Professional Development

This article is republished with permission. The original article appears at Using 360-Degree Feedback to Enhance Your Coaching.

Coaches can use 360-degree feedback to enhance their coaching. In this blog sport psychology researcher Matt Hoffmann highlights how 360-degree feedback can be a useful process to help coaches and their teams be more effective.

Matt’s suggestions are based on his review of coaching and 360-degree feedback research from sport and business, as well as conversations he had with several head coaches of Canadian intercollegiate sport teams (Full research article is available at the end of the blog).

Most basketball coaches, like all coaches, are constantly trying to improve at their craft. One way to improve as a coach is to gather feedback about your coaching. You might already be doing this to some extent, either formally with end-of-season surveys or informally by talking with others. 360-degree feedback is a more comprehensive way of obtaining feedback and is something that most coaches do not take full advantage of.

With 360-degree feedback, a coach gathers anonymous feedback from multiple people. These people can include but are not limited to players, assistant coaches, athletic directors or sport administrators, other coaches, or mentors. Parents could even be included at the youth sport level. The goal is to collect feedback from people who can provide different perspectives on your strengths and weaknesses as a coach.

Another key aspect of this feedback system is that coaches can evaluate themselves and compare it to others’ anonymous assessments of them. This really has the potential to boost your self-awareness as a coach.

What are some potential benefits of using 360-degree feedback?

1. The people providing feedback, especially players, might feel empowered because they will be given the opportunity to voice their opinions, which might make them feel more valued. When players feel like they are part of the process and that their thoughts matter to others, they tend to feel in control of their own behaviours and actions and are more committed to the team’s goals and values.
2. Because 360-degree feedback is gathered anonymously, you should receive more honest feedback from the people rating you. Players and even assistant coaches are often reluctant to criticize a head coach out of fear for possible repercussion. This is especially true when feedback is provided face-to-face. Obtaining feedback anonymously removes the “threat” associated with giving potentially negative feedback, which should provide you with more useful information that you can use for self-improvement.
3. Gathering information from multiple people might improve the accuracy of the feedback. Coaches sometimes receive feedback in a “top-down” manner, often from one superior only (e.g., athletic director or sport administrator), which calls into question the trustworthiness of that single evaluation. However, by gathering insights and opinions from multiple people, you should receive feedback that more accurately reflects your “true” behaviours and actions as a coach.

What are some potential challenges of using 360-degree feedback?

Challenge: Using 360-degree feedback can result in some logistical challenges. In particular, collecting and summarizing 360-degree feedback can be time-consuming and potentially costly. Many coaches have limited spare time and/or funds.

Suggestion: Using online survey platforms can be a huge help, and people (especially younger generations) usually like using technology. Players will probably feel more comfortable completing surveys on their tablets or cell phones. Of course, setting up an online survey will still require some planning and organizing on your part.

Challenge: There are no set guidelines on when and how often during the season to collect 360-degree feedback. There just isn’t enough research on this yet.

Suggestion: Aim to gather feedback at regular intervals—maybe 2 to 4 times during the season (depending on the length of the season). The goal is to collect feedback throughout the season—not only once it is over.

Challenge: There are no set guidelines in terms of which people should be included in the feedback process.

Suggestion: Of course, there are obvious people (players, assistant coaches) that you should include. However, you also need to determine who else can provide you with relevant feedback on your coaching. Maybe there are coaches from other teams who have watched you regularly and might be able to provide you with useful feedback? Maybe you have some mentors who could watch you at practice and provide feedback? Explore all your options.

Six Suggestions for Getting More Useful (And Less Negative) Feedback

Because 360-degree feedback is provided anonymously, you risk receiving large amounts of negative feedback. Similarly, because surveys with numerical rating scales (e.g., “On a scale from 1-5, rate how effective [name of head coach] is in organizing team practice”) are typically used to collect the feedback, you might be provided with information that lacks detail and depth.

