Hoops Companion Newsletter - March 1, 2021
Welcome to the newly revamped Hoops Companion Newsletter! Instead of sending an email every week, we will be sending this newsletter out on the first day of each month. Basically, I’ll be compiling resources every month that I’ve enjoyed and pushing them out to you all at once.
If you’re with us after our short hiatus, welcome back and I’m glad to share the game and help facilitate, in some small way, your growth as a coach.
If you’re new - WELCOME TO THE COMMUNITY! We are glad to have you and hope you can benefit from this newsletter/group.
Without further adieu, here’s the newsletter for this month!
HOOPS COMPANION ON SOCIAL MEDIA
FACEBOOK - This is a Facebook group that is a community of coaches who are committed to growing as people, leaders, and coaches. It’s a central place to ask questions of other coaches, provide resources, and help each other in our profession.
TWITTER - This is my personal page. Give me a follow!
PLAY OF THE MONTH
Horns Handoff Package - this is a simple and easy-to-install set that has as many (or few) options to use as you’d like.
DRILLS OF THE MONTH
Top Knight Shooting
We use this to determine who is a “green light” shooter in our program. Each drill is charted, we post our high scores, and we rank our players both on individual drills and their combined scores.
Obviously, you could use any drills you want in your program…but these are the ones we typically use.
Charger 5-on-5-on-5
from Zak Boisvert/PickandPop.net - originally from Lennie Acuff during his time at Alabama-Huntsville
CULTURE THOUGHTS
JP Nerbun - “If you want a special team culture, you can’t be for everyone. You just can’t.”
Phil Beckner - “Culture determines what is acceptable or unacceptable, important or unimportant, right or wrong, workable or unworkable.”
It’s not what you do - it’s HOW you do what you do.
James Clear - “Rome wasn’t built in a day, but they were laying bricks every hour. You don’t have to do it all today. Just lay a brick. That’s how you build an empire.”
COACHING LINKS
The Best BLOB is no BLOB (Winning Hoops) - in the least, this is an interesting idea/thought
Late Game Situation Sheet (PhDHoops) - this is a comprehensive look at end-of-game situations that you can cover with your team. You could use it as a checklist or just do one every practice.
LEADERSHIP/GROWTH LINKS
10 Ideas That Have Shaped My Life (Scott Young)
The Hard Truth of Poker - and Life: You’re Never “Due” for Good Cards (Maria Konnikova)
10 Reasons Winners Keep Winning, Aside from Skill (Harvard Business Review)
HOOP THOUGHTS
RANDOM COOL BASKETBALL STUFF
Inside John Lucas’s 45-Year NBA Journey (Sports Illustrated)
Preparation Never Ends: What NBA Coaches Do Before Games (SBNation)
From Kevin Pulsifer, a map of every state that has won a Division 1 NCAA college basketball title since 1999
VIDEOS
“Great Players Don’t Get Tired” - Geno Auriemma
“Weight Room” - from Ben Dull’s twitter…title says it all
“2 Side Transition: Early and Opposite, Early and Up, Dribble Push” - from Brent Tipton
BOOKS
“What To Do When It’s Your Turn…and It’s Always Your Turn” by Seth Godin
I’m really enjoying this book right now. It’s simple, to the point, challenging, and visually appealing. The main premise is that NOW is the time to make your move, to have the world feel the weight of who you are, to make some kind of an impact. Good stuff.
Yes, it’s $50 on Amazon - just get the $7 used version - that’s what I did.