These notes, reflections and observations by Alan Keane (England u18 National Team Head Coach) from the FIBA U18 European Championship 2019 is too good not to share – much less to allow to get lost in the Twitterverse. Raw. Candid. Actionable. This is the kind of share that helps to deepen our collective perspective of …
This. Is. A. Coaching. Masterclass…! Seriously. It’s rare to observe basketball practices that have been mindfully designed to integrate the mental, technical, physical, social and competive constraints in a way that reads like a book. This is why we (affectionately) call Mike MacKay: Yoda Master MacKay. In his day “job”, he’s the Women’s High Performance …
Milos Teodosic has been dropping these kinds of dimes for years. What he has improved, and what isn’t readily available to every player, is how he passes (e.g. underhand scoop pass, wide body hook-wrap-pass-with-spinology, etc). Those are “next level,” yet there’s one thing that he does consistently that is available to *all* players: what he …
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 …
Read this quote today by Luke Walton (Head Coach, Los Angeles Lakers) on building a winning culture and developing basketball IQ: Let’s Go Deeper… I agree with the basic premise of the quote; yet, I think we can go deeper. Think about replacing freedom with responsibility. As the saying goes, ‘with freedom comes responsibility’. (I don’t think Luke will be …
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: …
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I’ve been blessed with a beautiful burden. Coaching is my opportunity to give back to – and thru – a game that’s given me so much. Awakening possibilities in others is my life’s blood. When John Leonzo contacted me to do an interview on decision training and …
The teacher-coach that I am now is substantially different from who I was in the 1990s and early 2000s. When asked recently why that is, the response comes easily: Mario DeSisti. Granted I’ve had a number of basketball mentors (see: Mike MacKay) who have had – and continue to have – a profound impact on …
DEFENSE… It’s a favourite teaching topic of mine because. To be honest, it’s the one thing that I could do, as an athlete, as an all-the-time, every-time thing. If you watched me play, the one thing you could count on me for, was defense. [I’m sure I have teammates that will go to their grave saying, …
According to renowned Italian and EuroLeague coach, Renato Pasquali, passing is a relationship formed with others. When you do not pass to an open teammate, you are sending them a message: “I did not trust you with our team’s advantage.” Each Pass Sends a Message Here’s a look at the different types of passes and …