Creating good habits

Creating good habits is one of the most important things for us coaches and even more important for us coaching in countries where basketball aint that big.

When talking about the most important habit as I see its not any technical or foundamental part of the game, its the foundamental in school, in life, yeah in almost everyhting if you wanna get better at something.

Extra practise and findning soluation to practise more than others to become better than others. In the start of my coaching days I didn`t preach as much about this like I do know. Not giving you an excuse, but for me as a player practising extra and as much as possible wasn`t something somebody told me. I practised several hours extra each day and weekends alone or with a friend we could spend hour after hour just us to and the stereo shooting from downtown and playing 1 vs 1.

Dont exactly know why, but it just felt like something you had to do if you wanted t get better and I did.
So when I started coaching in many aspects I didn`t ask, didn`t find out, but instead assumed that everybodu thinks the same and some year later I got on track and understood thats not the case, far from it.

You as a coach, the leader of a group of kids playing a sport they like, your are their guide and the need a shitload of guidance to get on track in mnay aspects not just basketball.

But getting them to practise extra is foundamental if your kids will succeed later on as players. The habit of training many hours with a team, by yourslef gives them the chance to become the best they can be.
When I start with a new team I become a preacher man in many areas, but I always put extra push on practising extra. After the first preaching I usually wait a week or so and the ask the questions that makes many youngster get into the mood.

How many practised extra the last days?

You will always get somebody that says something like this:

The gym was locked!
I was on vacation!
I sprained my ancle!
I had schoolwork!

Just a few examples to make the point.

The gym as locked, Isn`t there more gyms did you check them?, There most be some streetcourt neart you? To cold, couldn`t you practise ballhandling in your garage, celler? Was you feet broken, so you couldn`t run? Cant you do pushups and situps and more in your room? Can you practise shooting techninc without a ball or basket, well yes you can?!

I was on vacation, OK, basketball is thw second biggest sport in the world with over 400 millions people playing it are you saying that there are no courts, basket where you where? Hell no!

I sprained my ancle, well you have the rest of the body you could practise so excuses dont work here.

I had schoolwork, NO you didn`t, you choose to have schoolwork, "but I had a test", test in the evening dont think so, "I studied", well bad planinng, when did you find out about that test? case closed!
Maybe you shouldn`t have played 10 hours of worthless killing computer games?

What I`m a doing with this, I`m not trying to make the look stupid but I try to use their excuses and give them solutions.
I`m also very clear with that if somebody doesn`t wann become better, thats also a choose, but if you wanna start now and not later, because later can be to late.

I have succeeded with this specially good the last few years and when this in place, you come to important stuff like WHAT do practise, when do practise extra and so on.

Some coaches, make extra practise as something they choose for the players, you WILL know practise so and som many hours and on this extra. I think this fails especially in non basketball countries, it has to come from players, but you can sure as hell lure them in to it.

I always say also to players that really become better that I fyou want to practise extra with me, asked me and if I have the time I will do it. Dont asnwer know I say qyickly since players wanna please their coach, if you wanna you come and tell me later and we find out when that can be done. This is my way, maybe not your but it works for me.

I did the same with my boys 98 that I started with in september last year and they got it many of them practise many hours extra every week its just so nice. Two players 12 years old has called me, asked face to face if we can do extra practises together thats just great and hearbreaking that I have had to say no all of the times. But it gives me extra energhy to give all I got in practises, these guys really want it, my job to deliver the goods.

I love my team and this outstanding sport, cant wait for next practise and that is tomorrow.

Did you miss me?

Not som many writting comments and the stats on these blogs never tell the truth, so I dont know if anybody missed me, but lets just say like it is been working like a lunatic the last 6 weeks and this week I have gotten a terrible tonsillitis, so sick like a dog is plain and simple what I`m. Allthough a little beter today and that is great since I have som young coaches education tomorrow and the be able to speak to them helps a lot.

I have for the first time in I dont know how many years just seen 1½ games of the march madness games and of the final four games I only have seen the first half of one of them. I haven`t had the time, but some years ago I would have seen them anyway, so you might say I have gotten a little bit wisser with age. Its painful to realize that you aint 20 years old anymore and can sleep little, work much and party hard "all the time" :-)

Actually the club that I coach in now Hørsholm Basketball hade one of their former players in the playoff games and thats pretty unique. He plays in Old Dominion and they played Butler in the first game and lost with 2 points, so could have been even better. I remember the kid from many years back and I remember what I saw and what I saw was possibiltys to become a force. At 2.11cm and moveable you are always wanted in the basketball world.

See his profile here: Anton Larsen

Not many coaches from the nordic countries can say they had a player in  the playoffs of the NCAA, well after this year some can celebrate with a extra brewed danish beer maybe :-)

Back to bed and try to sleep between all the coughing....And all the games missed? Well new madness next year ;-)

Third double seed to reach

The final four, before VCU rams there was LSU in 1986 and George Mason in 2006, now 11th seed Rams outplayed the nr 1 seed Kansas Jayhawks.

Because I´m been working like a maniac the last 4 weeks I have only seen small parts of games, so this game was actually my first full game and I truly enjoyed it.

Rams doesn´t play as static as many teams do and that makes them so much harder to controll. The had a couple of minutes in the second half where they started to hesitate and became stuck in the offense, but they shook it of them. But with a lot of help from Kansas, they didn`t reach their capacity at all of course VCU did a good job, but where Kansas failed was in their heads, the weren`t mentally prepaired for a underdog with a young coach that thinks he can move mountains and gets his players to beleive that also....and he did, they di move a mountain tonite.