1. As a coach, you should ensure that people understand the purpose of 360-degree feedback. Hold a meeting with the people you want feedback from near the beginning of the season to discuss why you are implementing this feedback system and how you believe it will help you and your team succeed.
2. Remind the people giving you feedback that they need to reflect carefully prior to answering each survey question. We have a general tendency to unconsciously rate people very similarly across different criteria. In other words, our general view of someone affects our ability to recognize their unique strengths and weaknesses. Therefore, to avoid having people unconsciously give you the same rating on every question, remind them regularly that they need to take their time when completing the survey and pay attention to what each question is asking.
3. To avoid getting valueless feedback, use surveys that ask people to rate you on specific coaching behaviours (e.g., “Coach communicates effectively with team members”). Questions that focus on specific behaviours provide much more practical information than questions that are too general (e.g., “Coach is effective this season”).
4. To ensure that the survey is relevant, ask a few senior people (e.g., veteran leaders) to comment on its appropriateness. Do they think the questions tap into relevant coaching behaviours? What would they add to the survey? This process might also help people “buy in” to the feedback system.
5. In addition to numerical ratings, get feedback from people in the form of written comments. However, instead of asking for general feedback at the end of the survey (common procedure), request written feedback after key questions. For instance, a key question for you might be, “Coach is motivating before games.” People might rate this on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (always). Then, you could include a follow-up question like, “Explain why you gave this rating” or “How could coach be more motivating before games?”
6. Complete the survey yourself. The major benefit of using 360-degree feedback is that it allows you to compare your own self-assessment to that of others’ assessments of you. For example, you might give yourself a score of 4 out of 5 on the question, “Coach creates good rapport with team members.” The players’ scores on this question might average 3.6 out of 5. The assistant coaches’ scores might average 4.2 out of 5. The athletic director might give you a score of 3 out of 5. All of these scores provide you with valuable information from different perspectives. Although the goal is for people providing the feedback to remain anonymous, this will not be possible when there is only one person in a particular role (e.g., the athletic director).

Final Thoughts

Obtaining 360-degree feedback throughout the season has its challenges and might not be feasible for all coaches (some organizations have their own coach feedback systems in place). Further, some 360-degree appraisals can lead to negative outcomes (e.g., feeling discouraged when receiving negative feedback). However, if you can incorporate some of the evidence-based ideas outlined here into your “coaching toolkit” and gather some additional feedback that you are not currently obtaining, then you might become more self-aware of your coaching behaviours and how you can improve as a coach.

Rather than viewing 360-degree feedback as a performance evaluation, I encourage you to think of it as a developmental opportunity to enhance your coaching. At the very least, I hope this post gives you some ideas to reflect on moving forward.

If you are looking for coach feedback questionnaires, consider the book, Coaching Better Every Season: A Year-Round System for Athlete Development and Program Success, by coaching expert Dr. Wade Gilbert. This book provides a nice overview of surveys that you might consider using for coach evaluation purposes (including 360-degree feedback).

You can view or download the full article in the International Sport Coaching Journal 360-Degree Feedback for Sport Coaches: A Follow-Up to O’Boyle (2014)

Matt Hoffmann has a PhD in Sport Psychology from the University of Windsor. His research mainly explores the benefits of peer mentoring among athletes. He is also interested in coaching, athlete leadership, and other group dynamics topics. For updates on sport psychology research and other sport-related topics, follow Matt on twitter @Hoff_MD

I found this on Lynne Terry’s ClickNewz blog.  She had seen it several places before posting it. Starting today…

1. Give up trying to be perfect. – The real world doesn’t reward perfectionists, it rewards people who get things done.

2. Give up comparing yourself to others. – The only person you are competing against is yourself.

3. Give up dwelling on the past or worrying too much about the future.– Right now is the only moment guaranteed to you. Right now is life. Don’t miss it.

4. Give up complaining. – Do something about it.

5. Give up holding grudges. – Grudges are a waste of perfect happiness.

6. Give up waiting. – What we don’t start today won’t be finished by tomorrow. Knowledge and intelligence are both useless without action.

7. Give up lying. – In the long-run the truth always reveals itself. Either you own up to your actions or your actions will ultimately own you.

8. Give up trying to avoid mistakes. – The only mistake that can truly hurt you is choosing to do nothing simply because you’re too scared to make a mistake.

9. Give up saying, “I can’t.” – As Henry Ford put it, “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you are right.”

10. Give up trying to be everything to everyone. – Making one person smile can change the world. Maybe not the whole world, but their world. Start small. Start now.

11. Give up thinking you’re not ready. – Nobody ever feels 100% ready when an opportunity arises. Because most great opportunities in life force us to grow beyond our comfort zones, which means we won’t feel totally comfortable at first.

12. Give up setting small goals for yourself. – Many people set small goals because they’re afraid to fail. Ironically, setting these small goals is what makes them fail.

13. Give up trying to do everything by yourself. – You are the sum of the people you spend the most time with. If you work together, you will be far more capable and powerful than you ever could have been alone.

