Vault: Team Selection

The Myth of the Superhero

In looking back at the past week, I was reminded of these excerpts from Phil Jackson‘s book, Sacred Hoops: Basketball is a sport that involves the subtle interweaving of players at full speed to the point where they are thinking and moving as one. To do that successfully, they need to trust each other on …

That Was Your Tryout

Written by MIKE MACKAY (High Performance Manager, Women’s High Performance Program, Canada Basketball) As I travel around the country I often get asked by players, coaches and parents when tryouts are for our age group National Teams. In a country the size of Canada having a one day tryout is a very difficult thing to do. I …

Do Ordinary Better Than Anyone Else

“I learned that it doesn’t matter how you win. You play to the team’s strength, whether it’s offense, defense or special teams. I believe the best way to achieve success in each of these three areas is by attention to detail and a commitment to the fundamentals—doing the ordinary things better than anyone else.” —Tony …

The No Stat All-Star

Big thanks to Coach Jimmy Johnson for sharing this article with me on NYTimes.com: Money(basket)ball: The No Stat All-Star. “The five players on any basketball team are far more than the sum of their parts; the Rockets devote a lot of energy to untangling subtle interactions among the team’s elements. To get at this they …

Being An Elite Athlete: “It Looks Like Peace, But It’s War”

ESPN’s True Hoop posted a very interesting article called: Being an Elite Athlete: “It Looks Like Peace, But It’s War”. Author Henry Abbott makes a very interesting comparison between drafting an athlete in the NBA and the qualities that comprise successful Ethiopian marathon runner, Haile Gebrselassie. Some of this article speaks to motivation, but it …