Coaching

End of Season Tools: AAR

As teams finish their season, we want to help provide some valuable tools, which will launch your program into next season. One of the hardest things for coaches to do, is to turn off their competitive spirit, drop the ego, and effectively self-evaluate. We found a great tool, which is pulled from the book, “The Culture Code,” by Daniel Coyle. An After Action Review (AAR) is used by the U.S. Army to deliver feedback after unit training exercises. The purpose of the AAR is to identify issues, find areas for improvement, and obtain lessons learned. So, how does this relate to your team? The answer to this, is found in the questions associated with the AAR. Take a look at the questions below, and think about your basketball season.

After Action Review Questions

What were our intended results?
What were our actual results?
What caused our results?
What will do we do the same next time?
What will we do differently?

We recommend that you follow this process, in using the AAR questions to evaluate your season.

  1. If you are the Head Coach, answer these questions by yourself. Do not share your answers with anyone else, but make sure to keep a copy.
  2. Get your coaching staff together, and have them work together to answer the questions. Have someone document their answers, so you can use them later.
  3. Have your players work together to answer the AAR questions. This should happen without guidance from the coaches. Simply give them the questions, and let them document their responses. These are group responses, not individual responses from each player.

At the end of these After Action Reviews, the Head Coach has a nice collection of information, which can be used to begin productively planning for next season.

The AAR will provide you with the WHYs, which can lead to the HOWs, and this information will help you effectively plan for next season’s success.

Team Building: “ABC Team Challenge”

Is your team struggling to COMMUNICATE IN CONFLICT? The phrase, “communicate in conflict” refers to the communication when a mistake is made, adversity hits, and frustration shows up. The best teams are able to clearly communicate, learn from the challenges, and get to the next play. The ability to be a team that communicates well, in these conflicted moments, comes from trust and experience. This simple team building exercise teaches teams to focus on learning from mistakes, not overreacting, and getting to the next play. Below are the details for the ABC Team Challenge and two videos of teams completing the challenge.

The “ABC Team Challenge” usually takes less than ten minutes, and is a great way to start of end practice.

You can follow Dynamic Coaching Tools on Twitter or Instagram at: @DynamicCoaches

A Coach’s Best Friend: Film

Throughout this season, I have come across multiple coaches who are not filming games. Every time this happens, I respond with an e-mail, encouraging coaches to stop ignoring the opportunity to improve their coaching staff, team, and individual players. It is our belief that all varsity coaches should be filming every game. This is part of your job, and you owe it to your players. Furthermore, filming practices can also be very beneficial. Below are the reasons that we believe that Film is a coach’s best friend:

1- It is the best teaching tool!

As the saying goes, “the eye in the sky don’t lie.” Film allows players to watch their mistakes and these teaching moments are very beneficial to player development. Film can help a team better understand areas for improvement, challenges from opponents, and it provides clarity for everyone in the program. There is no better teaching tool than an organized, well planned film session.


2- Players need film for college coaches.

Most high school coaches have players that are interested in playing at the college level. Your players will need film, so college coaches can evaluate them. By providing film to college coaches, you are doing your part to help your players have an opportunity to continue their careers.

3- You can exchange film to scout opponents

One of the worst phrases that coaches say is, “We don’t scout, because we are just worried about us.” This is code for, “I am too lazy to prepare my team to win.” As a varsity basketball coach, you should be scouting your opponents. This is especially important in league play. Scouting provides an opportunity to steal points for your team. It is very impactful, against good teams, if you can prevent 4-6 points for your opponent, and generate 4-6 easy points for your team. If you are not filming and sharing film, other coaches will be less likely to help you with film.

4- Film helps ensure accurate stats

Filming games will help your staff ensure that you have accurate stats. Depending on a student manager to take stats during the game is fine, but there is a strong chance that those stats are not accurate. Film can be used with services like Krossover or Hudl, which will provide statistical breakdowns of your team. Stats are also important for recognizing and rewarding your players for big achievements. It might be scoring 1,000 career points, or providing proof that a player should receive all-league or all-state honors. The stats also allow coaches to provide a program record book, which is a great way to honor the best players throughout the history of your program.

5- What you see during games is only part of the picture. Film fills in the gaps.

When you see post game interviews with the best coaches, you will regularly hear them answer questions with, “it is hard to answer that without looking at the film.” This is because the best coaches know that the film will provide valuable information. You can look at a box score and see the results. It might be a lack of offensive rebounding, too many turnovers, or poor shooting. Film fills in the gaps, and answers the question of WHY those results happened. If you do not watch film, then you are taking an educated guess, as opposed to finding the undeniable answers that can help your team improve.

If you are a high school coach, make sure that you are filming games. Film is your best friend, and will help you maximize the development of your team.

You can follow Dynamic Coaching Tools on Twitter or Instagram at @DynamicCoaches

New Year: Is your team ready to win?

