Alan Stein Motivating Players Clinic Notes

Written by Coach Peterman

I have coached at the NCAA Division 2 (Southwestern Oklahoma State University), NAIA (USAO), and JUCO Levels (Blinn College and Carl Albert State College) as well as high school. I just felt that fellow coaches especially young coaches need to constantly work on their “game”. Just like the basketball players that we coach. We as coaches need to improve ourselves. That is my story and why I do this blog.



Basketball Coaching | Basketball Coaching Clinic Notes



0 Comments(s)



August 9, 2014

Alan Stein Motivating Players Clinic Notes

Motivating Players
By: Alan Stein
Part 1
Alan Stein is a strength and conditioning trainer for Dematha High School and does a great job of sharing information that pertains to developing a team. To find more information that he has put out check out his web site Strongerteam.com.
“Regardless of your style, here are 9 keys to motivating players.”

1. Know the game: Players can spot incompetence from a mile away. You don’t have to have Bobby Knight or Hubie Brown’s experience or acumen, but you certainly need to constantly hone your basketball I.Q. If you are a young or inexperienced coach, you must become a student of the game and work on your craft every day. Only coach what you know and work hard to find out what you don’t know.

2. Discipline them: Players actually crave discipline because it shows you care. They also know, way down in their subconscious that discipline is a key ingredient to success. They will lose respect for you if you don’t. No one is motivated by a person they don’t respect.

3. Show them why: Players need what’s called perceived relevance. They need to know that what they are doing will help them become the best player they can be. They need to know that the drill they are doing today in practice will better prepare them to perform this Friday night when the lights come on and the cheerleaders start dancing.

4. Praise them: Players need to be caught doing something right! That which gets praised, gets repeated. Be as specific as you can in your praise. For example; “Joey, that was an excellent screen you set to get Jonny open. You took the perfect angle, kept a wide base, and held your ground. You were the reason we scored on that play.” Trust me, Joey will take pride in setting screens for the rest of the season after that type of praise.

5. Be Honest: Players need to hear the truth. They might not want to hear what you have to say, but they will ultimately respect you for it. If a player isn’t going to see much playing time this season, let them know what their role will be. If your team is a 20+ point underdog in your game, let the team know they need to play hard, play smart, and play together regardless of who they play, that they aren’t measuring themselves against their opponent, but rather measuring themselves against what they are capable of. But make sure they know that on any given night . . . they can beat anyone.

We have a new basketball coaching contributor in Mark Chapman who is the Head Boy’s Basketball Coach at Hamilton Township High School in Columbus, Ohio. Coach Mark Chapman always has great basketball plays and basketball coaching clinic notes to share with the basketball coaching world. Make sure that you check out his basketball X’s and O’s material. You will love some of his coaching ideas.