14. Give up buying things you don’t need. – Manage your money wisely so your money does not manage you. Do not spend to impress others. Do not live life trying to fool yourself into thinking wealth is measured in material objects.

15. Give up blaming others for your troubles. – The extent to which you can live your dream life depends on the extent to which you take responsibility for your life. When you blame others for what you’re going through, you deny responsibility – you give others power over that part of your life.

16. Give up making mountains out of molehills. – One way to check if something is worth mulling over is to ask yourself this question: “Will this matter in one year’s time? Three years? Five years? If not, then it’s not worth worrying about.

17. Give up trying to live up to the expectations of others. – Work on it for real and exceed your own expectations. Everything else will fall into place.

18. Give up the ‘easy street’ mentality. – There is too much emphasis on finding a ‘quick fix’ in today’s society. For example taking diet pills to lose weight instead of exercising and eating well. No amount of magic fairy dust replaces diligent, focused, hard work.

19. Give up making promises you can’t keep. – Don’t over-promise. Over-deliver on everything you do.

20. Give up letting your thoughts and feelings bottle up inside. – People are not mind readers. They will never know how you feel unless you tell them.

21. Give up beating around the bush. – Say what you mean and mean what you say. Communicate effectively.

22. Give up avoiding change. – However good or bad a situation is now, it will change. That’s the one thing you can count on. So embrace change and realize that change happens for a reason. It won’t always be easy or obvious at first, but in the end it will be worth it.

23. Give up your sense of entitlement. – Nobody is entitled to anything in this world. We are all equal. We breathe the same air. We get what we give. We get what we earn.

24. Give up waiting until the last minute. – Those who fail to plan, plan to fail.

25. Give up being dramatic. – Stay out of other people’s drama and don’t needlessly create your own.

26. Give up being anti-athletic. – Get your body moving! Simply take a long, relaxing walk.

27. Give up junk food. – You are what you eat.

28. Give up eating as a means of entertainment. – Don’t eat when you’re bored. Eat when you’re hungry.

29. Give up foolish habits that you know are foolish. – Don’t text and drive. Don’t drink and drive. Don’t smoke. Etc.

30. Give up relationships with people who bring you down. – Saying “no” to right people gives you the time and resources required to say “yes” to right opportunities. Spend time with nice people who are smart, driven and likeminded.

31. Give up being shy. – Network with people. Meet new people. Ask questions. Introduce yourself.

32. Give up worrying about what others think of you. – Unless you’re trying to make a great first impression (job interview, first date, etc.), don’t let the opinions of others stand in your way. What they think and say about you isn’t important. What is important is how you feel about yourself.

33. Give up trying to control everything. – Life is an unpredictable phenomenon. No matter how good or bad things seem right now, we can never be 100% certain what will happen next. So do you best with what’s in front of you and leave the rest to the powers above you.

34. Give up doing the same thing over and over again. – In order to grow, you must expand your horizons and break free of your comfort zone. If you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’re getting.

35. Give up following the path of least resistance. – Life is not easy, especially when you plan on achieving something worthwhile. Don’t find the easy way out. Do something extraordinary.

36. Give up persistent multi-tasking. – Do one thing at a time and do it right.

37. Give up thinking others are luckier than you. – The harder you work, the luckier you will become.

38. Give up filling every waking moment with commitments and activities. – It’s okay to be alone. It’s okay to do nothing sometimes. Think. Relax. Breathe. Be.

39. Give up making emotional decisions. – Don’t let your emotions trump your intelligence. Slow down and think things through before you make any life-changing decisions.

40. Give up doing the wrong things just because you can get away with it. – Just because you can get away with something doesn’t mean you should do it. Think bigger. Keep the end in mind. Do what you know in your heart is right.

41. Give up focusing on what you don’t want to happen. – Focus on what you do want to happen. Positive thinking is at the forefront of every great success story. If you awake every morning with the thought that something wonderful will happen in your life today, and you pay close attention, you’ll often find that you’re right.

42. Give up taking yourself so seriously. – Few others do anyway. So enjoy yourself and have a little fun while you can.

43. Give up spending your life working in a career field you’re not passionate about. – Life is too short for such nonsense. The right career choice is based on one key point: Finding hard work you love doing. So if you catch yourself working hard and loving every minute of it, don’t stop. You’re on to something big. Because hard work ain’t hard when you concentrate on your passions.

44. Give up thinking about the things you don’t have. – Appreciate everything you do have. Many people aren’t so lucky.

45. Give up doubting others. – People who are determined do remarkable things. Remember, the one who says it can’t be done should never interrupt the one doing it.