As the calendar turns over, basketball coaches begin conference play, and hope to have the answer to how their team can win. Through the experiences gained from October to December, most teams have had an opportunity to be challenged, learn from adversity, and establish an identity. Below are three questions that you had better know the answer to, if you want a chance to win your league:

What does your team do better than anyone else in your league?

✔ What is your team’s biggest weakness, and how can you help your team overcome it?

✔ Do your players know and accept their roles?

These three questions are guiding thoughts, which will give your team a chance to play their best basketball. We hope this helps your coaching staff evaluate where your team is at, as you prepare for the most important stretch of the season.

You can follow Dynamic Coaching Tools on Twitter at @DynamicCoaches

Leadership Development

It is becoming obvious that all Championship teams have a clear understanding of the importance of great leadership. This past year, we were able to see it across all levels of basketball.


COLLEGE BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP COACH:


WNBA CHAMPIONSHIP PLAYER:


NBA CHAMPIONSHIP COACH:


At the end of most seasons, coaches will talk about their leadership, and their season, in a similar tone. If leadership is an important factor in the success of a team, then why are coaches ignoring it? Here is one of the most ridiculous statements that you will hear from people about leadership:

“He/She is a born leader.”

Nobody is a “born leader.” People are a reflection of their experiences, the people around them, and their vision for the future. The purpose of this post is to challenge coaches to formulate a LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PLAN.

Here are five suggestions, to improve the leadership in your program:

  1. Start a group chat with your leaders.
    • This sounds simple, but it can make a huge difference. This off-season, I used the GroupMe App to start a group chat with our Captains. In this chat, I constantly share leadership articles, quotes, and ask questions. This has created a clear understanding of my expectations, and allows me to control the messaging that our leaders are receiving. The questions allow for a better understanding of what our leaders know, and areas for growth and development.
  2. Launch a Leadership Development Program at your school:
    • We had our first Leadership Development Program at our school this fall. We took our Athletics Department theme, and designed a program to spread this down to our student-athlete leaders. This included an introduction to our theme (Servant Leadership) from our Athletic Director, a college coaches panel, four break out sessions, and a varsity coaches panel. By the end of the program, we had a clear understanding of our standard, expectations, and how we could work with our athletes to ensure success.
  3. Spend an entire practice silent or only whispering:
    • This idea was first put on display, years ago, by Geno Auriemma. He spent an entire practice whispering his instructions. This meant that the players had to listen, communicate, and execute. All coaches agree that the best teams are player led, and so it only makes sense for coaches to take a step back. Record the practice that you are quiet, and then watch it with your staff to learn about the leadership and communication dynamics of your team.
  4. Clearly communicate your expectations at your parent meeting:
    • At the high school level, the most underrated aspect of the “buy-in” in your program is the parents. Programs who struggle are constantly complaining about the parents. In reality, the percentages tend to show that great players are driven by overly involved parents. If you embrace the power of these parents, and work to control the messaging, then it can work in your favor. If the parents understand what you are trying to accomplish, then they are more likely to express these things on the drive home.
  5. Your best tool is former players/leaders:
    • The best tool that you have in your program are your former leaders. Those former players are going to be able to connect with your current leaders, in a different way. As coaches, we can not always get on the same level as our leaders. Our former players have the ability to do that, but once again, we can control the messaging. If you are not utilizing your former players, to help support your current leaders, then it is time to get started.

These are just five of the ideas that we recommend for coaches, as you try to develop leaders in your program. In six months, you are going to be talking about the leadership on your team. There is a strong chance that you will talk about your team, the same way that you discuss your leadership. Start pouring into those leaders now, so that you can maximize the potential of your current roster.

You can reach us for more information on Leadership Development by e-mailing us at:

INFO@DynamicCoachingTools.com

You can also find us on Social Media: @DynamicCoaches

DCT Podcast – Episode 4 – Coach White

Episode 4 of the Dynamic Coaching Tools Podcast features Coach Greg White, the Head Coach of West High School (Northwest Arkansas). Coach White is also a speaker for USA Basketball, at their Coaches Academy. His topics include building a program, as well as offensive systems. Coach White also has a website, www.3fromthecorner.com

Coach White spent time talking to us about his ball screen offensive system, the foundations of building a program, establishing a culture, and the impact of AAU basketball on the future of our game. There were countless takeaways from our conversation, but here are a few of them.

 

3 C’s of a Program

  • Community
  • Classroom
  • Court

 

Foundations of Building a Program

  • CULTURE = Blueprint
  • IMPACT = Thumb Print
  • Must DEFINE SUCCESS

 

Program > Team > Player

You can reach Coach White via Twitter:

@GregWhite32

You can also find great resources at his website:

www.3fromthecorner.com

Three Ideas from the Football Field

Coaches like Buzz Williams and Tom Izzo regularly reference the way that Football coaches do things. They also credit football coaches for making a positive impact on their programs. All basketball coaches should be looking around for great ideas, and other sports offer some opportunities to learn and grow. Below are three ideas, which basketball coaches should steal from their football programs.

