Strange rules is a problem

Well, during my 19 years as a coach there has been quite a lot of strange "local" rules in the game of basketball and what I totally hate about many of this rules is that:

They are there to stop bad coaches from making the wrong decsisions which could be to only play 5 players in the whole game at a age of 13. So federations put rules like a players cant play more than 3 periods and everybody has to play at least one period.
Thats a rule I grew up with in the south of Sweden, which made many coaches only to bring 8 players to games. Most rules there are ways around, rules aint the solution its education and "banned from coaching", the federation where I come from was the first to put in a license for coaching kids in Sweden. Its a great thing as I see it since there are at least one demand on the coaches and thats a coaches education that everybody has to be present at the start of each year to get their licenses.

Super, but to get that license or get education was for many years way to easy, but changed with a great man behind the education part in Swedish basketball he really cleanded it up. he stopped his job at the federation some months ago, thats scary to me :-)

In Denmark we have some to me totally crazy rules at the age of 13.

Bonuspoint, if you loose a game in " D1 level " you still get 1 point if you used 10 players in the game.

If you win and you have used 10 players, you get 3 points.

If you use 10 players everybody has to play 2 periods in the game, you cant play some 3 periods and some 1 periods.

On the "D 2 level" you only have to use 8 players to get a bonuspoint.

To me the bonuspoint is simply so strange and having restrictions of how many periods you can play in mini basketball is fine, but I still think it should be maxumum 3 periods and at least 1 period for the players dressed for the game. I f a rule shoudl be used, to say that my player that practices 20 hours a week should play equal time as the player that practices 6 hours a week is simply not OK in my world.

Everybody that follows club and teams rules has a right to play, but how much should be decided by how much that kid wants and how much he/she puts into it.


We also have a no fullcourt press rule here in Denmark which goes into effect at a 20 points lead. Is great in some situations, but here`s the twist.

Earlier in my basketball life we hade the same rule in south sweden, but the twist with the danish rule is even after missed shoot you have run back to the middle line and play "D".

After a score I can live with, but after a miss that just goes against everything you try to put into kids at young ages. Going for off rebounds, stopping the ball early, transition "D" and so on.

Can you see this before your eyes:

" There`s a shoot at the basket, the defending teams rebounds and a quick outlet, defensive player on the other team is in perfect defensive position on the players whom caught the outlet, his/her instincts say "lets play "D", but rule says leave the ball and run back to midcourt"

This doesn`t make any of the players better as I see it.

I should say I have no understanding what so ever for teams that continue pressing with big leads over 40 points and so on. But all defense in full court is not a press. Maybe there is only a defender on the ball, but that here counts as a press and that in my world is a joke.

One coach one of my teams has played two times this season asked me to continue playing full court on them after 20 p lead "They have learn to handle it he said", we won with 70-80 points in both games, and I didn`t fullfil his wished the whole way through, first game we played 3 periods FC, and other game only 2 periods. I simply couldn´t use it for something good for my players, since it makes them come into a false state of mind, when we play a good team. In a game against a good team its more about controlling the ball, your man and steals aint that common especially not in the front court.

I like that we have a NO zone rule at this age, I like that we are not allowed to double team a players at this age, but some refs call help defence doubleteaming and that no win situation when you as a coach try to explain that is helpdefense and not doubleteaming to a ref totally without understanding of the game or the rules.

This year we have another strange rule and that is if you are born in the fourth quarter of the year you can play with a younger team (max 2 per game)I have gotten the explanation and I still dont get it, so you can this year play the champioship for boys born 98 with 2 boys born 97, hmmm

Why this rule, because many players born late develops late, but that is education on coaches part that is needed about that not rule that says that. And with every rule without education there a ways to use it wrong. I have had mnay players born late that have been dominant at early ages, there are so many factors that will not be solved with a rule about it. generally whick players are we REALLY talking about, its the kids that will be tall or very tall and born late, for most small players born in february or december is just a size factor, but for the "kid to be tall" there are so many things making it harder for him and being born late makes it even harder.

But we are really talking about talent identification and thats the key, not a rule.

Rules are sometimes great, but education is the solution combined with a license to coach, that can be taken away from you.

Aint given up

This blogg, but my life is really busy right now and I have to make some priorities and blogging aint that high on the scale because of that.

Basketball is going great and it looks like my shoulder injury courtesy of Swedish railways will be fixed in december at least that what i hope.

Both of my teams are working hard and they are both in development faces but so different, you could say my girls team is going through what the boys team did last year and its a continues process coaching kids, once you think they got it, you will be remembered just as quickly that they are kids and not pro players.

I go to practice 5 times a week with a big smile not always on the outside, but inside I´m just a big smile. Sometimes a wonder what my life would be without basketball and my only conclusion is would there really be a life without basketball!?

This game and development of kids just keeps growing on me and I get more attached to it for every year that passes. Right now I`m blessed by the naismiths goods in having two teams that wanna learn, something I have never had before.

I have had players in best cases 2-3 players on a team that wanna learn, but situation now is very different and it makes it so much more fun.

To a totally other subject: NBA

Shame on you players and your greed.

Shame on people calling Michael Jordan a sellout for protecting his team interests.
Remember the best there ever was, was never greedy even do he could have been when he was active.