46. Give up trying to fit in. – Don’t mold yourself into someone you’re not. Be yourself. Oftentimes, the only reason they want you to fit in is that once you do they can ignore you and go about their business.

47. Give up trying to be different for the sake of being different. – Nonconformity for the sake of nonconformity is conformity. When people try too hard to be different, they usually end up being just like everyone else who is trying to be different. Once again, be yourself.

48. Give up trying to avoid risk. – There’s no such thing as ‘risk free.’ Everything you do or don’t do has an inherent risk.

49. Give up putting your own needs on the back burner. – Yes, help others, but help yourself too. If there was ever a moment to follow your passion and do something that matters to you, that moment is now.

You can learn the most about your basketball team when it faces adversity. The ability to find ways to win games when your team can’t buy a basket or is in foul trouble reveals a lot about the toughness of your players and of your team. It is also a great indicator of just how good your team is. Although every coach wants to know that his/her team can win those types of games, it comes with a serious stress-related price tag.

It is inevitable that your team will experience challenging times throughout the course of a season. It is during these stretches of time that stress can explode through the roof. Realizing that your team will grow the most during this adversity is the first step in dealing with the resulting stress brought on by the not-so-perfect level of performance. The next step is to address the voices of the administration, parents, and the media that may not be so warm and welcoming. If left unaddressed, these and other sources of coaching stress will generate a level of pressure and anxiety that will grow and fester. Once this occurs and becomes your mode of operation, a chronic state of stress creates your new normal.

What Do I  Need to Know About Stress in Coaching Basketball?

Most people are familiar with the feelings that accompany the immediate onset of a situation that produces a stress hormone release known as the “fight-or-flight” or the stress response: increase in heart rate and breathing and a reduction of digestive activity leading to a loss of appetite. Managing the production of these stress hormones, cortisol and adrenaline, is essential to keeping stress at the “healthy” level. Knowing what situations will set off this release is helpful in planning your stress-attack approach. For example, deep breathing exercises and meditation and prayer are relatively quick activities that can be performed in a moment’s notice. Helping a person in need or getting a massage are great stress-relieving ideas if time allows.

If a chronic state of stress develops, the drop in your coaching performance will be the least of your worries. Stress will deliver a devastating blow to your health that can lead to early resignation/retirement, increases in healthcare expenses and absenteeism, relationship problems, and even death. If you identify your stressors and have a plan of action in place to manage them, you are more likely to come out on top with little to no consequences.

This article will act as a “cheat sheet” to provide you with a deeper understanding of stress, assist you in identifying what stresses you the most, and recommend stress reduction techniques to help lighten your anxiety.

What is Stress?

According to the Cleveland Clinic, “stress is the body’s reaction to any change that requires an adjustment or response. The body reacts to these changes with physical, mental, and emotional responses.” Stress can result from a negative source, distress, such as the loss of one of your players due to injury or a team losing streak or a positive one, eustress, winning the state basketball championship or witnessing your team reach its full potential. Although both stimulate a similar response, distress has a more harmful effect on your health. Stress can be real or perceived. It is specific and individualistic in nature which explains why one situation stresses one person out while the same situation doesn’t for someone else; it’s not what you see that upsets you, it’s what you think you see.

Dr. Karl Albrecht describes the four most common types of stress that provide us with insight as to what may jumpstart the physiological and psychological reactions associated with stress. It is likely that you will experience one or more of these forms of stress at some point during all of your basketball seasons.

1. Time Stress. This stress occurs when the time is limited and you fear that you won’t be able to get everything done in the amount of time that you have. Exercising time management skills is essential to eliminating stress when the time is scarce. This could be game prep when you have a quicker than normal turnaround between games, i.e. tournaments.
2. Anticipatory Stress. This stress typically addresses an upcoming event such as a huge game, speaking to the media, parents, etc. Because this stress is based on future happenings, the situation does not have to turn out the way you think it will. Learning to become more mindful can help keep you in the moment so that your thoughts do not drift into the future.
3. Situational Stress. This stress occurs when you encounter a situation that you do not have control over. This could be needing other teams to lose in order for your team to reach the playoffs. A deeper self-awareness of the physical and emotional signals that your body expresses under pressure helps alleviate this stress. A conflict is a common form of situational stress. Knowing the skills necessary to resolve conflict can prevent stress from reaching unhealthy levels.
4. Encounter Stress. This is when you worry about an upcoming meeting with a particular person or group of people or are overwhelmed by interacting with too many people. Meeting individually with parent’s who have unrealistic expectations of their child’s role on the team, getting drilled by the media after a tough loss, and being introduced as a head coach in front of a lot of alumni and supporters would be examples of encounter stress. Developing a better understanding of other people’s wants and needs, applying good listening skills, and expressing empathy are the best ways to address this type of stress.

