How to Make a High School Basketball Program

Click Six Points for Starters

Point 1

Have fun. Coaching is a journey, not a destination. Enjoy every minute of it and take advantage of the time you have with your team.

Point 2

All coaches are different, and it doesn’t really matter how you do it. Be yourself and coach your beliefs-do it your way. Have how you coach fit your value system. It US doesn’t matter which foot is up or back on defense. You can force to the baseline or to the middle. You can run flex offense on double post. Winning and losing happens in either case. However, if your players’ attitudes are positive, if they are committing to your plan, and if they play with heart, all out for the team, your season will be successful-and fun. You just need to tailor your methods to the members of your team.

“You have to have the horses to win!” This universal quote is true much of the time, but not always. Very often the coach with the most material doesn’t win, while the coach with the lesser talent sneaks into the throne room. It seems logical then, that what a coach should be striving for is to get the most out of the talent he has-good or bad. A coach must work just as hard, sometimes harder, with outstanding talent as he must when he has average or below-average talent. The goal: maximize what you have to work with.

A successful basketball team is usually the result of good kids who are exposed to a well-organized basketball program. The reason why some teams are always winners or contenders is because of the leadership. Winning is not an accident–someone has motivated maximum effort and provided a culture designed to be successful. It’s the little things, the attention to details, the organization, that makes for consistent success.

A coach who blames poor material for lack of success is coaching with his head in the sand. No coach should underestimate his importance to team success. A great basketball program does not involve the coach only with the players, but also with the students, the faculty, parents, and the community. The purpose of this outline is to provide a tried and true culture that promotes techniques, involvement, team pride, attitude, and fundamentals designed to lead to success and the respect of all who watch the team perform. The coach’s two main goals in a season should be to create a good experience for the players and to get the best out of each team member.

Point 3

Coaching and learning is an attitude. The better the coach’s attitude, the more effective the teaching is. The players will have more positive attitudes and learn more easily. If you take time to set goals for what you want to accomplish in the practice, it sets a tone for learning. Set the bar high, put in the work, and championships will occur. If you want to be a winner, think and act like a winner–humble, yet confident.

Study winners–their actions, attitudes and work ethic. Look at all different types of winners, from coaches, to world leaders, to successful business people. There is a formula. Figure it out.

Point 4

Do the little things well and the big things will take care of themselves. My entire coaching philosophy is predicated and characterized by buzzwords. I learned early on that if it was good enough for John Wooden (one of basketball’s all time greats), it was good enough for me. His pyramid of success is a series of buzzwords. Here are some of mine, which have helped our basketball teams click.

Attitude–my #1 buzzword. When Mercer Island players are asked to list the top fundamentals of basketball, the first one is always the same-attitude. If you have a team with a united attitude, you have the making of a championship team. All for one, one for all-it’s true, and it works. We spend as much time in the classroom working on attitude as we do on the practice floor. Wanna be a champion? Look and act like a champion.

{We have retreats, both local and at other schools, where we exchange ideas and set our personal and team goals. We develop a team “recipe for success”. It’s our DNA. Our staff meets regularly to evaluate and plan how to improve the team. Great staff members help build champions. }

Enthusiasm is perhaps the most important attitude. Enthusiasm and winning are infectious. Enthusiasm translates into hustles, playing with emotion, and having fun. At Mercer Island, our team played and practiced with enthusiasm, our band was enthusiastic, and our student body and fans were fired up. It was a fun place to play because of the fervor put into every part of the basketball experience.

Salesmanship: Coaches need to sell their culture, their system, and their values. Be active in the community. Be a willing and effective interview with the media. Make everything positive, and spread the credit for success.

Pride: Every basketball player in the school and community should have a burning desire to play for the Islanders. Our Little Dribbler program was where the pride was fostered. In the league and at the camps, our varsity players coached the young ones. The young players wanted to be like the varsity players, who were great role models. This contributed to the ongoing basketball culture on Mercer Island.

{ Mercer Island pride is exhibited in every aspect of the team, from our style of play to the players’ appearance. Each team member is required to be clean cut and professionally attired, especially on game days and when we travel. The players keep their hair in a classical short cut and sport their maroon blazers on game days to show their professionalism and team unity. Even though these may seem insignificant, they are an example to others of how our team works and the high standards that we strive to uphold. }

Our team was consistently invited to tournaments and was always asked to come back because of our conduct. We relished the positive comments about our court III demeanor, and on trips, we frequently received compliments from waitresses and stewardesses about the manners of our team. These responses gave our coaching staff pride in our players.

