I’ve written before about key performance indicators and how the dearth of data analytics and tracking software is spurring on a new era in sports performance analytics. The reality is, at least for the near future, the lion’s share of coaches and athletes will not have access to tools like SportVu and Noah Basketball shot tracking …
Many refer to it as POSITIONLESS play. Years ago, while working with Canada Basketball, we had referred to it as developing the ‘global’ player (i.e. players that could shoot, pass, and dribble from all positions). Perhaps, better said, it’s PERMISSION-LESS… players are no longer seeking permission to initiate from multiple positions, in multiple ways. Perhaps, …
The biggest mental load in performance, that an athlete must cope with, is in dealing with failures – both in the moment and after the fact. Yes, it’s the obvious ‘failure’ associated with a loss. Yet, more significant, and less obvious, are the micro ‘failures’ that accumulate over the course of a game (and even season). …
DISCLAIMER: This is not what you want to hear… It is, however, what you need to hear. Who am I kidding? It wasn’t what I wanted to hear (erm… accept) – either! We’re human. We make mistakes. We think A leads to B, so more A gets more B. Yet, A and B may have …
Every coach has been in the frustrating situation where their athletes don’t do, in a game, the things that they worked on during practice. There’s the common refrain bellowing from sidelines throughout the basketball world: “C’mon! We worked on that!” If you’re looking for a solution, start with you… Is This A Game-Like Drill? This is …
Here’s an insightful peek into the practice philosophy of the NFLs Seattle Seahawks. Head Coach, Pete Carroll, shares some golden nuggets that any coach can benefit from. Takeaways: Tap In(to) Practice Before a Seahawks practice, players ‘tap in’ (i.e. hit the “I’m In!” sign) to make a positive – an active – affirmation of what …
How often do you pause and reflect on what’s behind a skill? What I mean is: what are the unseen (cognitive) processes that precede the execution of the skill? If you haven’t given it a ton of thought, meet someone who has… Garth Smith, a soccer coach, who attempted to capture the myriad of variables – consciously and subconsciously …
Here’s how you end up with a dysfunctional team culture: Someone points out that one of the team members is negative and a real problem. And the coach says, And here’s how you end up with a toxic environment on your coaching staff: Someone points out that people are afraid to contradict this person. And the …
At all levels of play, the principle verticality is difficult to officiate. It’s just as challenging to coach. Yet, just because it’s difficult does not mean it’s something that we should avoid teaching—especially since the ability to defend at the rim without fouling is the difference between winning and losing. So, what is the “rule of verticality” …
The 2016 NBA Playoffs Final between the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers couldn’t have been scripted any better than the real thing played out. Golden State, with a record 73 regular-season victories and comparisons to the all-time great teams in NBA history, jumps out to a 3-1 lead. No team in 32 tries had ever …