Lessons From My 10th Year at Willamette Pro Hoop Camp

I just finished my 10th year of working at Willamette University’s Pro Hoop Camp. This camp was founded by Jack Ramsey as “Pro Classic Hoop Camp” and then passed down to former Willamette University head coach Gordy James. It is now directed by current Willamette head coach Kip Ioane. It’s amazing how much things have changed since I was growing up. Camps are no longer as popular as they once were. There are many factors to this. I believe the primary reasons that camp attendance has declined is the growth of AAU and the increase in the use of private training. There are too many youngsters playing year-round AAU basketball. Even at the high school level, I would say that 90% of the kids playing on a traveling team are wasting money on unfulfilled promises of college scouting while also limiting their improvement in regards to fundamentals. Much of the camp population from about 10 years ago has now gone to AAU teams. Each year in July I learn things from other coaches and the players I coach at camp. Here are three things I took away from camp this year.

Players STILL don’t want to use their off-hand

After over 100 years of basketball, 9 out of 10 young players can not effectively use their off-hand at game speed. It boggles my mind that this has not changed. I think it’s more of a human problem than an athletic problem. We are born with a dominant hand. However, with all that we know through the game of basketball and all the resources players and coaches have, I am amazed that we are still coaching players who can’t use both hands by the time they graduate high school.

Sharing the ball is hard to teach young players

Every year at camp, the games are played a similar way. In the youngest age group, the most talented player dominates the ball, players try and launch three’s, and 3 out of the 5 on the floor rarely get to touch the ball. Even as you get to the middle and high school groups, you are lucky to see more than 2 passes before someone gets a shot up. Players are reluctant to play the game the right way. Each kid wants to get their own shot. What are some things we can do as coaches to teach players to sacrifice a bad shot for a teammate to have a better shot? Or even more, to make a cut that, while they may not be open from, opens up a chance for another teammate?

Find success in improvement

Despite the two negative I listed, the best part about camp was seeing players realizing that what they improved on during the week was their success. In three weeks, I had a team win 1 game and I also had a team go undefeated. Both teams had a successful week because of their improvements, not because of their record.

The Foundation of Goal Setting

Goals are important. Every athlete should have goals. At the end of last season, we asked our players to set goals for the following season, both individually and for the team. Some goals were realistic, others made no sense for where our team is currently at. One things that most young athletes don’t understand about the goals they set is that there is a direct correlation between the preparation and the result. When you set your goals, make sure you consider how much time and effort you are willing to sacrifice to achieve them. This is the foundation of goal setting. The higher your goal is, the more preparation will be needed and the more work will need to be put in. Goals need to be realistic in relation to your work ethic. If you want to be a 40% three-point shooter but don’t plan on getting shots up until October, you may need to rethink your goal. Or, better yet, rethink your process of achieving it.

The same is true for team goals. A young team may have a goal of going .500 during the year. If only three players are consistently putting work in the off-season, the chances of this happening may already be doomed.

If you want to set your goals high, make sure you are ready to attack them with the preparation necessary to get you to your highest level.

Make the Most Out of Summer League

Summer league is a great chance for coaches and players to improve on the court and develop their relationships off the court. We are about halfway through our summer schedule. As with any season, there have been positives and negatives. However, players have the ability to take ownership on their improvement individually and also as a team. Here are three things you can do this summer to take the next step as a player and leader. Show up

It sounds easy, but any coach will tell you that there are a number of players in their program who do not take advantage of the opportunities they are given. If you are a player who tells your coach how great you want to be and the lofty goals you have for the team, you must be able to show your determination by the way you prepare. If your coach is providing workout opportunities, show up to everything you can.

Keep track

How do you know you are improving? Make it tangible. Keep a journal of what you are doing and what you are learning. Every time you workout, practice, or play a game, write down at least one thing you improved on and one thing that you will continue to emphasize. To take this a step further, write down some action steps you can take to help you improve on what you wrote down.

Check in

If you are a leader of your team, it’s important to motivate your teammates to stay involved in what’s going on. If you have a teammate that has talked about how much they want to improve, yet they are not showing up to anything, check in with them to ask where they have been. For a team to reach its full potential, it is crucial for each player to develop great habits. Also, the more players involved in off-season activities, the better the chemistry of the team will be.

