Tom Wilson Describes a Thriller

Tom Wilson in the Register-Mail describes one of the most thrilling GHS girls finishes....

(It should be noted that he does not mention the injury of Coach Rux in this game. He was so excited and jumped so high, he pulled a calf muscle so he could hardly walk for a week after the game.)

One of the most exciting basketball games in Galesburg High School girls basketball history closed out 1997 in a blaze of glory. The miraculous shot occurred in the Shirk Center on the campus of Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington.

The event was the inaugural "Grand Championship" of the Bloomington-Normal Holiday Classic Tournament. The GHS girls reached the grand championship against Mendota after defeating Normal Community, Normal U-High and Olympia. Both teams entered the championship with 13 victories and only one blemish.

The Silver Streaks found a lid on the basket converting only three first quarter baskets on 17 attempts and trailed after the opening stanza 24-10. Although GHS picked up the tempo in the second quarter by scoring 27 points, the Streaks still trailed at half 41-37.

Dani Teel- Q&A

1. I first started playing basketball seriously in 3rd grade, but ever since I was able to hold a basketball I have been playing.

2. Two people have inspired to play: my dad has always wanted me to play and has encouraged me, whether it was taking me to Illinois games or working every night at home on our court. The second person is my grandpa, Don Teel. One day he was talking to my dad and he said "Dan, this is going to be your ball player" & ever since my dad told my that, I have been motivated to play to my greatest potential.

3. My best memory was playing against my Jr. Streaks basketball teammates when I was on the Costa team, or beating playing against our biggest rivals Canton.

The Energy Bus

The following are some thoughts from the Energy Bus by Jon Gordon.

Rule #1- You're the Driver of Your Bus

"Always remember that you are the driver of your bus. It's the most important of the rules because if you don't take responsibility for your life and control of your bus hen you can't take it where you want to go."

"Of course you can seek directions and advice along the way, but remember it's your bus and your trip."

More people die Monday morning at 9:00am than any other time. "Think about it, people would rather die than go to work."

"Choice is your greatest gift. No one can choose your attitude. No one else can choose your energy."

Why Maine South?

Pizza at Pizza Villa in DeKalb on the way back.

Streaks lost a tough one to Maine South on Saturday, going down 55-45. It is really the first time all year someone was able to totally dominate the tempo vs. the Streaks. 45 points is our season low.

Maine South has a very nice team, and will be highly rated in the 4A polls. This game got MS to an impressive 10-1 record. They are talented and well coached. They have a 6'4" center with a full ride to the University of Illinois, and their point guard has a full ride to St.Louis University. So they have a tough inside-outside combo at work.

Chloe Anderson- Q&A

Chloe Anderson has played for the varsity the last three years. She only has one gear- all out. This fall she had a tremendous impact on our team during fall open gyms and workouts. Her tremendous work ethic during Insanity, in the weight room, and with basketball self-improvement was contagious. She raised the bar and helped a lot of players work harder they might have if she had not been around.

When did you first start playing basketball?
I played biddy basketball at the YMCA when I was four.

Is there someone or some event that got you fired up about playing basketball?
My mom coached me during YMCA basketball. She used to play and we had a lot of fun doing that together.

Lexi Daniels- Q&A

Lexi is a freshmen on the varsity. She has made a nice transition from junior to the varsity level because of her unselfishness- low ego combined with a good work ethic. She quickly earned the respect of the older players with her approach, and her ability to play. She is off to a great year, and I anticipate she will just keep getting better and better!

 

When did you first start playing basketball?

When I was in 2nd grade at the YMCA.

 

Is there someone or some event that got you fired up about playing basketball?

When I got to jr.streaks and I met Sami,Kailyn,Marissa, Shayli etc. and we worked really well together!

 

What is your favorite basketball memory from grade school travel bb or from jh basketball?

My favorite memory would be 8th grade when we only lost to churchill by 4 points because our 7th grade year we got demolished.

Sabrina Clay-Q&A

Sabrina Clay is a sophomore on the varsity. She was on the freshmen team last year and jumped clear to the varsity. She made an impression on the coaches this spring because she never missed anything, she worked hard, and she was pretty good!!

In preseason one day at practice we were doing alot of conditioning at the end of practice. Sabrina came to us and said she felt light headed like she was going to faint. We told her to step out. At that point we were almost done with the workout. I told her to stand with Coach Allison. Later Coach Allison said Sabrina was upset about not running, she didn't want to let her teammates down. Guess that is one of the reasons Sabrina is on the varsity- she gets it- she is committed to her teammates!!

