5 coaching staff initiatives to grow your 🏀 program’s CULTURE #Culture102

1\ “Coach Scribbles”

Send out group emails/texts to discuss team issues, or to joke around on a daily basis

Serious or not so serious, this always creates dialogue

Stay connected

2\ Body Language Police

Assign one assistant coach to purely watch body language and address it with players

Don’t let it slip through the cracks

3\ Coaching Cue Cards

Give prepped note cards to your assistant coaches for practice

This way they know what to look for and talk about to stay consistent with program philosophy and verbiage

Your assistants will speak your language, gain credibility, and feel more confident

4\ Clean Lockers

Teach players to take pride in their personal space

Have a coach review lockers on a weekly basis with conditioning penalties for lack of cleanliness

No trash in the locker, clothes hung on hooks, bags at the top of the locker, and shoes at the bottom

5\ Meet the Coach Night

Have an event in the preseason to help connect the current coaching staff with the community

Be transparent as a staff, and give the community a chance to get to know you and communicate with you

Coaching Staff Initiatives for Basketball Program Culture Growth

8 more YOUTH BASKETBALL IDEAS to take it to the next level

> Have a Little Dribblers Program that practices ball handling and performs at half time of the varsity games

> Have your travel teams scrimmage at half time of the varsity games

> Bring your youth teams in to scrimmage as part of a season “Tip Off” event that features every level of your basketball program

> Feature your youth teams in your high school media guide to make them feel more of a part of what's going on in your program

> Have a youth basketball themed game where all youth players/coaches get into a varsity game for free

> Bring your youth champions in to be honored at half time of a varsity game

> Host a youth coaches clinic before the in-house league to teach skills and drills, using youth players to demonstrate

> Invite youth coaches and families to your high school fundraisers, multiplying your attendance pool

Youth Basketball Ideas

5 team activities to grow your 🏀 program’s CULTURE

1\ Senior Reflections

Towards the end of the season have each of your seniors individually share reflections about their playing career with their team - the highs, lows, regrets, how they’ve grown

2\ Breakfast Club

Open the gym and weight room for 45-60 minutes prior to school for kids to get in extra work

It’s voluntary, but f it catches on, players will want to be a part of the work and not be left out

Guide players on their specific development

3\ Volunteer

I like to coordinate with a local church and have our players help serve a meal and wrap some presents for the underprivileged

It doesn’t have to be a church, many places are looking for extra helping hands

It’s a good photo op for your program as well

4\ Attend A College Practice

Find a local/regional college basketball program and take your team to watch them work

It will be great for them to see what the next level looks like, and how coachable the college players are

It’s eye-opening to see the size and speed up close

5\ Team Retreat

An overnight getaway, approved by your school, to work on team building or do a fun activity

I’ve always taken my teams to an overnight basketball camp, where we play games but have a lot of time in between to bond and get to know each other

5 Team Activities to Grow Your Basketball Program's Culture

5 traditions to grow your 🏀 program’s CULTURE

1\ Charge Wall

In your locker room, hang pictures to celebrate every charge that gets taken (Take screenshot and print it out)

Make it a big deal when you physically hang the pictures up with the team

2\ Victory Song

Every time you win a game your team gets to “sing the song” in the locker room to celebrate

It’s a silly thing, but I’m telling you, everyone looks forward to it

3\ A Book Study

Go through a book, or portions of a book, each season as a team

The key is having a ready-made concept to rally around as a group

The book sells the concept to the group, then your team embodies the concept through the season

4\ Program Record Book

Score your drills, and ,aintain the exact structure/format from season to season

This forces players to compete against not only their teammates, but the history of the program

5\ Game Awards

Give awards for each game, but instead of celebrating points, glamorize the dirty work stats - charges taken, rebounds, or an intangible like toughness

Celebrate the awards in both the locker room and on social media

5 Traditions for Basketball Program Culture

10 Harsh Truths About Being a High School Coach

1\ People are going to talk smack

And often times publicly - you need thick skin

Often people are only for you when you make decisions that benefit them

You are an easy target for loud mouths and ignorant

2\ It takes 5 years to build a program

You might jump into a winner from the start, but true program building takes time

▪️Get the right people in place
▪️Build culture
▪️Scale and systematize schemes, fundraising, the youth program, skill development

3\ It’s all-consuming to do properly… for most

There are some “unicorns” out there that can balance their life with coaching (if you know any, I’d like to study them 😉)

By choosing to coach, you are choosing to NOT have various hobbies, relationships, side businesses, etc

4\ It’s really hard to make good money

In most instances you are capped by your school contract & coaching stipend, which consume a lot of time

Maybe you can make some money on the side through the summer, or if it’s extremely passive, or maybe move into college coaching, maybe

5\ It can take a toll on your spouse and family

As mentioned previously, by choosing to coach, you are choosing to NOT have a lot of things

All of this affects your family. Try to get your spouse and children involved in the operation as much as possible

6\ You’re always working

Whether it’s laying in bed thinking about substitution rotations or taking phone calls at all hours, it’s awfully hard to just shut it all off

7\ You can’t save them all

Most of the times I’ve felt like I was doing a kid a favor by making the team or getting extra chances, it usually ended in a negative experience for all

No one gets into coaching to screw kids over, but be thoughtful when extending opportunities

8\ Your support team is everything

If you’ve every had a bad coaching staff, administration, or parent group, this needs no explanation

You can only be as good as the support you receive

9\ Do not take bad coaching jobs

Do your research… Some coaching positions are simply “coaching graveyards”

I’ve seen many coaches with a lot of potential take bad jobs just to have a head job, and often times it ends with wound licking

10\ If you’re going to lose, it’s more enjoyable with high character kids/families

Roster construction is a balancing act. Trust your gut and be firm instead of inviting more headaches

What “harsh truths” did I forget?

