Building championship-caliber programs with the Basketball Coaching Blueprint

{Sponsored} When Scott Carlson, the head varsity girls’ basketball coach at Kent City High School in Kent City, Michigan, first got started in coaching, he understood the need to learn from the best. His first decision was to seek out some of the most successful coaches in the country to learn their techniques.

“After my first season, I contacted and interviewed coaches from over 20 states throughout the country that have won state championships to see what they did,” Carlson said. “Everything from how they run a practice, what drills they do, shooting, lifting … what it takes to create a championship caliber program.”

Following his first season at Kent City, where the team went 8-13, Carlson’s teams would quickly turn it around, going 200-36 over the next 10 seasons, an .847%-win percentage. In the process, Carlson’s teams set multiple Michigan state records — including most 3-point field goals made in a half (18), a game (25) and in a season (263 in 25 games).

Carlson said he credits learning from the championship coaches for the quick turnaround — and ultimately for the foundation of the Basketball Coaching Blueprint, a new platform of resources he founded to help basketball programs establish championship culture from the top-down.

A Complete Championship Solution

The concept of the Basketball Coaching Blueprint is to provide athletic administrators and coaches with the resources to establish championship-caliber programs. For an athletic director, the Basketball Coaching Blueprint is something that can be implemented across the program, providing a framework for coaches as they come and go.

“(The athletic director) can implement this and, if the coach leaves, they still have a strong program with fundamentally sound players still coming through year after year,” Carlson said. “It allows an A.D. to determine whether the program is going to be strong or not … if you add a great coach (to a program) with a forward-thinking A.D., your program is going to soar.”

Breaking Down the Blueprint

The Basketball Coaching Blueprint has a long list of materials and resources for athletic directors and coaches to model their program after championship programs, including:

Championship Interviews

Watch interviews from legendary coaches who have won multitudes of state titles, as well as USA Today National Championships. These coaches break down how they built their programs and have succeeded over a sustained period of time. They also discuss their youth programs, strength training, off-season workouts and more.

Championship Practices

Learn what it takes for your program to practice like a champion. The Basketball Coaching Blueprint filmed championship caliber coaches in a live practice with their teams. Coaches and athletic directors can see and hear these coaches in action, watching the drills they run, examining how they interact with their players and their assistant coaches and understanding how championship teams practice.

Fundraising

The Basketball Coaching Blueprint has gathered some of the best fundraising ideas that make the most money (with the least amount of effort). Learn how teams have raised over $10,000 with a single fundraiser from over 50 fundraiser ideas, all raising a minimum of $1,000.

Carlson’s Guarantee

“Your program will earn, at a minimum, three-times the cost of the Basketball Coaching Blueprint by following our fundraising plans,” Carlson said. “If you do not raise at least three-times the cost of the program by following the plan, your first year is free. With what you will earn, your program is essentially getting paid for using BCB.”

Creating Competition

One of Carlson’s goals was to create a sense of competition and motivation among players. “The website helps create competition,” Carlson said. “We wanted to create that competition so kids could see what other players are doing.”

Jason Simpson, the head varsity girls’ basketball coach at Greensburg High School (124-28 in his 7th season) in Greensburg, Indiana, said his players have been using the Basketball Coaching Blueprint tools to create competitive workouts since the beginning of April.

“It has put competition in our daily workouts (for the players),” Simpson said. “It starts with a competition against yourself … and then it expands when you begin to compete against your teammates, and then against teams from around your area.”

Challenges

In the Challenges section of the Basketball Coaching Blueprint, players can select different drills and challenges and compete with other players across the country to see where they rank. The leaderboard has top scores and times from every player on the website, and can help players improve their skill sets through competitive challenges.

Champions Club

Follow along with the basics to any premier program, including ball handling drills, finishing moves, competitions and shooting goals. All of the drills featured come with a video clip with instruction and demonstration, so parents and coaches can ensure proper technique — giving players the “blueprint” to take their game to the next level.

Shooting Evaluation

The Basketball Coaching Blueprint also partners with Barry Brodzinski, one of the country’s premier shooting instructors, to help players get an accurate shot evaluation and tips on how they can improve their form. Brodzinski has been a professional shooting coach and instructor for over 40 years and has worked with NBA and international players, as well as teams, and was invited to instruct players in the McDonald’s and Jordan Brand Classic High School All-American Games.

Some of the other features that the Basketball Coaching Blueprint provides are recipes and nutritional information for athletes, filmed elementary practice and middle school tutorials for youth coaches and more.

Universal Access

In an era of social distancing measures, the Basketball Coaching Blueprint is a perfect addition to a program from a safety standpoint, as well — providing coaches, parents and players with the digital resources needed to continue working on and improving their game on their own.

“I have not been able to have personal contact with my players during the past months because of the pandemic, which means no gym access,” Carlson said. “My program still has taken over 160,000 shots and recorded thousands of ball handling times and challenge scores.”

Kristi Ulrich, the head varsity girls’ basketball coach at Penn High School (256-32 in her 13^th season — 1 state title and 2 runner-up finishes) in Mishawaka, Indiana, also said that having access to the platform during the pandemic has helped her athletes stay accountable and in-shape while being separated.

“Without being able to have physical contact with your athletes, it has provided an easy way to formulate workouts, set goals and instruct them virtually,” Ulrich said. “I love how it really focuses on accountability and leadership, as everyone can see who is completing their workouts.”

Another benefit to the Basketball Coaching Blueprint is that it’s an annual one-time fee for an entire program — meaning the coach, athletic director, sports boosters and others can split the cost to provide these resources to their coaching staff, players and parents.

“(The program) can have 50 or 100 players on this — including all of their parents and coaches — for the same annual fee,” Carlson said. “Championship coaches do whatever it takes to be even just a little bit better to win another title … and I think that any and every program that uses this will narrow the gap in a big way.”

To learn more about the Basketball Coaching Blueprint, visit www.basketballcoachingblueprint.com.

© 2020 Scott Carlson Basketball