Three Important Things:
Find ways to practice the things that you want to do so your players can become proficient and efficient at doing and repeating these things.
Being sound in the fundamentals will allow us create a strong foundation. The better our fundamentals the better we can play the game.
Our purpose is to make very individual player improve, to see & know where they were, and how to help them get better.
The movements we will teach are because of the demands of the game. These movements will coordinate the body so players can be balanced and therefore respond better to the great variability of the sport.
“Good basketball is nothing more than the ability to properly
and quickly execute the fundamentals of the game for the welfare of the team. Individual
technique and maneuvers that have been practiced over and over again must now be second
nature. You must not spend so much time on developing the teamwork that you forget the
individual fundamentals. A team that is sound fundamentally but does not have a strong team
offense or defense will still be hard to beat; but a team that has a very difficult offense or
defense will be easily beaten if they are not sound fundamentally. It is a game of fundamentals.
Many people have been surprised to find out that at UCLA we work more than half of every
practice on our fundamental drills, even the last practice of the season.” - John Wooden
When you develop a team, it starts with each individual. Fundamental execution starts with developing each individual player. Those players must first think about what they have to do to improve and manage their game and not worry about anyone else.
Invest in the Individual
Teach players how to work hard- then go harder each week.
Working towards developing that identity to become a tough team.
Develop that tolerance physically and mentally.
Teach players how to concentrate. Players that can concentrate better can make corrections better.
Teach and develop the discipline in these small details, before we ask them to do the big things.
Discipline and hard work leads to consistency respect.
More consistency leads to others trusting them.
You can’t cheat the game, you can’t take shortcuts!
Questions to Ask your Players:
Do you understand what we are trying to do?
Did you rehearse it over and over, were we mindful?
Do you grab on to your improvement?
Do you feel prepared?
Have you worked harder than any team in the country physically and mentally? Others are working at getting better.
Do you feel like you’ve earned the right to play well and win?
These questions are hard to do and hard to understand, you must help them. Staying on these things will build and sustain a team through the tournament.