Point 5

Be a giver, not a taker. Life and basketball are made up of both types of people. Givers are always winners, but takers generally end up losing.

Optimism: Encourage your staff and players to be positive. Teach optimistic self-talk to avoid getting sucked into negativity. Our motto is GIGO: Garbage in, garbage out. We spend no time focusing on the negatives, because this drags down the rest of the team and is time that could be spent improving and fixing our mistakes.

If someone compliments you, accept it-it is a good thing. When you belittle a compliment, you basically insult the person who complimented you

Flexibility. This is the ability to adapt to change. Times, techniques, and kids do change, so coaching is about being flexible. Coaching is constantly being able to adapt to any situation. Setbacks are all temporary. They are opportunities to get better. Teach your players the “bounce back theory”–down but not out. We are never losing–we are only behind. This is a major coaching skill: don’t spend any time worrying about what you can’t control. All your energy should go to what you can control.

Point 6

Excuses are for losers. Coaches win with 6°1” centers, slow teams, and small schools. Find ways to win-not excuses as to why you lost.

Communication: The more people who know about the good things you’re trying, the more respect and support you’ll get.

Players: You should provide counseling, goal setting, and concern for them as people, not just players. Spend equal time with all players. After each practice and game, pick out a player or two to encourage or help. Talk about life skills and how to improve and contribute.

Coaches: Make your coaches feel important and valuable. Include them in all areas. Most importantly, give them responsibility and freedom to make suggestions. Let them teach. Make opportunities available for them. Help prepare them for advancement in their career. Also, coaches need to learn how to work with the press. Be a good interviewee, and always stay positive. Try to assist the writer in identifying items of interest about the game or the players, but keep the tone positive.

Administration: Keep the school board informed and invite them to appropriate events. We were lucky to have great support and were able to work with the athletic director and principal. Try to involve them as much as possible, because it helps to further unify your school.

Parents: When young coaches attend off-season basketball clinics, one of the first things they are told is to not get involved with the parents. At Mercer Island, we operated 180 degrees away from that advice. We were totally involved with the parents. We held Parents’ Nights. Parents volunteered to host team dinners. We invited them on team trips: Little Dribblers to Texas, and the varsity team to national tournaments during Christmas break, all the way from the Carolinas to California to Nevada. We also took parents on our overseas summer tours to Europe, Asia, and Australia. The Mercer Island parents were one of our most valuable assets and we wanted them to be an active part of our team success. They were involved in Parent Retreats, fundraisers, potlucks, and Shirley’s postseason parent dessert at the Pepples’. Supportive parents can really make things easier. We wanted to have the parents feel that they were a part of the program.

Student Body: The students were a huge part of our success. Our crowds were legendary for their great support. We wanted them to take pride in being enthusiastic, yet respectful. The players were generous with their thank you’s and appreciation for the fan support. At our final awards night, we gave a trophy to the fan or fans of the year.

Community: The coaches were active speakers at service organizations-Rotary, Lions, and Kiwanis. The team worked closely with the Mercer Island Parks and Recreation Department and with The Boys’ and Girls’ Club. Each year, the Mercer Island team volunteered their time at charitable organizations such as food banks, and by offering their services in everything from collecting equipment for needy kids to helping out with community projects. One year, the team collected and donated thousands of dollars of basketball equipment to a Kent Recreation Department, which had many immigrants and low-income families. The kids were forced to play basketball in flip flops until the team managed to get them into top-of-the-line basketball shoes.

Involvement

Use all of the resources available to you. The more people involved in your program, the more ways of addressing and solving challenges that may arise. The following were people who were greatly involved in our program and who were vital parts of our team’s success.

1. Animal Band Many students in the band, along with their parents, were hugely supportive during our games. We judged the importance of the game by the number of tubas present!

2. Drill Team

3. Cheerleaders

4. Statisticians,

5. Managers–

6. Trainers–

When we played away games, people from the opposing team’s highschool occasionally complained about the large amount of student and team support that got off the team bus. We even had members of the faculty. The support we received was legendary around the state. Visiting teams enjoyed coming to “Our House” because of the atmosphere our supporters created.

Fun

We would go anywhere, anytime to play the best opposition possible.