Basketball Coaching Tips: Disciplining Your Players and Leading Your Team
Coaching basketball is not only exciting, but it is also rewarding. Being a coach allows a person to positively impact the lives of those they coach. However, being a coach requires some skills that many people will not just naturally have, but they can be learned and acquired. There are some basketball coaching tips that will allow all aspiring basketball coaches to be the best coaches they can be while also allowing them to have the most positive impact on their players as possible.
Disciplining the Players
This is an essential part of being a coach. Coaches are responsible for teaching their players discipline and helping them develop self-discipline because this attribute is essential for all athletes that hope to become the best they can be. However, coaches must learn how to use discipline wisely and effectively. Constantly criticizing and punishing players will often lead to resentment and not the development of discipline. In some cases over-disciplining can also result in players losing their love of the game.
Instead of criticizing a player for their weaknesses propose a few ways for them to strengthen their weaknesses. For example, if a player is a weak free throw shooter spend some one-on-one time with them helping them develop their shooting technique. This will include teaching them how to shoot from their knees, how to properly hold and grip the ball, and how to use the square on the backboard to aim for the basket. This may take time for some players, but if a coach continues to encourage and teach, the player will surely become a better free throw shooter.
It is also important to not punish players when they lose a game. Many coaches make their players run extra laps, do ladders, or other extra physical exercise to punish them. This is incredibly counter-productive. Coaches should not want their players to fear them, but they should want them to respect them. Using physical exercise to punish will lead to fear and not respect. It can also lead to the players hating physical exercise. Instead of punishment, watch the game and figure out where the team went wrong. At the next practice. work on this by doing things like creating alternative plays, changing up the player positions, and strengthening team, and individual player weaknesses.
Leading Your Team
Discipline leads into leading the team. As a leader, you need to teach and not over-emphasize everything. For example, focus on each individual player, as well as the team as a whole, and not just the few players who are weaker than the others. As a coach works to lead the entire team, each individual will eventually fall into place through team and individual drills.
Coaches also need to take charge, but they need to do this without punishing or criticizing. There are ways to tell players when they are doing something wrong without being condescending. Don’t just tell them what they are doing wrong, but instead offer solutions. For example, if man to man defense is an issue, let the team know that this needs to be worked on and immediately follow-up with a few solutions. Try switching up the match-ups and/or player positions to see if this makes a positive difference in how the team defends the other team.
Managing the Players
Coaches are also team managers. They are responsible for everything from creating and teaching plays, creating lineups, uniforms (in youth basketball), building character, and several other essential functions. As a manager, coaches also need to consider how they will prepare for player injuries.
When creating plays, coaches should work with the team as they create them. This will not only make the plays easier for the players to learn, but they will also feel a sense of pride in that they helped create them. This will also help a coach to determine if the play will be effective and easy to execute.
The coach will create the starting lineup, as well as determine which position each player plays. It is a good idea to try each player in at least two to three positions to get the best idea of which position they will play best.
There are two main things a coach should do to prepare for injuries. These include having a well-stocked first aid kit on the sidelines, and becoming CPR certified. To help prevent injuries from occurring in the first place, the coach should fully inspect the court before each practice and game, and help all players properly warm up before each practice and game.
Coaches should not only help players build their basketball skills, but their character as well. This can be done through encouragement and relating certain aspects of basketball to real-life.
Coaches are not only coaches, but they are confidants. This is one of the most important basketball coaching tips. A coach should never pry or force a player to talk, but they should make it clear that they are always there for each and every player and that they will provide an ear and shoulder that shows no prejudice. A coach should always be approachable for both issues in life and issues in basketball.
Give the Players a Voice
This is part of team management, but it can also be a separate issue. The coach should allow all players, regardless of skill and time on the team, to provide input. This will help them learn the various aspects of basketball and team-playing, and it will help prevent them from looking at the coach as a dictator. When a coach allows each player to play a role in things such as creating plays, this will help to motivate the players, as well as make them feel like they are truly a valued and respected part of the team. They will also take more pride in the plays if they help to develop them.
Image Credits
Basketball: RWAKU5 – sxc.hu
Basketball Court: iamwahid – sxc.hu
