Why education change is so difficult

I did a quick brain dump of influencers to illustrate the challenge of changing education. I know I'm missing some. For example, the Gates Foundation and Teach for America have probably had a measurable effect. Everyone involved in the list below has a certain amount of power.  They are all acting in good faith. What to do? Very good question. I do know it starts at the top.

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Book committees

Business

Consultants

Curriculum committees

Department of Education

Journalists

Parents

Politicians

Post-secondary institutions

Publishers

Researchers

Religious groups

School administrators

School districts

Students

Teacher training

Teachers

Unions

Thoughts for players who've lost confidence

First of all, it happens to everyone now and then. Here are some things that help.

Effort and attitude
Effort and attitude are by far the most important factors. Fortunately, you have complete control of both.

Rebounds, defense and transition
You are useful to your team if you go to the boards every time, defend the ball well and outrun your check both ways.

Rebounds
Crash the boards every time. Anticipate shots and get there first. Put it up immediately most of the time after an offensive rebound. You aren't aggressive enough if you don't get blocked now and then. Break out immediately and lead the break if you get a defensive rebound.

Defense
Coaches love players who are great defenders. This is just effort and attitude with a bit of smarts. Take away your check's first move. Have your hand above your check's eyes if there is a possible shot. Keep your hand above the eyes until your check drives. Shift slightly to take away the strong hand. Don't get beat by fake left and drive right, or the inverse. You will get however beat on occasion so run them down.

Offensive transition
Fastbreak: we break the the defensive team when we go fast. Full speed not 3/4 speed. Run everything single time until it is clear there isn't a potential scoring opportunity. Don't forget to crash the offensive boards if someone else shoots. Remember, full speed.

Defensive transition
Remember that anyone who is any good can beat a defender 1-on-1 who is running backwards. Make sure fake left, finish right doesn't work. Make them beat you with their off hand. Get back at full speed to help your teammates. It takes at least two players to stop a good offensive player. Crash the boards.

Shoot don't think
Lots of players indulge in negative self-talk. Shooting is a two-step process. Shoot with complete confidence. See the ball going in. Land and head immediately for the boards. Look at the ball to see where it lands. Take note of it and continue player. Listen to yourself. Negative self-talk is much worse than someone else telling you you can't shoot. Worse yet, you can ignore someone else but, by definition, you don't ignore yourself. Going to the boards after your shot isn't something you do if you think you think the ball isn't going in. It's something you do after every shot, just in case there's a rebound.

Focus on "your" shot
Choose a spot to concentrate your practice. For example, you could become a great three-point shooter from the left corner. Positioning matters.

Pull-up jumpshots.
Driving all the way to the basket isn't always an option. Learn to shoot a one or two dribble jumpshot. Pick one or the other to develop first. A one-dribble pull-up after a shot fake might be a better option for a small three-point shooter. A good driver might want to practice the two-dribble pull-up. Remember to crash the boards.

You have the ball!

I discuss the concept of Direct Responsible Individual (DRI) in my other blog, The Delicious Uncertainty. I will, somewhat reluctantly, illustrate the concept with a mistake I made for years as basketball coach.

Here's the situation. The ballhandler is dribbling down the court and throws a pass to a wide open player. The ball goes out of bounds because the player wasn't looking. I yell at the player who wasn't looking. Over and over again.

Not that many years ago, I realized the player running down the court didn't control the situation. The ballhandler does. Why would you throw a pass at someone who isn't looking at you? YOU have the ball.

Here's an example of the right way to react. I was coaching the juvenile girls at Compagnons de Cartier in Quebec City. By the way, that was one of my favourite teams ever. My point guard came to me one day and complained that our big inexperienced post didn't catch the pass when she was closely guarded. The right answer came to me immediately. "Don't throw the pass unless you're sure she can catch it".

Here are some ways I apply the principle.

1. Only throw a difficult pass if it will lead to an easy basket or if you have no other choice.
2. You have the ball. Your job is to throw the ball at players who are looking at you.
3. Point guards have to call the offense, make sure everyone is set then throw the first pass (to someone on our team...). A 90% success rate isn't good enough.
4. Great players throw lots of early, easy passes. We forget this when we think about their great passes.

PS
A friend told me she sometimes throws the ball deliberately at someone so they will look at the ball in the future. The truth is both are important. The ballhandler has the ball and is ultimately responsible for balls lost because someone wasn't looking. Looking at the ball is another post.

Early offense

The only good reason I see for using an early offense is to get an early scoring opportunity. The first time I saw early offense was at North Carolina. They ran the early offense shown here but called it secondary fastbreak. I ran this for a couple of years at Champlain St. Lawrence and the Collège de Limoilou.

Running an early offense could be another way to get open. I would rather look for another way to score. There's only so much practice time available.

Offensive phases

Think of offense as having the following six phases. Each phase has to be practiced at some time.

1. Breakout: Get up the court as fast as you can. To me, this means the player who gets the ball has to pivot and go north and south. Inexperienced players do a U-cut which is much slower.
2. Fastbreak: All five players head down the floor at full speed in designated lanes. There can be a trailer or a second trailer (super trailer).
3. Numbers: Running fast generates good scoring options - 2-1, 3-2, trailer or super trailer.
4. Early: Some teams run an early offense if they don't score a fastbreak basket. This generally easier to do after a made foulshot or timeout.
5. Set: Get into your offense if you don't have numbers. This can be a structured offense or some type of motion.
6. First two passes and reversal: The defense has it easier until the defense either reverses the ball using a motion offense or makes the first two passes in a structured offense like Flex.

Have fun!

Why concede three point shots?

I watched a university game last weekend that was decided when one team made three three point shots in a row. This made me think again about how most players and coaches want to defend three point attempts. Basically, they back and drop their hands the first time the ballhandler fakes a drive.

This doesn't make any sense. Let's look at the following facts (I think they are facts). The ball defender is the only player who can stop the three. There should be help if the offensive player drives. It's takes effort but it is straightforward to take away the ballhandler's strong side. Made threes are a big boost for the offensive team. Three point attempts tend to have longer rebounds which means that the offensive team has a better chance of getting them.

And yet.....

The reality is that you can't stop a good player completely by yourself. Players can go left, right or shoot. The ball defender can, at best, take away two options. I suggest that taking away the strong hand and the three point shot is the best option. Defenders away from the ball help if the ballhandler drives with their weak hand.

Top nine things for a new coach

Here is a first shot at what a first-time coach has to be able to do.
1. Organize practices
2. Select the team
3. Teach individual offense skills
4. Teach indivdual defense skills
5. Teach team defense
6. Teach team offense
7. Manage player relations
8. Manage games
9. Manage relations with the team administration and with parents

That sounds like a lot but it's doable.