When you experience a stressful situation, you begin to secrete cortisol which moves you to action. High levels of cortisol over long periods of time stimulate the fear center in your brain. As cortisol rises, the area of the brain responsible for memory, learning, and stress control is triggered. When this enters a chronic state, brain cell reproduction decreases which can lead to depression and Alzheimer’s disease.

A study performed on mice found that pups who were nurtured by their mother were more resistant to stress later in life than pups who were not nurtured by their mother. These results were passed down to future generations making them inheritable. This indicates which genes are expressed under varying circumstances, the epigenetic component to managing stress. The following (short) video illustrates how imposing stress can be on your health.

Universal Stress Truths for Basketball Coaches and Everyone

The six basic elements surrounding the stress we experience are well documented. An understanding of each one of these “universal” stress truths will go a long way in keeping the effects of your stress at arm’s length.

• Everyone experiences stress – At some point in time we will all face physical, mental and emotional reactions to stressful circumstances, it’s a part of life. The “have to’s” and disappointments of life are inevitable.
• Not all stress is bad (for your health) – In small, non-chronic stressful situations, stress can help motivate you to accomplish a task (i.e. meet a due date) and avoid danger (i.e. run from a dangerous situation – “fight or flight”). It can also be the result of a wonderful event in your life (i.e. winning the district championship or your child’s graduation from college). This level of stress can spice up your life and make it more fun and exciting.
• Identify your (negative) stressors – Knowing what stresses you can help you avoid certain situations that have led to stress in the past. A mindful approach to your stressors will provide you the awareness needed to consciously monitor your level of stress.
• Chronic stress can cause serious health problems – A physical, mental and emotional beatdown occur when stress goes untreated. How we respond to stressful situations will determine the extent that this effects our lives.
• Identify stress reduction techniques and put them into practice – Regularly engaging in enjoyable, life-giving activities not only relieves stress, but generates an overall sense of wellbeing. A lifestyle that incorporates stress-reducing techniques on a daily basis will go a long way in preventing stress’s harmful effects.
• Seek professional help if your stress gets out of control – If you lack the motivation, time, or information to manage your chronic stress on your own or you have reached the point of illness, it may be time to seek the help of your healthcare provider. Your treatment should include counseling, stress management techniques, and medications if necessary.

Basketball Coaches Are Not Alone Dealing With Stress

Stress has its tentacles deeply rooted in all work industries, relationships, and circumstances. It is safe to say that most situations that we encounter have the potential to create stress in our lives. Consider the following facts and stats regarding stress in our country.

1. According to a WebMD article, stress-related disorders account for seventy-five to 90% of all doctor visits. This seems obvious given stress’s close association to many health conditions.
2. The same WebMD article states that 43% of all adults experience the harmful effects of stress.
3. According to a study by the American Psychological Association, 75% of employees believe that their job is a major stressor.
4. The American Psychological Association says that stress costs $300 billion annually to American businesses for reduced productivity levels, employee turnover and absenteeism, and increased medical and insurance fees. Much of this could be alleviated by maintaining a healthy balance between coaching and personal/leisure tim
5. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employees who take a leave of absence due to stress related disorders will be out of work for 20 days. How would your team respond if you had to take three weeks off during the middle of the season because you were about to have a nervous breakdown?
6. 44% of Americans feel more stress today than five years ago. Either life is more stressful today or stress management skills are lacking; it’s probably some of both.
7. 60% of illness and disease is the direct result of stress. This should come as no surprise given stress’s ability to weaken the immune system and increase inflammation throughout the body.
8. 4 out of 10 stressed people have unhealthy eating habits. The desire for instant relief from stress initiates the quick fix craving of comfort food.
9. Poor nutrition exacerbates stress. An unhealthy diet creates new stressors (weight gain, diet-related illnesses, etc.).
10. Your genes may have a say in how you handle stress. The expression of certain genes will dictate the way in which you deal with stress or how it deals with you.

