Over the past three decades since I started coaching (and into a fourth decade counting my years as a player), I've seen a lot of hard-working players and a lot of lazy players. Human nature is a fascinating thing, and I've seen some players with limited athletic ability develop into GREAT players because of a humongous internal drive to succeed.
I've also seen physically gifted athletes grind down into mediocre players because they just didn't care. When I see a young player with great potential, it's painful to watch the lack of development due to lack of work ethic. Putting in little to no work on his own time is not enough at this level if a player wants to be consistent. If a player can't be consistent with his skills, no coach will play him. If he fails to work on his shooting, ballhanding and passing skills, he becomes stunted fundamentally.
If he doesn't study the game, watch more of it live or on TV, learn from the mistakes of other players, he becomes hindered intellectually.
If he doesn't play enough pickup basketball, he doesn't sharpen himself competitively.
It's all about work ethic. Either a player puts in the daily work or he/she doesn't. There are no short cuts; that's something I've always instilled in my players since I began coaching 30 years ago. It's what I learned as a player since I was 8. Times change, but persistence and determination still make all the difference. The gyms and parks are all there. Opportunity is available to improve.
The "pressure" of playing with a high school summer league team or outside league team is not really different. For a player who consistently works on his/her skills, the rim is still just 10 feet high, the balance of his/her feet is the same, the floor is still flat and the ball is still round. It's about repetition and confidence. Repetition BUILDS confidence. Not working on skills ERODES confidence. Simple as that, no matter how any player may ACT on the outside. Again, no short cuts.
I can't make anybody do anything. It's up to each individual player. How much heart is inside? We can make up for an off-shooting game by playing great defense, making precise passes and hustling for every loose ball. But in the end, a team is only as good as the consistency of its players. Consistency? Yup, that comes with solid work in the spring, summer and fall. Sometimes it's in a noisy gym. Often times, it's amidst the solitude of an empty outside court.
Ask any player: How many times have you gone to the park or gym to work — on your own time — on your skills in the past year? If the answer is less than 100 (out of 365 days), this is not a dedicated player. If it's less than 10, which is the case for some people, it's someone pretending to be a player.
No heart, no results. There's always hope for a change in attitude, of course. That's the beautiful thing about heart and work ethic. It's all a work in progress.
I've also seen physically gifted athletes grind down into mediocre players because they just didn't care. When I see a young player with great potential, it's painful to watch the lack of development due to lack of work ethic. Putting in little to no work on his own time is not enough at this level if a player wants to be consistent. If a player can't be consistent with his skills, no coach will play him. If he fails to work on his shooting, ballhanding and passing skills, he becomes stunted fundamentally.
If he doesn't study the game, watch more of it live or on TV, learn from the mistakes of other players, he becomes hindered intellectually.
If he doesn't play enough pickup basketball, he doesn't sharpen himself competitively.
It's all about work ethic. Either a player puts in the daily work or he/she doesn't. There are no short cuts; that's something I've always instilled in my players since I began coaching 30 years ago. It's what I learned as a player since I was 8. Times change, but persistence and determination still make all the difference. The gyms and parks are all there. Opportunity is available to improve.
The "pressure" of playing with a high school summer league team or outside league team is not really different. For a player who consistently works on his/her skills, the rim is still just 10 feet high, the balance of his/her feet is the same, the floor is still flat and the ball is still round. It's about repetition and confidence. Repetition BUILDS confidence. Not working on skills ERODES confidence. Simple as that, no matter how any player may ACT on the outside. Again, no short cuts.
I can't make anybody do anything. It's up to each individual player. How much heart is inside? We can make up for an off-shooting game by playing great defense, making precise passes and hustling for every loose ball. But in the end, a team is only as good as the consistency of its players. Consistency? Yup, that comes with solid work in the spring, summer and fall. Sometimes it's in a noisy gym. Often times, it's amidst the solitude of an empty outside court.
Ask any player: How many times have you gone to the park or gym to work — on your own time — on your skills in the past year? If the answer is less than 100 (out of 365 days), this is not a dedicated player. If it's less than 10, which is the case for some people, it's someone pretending to be a player.
No heart, no results. There's always hope for a change in attitude, of course. That's the beautiful thing about heart and work ethic. It's all a work in progress.
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