’t allow short cuts or excuses when doing this part because if this is done right then you won’t have to take any more time teaching them a certain thing.
Tell em, show em, tell me, show me…It’s a phrase that you should start to use a lot and be saying in your head over and over again when trying to get a point across to your players.
