Growth comes in two forms: improvement or innovation. Improvement is the process of accumulating marginal (or incremental) gains. One percent learnings, or ‘1%-ers’, as I like to call them. As a young coach (or player), it’s easy to make big leaps in improvement. The learning curve is steep. And, if you’re hungry, growth can come …
The Whistle and a Clipboard podcast was created to “provide a place for coaches to learn from one another.” With, I want to give a big shout out to Jason Oates for creating this platform for so many coaches to share their point of view and grow sport coaching – together! Highlights: In this interview, I discuss: …
Julie Zhuo says it well: “I like words a lot. But sometimes a few sketches communicate a point more simply and memorably.” Enjoy. The Process of Novice Coaching The Process of Master Coaching The Ambitions of Novice Coaching The Ambitions of Master Coaching Zhuo is nails it: “Ideas are cheap; execution and results are everything.” …
I’m hedgehog when it comes to seeking out insights on how to improve my craft — single-minded in my pursuit. So when two people on my must follow list – Daniel Coyle and Doug Lemov – spotlighted the same story in The New Yorker called “Every Boy Does Fine”, I stopped cold in my tracks …
A while back I shared my coaching clinic notes from a basketball clinic I attended featuring Jasmin Repeša. Well, here’s the video of a clinic put on by by Canada Basketball (@canbball) – and shared by Basketball Manitoba (@basketballmb). Some useful ideas from a top-level European basketball coach. Break out your notebook and enjoy! Tell …
“Imagine your reaction if, before a big game, the referees got all the players together from both teams and announced that, in addition to the usual rules of the game, they were going to call every player for a violation any time he got off-balance. An off-balance shot, a pivot against a double-team, a pass …
What makes a basketball drill good? To be more precise, what differentiates effective from ineffective basketball drills? I’m continually wrestling with these types of questions. With all the drills that are being put out there nowadays, you must have a way to sift through the clutter. Once you do, you then have to be able …
Okay… Allow me to preface this post by saying that I’m not (yet!) masterful at applying this concept. Far from it, in fact. I am, though, stretching myself into new possibilities as a teacher-coach. Great coaching matters. That’s what this lab is all about: experimenting with excellence. We’re on this journey together. In my last post, …
Beware of great plays. Common sense might seem to tell you that great plays make the difference between a good player and a mediocre player, but most coaches would disagree. More often, they would say, great plays (or the attempts to make great plays) are what make good players mediocre. Many players are mediocre because …
Thought by many to be the greatest tennis player of this generation, Rafael Nadal‘s story is atypical to that of most stars in sports. The “great irony” of Rafael Nadal, as journalist Jeff Pearlman calls it, is that he’s a “singularly relentless player… But it’s not his forehand or his backhand; it’s his will. He …