This part of the season can get long, for both players and coaches. I’m not coaching this year, but my daughter reminded me of the fact yesterday (I’m visiting her at college where she is playing basketball). She said that she and her teammates are all really tired right now and having a hard time getting motivated. Suddenly I was transported back my years as a coach, and I remembered the look on the players faces, uninspired, distracted, anxious (finals were usually taking place at this time) and bored. They were burnt out and tired. Tired, not because they were out of shape (like my husband insisted) but mentally fried. It happened every year.

This was always the moment that I felt the urge to run them until they wanted to cry. Go all “old school” on them. (Which I did from time to time, a few extra sets of lines never hurt), but at this time of the year, when we were a week or two away from playoffs, I knew what the team really needed was some TLC.

Tender loving care is like a reboot when players are mentally tired of the game. The burn out tends to be worse with a team that’s been loosing a lot, but it happened to my high school team that went undefeated in league. Plain and simple, basketball season is long. A good hard practice is important, of course, but by this point in the year, I kept practices focused, quick paced and short. With one key addition…more fun. From team building activities, to team dinners, to half court shooting competitions (which goes against my grain a little but the kids always love it), I looked for ways to […]

Recently, when I was frustrated with the way I was playing, I reminded myself of how lucky I am just to be on the basketball court, working out and hanging out with my teammates. So I dug a little deeper and kept at it and when the game was over (though we lost by two points) I was thankful that I had been there. Thankful that I can still play this game that I love.

When you’re frustrated with your game. Keep working and remind yourself of why you play.

Are you coaching young kids? Ones who don’t know anything about basketball? This can be a challenge, even more so if you played basketball at a higher level, because honestly it’s hard to remember the little parts of the game once they’ve become second nature.

I remember when a friend asked if I would coach our girls when they were in third grade, first I asked my daughter if she wouldn’t mind having me as her coach, then after accepting the position, I sat down and thought a lot about how to best use an hour of practice time with these young ladies. I had played basketball through college and had coached high school for many years, so I knew the game (and I was competitive), but I wanted these grade school girls to learn the game and have fun.

I started with the fundamentals on the court, doing my best to keep a basketball in their hands a majority of the time while I coached dribbling, passing and shooting, and added an emphasis on hard work, defense and togetherness. But I also taught some of the basics that are often forgotten, because I remember being frustrated when I went to high school and played volleyball for the first time. I didn’t understand the terms and rules of the game. I learned the rules of the game and how subbing worked the hard way, by doing it all wrong and getting yelled at. My coach even thought I was joking when I asked what side-out meant. I was not joking. I wanted the girls who I coached to understand all aspects of the game of basketball.

But most of all I wanted them to have fun. I love basketball and I wanted […]