Winning Tips for Basketball Coaches

I coached the sport of basketball for 33 years. I coached at levels from junior high school to professional. During my years coaching, I was able to pick up many helpful tips for the sport. I attended two to three basketball clinics a year. I would help at various summer basketball camps under many different coaches. Along my journey, I picked up lots of ideas. This article passes along those ideas. Some of these ideas are totally opposite of what many coaches teach.

Keep practices game condition; Successful coaches are able to find various ways to do this. The more you can figure out ways to simulate game conditions, the better off your team will be.

Ball possessions win games; The more times you have the ball, the better your chances are of scoring more points. The opposite is also true. The less times your opponent has the ball, the less chances of them winning the game. Structure your offense and defense to this main goal and the odds of success will go up.

Blocking out doesn't count; I always taught players to block out on rebounds every place on the court. Years later, I learned different. I once heard Charles Barkley and Dennis Rodman talking about rebounding. They both agreed that the most important factor in getting a successful rebound is to go after and get to the ball as quickly as possible. Blocking out was a waste of time. I would add this fact though. If you are a lot shorter than the player you are guarding, blocking out would help your team mates.

Strategy; A good coach observes three important questions early in a game. First; Can you get shots from where you want them? Second; Is your defense good enough to give the opposition a tough time getting shots? Third; Can you apply strong defensive pressure successfully full court? Nobody likes pressure. Pressure causes both forced and unforced turnovers. If you can honestly answer these three questions, you have a good chance at a win. If you can't, you need to make adjustments.

Take away one thing; When you scout a team for your next game, discover the one thing that you can take away from them. Sometimes, just taking away something will disrupt their game structure. It could be as simple as an in bounds pass or a special spot on the floor that a player likes to run to every time down the court. Disrupt one player and you can disrupt an entire team.

A good shot can make up for a turnover; If you have a good shooter that can't do anything else, you have to consider playing that player. Good shooters are hard to come by. They can make up for a multitude of sins.

Use your bench; Make sure they realize that they are a very important part of the team. Bench players keep starters accountable.

Keep it simple; Basketball players are not brain surgeons. Heavy detailed and designed plays can't be remembered by all. Keep the plays simple and repeat, repeat and repeat them in practice.