 

1 – Script your first few possessions of the game

A great way to help your team find a rhythm offensively, is to script the first few half court possessions. The number of possessions is dependent on your teams ability to retain information and then execute. We like to script our first three possessions, as well as our first baseline out of bounds play. By scripting it, we are able to put our players into a comfortable position. We can select the set, based on something that we scouted on film. The players that are in a position to make a decision, or take a shot, have practiced that specific scenario the day before the game. This builds confidence. Furthermore, this is especially successful in hostile road environments, as you try to take the crowd out of the game.

 

2 – Put an Assistant Coach over both sides of the ball

As a Head Coach, one of the hardest things to do is to give up control. In reality, we need to recognize that we have all of the power, but no control at all. We can work on things, but it is up to our players to execute. We can ask our Assistant Coaches to be engaged, to buy in, and to help develop our team. Football coaches make the ultimate decisions, but they also hire an Offensive and Defensive Coordinator that they can trust. These Assistant Coaches play a major role in the success of the team. It also allows the Head Coach to focus on a specific side of the ball, without the other side feeling neglected. In practice, we might want to focus on the defensive side of the floor. Who is holding the offensive players accountable to do things the right way? Assigning an Assistant Coach to each side of the floor, will allow the Head Coach to focus on specific aspects of the team development, while also ensuring that nothing is neglected.

 

3 – Stress the importance of Special Teams

Football coaches make a huge deal about the impact the Special Teams have on the game. What are Special Teams in Basketball? We view Special Teams as baseline out of bounds plays and sideline out of bounds plays. Other coaches will add factors, such as points off of turnovers, second chance points, or free throws made. Simply using the out of bounds plays are very easy to track within the game. If your team is able to find an advantage within the “Special Teams,” it can be especially important in close games. Look back at last year’s numbers and see what impact the “Special Teams” had on your team.

 

For more ideas, feel free to contact us via e-mail INFO@dynamiccoachingtools.com

or on Social Media: @DynamicCoaching

 

 

DCT Podcast – Episode 3 – Coach Thomas

Episode 3 of the Dynamic Coaching Tools Podcast features Coach Ryan Thomas, the Founder and Director of Player Development for HoopGrind Basketball. Coach Thomas spent time talking to us about the role of a Player Development Coach, balancing the job of an Assistant Coach and the individual development of players, what high school coaches can be doing better, and the different plans for HoopGrind Basketball. Below are just a couple of the takeaways from this episode.


THREE KEYS TO A GOOD DRILL

  1. Level Appropriate
  2. Translates to the game
  3. Can be layered up or down

 

STEPS TO GETTING PLAYERS TO BUY INTO A ROLE

  1. Embrace the role
  2. Star in the role
  3. Grow the role

 

You can reach Coach Thomas via Twitter and Instagram.

Coaches should also check out HoopGrind Basketball.

www.hoopgrind.com

Social Media is @HoopGrind

 

 

PREVIOUS EPISODES OF DCT PODCAST

EPISODE 2 – Coach Ethan Leasher (Davenport University)

EPISODE 1 – Coach Doug Brotherton (Dynamic Coaching Tools)

WNBA Finals Preview – Xs and Os

After two highly competitive five game series, we now have our WNBA Finals match-up. Game 1 tips off tonight and features the Seattle Storm against the Washington Mystics. Coaches should be tuning in, as both teams run some tremendous stuff offensively. Below is a breakdown of three sets to look for, which have been highly successful for both teams. Thank you to Ben Dull, from SplitThePost.com for providing all of the videos for this preview.

 

Storm – Flex Action (BLOB set)

This BLOB set involves Bird setting a flex screen for Stewart, then receiving a down screen.

Storm – “Horns Down”

The Storm have different Horns looks, but this ball screen that flows into a down screen is tough to guard in transition.

Storm – Empty side / Two Man Action

The Storm love to include Stewart in a “two man game,” on an empty side. They use DHOs, ball screens, and slips.

 

Mystics “Stagger Split Rip”

This set shows a double stagger, before a split, into a rip (rescreen) for the back cutter. Great counter to a traditional double stagger!

 

Mystics – “Zipper 15”

The Mystics use a zipper cut, to trigger this backscreen action with Toliver and Delle Donne. This is just one of the ways that the Mystics use a backscreen to get the basketball inside.

 

Mystics – “Drag Back STS”

This set uses a drag screen and throw back, to set up the screen-the-screener. Toliver shows a screen for Delle Donne, before she actually receives the screen for an open three.

 

Two actions that will be critical for both teams to figure out are the two-man game, with Stewart on the empty side. The Storm lead the WNBA in three point shooting, and that action puts the defense in a scramble situation. The Storm must be ready to guard the screening actions involving Toliver and Delle Donne. They use back screens, ball screens, and screen the screener actions to free up both players.

This blog will be re-posted on www.FastModelSports.com, with all set plays being diagrammed and available for download in the playbank. Look for this repost before Game 3.

Go follow @splitthepost and @DynamicCoaches on twitter.

You can also catch our most recent Dynamic Coaching Tools Podcast by clicking here.

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