When I graduated from high school, my mom gave me a bookmark for college with this scripture on it; it was one of her favorite passages and it soon became one of mine.

Now fast forward 9 years and I am sitting in our first coaches meeting this season, I open up my binder and what do I see? Two words: PRESS ON, followed by Phil. 3:13-14. This is going to be our team motto this season; I immediately had goose bumps.

So how does this relate to basketball? All too often we as coaches harp on mistakes and losses rather than moving on and trying to improve and correct those mistakes. If you want to have a great team, it is essential to forget the past and focus on getting your players to work the hardest today so they can become the best that they can be. But it is not just the kids, coaches need to share in these same sentiments. We have all seen and experienced it, the day after a loss coaches are mad at the world and scream, yell, rant and rave. What are you teaching your kids by doing this?

The answer is NOTHING. We cannot hold our kids to a level of accountability that we ourselves cannot maintain. In my experience, I have learned that players are fueled by the contagious energy of those around them. If the coaches are excited and positive and teaching, then the players will more than likely respond in a more positive manner. One thing that Brendan Suhr mentions in almost every single one of his learning sessions is, “Coaches can NEVER (EVER) have a bad day, NEVER! You must bring it Every…Single…Day!”

Getting back to the reason I chose this scripture today; our team has had several bad losses this season. By bad losses I mean we did not perform up to our best ability and we did not work as hard as we possibly could the entire game. Resulting in a few close losses and even a buzzer beating 3-pointer a couple of weeks ago. Last night was another one of those losses. We had several opportunities to capitalize and take the lead but we just did not execute very well throughout the game. This loss really hurt.

When I got home I opened up my Facebook to check out all of the exciting things that I missed during our game, what was the first thing I saw? One of my best friends posted a video of Ray Lewis’ post game locker speech this past weekend (Thanks @rkinggator). Wow, this is exactly what I needed and what our team needed. I immediately texted it to our PG and he replied back, “Wow, I just watched it 3 times…thanks I needed that coach”.  The video below is one of the best videos I have ever seen/heard that exemplifies the message to, PRESS ON! I highly recommend you show this video to your team, your friends, your family, anyone whom you love.

Ray Lewis Post-Game Locker Room Speech

In case this video is ever removed by the author I will include the speech below:

God has never made a mistake, he has never made one mistake. It ain’t about one play, it ain’t about nothing. This year, we did what we were supposed to do, we fought as a team, we fought as a team. There will be one Super Bowl champ crowned at the end of this year, THAT’S IT! So the way we feel, somebody is going to feel like that tomorrow, and somebody is going to feel that way in week. That’s a fact! And the fact is we got to come back and go to work to make sure we finish it next time, that’s all we gotta do. Joe (Flacco) you played your a$$ off, you hear me man? I’m telling you man, don’t EVER, EVER drop your head when it comes to a loss dawg, because there is too much pain outside of this that people are really going through. This right here makes us STRONGER! Lets understand who we are as a team, lets understand who we are as men! And let’s make somebody smile when we walk out of here. We got an opportunity to keep going man, let’s be stronger as a team man, let’s be who WE ARE!.

-Ray Lewis

PRESS ON!

Keep Bouncin…

The National Basketball Association is the highest level of basketball in the world and is composed of the BEST coaches in the world. One thing I have picked up on in the last couple of years is that you will never see an NBA Assistant sitting court side without a notepad or “book” in their hands. (I call them books because they can become quite thick). They are full of past game notes, scouting reports from FastModel, play diagrams and play call sheets. Additionally, you will also see them constantly make notes throughout the game on a notepad. So, if the BEST coaches in the world do it, why don’t you? Is it an ego thing, is it not cool, what is it?

LA Lakers Hall of Fame staff-Every coach is PREPARED

If you are sitting empty-handed on the bench, you are unprepared. I understand that most programs have an assistant responsible for that particular scout, so with that said it would make even more sense for the other staff members to “cheat” and have as much information on hand about their opponent as possible.

Head Coaches, you aren’t getting off so easily. You can also be prepared on the bench. Something that Billy Donovan picked up one Summer from Doc Rivers was the creation of a Game Day call sheet. This sheet was folded into three sections so it could easily fit into his pocket and also divided out the different sections. While some of you may think, “Oh, this is the other teams’ top play calls/actions”, that is incorrect! It is a play call sheet that consists of OUR play calls and actions. The Pick & Roll plays were grouped together, SOB and BOB had a section, Early Offense, Motion sets, etc. were all divided amongst themselves. Additionally, there was a section of blank court diagrams in which he would add some ATO (After Time Out) and EOG (End of Game) plays he may draw up throughout the game if needed.

Now you may be asking, well what should I writing down during games to be an effective assistant on the bench? There is not a perfect answer, it all depends on what your Head Coach wants and thinks will be most useful. Some coaches like to have a shooting chart on the bench to see where shots are coming from, others like to have their assistants keep stats (ie- Rebounds, Assists, TO’s, Blocks, etc.).