Poor Choices In Response To Stress

Choosing negative health behaviors to counter your stress only compounds the problems that are directly related to your stress. It is a common coping mechanism because of the instant gratification it provides. Bad habits that form from dealing with stress the wrong way, accentuate the negative impact stress is imposing on you. It is not unusual for this to become a cycle that repeats itself over and over. Some common negative stress-relief choices that people make include:

• Overeating
• Eating Comfort Food
• Drinking Alcohol in Excess
• Smoking
• Recreational Drugs

How Basketball Coaches Can Overcome Stress

With all of the negative talk about stress and its destructive effects, it can all be mitigated with a little desire and effort. The following stress management techniques have all been proven in their ability to reduce the effects of stress. However, they are just recommendations. If you engage in other activities that work for you, continue doing what you are doing. Use this list to generate ideas and create a more thorough plan of action.

1. Regular Exercise – When you exercise your body produces chemicals called endorphins. Endorphins reduce the perception of pain leading to more positive feelings. These sensations improve your mood and your outlook on life. Exercise counters many of the damaging effects of stress, such as it improves sleep, strengthens the heart, and increases self-esteem.
2. Prayer, Reading Scripture, Meditation – Prayer, reading scripture, and meditation create an internal rest with mental alertness that lowers heart rate, reduces inflammation, lowers the production of cortisol and adrenalin, and normalizes blood pressure. This level of mental focus also releases the neurotransmitters serotonin (eases tension), dopamine (creates pleasurable feelings), and endorphins (euphoric effect) that assist in reducing stress levels.
3. Connect with Friends – Research indicates that positive social interaction with others reduces the body’s stress response. Healthy friendships lead to laughter, positive behaviors like exercise and proper diet and nutrition, and even living longer.
4. Practice Mindfulness – Setting aside the judgment as you observe and appreciate what is through the practice of mindfulness, produces an internal “relaxation” and reduction in the stress response. Learning to do this with different aspects of life helps develop an appreciation for even the most mundane events that life has to offer.
5. Listen to Relaxing Music – Music has a way of connecting us with our emotions and acting as an escape from life’s troubles. Its emotional, physical, and mental influence on us can have a profound effect on our stress levels.
6. Perform Deep Breathing Exercises – Taking deep breaths lowers your heart rate, blood pressure, and respiration when elevated as a result of being stressed. This relaxing response produces a stress releasing effect that can be used anywhere.
7. Write in a Gratitude Journal – Regular journaling about those things for which you are most grateful helps you adapt to stressful situations and deal with adversity. This is accomplished by helping you focus on what is going well in your life. Maintaining a journal has been shown to lower your stress by improving your attitude and cognitive function and enhancing your immune system.
8. Take a Vacation – Vacations improve your job performance by strengthening your quality of life. Research indicates that a great vacation can extend its stress-reducing effects up to weeks after the vacation has ended. These and other bonuses of vacation have far-reaching health benefits.
9. Play Golf – Taking an afternoon off to play a round of golf reduces stress and anxiety, improves mood, builds relationships, and restores the mind from mental fatigue leading to a higher level of work performance. This low-intensity, low-impact sport allows for participation well into the latter part of life.
10. Spend Time on a Hobby – Engaging in a hobby generates a sense of fun and escape from the stress of coaching. This creates something to look forward as the hobby time approaches. Working on a hobby is also associated with a lower body mass index, cortisol levels, blood pressure, and depression.

The Bottom Line For Coaches

With all of the damaging effects of chronic stress waiting to consume the incautious victim, comes an alternative that involves having fun, relaxing, and enjoying family and friends. This combative approach to stress’s effects mandates more leisure time, time away from the basketball court, and an opportunity to connect with people and things that truly matter the most in life. Respecting the stress you experience regularly and addressing it in a healthy way will add years to your life and life to your years.

Are you ready for change?

click here to Check out the 45 Day Challenge Guide written by Rusty Gregory and offered in the Coachtube Marketplace.

Disclaimer: The purpose of this article is to assist people in improving their overall health and basketball coaching performance by managing his or her stress brought on by coaching. This article is also meant to create an awareness of stress and its harmful effect on health and offer suggestions to better manage that stress. It is not intended to prescribe a diet, exercise plan, or stress management program. Consult with your nutritionist, licensed physician or healthcare professional before beginning any lifestyle or nutritional program for his or her professional advice and your involvement in it.

