Coaching Priorities

A thoughtful piece from the Coaching Toolbox.

An excerpt:

2)       Show the participants examples of how to be successful in life and basketball.
Stress the importance of honesty, trust, enthusiasm, discipline, sportsmanship, dedication, reliability, teamwork, sacrifice, dependability, integrity, loyalty, and hard work.
We will be successful at the varsity level with players who:

• Take coaching and understand the need for discipline
• Love Basketball and appreciate hard work
• Dribble, Pass, and Shoot the ball proficiently
• Play very hard

We understand that this is an exciting week (tryouts) that is just part of the basketball journey. Making a team is not the end of the road...just the beginning. Not making the team isn't the end either; there's a long way between developmental basketball and the summit of one's life skills. We encourage every player who loves basketball and competition to stick with it.

I happily recall a teammate in high school who played on the freshman 'B' team. Later on, he had a key blocked shot in Boston Garden against a high school All-American and Celtic draft choice, to help win that game. In the next game against three time state champion Lexington, he was the high scorer in the old Garden to help us win the Division I North championship in overtime. He never quit and got a scholarship to play basketball in college and became an executive in the oil industry.