My first year at the University of Florida as a manager I was just responsible for getting water/towels to the players and making sure the chairs were out during full timeouts. Needless to say I was oblivious to what the older managers/graduate assistants were responsible for. My 2nd year at the University of Florida, Anthony Grant (now Head Coach at the University of Alabama) came up to me 10 minutes before game time and asked if I could keep our defensive efficiency chart. I said yes of course, but let’s be honest, I had no idea what he was talking about. So he handed me this sheet with all these symbols on it. Luckily it was an exhibition game so I could make some mistakes, and I did! I was responsible for figuring out what defense we were in and keep track of what happened on EVERY possession. This included transitions and also 2nd shots.

Fast Forward two years and now I was responsible for the offensive efficiency chart. If you know Coach Donovan or watch the Gators play, you know he runs A LOT of plays, A LOT!! Therefore, I had to know every single action in our playbook and be able to pick it out if I did not hear the play call. What a learning experience that was! Like I’ve always said, I was so lucky to get this opportunity!

One of the coolest highlights of this assignment came in a game at Vanderbilt, I was sitting behind the bench and kept seeing how they were guarding our bigs. I mentioned to our Assistant to the Head Coach Darren Hertz that we should run a certain action to counter how they were guarding us. Little did I know he forwarded on that message to Coach Donovan. A few possessions later he called out the play, (INSERT BUTTERFLIES IN STOMACH-I said to myself “What if it doesn’t work?”), well it worked, and we got a dunk! Darren turned around and gave me a fist pound, moments like that are so cool in coaching.

While I will not post the actual Offensive/Defensive Efficiency charts I kept at Florida because I have so much respect for the program I do not want to give away any of their play calls. But what I will do is post the chart that I keep this year for Fort Myers High School Basketball. It is very similar except in the fact that I now keep both Offense AND Defense, multi-tasking at its finest. I also have a notepad in which I will jot down things I see through out that I want to remind the coach of or incorporate into practice the next day.

Below is what the sheet looked like after our last game (As you can see we did not play very well):

Here is the KEY of that all of the symbols mean:

The one thing I love about this Offensive/Defensive Efficiency chart is you can see in real-time what is working and was it not. The ability to know where there points are coming from is throughout the game is priceless; at half-time are they hurting us in Transition, 2nd Shots, in the Paint, etc., what adjustments should we make?

As your season is already deep into conference play and/or post-season, take a step back and ask yourself this questions, “Am I doing everything in my ability to be as prepared as I possibly can be during games?”

Until next time, Keep bouncing…

1. I am thankful for my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who died on the cross so I am able to repent my sins everyday. In the last year I have drawn closer to him and really thank his guiding hand in my life.

2. My beautiful wife. Never in my life did I think I would fall in love with such an amazing women. Growing up I was told it is funny how you typically marry someone that is very similar to your own mother…well just 2 days ago Jenna was looking at a picture and said, “You know, I could pass off as your mom’s daughter”. But it’s not just her looks, my wife absolutely LOVES basketball. She will DVR Dancing with the Stars or Glee so I can watch a basketball game. But never has she been so supportive of me as she has this year as I have gotten back into coaching. I am very excited and cannot wait for us to be blessed with a new addition to our family (praying every night about it). {Along with my wife, I cannot forget my MAIN MAN Marley, the coolest dog in the world.}

3. My family (& friends). I would not be where I am today without my family. They have shaped me into the man I am today and hope to continue to become. I feel very honored to be finally following in my fathers’ footsteps and coaching. There is nothing I love more than talking hoops with him. Without my mom…well I wouldn’t know how to cook!

4. FastModel Sports. Coming out of college, I had no idea where life was going to take me. Then Ross Comerford gave me a ring and proposed a temporary solution to my unemployment status. Little did I know, that three years later it would become a permanent solution to that temporary problem. Ross and everyone at FastModel Sports has helped shape me into a more patient and professional businessman. I also would not be able to coach this season without the compassion and understanding of Ross, Albert Tsai, and everyone else in the company. I cannot THANK everyone there enough for their willingness and understanding to allow me to coach.

4. Coach Guttery and Fort Myers High School. I am very blessed and thankful for the opportunity that I have been given to be an assistant coach on one of the best high school basketball programs in the State. The last three years the cobwebs have been forming and my mind racing in frustration because I was missing the bouncing of the ball and the squeaking of sneakers on the hardwood. We are only a month into the season and I feel like I never missed a beat, I am very excited about this season and this great group of kids.

5. Lastly (I am sure I forgot to mention someone in here and will probably add before Turkey day is over), I cannot write this without giving thanks to ALL of our troops who have and are still fighting for our freedoms everyone around the World. It takes truly special individuals to go fighting for our freedoms and safety for EVERYONE in other war ruined countries. I am also very thankful that those who I grew up with and were basketball teammates of that served this great country have made it back to the United States and are able to be home for the Holidays for the first time in a long time. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

Whether you eat McDonalds, Boston Market, or are blessed with a home-cooked Thanksgiving meal, don’t forget to say thank you. Pick up the phone and call a special friend or long lost relative that you have not spoken to in awhile, I guarantee you will light up their day.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Keep bouncin…

This is a great drill to improve all of your players hand-eye coordination and touch around the rim.

If you ever get a chance to watch some old game film from the 05-06 and 06-07 Florida Gators, they have four exceptional bigs that run this action like to perfection (Joakim Noah, Al Horford, Chris Richard, Adrian Moss).