Allison Mangieri- Q&A

Allison is a senior, captain for the Streaks. Allison has the ability to play multiple positions for us because of her athleticism, intelligence, and attitude. She is a GREAT team player!!

When did you first start playing basketball?
3rd grade

Is there someone or some event that got you fired up about playing basketball?
My older sister Dorothy got me fired up about playing basketball.

Streaks Ranked #5 in Illinois

The Streaks are ranked #5 in the first Illinois basketball poll. We all know polls are more meaningful at the end of the season than at the beginning of the year. We all know that polls are not always accurate.

Despite all of that- our girls should be proud to be rated in the first poll. It is a reflection on several things. It is first a reflection that our present group has worked hard and are seen to have great potential.  And it is also a reflection that our program has a nice tradition.

Jessica Lieber- 1000 Points

Jessica Lieber went over 1000 points for her career in last Saturday's game vs. Freeport. While Jess played a little as a freshmen with the varsity, she has reached 1000 in two seasons and 6 games.  Jess becomes the 14th Streaks girls basketball player to reach 1000 points.

Alumni NIght

Wow- what a fun night. Lots and lots of good stories to share.

I was especially impressed with '97 team's memories. First thing Sarah Larson said to me,"Remember Freeport game when you pulled us all out and yelled at us." Sadly I do remember that.

Then when I went to take a picture they laughed at me for having an iPhone. Some things don't change- that is what the present players do!!

1997 Undefeated Streaks- Part III

So what did the 1997 team do to stand out?

Won first 33 games before losing to Taylorville in the Semi-Finals.

Completed the regular season a perfect 27-0.

15 of 35 games were won by 30+ points.

23 of 35 games were won by 20+ points.

28 of 35 games were won by 10+ points.

1997 Undefeated Streaks- Part II

After winning the Sectional championship over Rocky at Wharton Fieldhouse, we were headed to DeKalb to play Belvidere in the Supersectional. The game was to be played at DeKalb High School.

Belvidere was the team we had beaten in the Super the year before. They were led by Amanda Leavens who was headed to Old Dominion. She had been very good the year before, and she was only better. I think the atmosphere at the Supersectionals when we went to DeKalb and later to NIU were the most exciting atmospheres in high school basketball. The gym was not huge but it was absolutely packed. I don't remember all the details but I remember...

Keeping Ego in Check

My son looked thru the season previews in different newspapers. His only comment,"Man, you have lost 272 games a coach. Not many coaches keep their jobs with that many losses."

Meet the Streaks History

Some of my most memorable Meet the Streaks experiences (in no particular order).....

1- My first experience was as a boys assistant basketball coach. I am not sure we even had an intrasquad scrimmage at my high school. At GHS, both balconies were open- the main floor seating was nearly filled, and people were spilled into the balcony. There were probably 2000 people at the intrasquad scrimmage- pretty impressive.

1997 Undefeated Streaks- Part I

With the 1997 Streaks going into the GHS Hall of Fame, it has caused me to want to go thru some memories.

In 1996 we had the greatest year in the history of Streaks girls basketball, and maybe to that point, the history of girls sports at GHS. The Streaks led by seniors Sara Wood, Jen Bulkeley, Ami Pendry, and  Jen Wright (hope not missing someone), went on a terror at the end of the year. They made it to State, and captured third place. It was a special year. As we left the floor after getting our third place medals, our two freshmen on the '96 squad were walking in front of me. Jenny Zolper and Sarah Larson were walking arm in arm as they left the floor. Zolp turned to Stork and said,"We're going to do this three more times." I thought, "Oh no, that is unrealistic." I shared with Coach Peachey what I had heard and expressed how unlikely that would be.

1997 Streaks

This is a picture of the 1997 Streaks. They were undefeated during the regular season,
took 4th in State, finishing with 33-2 record.

Register-Mail First Practice

The following is the RM article on our first practice.....

GALESBURG —

The Galesburg High School girls basketball team began their season on Monday with an early morning and an evening practice.

Galesburg coach Evan Massey, who is entering his 35th season at the helm of the Silver Streaks, said this year’s team should have more offense than last year’s team, which finished with an overall mark of 27-6 and advanced to the sectional semifinals.

“We return a pretty athletic group,” he said. “Last year, our greatest strength was we were a better defensive team than offensive team and this year we’ve improved offensively.

“Hopefully, we are a deeper group this year,” Massey added. “This fall, we happened to have a lot of girls not involved in fall sports and there was enough of them that they got to play.”

