For those of you who have been following, you know we (Montrose) have been going through some team adversity the past few weeks. How did we respond this past Friday? Horribly. Ballou High School, out of Washington D.C., beat us in every statistical category and won by 14. It was painful to watch (we had 26 turnovers). To put this loss in its proper context, it was the first time we lost to a local team in 8 years. It is the first time in Coach Vetter’s 34 year career that he has lost 3 games in a row. So needless to say, our adversity has really begun to snowball (pun intended).
We played uninspired, casual, and overwhelmingly sloppy. We played with no passion, no sense of urgency, and just looked out of it. Aside from a handful of decent plays, we looked like we were in a daze. After the game, everyone just sat there with their heads down, with almost no emotion. Everyone looked stunned. Our program used to have an aura about it – a swagger if you will – that intimidated every local opponent we played. Teams used to doubt whether they could actually beat us. But that has passed. Now teams know we are beatable. The mystique is gone and we have a major target on our back. With that said, our remaining games will not be easy, regardless of whom our opponent is.
After our embarrassing performance, our staff decided to give the team the entire weekend off and scheduled a team meeting for this past Monday (instead of practice). Everyone was encouraged to speak and to air out their issues. When handled appropriately, confrontation is a very positive thing. Kids today lack in-person communication skills because they have so many other outlets and ways to vent (like Facebook and text messaging). They aren’t used to verbally expressing their feelings and showing their true emotions. They keep everything bottled up. But many times, especially when going through adversity, speaking your mind and sharing your feelings is exactly what needs to be done. It cuts to the heart of the issues and makes you feel better.
Each player and coach had the chance to get everything off their chest in a respectful way. It was very productive. As coaches, we can’t assume we know how our players feel or what they think. We have to ask. What did our staff find out during the team meeting?
We found out a few deep issues we had no idea existed. We learned that the team was very hurt and angry at Terrence leaving, but even more surprising, they had lost their collective confidence. Terrence leaving actually rattled our guys (we had no idea). They had major doubts that we could win without him (which in hindsight is understandable, given he was our leading scorer). Thankfully, they were mature enough to admit it.
Now it is our staff’s job to show our team how we can still be successful. It is our job to show them what steps need to be taken and what roles need to change in order for us to regain our confidence and get back to winning games. And that is exactly what we will do.
Our practice the following day was the best practice of the year. The kids had energy, enthusiasm, and an extra spring in their step. It was as if a weight was lifted off of their shoulders. They competed hard and had fun. And all it took was a heart-to-heart meeting that welcomed open communication and appropriate confrontation. If your team is going through some adversity right now, I suggest you do the same!
With the Montrose update out of the way, it is time to re-focus on the intended topic of this blog:
“Traits and Habits of Successful Basketball Coaches”
This is the second part of a three-part series. Originally, this was only going to be a two-part series, but I decided to extend it because I have so much info I want to share. Next week, I will post the third and final segment. If you haven’t already done so, I recommend you go back and read last week’s post before reading this one. As a reminder, this series is the edited transcript from a phone interview I did with my friend Andy Louder from Hoop Skills Academy (www.HoopSkills.com). To provide a timeline, this interview took place in December… well before the aforementioned adversities!
Andy Louder: It’s not always the team with the five best players that wins; chemistry plays an important role. How can a coach find good chemistry?
Alan Stein: You will probably answer most of your chemistry questions in practice and through trial and error. At Montrose, our school colors are green and white. We have reversible practice jerseys, so at the beginning of each practice we announce a green team and a white team. The green team is who we consider the “starting 5” for the day. But that constantly changes throughout practice because the players on the white team are working hard to prove they deserve to be in green. And we tinker with the line-ups in practice all of the time… searching for groups that have better chemistry and play better together. It is important not to put all of your focus on your starters though. I can’t stress enough how important players number 6 through 12 are to your overall success. They are the guys who push your starters every day in practice. That is a tough role to accept because they’re not the ones making the headlines and they get very limited playing time during the game. However, those players are the backbone of your team. They are also the players you have to work extra hard to keep motivated, especially late in the season. Since they don’t get a lot of playing time or public recognition, it is important you praise them and acknowledge them in front of the team as often as possible. If they aren’t feeling like they contribute, or don’t feel like they are an important part of the team, the negativity will start. And that type of negativity is a cancer that kills team chemistry and morale. At Montrose, we have an eight man rotation. But our players nine through twelve are just as vital to our overall success and we try to let them know that daily. Plus, we don’t ever want our players to think that top 8 is set in stone. We want players to compete for those 8 spots every day. Our guys understand that no spots are 100% guaranteed.
