Dealing with Mistakes

We as coaches have players make mistakes all the time, right? Of course! Mistakes are going to happen. Mistakes are the lifeblood of true deep learning. My partner in coaching/twitter, NYC_CoachO, posted a great quote from Og Mandino that speaks to the power of pushing through and persevering over mistakes.

We all want our players to learn. We all want our players to implement the Mike Krzyzewski ideal of "next play". Yet, as I look at coaches and how they handle the mistakes of their players, i am amazed at how often mistakes are considered a BAD thing. Coaches will berate and badger players over their mistakes and players can't move on, fear trying, and ultimately don't learn from those mistakes.

Last summer while working Coaching U Live, I got to meet world-class sports psychologist, Spencer Wood. During Spencer's presentation, he focused much of his time on mistake management. Another colleague/twitter friend of mine, JoeyBurton, posted notes from Spencer's portion of Coaching U. One of the great takeaways from this is Spencer's idea of visualizing himself taking a picture of the mistake, crumpling it up, and throwing it away.

Another coaching/twitter friend, CoachLok, posted about using "Flush It" as a form of dealing with mistakes and used an example from the 2008 NBA Finals.

I have always been fascinated with psychology, especially sports psychology. I've known about the power of bouncing back from mistakes. I've even heard of techniques similar to those that Spencer Wood discussed at Coaching U. They are all ways for athletes (and coaches alike) to allow for mistakes to happen yet learn from them in the process. But most of those tools were individual and had to do with just visualizing.

Through my journey of being certified to be a trainer for Positive Coaching Alliance, I have learned more about mistake rituals. Mistake rituals are similar in goal to the visualization process, but have a couple of added dimensions. These simple additions can really increase the power and effectiveness for your players and ultimately for your team.

The first difference is that a mistake ritual is a physical action. It is something you DO. It goes hand in hand with the visualization process, but the action provides multidimensional approach/multi-sensory learning. The more senses we can incorporate, the more effective this becomes.

The second difference is that the mistake ritual is a team thing. This mistake ritual is a signal not only to the individual who committed the mistake, it is also a signal to his coaches and teammates. It allows the player to say to coaches and teammates, "I recognize my mistake. It is behind me. AND I am going to learn from it." <=There's Coach K's Next Play.

Some of the great ideas that I've picked up from PCA are:

-Flush It - This worked for the 2009 LSU baseball team, the 2004 Cal State Fullerton baseball team, and Canada College men's basketball team. Players would make a motion like flushing a toilet. I personally like this one, because if you make a CRAPPY play, you just flush it!

-No Sweat - Players wipe their brow like wiping sweat off their forehead.

-Brush It Off - Players make a motion like dusting dirt off their shoulder.

-Shake It Off - Players shake a body part (or their whole body) like shaking sand or water off.

I also like the Flush It because it is quick. While you could possibly incorporate Spencer's photo idea, it may take too long to act like you're taking a snapshot and crumpling it up. I don't know. Never tried it. I just see it lasting too long and ultimately leading to another mistake like not getting back on D. BUT, the message is still just as powerful!

Please feel free to leave comments if you have other mistake rituals you've used or heard of. I would love to hear other ideas along those lines.

Coachability - What It Takes

This past weekend, our team took a tremendous shot to the chops! We had just taken a full week off for finals and had only two days to prepare for a very talented basketball team.



During those two days, some of our players were not interested in what was being taught. There was a lot of selfishness and poor attitudes. When we were instructing, the most common response was, "I know" but very little was being done on the floor to prove that they knew. They had closed themselves off to accepting instruction and as a consequence had turned their backs selfishly on each other.



After the embarassing blowout on Saturday, we talked to the players about allowing themselves to be coachable. I was reminded of a great piece of wisdom by Ray Lokar of the Positive Coaching Alliance in Creighton Burns' Basketball Newsletter. The following will be posted in our players lockers waiting for them when they return on December 26th.


What Does It Take For A Player To Be "COACHABLE"?
1. Knowing you don't know everything
2. Willingness to do what your coach says
3. Being more interested in learning than looking good
4. Willing to listen
5. Accepting constructive criticism as part of the package
6. Not getting defensive every time someone suggests something different
7. Being patient with yourself as to achieving results
8. Being in it for the long haul, and not expecting or demanding quick results
9. Surrender to the teacher, or coach, and let go of the need to be in control of every situation
10. Surrender your will so someone else can instruct or coach you and entering the gym with the mindset,
"TEACH ME COACH - I want to learn!"

Posting Up Against Fronting Defense

I'm sure we've all experienced playing against man-to-man defenses that front the post. Many of my post players over the years have expressed their frustration with fronting defenses. Some of those frustrations have to do with limited touches, but the one I hear the most has to do with getting called for pushing off on a lob pass.

The best advice I have gained for post offense against a fronting man-to-man came from former Whitworth head coach, Warren Fredrichs. I have used this technique since 2002 and have found great success with it.

- Chest to the baseline side - A lot of post players want to face halfcourt when fronted. This actually creates a more difficult passing angle from the wing. It is also more likely that the pass will be easier to play for the helpside defenders. By facing the baseline, the only option on a lob is to pass it toward the basket allowing for an easier finish.

- Elbow in the defenders back - This is one of my favorite teaching points ever (Many thanks to Coach Fredrichs)! The offensive post players non-target-hand elbow should be right in the middle of the defenders shoulder blades. The forearm should be perpendicular to the floor making a vertical "L" shape. This is contrary to what most post players are taught and/or naturally have the habit of doing. This does three things: 1) It is far less comfortable for the defender, 3) It creates less contact surface area for the defender [more contact favors the defense, less contact favors the offense], and 3) It eliminates the offensive push-off foul.

- Big target hand - The hand closest to the basket should extend almost straight up. This provides the passer on the wing clear vision of the target. Many times, post players will extend a target hand parallel to the floor (as seen in the picture above with the defense playing behind) and the passer simply cannot see it.

- Release and retrieve at forehead - Hold the seal until the ball is directly above the offensive player's head. Releasing too early allows the defender an opportunity for a deflection or steal. By holding the seal until the ball is directly overhead, the offense gains an advantage. As my Twitter compadre, Ray Lokar, recently told me, stopping the defense negates any speed advantage because both players are at the same speed. Once the ball is directly above the offensive player, it is now his responsibility to aggressively retrieve the ball with both hands.

It is also important to teach perimeter players to make lob passes properly. By teaching them to aim for the corner of the backboard, it will keep the pass from going into heavy helpside traffic.