When a new
basketball coach is attempting to put together a coaching plan of action,
including how to teach, what to teach and when to teach it, who do they
ask for advice? This mentoring should be of strategic importance to
them. Do they really know how to teach what you need?
Whenever
I am speaking to a group of brand new or inexperienced youth basketball
coaches, I will speak to the topic of “who is your mentor?. When a coach
is attempting to put together a coaching plan of action, including how to
teach, what to teach and when to teach it, I always point out that who they ask
for advice should be of strategic importance to them.
When
seeking investment advice, so often people will ask their neighbor, co-worker
or a relative for some “how-to? or “what-to? type of advice. Does the person asking really know if the one
being asked has investment success? If
not, why would someone put their money on the line without having a mentor with
a successful investment track record?
It’s
similar in coaching. Who are you asking
for advice? Have they done what you need
to know and done it successfully? Just
because someone has a couple of seasons of coaching, or even several years at a
higher level, do they know how to teach, what to teach and when to teach it at
the level you are working at?
A
coach new to working with beginners needs a lot of patience and
information. The first thing, and
perhaps the most important factor, should be can that coach work with and teach
children at this age level? Does this
coach understand how to teach this age and the psychology involved in teaching,
motivating or disciplining a child of this age?
Then,
we need to have knowledge of what needs to be taught, in terms of the basics of
basketball. We’re not talking here about
what the pros are doing, the teams in the NCAA Final Four, or even your local
high school team. These players, at
these levels, are far beyond trying to figure out how to move correctly, how to
pass, how to dribble, how to shoot, rebound, make cuts, screens, etc. They usually have become accomplished enough
with these things or they wouldn’t be playing.
The
coach of the beginner needs to know what to teach in a chronology that
progresses the child from being lost to becoming newly accomplished at each
skill. You don’t teach shooting or
rebounding right out of the gate. Hence,
a game plan of what skills to teach, when to teach them and how to teach them
needs to be devised. It’s a road map for
the coach. It’s lesson plans to get them
from the first practice through the season, progressing through all the skills,
so at the season’s end each player can execute enough skill to be able to play
the game and have fun.
There
are myriad selection of teaching books, videos, and coaching courses. There are
mentoring programs available online. For
example, there is a FREE program for any coach wishing to know how to teach
dribbling , at www. sportslearningonline.com.
Youth
basketball is for the youth. A child
must be allowed to be a child. They should be allowed to have fun with learning
and playing the game and experience the joy.
A knowledgeable and prepared coach can make all the difference in the
child’s experience.
About the author
Coach Ronn has more than 50
years of playing and coaching experience, including many years as an
international coaching consultant. He has authored 28 basketball teaching
books, ebooks, videos and DVD, all of which are available on his website, Top-Basketball-Coaching.com.
He currently teaches a novice coaches program for Sports Learning Online.
Tags: basketball coach, co worker, coach work, cor, disciplining a child, final four, investment advice, investment success, local high school, mentor, mentoring, money, ncaa, neighbor, patience, psychology, youth basketball coaches