The Harsh Truths of High School Coaching

5 team bonding initiatives to grow your 🏀 program’s CULTURE #Culture102

1\ Locker Room 2K Tournament

Have your players bring in a gaming system and run an NCAA style tournament

Your players will have so much fun you will have to kick them out

Talk a lot of smack

2\ “Bio Night”

Pair players together and have them ask a template of questions to learn more about each other, fostering a deeper relationship

Then have the players present the information to the rest of the team one by one

Everyone learns a little more about everyone else

3\ Team Dinners

On a regular basis, go out to eat or have food catered into the school to enjoy a meal together

I’ve always done this on a bi-weekly basis after a practice, getting the majority of the food donated through sponsorships

It’s fun and low pressure

4\ Team Bowling

Bowling is cheap, fun, and no one cares if you're any good or not

Reserve a few lanes, order some pizzas, and relax in the company of your players and coaches

Use wacky formats to make things more fun and inclusive

5\ Talent Show

Have players choose something to demonstrate to the team

Run 3-4 “talents” after practice for the first week or so until everyone has had a turn

This is a fun way to get players to let their guard down and show a different side of themselves

We’ve had players:

-Create art
-Do sketch comedy
-Do impersonations
-Demonstrate feats of strength
-Lip sync songs
-and many more fun things

Culture 102 - Team Building

12 Zone Offense 🔑s

1\ Use punch dribbles into zone gaps

2\ E2C4 (Engage two defenders and while seeing 4 of your teammates)

3\ Always look at the hoop on the catch

4\ Make sure to get touches in the middle and baseline

5\ Make sure to use skip passes

6\ Use fake passes to shift the defense

7\ Space to stretch the zone to the maximum degree

8\ Aim to catch on the perimeter within shooting range (make sure you’re playing 5 on 5)

9\ Use screens, just like against m2m

10\ Seal out zone defenders to create pockets for receiving passes

11\ Make basketball plays instead of becoming robotic

12\ Beat it down the court before it sets up

12 Zone Offense 🔑 s

5 alumni initiatives to grow your 🏀 program’s CULTURE #Culture102

1\ “Tip-Off Dinner”

In the pre-season, invite your entire basketball community together for a dinner

Preview your program while you fundraise. Invite a notable alumni to be the featured speaker

2\ Alumni Practice

Invite alumni/former players to a practice where they participate in drills and scrimmage against your team

Have breakfast together afterwards and invite the alumni as your personal guests to an upcoming home game

3/ Alumni Reflections

Invite notable alumni to speak to the team during practice throughout the season

Have the alumni share how their life has been changed through their 🏀 experience

Your players get a sense of pride about your community, and your alumni feel celebrated

4/ Banquet Awards

Name your end of season awards after the legends of your program’s past

Invite those players to the banquet, give them a free dinner, and ask them to present their awards as your special guests

You now have a fan for life

5/ Alumni Newsletter

Keep alumni informed on the current team and developments in your program

Sell advertisements in the newsletter, promote your team, and the history of your program

Publishing it quarterly or biannually

Culture 102 - Alumni

5 on court initiatives to grow your 🏀 program’s CULTURE #Culture102

1\ Sprint to Teammates

We’ve all seen those teams that beeline to fallen teammates after taking a charge

I love to see it, and believe it’s an easy habit to implement

2\ Accountability Pushups

Players do five push-ups for a missed layup or turnover in practice

This stops players from brushing off these mistakes

Players hold themselves and each other accountable for the push-ups

3\ “Get A Touch”

Encourage high fives, fist bumps, handshakes, etc.

Use the phrase “get a touch” during practice and in huddles to signify players to transmit positive energy to one another

4\ Quick In-Game Huddles

Duke made it famous, but sneaking in quick five player huddles during the natural occurring breaks within a game can be great communication and an opportunity to give reminders

5\ Whistle System

In practice, use your whistle to command your team

Use 2 whistles to tell your team to stop whatever they are doing, turn to face you, and give whole body listening

Use one long whistle for the entire team to sprint to you for communications

102 Culture - On Court

Your program’s COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE… the one unique thing about your program that sets it apart from the rest

I’ll provide some examples ⬇️

Reply to this tweet with a competitive advantage this tweet made you think of

Your school has a small, band box gym with vertical seating. You’re used to the dimensions and know all the dead spots in the gym floor. Your fans are right on top of the action making the opponent uncomfortable

Your gym is your competitive advantage

Your program has a famous basketball alumni. He/she has built some historical momentum for your program, makes your program a household name to players looking to choose their high school, and they donate regularly to your program

Your alumni member is your competitive advantage

Win or lose, your community shows up in full force and is loyal to your program. Your community rallies around your program and supports it with spirit, $, and luxuries, often unrequested

Your community is your competitive advantage