Game Time Del Harris Notes

1. Be sure you have a helpful game card with you at all times such as quarterbacks have on their sleeve or arm.

2. A good game card will not only have all your play calls, but will have categories that will get you a post up as needed and that tell you what plays you have that will get each position (1 through 5) a shot when you want one of those players to have the ball.

3. On the back of the card make a special situations card you can have in your pocket or an assistant will keep be sure to have plays already diagrammed that are for special late game situations such as: when you need a 3 pointer, or a quick 2, or you have differing amounts of time on the clock to get a shot.

4. Be smart on what you chart and have accountable chart keepers. A possession chart can tell you the pace and momentum of the game because it will tell you how many possessions you have had at every time interval and once you know your best pace, you can tell if you are dictating or if the opponent is.

5. Momentum is revealed by a possession chart in that it shows how many times you and your opponent have scored or failed to score in the most recent possessions.

6. Other charted items may be the fast break game on both sides of the ball, the low post game (scores allowed/how traps have worked, etc.), the pick and roll game (percentage of scores/stops), deflections, penetrations allowed, uncontested shots allowed, and whatever else you deem of real value.

Coaching Bullets from Del Harris

Trying to spend part of the day learning and growing as a coach. Going through some material today I ran across some excellent notes from Del Harris. The notes were passed on from a friend so share with people inside your network!

Before you start:
Be sure you have a mission statement that is current with your current thinking and then stay committed to that statement. Be sure your staff and players understand.

Make sure your philosophy of coaching, of defense, of offense and of dealing with players and other constituents is clear-cut and understood by yourself and staff.

Leave a paper trail. Keep copies of important communications with all relevant parties. Notes, dates, and times of any significant meeting with players, media, etc. can be of value.

Be sure you have a plan for the first day, week, and rough copy for first month of your practices.

Be sure any staff is up to date on current trends in conditioning, nutrition, etc. these change

Be sure to read current book and old standards on leadership, management skills, time management, significant biographies of important people and successful coaches in any sport. You must continue to grow mentally and spiritually.

Revise your drill book (you have one don't you?) to add any new concepts you have picked up and to discard needless ones.

The best drills are the ones you make up that teach specifically the exercise you are trying to teach/correct.

Your drill book should be divided into categories such as: warmup, shooting, fundamentals of offense/defense, fast break buildups for offense and transition defense, half court offense, post offense/defense, trap drills, defense shell drills, situation drills for 1-1, 2-2, and 3-3, game ending situations drills, etc.

Be sure to be clear on all basic defense issues such as your initial and backup coverages relative to pick and roll defense, low post defense, and methods of roation to cover breakdowns.

Make sure your coaches and players understand the concepts of switching on defense such as which teammates will be able to switch with each other on their own as needed or desired unless the game plan or a timeout changes it-have switching partners which normally means that equal size players will switch with one another as needed.

Know that the concept of switching to keep your bigger players inside and your smaller ones outside is often very productive, i.e. "Bigs in, Littles Out" Thus you would not switch a big man out off a downpick or pindown for a small player.

Building Your House

"A carpenter was fixing to retire and tells the company he works for he was through building houses. They ask him to build one more before he retires. He agrees and through the process of building this last house he begins to cut corners, uses cheaper materials, doesn't use the same precision in which he used to and basically built and inferior home. When he's done he give the keys to his boss and says here you go I'm done. The boss returns the key and says thanks for all your hard work and dedication to this company. This home is yours and we appreciate you. Obviously, had the carpenter known he was building his own house he would not have cut corners. You are building your house every day and you don't even know it."

Ray Allen

Ray Allen just set the NBA record for 3 point made field goals in a career. He now has 2,561 made 3's in his career breaking Reggie Miller's long time record. Ray seems to be a very humble player and truly worked his butt off to earn this success. I ran across this blog post from Alan Stein blog.strongerteam.com describing Ray Allen's pregame routine.

I had the pleasure of connecting with Mr. Tommy Sheppard, the Vice President of Basketball Operations for the Washington Wizards, prior to their recent game against the Boston Celtics. Tommy is a brilliant basketball mind and was extremely hospitable. He gave us a tour of the Cerizon Center and introduced us to everyone. Tommy is as classy as they get.

I was also fortunate to connect with my friend, Coach Kevin Eastman. As he always does, Coach Eastman took time out of his rigorous schedule to sit and talk shop.

We arrived at the arena at 3:30 p.m. (for a 7:00 p.m. game) to make sure we caught all of the pre-game action. True to legend Ray Allen was the first player to take the court. I got a chance to speak with Ray for a minute-what an amazing guy-no ego whatsoever.

Ray's pregame shooting routine for the day consisted of making 5 shots from 5 spots (corner, wing, center, other wing, other corner) from 5 different distances (close, 2-steps back, mid-range, college 3, pro 3) with 5 free throws in between each set. For those of you keeping score at home, thats 150 makes in about 20-30 minutes. Even though he was spot shooting, there was nothing casual about it. He was low, had his hands up, and was "shot ready" for ever pass and he shot every shot at game speed.

To me, the most impressive part is the fact that Ray has been going through a similar pregame routine for the past 15 seasons! That is a true commitment to excellence. Ray Allen is not an All-Star and one of the game's all time best shooters by accident. HE HAS EARNED IT.

Ray Allen shoots the ball the correct way every time (follow through, everything squared up, great footwork, quick release) For all the young players out there watch how guys like this shoot the ball and by reading that post you can see it doesnt happen over night....You have to be willing to put in the time and effort to make yourself the player you want to become.

The Q-Tipping Mom: Friday Night Free 4 All!

The Q-Tipping Mom: Friday Night Free 4 All!: "Thanks so much to all of my loyal readers & Facebook Fans!! It really means the world to me!! This Friday Night Free 4 All ..."