Category: From the Bench »
Four principles for offseason basketball training
Another season is in the books, and by now you’ve had time to audit your program, your work and your players. The offseason is where programs create separation between themselves and their rivals. Long before teams cut down the nets next year or pl...
A letter to communicate your philosophy to parents
Basketball programs must effectively communicate to parents as a way to avoid altercations or disagreements during the season. Coach Mike Bailey, who leads the boy’s basketball team at St. Patrick High School (Illinois), does this by creating a com...
‘Mouse’ counters help defense, attacks players in foul trouble
Coaches are always thinking of new plays to attack the defensive schemes they encounter during the season. Basketball is a game of adjustments, with one coach or team running a play while the other coach works to take away that play. The other coach ...
Dear parents: I want your kid to fail
Yes, you read that right. I want your kid to fail. Specifically, I want your kid to fail in basketball, and the earlier he or she can start failing, the better. I am so convinced of the positive value of failure that I believe you, as a parent, shoul...
Letters to live by: Acronyms and initialisms to help coaches communicate
You may have heard the phrase "words to live by," used when someone says something particularly profound. But when it comes to communication in our basketball program, we like to use the phrase "letters to live by." I have often said that it’s muc...
Seven strategies to a long-term coaching career
Coaches that reach longevity in coaching have learned to deal with stress, obstacles and implement improvement strategies. Using Andy Carrier’s experience as the men’s basketball coach at a small liberal arts college for 25 years, these seven str...
1-on-1 with skills guru Ryan Goodson
Since 2009, Goodson has traveled worldwide and trained more than 15,000 players from the youth to the professional levels. He even worked with two-time NBA MVP Stephen Curry and directed Curry’s Skills Academy in 2011. Winning Hoops recently caugh...
12 rules for new coaches
As a former athletic director and coaching educator, I have seen many young coaches enter and leave the coaching ranks. I thought a few simple rules might help them survive their first years on the job. Coaching is a great profession, and the opport...