Fall Was Insane

We have always felt it has been important to our team to be very involved in the weight room. We started a strong commitment to the weight room in the mid-1990's when Coach Peachey came on as an assistant coach. He developed a strong lifting program for us, and it was incredible the difference it made for us.

The best example of the importance of strength training for us was our 1999 team, which took 2nd in State. (It should be noted that was back in the days before 4-classes where we had to go thru all the big schools in Illinois). In 1998, we made it to the Elite 8 but were crushed by Loyola. Loyola had several DI players, and was rated nationally. We returned everyone from the '98 team. So while we were excited about the prospects of having everyone back, we realized the team who had crushed us, Loyola, also had everyone back.

Jeff Janssen- Team Culture

As coaches we talk about creating a "culture". This is sports psychologist Jeff Janssen spin on team cultures.

1. Corrosive Culture

A Corrosive Culture is highly toxic and is characterized by a lot of conflict, negativity, frustration, cliques, gossiping, distrust, and selfishness. It is obviously not one that is fun to be around and the turmoil and tension off the field/court almost surely affects the team on it. From a relationship standpoint, cliques will often develop that divide, distract, and destroy the team. Rather than battling your opponents, your athletes spend more time battling each other and the coaching staff because no one is on the same page working toward the same goal.
From a results standpoint, people become apathetic or even resistant toward team goals because they lose respect for their coaches and/or teammates. In Corrosive Cultures there is a lot of selfishness because in such a negative and dysfunctional environment, members basically must look out for themselves because they don’t trust their teammates and coaches. As the name suggests, Corrosive Cultures eat away at people’s attitudes, commitment, and chemistry much like a caustic acid. Ultimately, people just seek to endure in this kind of culture or escape it whenever possible.

56 Years of School

In September of 1957 when I went to Mrs. North’s kindergarten class at Avenue School, I had no idea what I was getting into. This year is my 56^th straight year of going to school. I have not taken a year off- I went right from Knox College to Galesburg High School.

I have LOTS of great memories from 1957 to 2012. If you asked me my favorite years, I would give you one answer today, and another answer tomorrow- I have had a lot of favorites.

Schools are places you go to learn. It doesn’t matter if you are a student or you are a teacher- it continues to be a great place to learn. So in the past 55 years, what have I learned? I feel there are five very important lessons I have learned from my experiences and from observing successful and unsuccessful students.

Kevin Eastman- Working w the Best

WORKING WITH “THE BEST”  Lessons from the Olympians I've been very fortunate in my career to work with, talk to, and help improve some of the best players in the game.  As I look at our 2012 Olympic team, I remember working with Kevin Durant when he was a sophomore in high school; with Lebron James as he was entering the draft after his senior year in high school; and with Kevin Love, Chris Paulm and Andre Iguodala as well.  Then there are former Olympic players not on the 2012 team, including Derrick Rose, Rajon Rondo, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. More than what I may have taught them, I think about what they have taught me while I had the opportunity to be around them and observe them in action. From my observations, this much I know -- “The Best” will: outwork others be more disciplined than others have greater drive than others be much more competitive than others do things that others think aren't important do the unrequired extra work always want to know what they can do to get better want to be coached, want to be driven, and want to learn more These are just some of the characteristics of “The Best" -- all things your players need to recognize in this elite group.  And for all our corporate friends, I think this list is worth thinking about as well. We all can grow and improve if we strive to do these things to the level that “The Best” are willing to do them! Enjoy watching these special players as they once again strive to bring that Gold Medal to the United States!  We are fortunate to have them representing us!