NBA was dying when the greats, MJ, Magic, bird, Isiah, Barkely, The dream and others stopped playing, but Kobe kept it alive bearly breathing bit still and "Mr No rings ever" Lebron helped with tremendous marketing of himself, now all úngreatful players are making a parody of and pissing on what all the legends of the game created all because they wanna show one more car on MTV cribs :-)

Shame on the new ungreatful generation in the NBA and in sports in general, its supposed to be a honor, a luxury to be able to make millions on playing a game for work. If the saluary aint to your satisfaction go back to playing in the streets for free or go to some other country in the world and make money on a normal scale.

Its just a big shame......play ball and have one car less instead!

Its simply awesome

As a coach I`m constantly searching the net for new stuff and once now and then I found something that makes me happy and interested.

But most of the time its just repitition of more of the same since I have been "digging" on the net way back since 56K modem was the shit :-)

This saturday I was just bored and went on the tube trying to find some new stuff to get my basketballbrain going and I found it.

Todays technology creates so much opertunites for us coaches in "wrong countries" that wanna learn stuff.

Online basketball has been used for some time now, but most costs money, but I found this site: http://www.onlinebasketballclinics.com/

And they have posted 2 clinics in full on the tube for all basketball idiots to watch. Here are the links:

Clinic 1:
http://youtu.be/0Wm3iJ1tjJM

Clinic 2:

Ring, ring, ring

Well, my ringtone aint sounding like that but like this since I use this song made partly by one fomer baller from the naughty south.

It makes me happy and most phonecalls is also good things so double pleasure :-)

It rang earlier today and it was one of my boys players asking for a extra individual practice it aint summetime but that makes me happy and forget about all the 99 problems I got :-)

Kiss, when the devil knocks on the door

Kiss= Keep It Simple Stupid

What devil I`m I talking about, well its the devil that live inside all of us coaches, a devil that wants easy scores, success right now, perfection and exacution like robots. I been coaching kids for 18 years and that devil never leaves, but I have and still hold him in lockup for the last 14 years at least. You might say he`s in deathrow waiting to be exacuted, but the death sentence is never fulfilled.

Patience in development and a understanding why some things work briliant at some ages, maybe not because of your team or that you have the best offense in the world, but simply because of the players age and that they are not ready to solv a staggered screen, flexscreen or other advanced moves in offense at certain ages.

Thats why they work, not because of the exacution, not because its a briliant offense picked by you as a coach, but because of the defensive understanding is not on that level yet because of the age.

KISS and goodnight :-)

Enough with this greedout

"When is enough money enough money? NBA players greedy, million of people are without houses, clothes, food, medicine and many of them dont even got hope. If you asked me 20 years ago and say hell yes give them money, but now with the current money they get already HELL NO! Get over your greed and start playing the game that you used to love!"

Well I put this text on facebook today its really starting to piss of me off. I believe it tragical whats going on I grew up watching NBA when it had class and skilled players not "just" athletic players and most of the great are and will be from that time.

Players like Magic, Jordan, Barkley,  earned so little money even compaired to benchplayers today that almost never see the court except from yeah the bench. Yes it was many years ago but....money in NBA today is already ridiculos.

1984 Salary cap 3,6 million *, Player salary average 330 000*
2007 Salary cap 53,1 million* , Player salary average 5,2 million*
2010 Salary cap  58,04 million *, Players salary average around 6 million *
(* dollars)

I dont care how much the owners make, without the owners there is no NBA.

Play the game you love and instead of demanding more money for yourself demand that the NBA put in a "aid claus" in the contracts, which says that 10% of the salary goes directly to 10 different aid causes by the players choice to make the world a better place.

Worst with this NBA "greedout" is that players are coming to europe for big big money and the aftermaths of that we will find out, but my guesses is that several clubs will have huge money problems in the years to come thanks to the greedy NBA players that "wanna" play in europe.

Players like Tony Parker has risen in my thoughts bigtime, he plays in france for 2000 dollars/month which is a little bit different from what Kobe wants.....Say NO to KObe and the rest that want more than Parker!

I truly hope european clubs have the sponsors backing up the contracts with NBA players especially the big stars if they come or else european basketball will be in ruins in some years, with conseqeunces already next season for some clubs.

How much money is enough money?

Bad times is good

"Horsens landed the second import player for the next season. They agreed on terms of contract with Will Harris (198-F-86, college: Albany). The 24-year-old forward has graduated from the University at Albany in 2010. Will Harris tallied 12.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game in his senior season. The forward started his pro career in the IBL. He played for the Albay Legends in 2011 season. Will Harris averaged 11.5 points per appearance." from Eurobasket,com

Bad times economically in the basketball world is good for small basketball countries like Denmark I had the privaligue to watch a great import players a week ago in Horsens Will Harris. Its very rare with qualityplayers in the nordic countries although many are hyped bigtime before the arrive they dont live up to the hype.

Will Harris has bright future as a pro and unless some beautiful danish women manages to make him stay in Denmark he will be long gone and go off and make more money and play in better leagues after this season.


Most import players we get to the nordic countries are back up players or complete roll players, some manage to change, but most of them has played as a roll player for so many years and they cant make the transition and the get fired or gets to stay they season out not helping the team very much.

Players like Will Harris is rare, he`s a player that can do it all in offense and also can play defense. The only thing he didn´t show me was leadership, when the team played bad and he let his teammates take way to many shoots. I think he played the whole game, but for like 7-8 minutes he didn`t get to shoot the ball and still he scored with breaking to much sweat over 30points.


Så for some countries bad times moneywise is good, since I dont believe a player like Will Harris would come here in good money times.

Will Harris could average 40+points if his teamates understands how to and when to give him the ball and get f**k out of his way :-)