Andy Louder: How much of chemistry has to do with knowing your team’s identity and what your style of play is?
Alan Stein: Knowing your team’s identity and style are paramount. You can’t have good chemistry unless everyone is on the same page. Another thing that goes with chemistry is having good kids. No jerks. If you have bad kids, the chemistry will suffer severely. It helps to have kids that really like each other off the court. They don’t have to be best friends, but it’s very important that every player has a mutual respect for everyone else on the team and they respect the program as a whole. Another major part of chemistry, and arguably the most important thing a coach needs to accomplish, is making sure everybody on the team knows exactly what their role is. Every staff member and every player must be crystal clear on what their role is and they need to agree to accept it. This starts with effective communication and not assuming anything. Many times, a player thinks they know what their role is, but it is completely different than what the coach thinks. You’ve got to work those issues out immediately. If not, they are chemistry killers!
Andy Louder: What are a few of the obvious things you see most struggling coaches do?
Alan Stein: I think with anything in life, regardless of whether you’re talking about basketball, everything boils down to relationships. I think the coaches that tend to struggle are the ones that don’t have a solid relationship with their players. I’m not talking about camaraderie or a friendship necessarily, but more of a mutual respect built on trust, honesty, and making sure the players know you genuinely care about them as people (not just as basketball players). Your players need to know you sincerely want what’s best for them and your goal is to make them the best player they can be. If they believe that, most issues can be resolved rather quickly because you have a strong foundation. Also, many times struggling coaches don’t know how to motivate each player. You have to find what motivates each individual on your team, because it’s different from player to player. Some of our players respond very well when I get up in their face and am very intense. I’ve got others that I have to take a much more subtle approach in order to get them to play their best. And then of course, the simplest answer to give a struggling coach is, “do more of what is working and less of what isn’t!”
Andy Louder: Please give us a few examples of a healthy player/coach relationship.
Alan Stein: First of all, you have to establish the boundaries of an appropriate player/coach relationship. The younger you are, the harder this can be because you want to be “buddies” with your players. That can blur the line of professionalism. A healthy player/coach relationship should be built on trust, honesty, and respect. I don’t believe in coaching through fear or in coaching through intimidation. Your players (obviously) need to understand you’re the one that’s running the team and that you’re in charge, but there are numerous ways to do that without using fear and intimidation. And then of course there are the intangible qualities of having good character. Those are things as a coach, you can’t just talk about, and it is how you have to live your life. A healthy player/coach relationship starts by setting a good example in everything you do.
Alright, that’s the end of “Traits and Habits of Successful Basketball Coaches Part II.” I will post the third and final segment next week, so please check back.
As I mentioned in last week’s blog, I have collected a variety of “coaching nuggets” over the years. I just recently sifted through them and pulled out several of my favorites… including some wisdom, advice, and stories from some brilliant basketball minds. If you haven’t already done so, please email me at Alan@StrongerTeam.com and I will happily send them to you.
On that note, I received such outstanding feedback from this recent batch of “coaching nuggets,” I will be putting together a follow-up collection called “more coaching nuggets.” I will have those ready at the end of next week (please don’t email me for them just yet). I will let you know when they are ready in next week’s blog as well as through announcements on www.Twitter.com/AlanStein and www.Facebook.com/AlanSteinJr.
And as always, check out (and subscribe to) www.YouTube.com/StrongerTeamDotCom. Last week, I posted the Maryland Basketball Pre-game Warm-up. My friend and colleague, Paul Ricci, does an outstanding job as their strength & conditioning coach. I will be posting a couple videos of Maryland’s in-season strength training workouts later this week and next week.
As always, if you need anything else, or if I can be of service in any way, don’t hesitate to email me at Alan@StrongerTeam.com. I will respond as quickly as possible.
Play hard. Have fun.
Alan Stein
