ESPN analyst Jay Bilas has written an incredible article entitled, "America needs more 'teaching' from its coaches."
I will present this article in a series here---this is MUST reading for you Coach!
I will present this article in a series here---this is MUST reading for you Coach!
Pete Newell, the legendary coach and teacher, has often said that basketball is "overcoached
and under-taught".
He is absolutely right, and that is finally catching up with us, as is the rest of the basketball world.
Generally, "coaching" consists of team preparation, the devising of game plans and
schemes to defeat opponents. When you are coaching, you are dealing with strategies,
different offenses and defenses, and putting in plays to take advantage of the skills,
strengths and weaknesses of your players. The measure of a coach is the quality of the
development of his system, and has been distilled into winning.
"Teaching" consists of instruction and training of individuals in the fundamental skills of
the game, and in teaching players how to play, instead of how to run plays.
The measure of a teacher is not in winning, but in the fundamental soundness and skill level of the
players taught. A player with excellent fundamentals and skills can play successfully in any system.
Generally, American players are less skilled than their European counterparts. The
United States produces the best "athletes" in the game, but not necessarily the best "basketball players".
Coaches Test
What percentage of your total weekly practice time is spent "teaching" fundamental skills vs. "coaching" which is preparing for games, OB plays, offenses, defenses and strategies.
If we are "teaching" as stated above, 70% of our total practice time must be spent on teaching fundamental skills.
This is key: Running drills does not mean you are "teaching" players how to play through skill development.
Proper teaching progression is:
1. Skill development that if fundamentally based.
2. Putting the skill into the drill and designing drills specifically for the execution of that skill.
3. Put teaching and drill into "small games" like 2 on 2 and 3 on 3 and eventually 4 on 4.
4. Introduce 5 on 5 team play concepts (not offenses with rigid structure) but then returning to 1 then 2 then 3 on a consistent basis. Why? Players and teams will never "master" 1, 2, and 3, so we need to always back up and start over and repeat.
**Would you build a house without FIRST building a strong foundation NO MATTER how long it takes?
Would you commit to your foundation before doing anything else?
We all agree the answer is YES, and it also must be a YES when teaching the game of basketball at all levels.
COMMON COACHING OBJECTIONS
The number one objection around the country by youth and junior school coaches is that there is not enough time to teach skills and fundamentals in practice.
"We have to get ready to play the game," coaches say.
Therein lies the real issue:
We place more value on getting ready to play "games" than we do teaching kids HOW to play the game.
My challenge to all coaches is to Teach First then Play.
3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade boys and girls need to play a very limited amount of games and commit to teaching the 1-4 teaching progression above.
We put kids in no win situations by playing many games when they do not have the skills or confidence to execute at game time.
The DECISION is yours---Teach First or Games First?
Jay Bilas and I agree wholeheartedly with Hall of Famer Pete Newell that basketball at the lower levels is the most "overcoached" and "undertaught" game of all.
Let's keep the kid's best interest in mind and teach them how to play now, before it's too late!
and under-taught".
He is absolutely right, and that is finally catching up with us, as is the rest of the basketball world.
Generally, "coaching" consists of team preparation, the devising of game plans and
schemes to defeat opponents. When you are coaching, you are dealing with strategies,
different offenses and defenses, and putting in plays to take advantage of the skills,
strengths and weaknesses of your players. The measure of a coach is the quality of the
development of his system, and has been distilled into winning.
"Teaching" consists of instruction and training of individuals in the fundamental skills of
the game, and in teaching players how to play, instead of how to run plays.
The measure of a teacher is not in winning, but in the fundamental soundness and skill level of the
players taught. A player with excellent fundamentals and skills can play successfully in any system.
Generally, American players are less skilled than their European counterparts. The
United States produces the best "athletes" in the game, but not necessarily the best "basketball players".
Coaches Test
What percentage of your total weekly practice time is spent "teaching" fundamental skills vs. "coaching" which is preparing for games, OB plays, offenses, defenses and strategies.
If we are "teaching" as stated above, 70% of our total practice time must be spent on teaching fundamental skills.
This is key: Running drills does not mean you are "teaching" players how to play through skill development.
Proper teaching progression is:
1. Skill development that if fundamentally based.
2. Putting the skill into the drill and designing drills specifically for the execution of that skill.
3. Put teaching and drill into "small games" like 2 on 2 and 3 on 3 and eventually 4 on 4.
4. Introduce 5 on 5 team play concepts (not offenses with rigid structure) but then returning to 1 then 2 then 3 on a consistent basis. Why? Players and teams will never "master" 1, 2, and 3, so we need to always back up and start over and repeat.
**Would you build a house without FIRST building a strong foundation NO MATTER how long it takes?
Would you commit to your foundation before doing anything else?
We all agree the answer is YES, and it also must be a YES when teaching the game of basketball at all levels.
COMMON COACHING OBJECTIONS
The number one objection around the country by youth and junior school coaches is that there is not enough time to teach skills and fundamentals in practice.
"We have to get ready to play the game," coaches say.
Therein lies the real issue:
We place more value on getting ready to play "games" than we do teaching kids HOW to play the game.
My challenge to all coaches is to Teach First then Play.
3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade boys and girls need to play a very limited amount of games and commit to teaching the 1-4 teaching progression above.
We put kids in no win situations by playing many games when they do not have the skills or confidence to execute at game time.
The DECISION is yours---Teach First or Games First?
Jay Bilas and I agree wholeheartedly with Hall of Famer Pete Newell that basketball at the lower levels is the most "overcoached" and "undertaught" game of all.
Let's keep the kid's best interest in mind and teach them how to play now, before it's too late!
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