Developing Players Beyond the Game

A few weeks ago, I was able to hear Rob Ketterling speak about his book, Change Before You Have To. He shared a story of when he began to realize his physical health was slipping. In his next doctor’s appointment, he told his doctor to treat him like he just had a life threatening heart attack. He wanted to take prevented action steps before anything devastating happened. While this is a great message and an inspiring thought, it was a minor note in his presentation that caught my attention in regards to coaching. He was giving a room full of pastors some “change before you have to” steps in regards to church operations. One of his suggestions was to continually develop leaders and prepare them for greater roles in the future rather than limit them to an individual talent. Prepare them to be in charge one day.

I started to think about the last time I tried to prepare current players for a possible future as a coach. Most coaches were once players. Some played beyond high school, others did not. And while we observed coaches while we were playing, I don’t think it’s too common for coaches to develop future coaches. What are some ways we can prepare our players in the case that one day they end up being coaches?

This can be a valuable way to further mentor players. Earl Watson of the Portland Trailblazers was recently quoted regarding the way he was mentored by the coaching staff this season.

"This is the only coaching staff that actually prepared me to coach," Watson said. "Like, every day they would quiz me. Every day they would push me. Every day they would teach me. They kind of held me accountable for that next step in life. They did a good job, all of them, each and every one, of preparing me for that next step."

While most high school players are not mature enough to step into a leadership position directly after graduation, we can still give them valuable lessons on how a coach sees the game and what a coach values in their decision making. Our job is to assist in the transition from adolescence to adulthood through the game of basketball. Limiting this to physical performance would be limiting our potential as coaches.

Playoff Notes: Part 2

Matchups A teams fate can be decided by which team they play. The Blazers, who seemed to be playing well, found themselves to be outmatched by the Spurs. Yet, the Mavericks had just taken the Spurs to a seven-game series. Had they been able to win that series and send the Spurs home, we might be looking at a conference final with the Blazers playing OKC. And as David Thorpe recently wrote on ESPN, had Lillard not made the series-winner against Houston, the Rockets quite possibly could be in the conference final against OKC because of the matchups they create with the Spurs.

The little things never change

It’s a constant struggle to improve on transition defense and defensive rebounding at the high school level. Throughout the conference finals, it’s obvious that these problems aren’t something that teams grow out of. No matter the caliber of players you are dealing with, the small details of great teams remain the same. It also shows that a solution to the problems that we deal with season after season are not as simple as we hope.

Playoff Notes: Part 1

Going into the playoffs, I thought the two most exciting series’ would be Blazers/Rockets and Warriors/Clippers. Neither have disappointed, but with 3 out of 4 games going to overtime, I think the Blazers and Rockets are producing the most exciting (not most well played) series of the 2014 NBA Playoffs. Two players have caused me to think about some things that can have direct implications for players who are looking to increase their role or to have a breakout season this coming year.

Wesley Matthews: Hard work and desire can overcome physical limitations

To a point. Matthews is not a bad athlete. However, I would be confident saying that in addition to a size advantage, James Harden is faster, quicker, a better leaper, and more talented than Matthews. And although harden is averaging 27 points per game, anyone watching the series knows that Matthews defense has been a difference maker. Harden is shooting 35% inside the arc and 26% from three. Compare that to 45% and 36%, respectively, in the regular season. Take note on the intensity in which Matthews guards Harden as the series progresses. Can you duplicate that effort?

Troy Daniels: All you need is an opportunity

As a coach, Troy Daniels makes me think about the countless players who I either did not put in games or whose roles I limited. Some players only need an opportunity in the right situation to thrive. Daniels is the perfect example. The work he put it through many years prepared him for the moment when he was finally given an opportunity on a big stage. With his performance, I am sure he will be able to get a contract and have the chance to be a role player. Are you giving up because you are not getting playing time or opportunities to thrive? Keep working so when your moment comes, you are prepared.

A New View on Being a Coach

“Knowing the reason you were given a gift and a passion was for someone else’s platform.”

I recently viewed a spoken word piece from rapper Propaganda titled, “Was It All Worth It?” Propaganda is from my favorite group of musicians known as Humble Beast (one of the main sources of inspiration for the Salem Hoops Project). This specific piece by Propaganda caused me to reflect on myself as a coach and the purpose behind why I do it. I looked back on where my mind was a few years ago and the direction I wanted to go in coaching. My ambition was to build myself up as a great coach and trainer so that I could enable myself to earn a high position bringing me more recognition and a larger income. In other words, I coached to make myself look great rather then help my player become great. My desire to see players succeed actually stemmed from my selfish ambition to be seen as one of the greatest.