Rusty Gregory, MS, CSCS is the coauthor of Living Wheat-Free for Dummies (Wiley Publishing). He received his B.S. (Commercial and Industrial Fitness, Minor in Health Education) in 1989 from Texas Tech University and his M.S. (Kinesiology) in 1991 from the University of Michigan. In 1991, he began his Austin personal training business, and became a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) with the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA). In 1995, he opened Forte Personal Fitness, a private personal fitness studio where he trains athletes from a multitude of sports and people of all ages, health backgrounds, and physical limitations.  Rusty is part of the BasketballTrainer.com team of experts led by Austin Basketball Trainer Chris Corbett. Rusty and the BasketballTrainer.com team will be releasing their course to help you manage and beat stress to increase your impact while enjoying life more fully in the coming weeks to help you prepare for your best 2019 ever.

University of Maine Men’s Assistant Coach Zak Boisvert has assembled some of his notes that he took in September.

He has an outstanding site with posts on various coaching topics at www.pickandpop.net

His You Tube channel has several videos with various types of man to man plays, zone sets, and inbounds plays.

You can subscribe to receive an update when he posts a new video Zak Boisvert You Tube Channel

You can follow him on Twitter at this link: @ZakBoisvert

-Leonard Fournette tweet: Someone took the same situation you complaining about & won with it.

-Inky Johnson tweet: If the reason is not big enough the excuse will be…. But at a certain point we have to become stronger than our strongest excuse.

-Change your best

-The voice of the off-ball defenders need to be the “eyes” of the on-ball defender

-Hardens: slow dribble + hard, fast dribble (David Thorpe)

-Luke Yaklich book recommendation: “Dream Teams: Working together without falling apart” by Shane Snow

-Chris Beard: “How have you helped a teammate today?”

-I want to do a better job this year impacting my players beyond the game of basketball. I need to
spend time consciously thinking about how I am doing this.

-What are we going to do today to accomplish what we want? – Ron Sanchez, Charlotte

-Porter Moser: if you capture the process that led you to success and set out to get better every day, you’ll have a huge competitive advantage.

Marcus Luttrell, Lone Survivor -It’s the focus on the little stuff that nobody else does, that separates champions from everyone else.

Jamion Christian: Each player makes 12,500 shots a month.

-Semi Ojeleye: I think the way we all get what we want is if we win.

-PGC on zone offense: Don’t trim the edges. Puncture the middle!

-How can we make our pregame warmups better?

Paul Weir, New Mexico: -Has a sign in his office over his recruiting board that reads “Coach THIS Team.” Don’t ever forget the team you have. Don’t get so caught up in those guys on your board, that you don’t fully invest in the guys that are already in your program. Through donations by fundraisers, he started a library in the players’ locker room. Built a book shelf and filled it with some of his favorite books.

Chris Beard Knight told him at the airport during his interview, “I’ve never been concerned with how hard someone works. That’s a given. I’m much more concerned with who can get what done.”

Tim Kight: -Elite culture are exclusive first, inclusive second. “If you meet our standard, you care about us, you
celebreate the people around you, and you do the work we need you to do in the group we are, you can be a part of us. But if you’re not willing to do that, you can’t be a part of us. Being you never supercedes who we’re going to be.

Dave Anderson-Changing a culture can create conflict. But temporary discomfort is better than temporary ease, if
it averts permanent failure.

Jon Gruden The real players want to be coached, they want structure, they want discipline, they don’t want it to be
easy.”

-If your teammates followed your example today instead of your advice, where would you be leading them?

-Ray Dalio: Principles are ways of dealing with situations. They are the evolving record of our understanding of what works well.

-Chuck Noll: “If you want to win, do the ordinary things better than anyone else does them day in and day out.”

John Wooden: “You either have a philosophy or you don’t. Players change … The philosophy doesn’t.”

In evaluating players, both during games and in film sessions, Brad Stevens is careful with language, according to coaches, players and team higher-ups. He focuses on actions: We didn’t get this rebound. You should have made this rotation earlier. The criticism is never about the player’s character. No one is labeled lazy or stupid or selfish. Stevens simply describes what did or did not happen, and what should happen next time.

Google Spent 2 Years Studying 180 Teams. The Most Successful Ones Shared These 5 Traits
-Google launched an initiative, Project Aristotle, to help the organization codify the secrets to team
effectiveness. Google wanted to know why some teams excelled while others fell behind.
– Before this study, like many other organizations, Google execs believed that building the best
teams meant compiling the best people
-5 characteristics of enhanced teams:
1. Dependability – Team members get things done on time and meet expectations.
2. Structure and Clarity – Clear goals + well-defined roles within the group.
3. Meaning – The work has personal significance to each member.
4. Impact – The group believes their work is purposeful and positively impacts the
greater good.
5. Psychological Safety – Everyone is safe to take risks, voice opinions and ask
judgement-free questions.