Kansas is out, Duke is out.....11th seed VCU is still in it and they are going for gold. Believe that!

And by the way, great with a young coach only 33 years old, maybe people can understand that leadership, basketball knowhow is not garanteed just because you are old. Experience is age based, but coaching is not.

Will do this more

Last week I recorded som drill that I do with my kids and my goal is to record more and put it up for several reasons.

* For my boys to see themself
* Maybe inspiration for some other coach
* Help to some player searching the net for drills.

I will upload and put them here on my blogg, hope somebody likes them.
Here are 3 short clips put together with music. Its what I call combodrills, where we are working with many different aspects of the game and where I have choosen to take away the baskets, to get focus on other things than scoring.

We (basketball) have come a long way since...

Found this great video :-)

I just love old stuff with basketball in it, its so much fun to watch and this is actually the first nationally televised womens collegegame back in 1975.
Womens basketball has come a long way since 1975, the differences are remarkable, but shouldn`t the women refs have kept the skirts? Bring it back 2012, just kiddin :-)

Behind the back pass

Well, I´m a fan of showtime basketball, I grew up with Earvin "Magic" Johnson and showtime basketball at the forum like they always said. I have always liked players that do that little extra and as a coach does kind of players can give you lots of headaches but also so much more success if you can get them to use their showtime skills in the right time and in the right way.




Had two games with my kids boys98 this weekend and in a game which we won big there is one fastbreak that sticks to my mind. I have some players that I expect to do behind the back pass in some games, but this time is was a player that I never would have thought would do it.

It was a nice fastbreak, with 3 passes and 3 dribbles and finished off with a behind the back pass for the layup.

At the moment we have 3 focuses in the games and that is Rebounding, Fastbreak and Energy.
Starting with rebounding its so much easier to play  this game and even the old goats in coaching are changing their styles of play to adept to a defense in 5-5 that has developed into a wall and new ways is coming. You have use the speed and quickness of the players that are so athletic.

Well we try to play that way and its starting to look good. Rebounding is still a weakness, but will be a weakness for only a short while more.

Fastbreak is not just that we are trying to run like like crazy, but with a purpose and filling the 3 lanes and getting the ball up the court quickly to see what the defense gives us. If there aint a easy one, 1vs1 opertunity, 2-1,3-2 we get into motion offense and move the ball. If their is no quick pass up the court the PG can dribble the ball to side, middle or diagonaly to the other side.

Hard part about playing this way is at ealy ages and old ages making the right choices.


Energy is the third big part, my kids are so focused in doing the things right that they sometimes forget energy. I`m tlaking about givining energy to others and also I as a coach want players to play with a smile on their lips, not like robots that are programmed to do a certain thing. If they reach the higher levels they have lots of time beeing robots :-)

In pratises we have some other things we focus on
- Defense on ball, off ball
- Moving without the ball, backcut, frontcut, getting open, handoffs.(of course passing)
- Shooting technic
- Cordination, phsyical training, quickness

The third one shooting I see as a very important thing to learn early, I know some coaches dont think this way and thats fine, but we can see the problems with many american players, star players that first learn how to shoot when the reach the NBA or with personal coaches in the summers.

Being able to shoot the ball, opens up the game so much more and makes it so much easier doing all the things you practise. If you are a good team, many teams will just back off and play 2-3 meters away from the ball and stack up the 3 second area. A little bit older teams will eventuelllay go to zone and stand there.

Everyody agress that 1 vs 1 skills is very important and with a shoot at a early stage the players can reallt play one on one and the teams that dont try to play "real" defense not zagging all the time will be punished time and time.

Somebody said the behind back is used to little and I agree, but we need to teach WHEN and HOW it should be used or else, we get a whole other game.

Many of the nice things that we see on the court we have very few players to be thankful for starting with it.
Two of them is my favourite Magic Johnson and Pistol Pete

Here is a video of the great Pistol Pete


Showtime!

YCA`s first clinic a success in many ways

As some of you know I`m running a project here in Hørsholm Basketball that I call Young Coaches Academy and the main purposes of this is too educate new, young coaches and make it a little bit easier in becoming a coach.
That is done with different actions like, miniclinics theoretical and on the floor, leadership education, talks with leaguecoaches about coaching and so much more.

One thing is also that YCA aims to arrange two clinics each season and the first one was held on the second of march 2011.
I had four coaches doing clinics, 3 of them had 30 minute clincs and one of them had 1 hour clinic.
I have uploaded the clinic to youtube and the quality is what it is, but clinics you are suppose to see live, so see you next time. Next clinic will be in september of 2011 and will be teamoriented, while this clinic in the spring always will be on foundamentals, individual focus.

Here are the clinics:
Here is the first clinic of the evening and its Coach Igor Gavrilovic that talks and shows drills, technic in passing.



Second clinic with Coach Michael Boje-Formann about running technic, footwork, explosivness and more


The third clinic which is one hour by Coach Jan Mikulowski about outside/insidemoves from the perspective, what does the defense give you?
(clinic is divided into 5 parts because of problems with camera)











The last clinic of the evening was by Coach Johan Enbom, who had about functional strength training.




Next clinic will be in September and will have subjects that is teamoriented.
Hope that more take the opertunity too learn in September, YCA is here to stay