“What if you knew that greatness would never come, just struggle?”

Somewhere in the last year and a half I finally reached a new level as a coach. This had nothing to do with accolades, but with mindset. I finally understood that my job as a coach was to help others reach their goals while sacrificing my ambition for lofty achievements. I’m sure many coaches can relate to the trap I was in where I viewed my players’ achievements as a reflection of my own ability rather than the product of their growth and maturation.

I define #GrindRepeat as the consistent output of positive decisions and diligent actions. The end result of this is open to interpretation and dependent on your view of success. My new, personal challenge as a coach is to view my work as a means to help my players achieve their goals. In other words, understanding that the reason I was given a passion for the game is to be someone else’s platform.

“Would you sign up for little league knowing you’d never go pro?”

My challenge to players and coaches is to think about why they put everything they have  into the game. Would you do it even if you knew that the result might not benefit you as much as it did others? Propaganda ends his piece by saying, “it’s a good thing we can’t see the future, cause we’d ruin it every chance we get.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2m0jywqvEk

Highlights From the Stronger Team Huddle

I had the opportunity to attend my second Stronger Team Huddle a couple weeks ago. Even though I went to the one in the fall, it’s always valuable to sit in on a group of experienced trainers and take in any nuggets of information I can. The Stronger Team Huddle was led by Alan Stein and Henry Barrera on the Nike World Headquarters campus. Here are three main ideas I took away from the experience.

Redefine what “basketball athleticism” is

They showed a picture of Steve Nash and Dwight Howard side by side and asked the group who was the better athlete. It was unanimous that Howard was by far the dominant athlete in the minds of the attendees. However, the Stronger Team discussed that a case could be made for Nash if we redefine what “basketball athleticism” is measured by. The obvious characteristics are speed, quickness, and vertical leap. But in addition, important tools of being an athlete in the sport of basketball include coordination, balance, and reaction time.

Match the game in training - - energy and movement

Two important aspects of training they identified were matching energy requirements and movement patterns. Basketball is a game of quick bursts followed by short rest. Thus, effective training should match that. Jogging 3 miles does not simulate the way basketball is played because the game does not require you to go half speed for a long period of time. In regards to movement, using the Functional Movement Screen is beneficial for finding your map to athletic mobility. However, strengthening specific movements can help you with your agility on the court. The Stronger Team mentioned that lunging is one of the most important movements in basketball because of the amount of times that pattern is mimicked.

Teach the athlete before you train the athlete

Everybody wants their athletes to get stronger and faster, but it’s important to teach them how to move properly first. Focus on form and execution before you encourage strength gains. The number one priority in any training program is safety. Correct form on exercises sets the basis for a safe program and allows for the program to develop your athletes the right way.

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Thoughts on the NCAA Tournament - - Rebounding

This has to be one of the most competitive NCAA tourneys I have seen. So many games have come down to final possessions. In my observation, one of the most important factors for teams that came within minutes from moving on was giving up offensive rebounds. It really got me thinking about the game in general and why this is such a problem for some teams? Here are some of my thoughts. Raw athleticism does not always determine a rebounding advantage

Some evenly matched teams have lopsided rebounding numbers, and some teams lacking size outrebound their opponents. Simply having a more athletic or bigger team does not guarantee keeping teams off the boards.

If the best college players in the nation can’t perfect it, how can we raise the level of high school players?

Sometimes we call it a simple thing. We tell players take care of the things you control, like rebounding. But if the top 8 division 1 teams in the country are giving up boards in crucial times, can we really control it at the high school level?

Can rebounding be taught?

Does it all come down to heart and desire? Do you need the ball to bounce your way? I have tried numerous different ways to teach blocking out and the fundamental of defensive rebounding. Yet, the outcome is really game to game, never concrete evidence that the drills are paying off.

Is blocking out bigger than a ‘little thing’?

As coaches, we like to use the term ‘the little things’. Offensive rebounds can be the fine line between losing and winning in many cases. Is it time we stop referring to blocking out as a little thing?

These are just my thoughts after watching a small amount of college basketball these past few weekends (maybe more than a small amount). I would love some feedback from your point of view. Join the conversation on Twitter using #SHP.