Basketball Program Development Series | The Quick Scout
Contributor: Coach Brian Rea
Article #8 – The QUICK SCOUT
I’ve looked all over the Internet, in coaching books, and at materials from other coaches for quality and useful scouting reports or tools. What I have found is that while very neat and thorough, most scouting reports are mainly made for coaches and not the players. They are way too detailed, way too complicated. My players at the high school level have a hard enough time remembering our own sets and information let alone the opponent. In trying to keep things simple and effective, I have used the important aspects of traditional scouting reports and some things of my own to create our “Quick Scout”.
This “Quick Scout” is a front and back scouting report made for the players. It gives our players the important details about their main players and their basic offensive and defensive tactics/strategies without overwhelming them. It is simple, basic, and only feeds them the information that they truly need to be successful against the opponent. Much of the “Quick Scout” is more focused on what WE DO and how we will plan for success against what they do. This gives our players a small cheat sheet for the upcoming game without overwhelming them or making them focus so much on what the opponent does. For us, and maybe for you as well, it’s what WE DO that leads to our success, not what they do.
The attachment to this article is a blank “Quick Scout” that we use for every single game. It is not a fancy scouting report that was put together to look important or to show off. It is a “real life” scouting report tool that our players put into their binders before every single game they play. Some of my former players STILL have their binders with their “Quick Scouts” in them. It has proven a successful tool for our program, and something that I have found to be much more effective than cumbersome, overly detailed scouting reports. That is not to say that those 12 page scouting reports are quality…It’s just my view and experience from using such things. Each year I evaluate every single aspect of what we do as a program. The goal of this evaluation is to stream-line, reduce waste, add quality, and create a higher level of efficiency in everything that we do. The “Quick Scout” was one of those things that was born from this evaluation.
The front page is geared towards the opponent, and the back page is what we will do and how we will counter/attack them. Hopefully you will take a look at your method of scouting reports and it will help you in removing the “fluff” and retaining the important info that your players need to know to be successful. Less is more! Quality over quantity! Take what you like, leave what you don’t…or skip over the “Quick Scout” entirely…But, take the time to evaluate if your scouting report method for your players is actually effective or just a “show” that is wasting your time and paper!
Good luck to all coaches as the 2014-15 season gets under way. Looking forward to continuing to contribute any little thing I can to aid in the successful building of your own programs. It’s a GREAT game, and the job we do is SO IMPORTANT to the development of quality young men and women that they cannot get in the classroom. Take pride in your position and make the big time where you are!
Best Swishes!
Follow Coach Brian Rea on Twitter!!!
Head Boys Basketball Coach
Payson-Seymour High School (IL) – 105-39 Record in 5 seasons @ Payson / Elite 8 Qualifiers in 2013
Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Board Member (District 16)
Email: coachbrea3@gmail.com
Played College Basketball @ Quincy University (2 Years ’96-98) & Aquinas College (2 Years ’98-’00)
Head Basketball Coach for 10 Seasons and counting (All in the State of Illinois)
Have sent 7 players to play in College basketball programs
Personal Speed, Strength & Skill Trainer
Click on the pdf link to download the basketball program development | The Quick Scout:
0 Comments