3 Important Tips For Beginner Basketball Coaches

I have had the privilege to work with a lot of basketball coaches in my lifetime. I’ve worked with some really good ones and some really bad ones. It’s amazing to me how big of an impact a coach has on his players and the overall success of the team he oversees. Because of my experience, I get asked a lot by young coaches what they can do to make sure they are successful and in this article I want to cover the three main things I tell them.

#1 Set Goals

Players love to play for coaches who set goals. I loved my coaches who met with me individually to set personal goals and team goals. I encourage coaches at all levels to take time to meet with each player individually and find out what they want to accomplish and how they are going to meet those goals. For some players it is simply to shoot foul shots better while others is to score 20 points a game. Find out what these players expect from the coming season as a team. Don’t stop at simply basketball related, but life related. Do they want to go to college? Do they want to play in college? What grade point can they achieve during the season? Find out about each player in depth and it will always improve the relationship. Write down team goals and individual goals and review them at regular intervals.

#2 Set Clear Expectations

Every good coach outlines what he expects from his players. I loved my coaches that told us what they expected from each drill and each practice. I loved coaches that explained to me what they needed out of me specifically and how I could achieve that. Let the players know that you have an active interest in their success. That each drill will be done game speed or they will run ladders. Let them know that you are working just as hard as they are and that you are there to make them better players and teammates. If you don’t set expectations your practices will be sloppy, lazy and worst of all - meaningless for your players.

#3 Teach Your Players That Effort is More Important Than Winning

I’m serious on this one. Effort is more important than winning and players need to know that. When I was younger we played New York City Riverside in a summer league game. This team was absolutely loaded with talent and we knew going in that we had an uphill fight on our hands. We gave everything we had and lost by 12 points. To this day that is one of the most memorable games of my life because I realized that I could compete with the best players in the country. My team’s effort that day was fantastic. Even though we lost, I look back on that game in a positive way. What more can be said. Let your team know that if they do what they are asked to do and give 100% then whatever happens, happens. You’ll find that if you can look each player in the face and tell them that they gave it their all then they will progress as a player and accomplish more in life.

By Brian Schofield is a former Division I college basketball player