Hustle Board

This is an idea I picked up from notes that Kevin Eastman took from talking to Herb Sendek in the mid 90's. Herb used a small board in the locker room to keep track after every game of their leaders in various categories. They would post the Best Teammate (subjective), Best Assist/Turnover Ratio, Best Defender (subjective), Most Offensive Rebounds, Most Deflections (must have assistant coach or manager track during the game or by watching film), and Most Charges Taken (again, either during game or afterward on film).

When I got to Eastern Washington and worked under Ray Giacoletti, he had his dad (a marvelous woodwork craftsman) build him a similar leader board. We called it the Hustle Board. We only tracked 3 stats: Charges Taken, Assists, and Rebounds. The difference between Herb's version and Ray's version is that Ray wanted to track cumulatively over the course of the season as well.

In the picture, you'll notice that the right column is already labeled for the season. In that column, affix three nameplate brackets for each category. Some may wish to use Velcro, but I find that Velcro wears out rather quickly and doesn't look as sharp. Sliding nameplates looks classy. The left column is for the last game played. The top bracket is for the opponent, and only the top 2 for that game in each category makes the board.

I love this tool! It creates a sense of pride in doing the little things that actually have a tremendous impact on the outcome of the game. I posted the toughness essay assignment we did with our team, and this is one way we can hold the players accountable for what they wrote.