-What do you mean when you say you want high-culture guys, what do you really mean?

-My ego demands from myself the success of my team – Bill Rusell (my team’s success is a reflection of myself)

-“Wall” concept: Empty side ball screen…aggressive with the high guy on weakside…guy below is ready to stunt. We are forcing the ball-handler to pass. Can’t get rejected on initial pick & roll. Find tape of this!!

-Handedness of shooters – closeout to the hand of the shooter…right-handed shooter, I’m closing out my left hand. My foot angle doesn’t change, but I am sending him to his weak hand. I am playing him straight up.

-Frank Gore: I can help a locker room. I can help a team, just by the way I practice. I remember Tom Rathman said to me, “The only things you should worry about is your peers’ respect.”

-Steve Nash: There is no true development without competitiveness and resilience. Without those, it’s just window dressing.

-Steve Jobs: “It doesnt make sense to hire smart people and tell them what to do; we hire smart people to tell us what to do. Over the years we learned if we ask people to rely on logic & common sense instead of formal policies. Most of the time we would get better results and at a lower cost.”

Coach Moser’s leadership tips for Quinlan students
-Talk given to incoming Quinlan School of Business graduate students
1. Set the tone: Live the culture you want to create
2. Recruit and hire culture: Select coaches and players who already embraced the culture he
wanted
3. Empower your people: Because they feel empowered, they will work harder to make the
program better.
4. Be inspired by the past, and focused on the future
5. Be obsessed with getting better: The “Journey of Learning”
6. Leave entitlement at the door: Dabo quote, ““Let the light that shines in you be brighter than the
light that shines on you.”
7. Do it the right way

-Jon Gordon: “One person in pursuit of excellence raises the standard of everyone around them. And as they strive for greatness, they bring out the greatness in others. Be that one person today.”

-Albert Einstein (via Bob Walsh): 5 ascending levels of intelligence: Smart, Intelligent, Brilliant, Genius, Simple.

-“Silent defense is a soft defense.”

-“Being a good teammate is a skill.”

As a head coach, you have a significant role, but it’s the players’ game. The leadership in the locker room is everything.

Originally posted on Great Teaching Concepts from Kevin Eastman

You can’t be tired and you can’t be bored. It’s not easy getting better. It takes work and discipline. We have a choice of pain of discipline or pain of regret.

Workout discipline:
•Maximum intensity on every repetition.

• Machine like mechanics
• Focus on every repetition – we’re going to take one shot 500 times.

Philosophy:

• Becoming a good shooter is lots of reps.
• Becoming a great shooter is lots of reps at game speed from game spots at a game angle.

Theory of two:
•It takes two minutes to show any skill.

• It takes two weeks doing it every single day to get comfortable with the skill.
• It takes two months working on a skill everyday to get good enough to execute in a game.

Shooting form:
•Be ready on the catch.

• Ten toes to the rim (if you have ten toes to the rim you will be square to the basket).
• Only change his form if the shot doesn’t go in. Make him the best worst form shooter.
• Two second rule: As soon as it’s 1 cm into our players fingers I’m counting one two. Players don’t have a great understanding of game speed when working out.
• The better the shooter you are, the better your shot fake needs to be. Definition of a shot fake is a real shot that you don’t shoot.

Free-throws:

• Shoot free-throws until you miss, and count how many in a row.
• Players tend to fall forward rather than backward.

Give your players statistical feedback:

• When you chart your players’ shots give them percentages for free-throws, lay-ups, jump shots and three-point shots.
• Break it down so they know what to work on.
• Players can be receptive to stats.

Make time to practice shooting:
•You will be surprised how little your guys shoot during practice when you exclude shooting drills.

• We recorded how many shots our players took in a 2.5 hour practice:
• Paul Pierce – 16.
• Ricky Davis – 13.
• Al Jefferson – 7.
• During an hour pickup we shoot on average 12.8 shots per player.
• Average number of shots taken in a game is 16 per player.

My goal right now is to get everything you can teach in the game down to three bullet points. It makes it easier for players to take in:

For shooting:

• Perfect feet.
• Ready for catch.
• Perfect follow through.

Coaches must maintain their intensity everyday:

• A coach can never get bored.
• The intensity that a coach brings to the floor helps the player have a more intense workout.
• Coaches have body language too. Be careful of your body language, and how it could be interpreted by your players.