Kevin Eastman- Characteristics of Successful Coaches

The following is a short essay by Boston Celtic ass't coach, Kevin Eastman. While he is describing characteristics of successful coaches, I would argue it is really about successful people. 5 Characteristics of Successful Coaches A good friend who is an excellent high school coach asked me, "What are the five most important characteristics someone needs to be a success in this business?"  Needless to say, that sent my mind in motion, as I'm always curious about what makes people successful in their fields.  In fact, much of my reading revolves around this topic. I came up with different sets of 5's each time I thought about this, though several consistently made the list.  One or more are characteristics that I think may be overlooked. 1.  Respect I believe that the greater respect the coach commands, the easier it is to ensure buy-in from his or her players.  And the more often you can get your team to buy in, the more you're going to see them do what you want them to do.  I've always tried to gain respect by outworking others in the business and trying to learn as much as I can at the place and position I'm in.  Work ethic and this continuing search for knowledge have been keys to my ability to gain respect. 2. Relationships  I believe relationships are the foundation for success in any field.  As a coach, you need to get to know your team, get to know about your team, talk to your players in good times and bad, let your players know you care about them, and develop a trust with your players. 3.  Curiosity  It seems to me that the most successful people in any business have an insatiable intellectual curiosity about their field.  They talk to the best in the business, they read about others, they listen to CDs and DVDs, they want to know what the best are doing and how it can relate to them and their programs, and they are curious to know what you know and how it can fit in to enhace their program or business. 4.  Ability to motivate  Motivation is an aspect of coaching that requires coaches to constantly "read" what's needed for their team and any given player on a daily basis.  It also requires a great deal of thought and study in order to find new ways to accomplish these tasks.  Find out what makes a player tick and then create ways to motivate him to get the most out of him each day.  And be able to recognize when it's a new day that needs a new motivator -- even for the same player who responded yesterday! 5.  Choosing the right job  Make sure you know all you can about a job before taking it.  I've often said that you have to find out if the expectations of the job exceed the reality of the job.  Don't jump at a job that sounds good (to you or to others) or has a certain perceived prestige without learning all you can about the expectations and, frankly, why the job is available.  This process takes significant soul searching, but it's extremely important.  No one can be successful at a place that doesn't have or can't create an environment to succeed.  Remember, too, that the place may be great, and you might even seem to be a good fit, but because of the timing, you need to pass it by.

Stretching Ourselves

I believe sports can allow an athlete to realize they are capable of more than they have imagined. An athlete can on the athletic field do something individually or as part of a team which shocks them. Obviously such an achievement is exciting. But the real value of doing something like this in athletics is if it provides a lesson to use in other, more important areas of life. Maybe these kinds of experiences allow an athlete who is planning on college to set a higher and more challenging goal in their studies. Maybe they realize they can set higher career goals.

The following short essay by author Jon Gordon, deals with this topic--

Great Summer

We had a great summer of basketball. We had over 40 high girls involved in our summer basketball programs. We had a lot of girls improve their skills and get better this summer.

Ally Auriemma Tribute to Pat Summit

You are aware of the conflict between Tennessee and UConn in women's basketball. This is an wonderful tribute to Pat Summit written by the Ally Auriemma, the daughter of Coach Auriemma.

A Tribute to Pat Summitt. (Yes. Seriously.)

Note: I have never told this story outside of my family.  It seems appropriate, given that Coach Summitt received the Arthur Ashe award for Courage at this past weeks' ESPY awards.  It's also appropriate because this year is the 40th anniversary of Title IX, something I will be discussing in another post.

When I was eleven years old, Pat Summitt called me.

I don't mean she called my house looking for Dad, or called home by mistake in search of an office phone.  No.  This was a deliberate phone call, by Pat Summitt, looking for me. "Hello, Alysa, this is Pat Summitt from Tennessee."  Verbatim.

I was eleven.  We had just started our rivalry with Tennessee.  To say I was terrified of Pat Summitt is understating the point.  She is an icon of the sport.  She's naturally terrifying because of her intensity, her drive, her winning history...it's PAT SUMMITT.  I mean, cripes!

Kevin Garnett's Demand

Kevin Eastman, Boston Celtic assistant coach told an interesting story about Kevin Garnett. 

When a player is traded in the NBA, when he first meets with his new head coach, there are some horror stories of players who immediately issue selfish demands to their new head coach. "I expect you to get me 15 shots per game." "I need to play 35 minutes per game but don't play me over 40 minutes per game." You get it, selfish demands.

Pictures from ND

Coach Rux coached vs. former NFL QB, Gary Hogeboom.
More recently Hogeboom was on Survivors, which
Coach Rux and he talked about. 

Register-Mail- Summer Programs

At this point, no rosters are set in stone, but summer activities -— camp and league — for the possible members of the Galesburg High School freshmen, sophomore and varsity girls basketball teams began last week in preparation for the upcoming season.

Girls who will be in the second grade through the junior high level have also been participating in a summer camp with just the junior high level players also playing in a summer league.

The camps end today, but the leagues, which mostly take place on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, run through July 6.

On the varsity level, two freshmen, two sophomores, four juniors and six seniors have been taking part in the activities.

Lou Henson & Sarah Main

Lou Henson was in Galesburg and ate at the Landmark. And guess who was working at the Landmark?

I actually had lunch in the same diner Lou was having lunch in the 1980's. We were in Mt. Carroll and Lou was at a table across the room. I believe he had some family connections or early career experiences in Milledgeville.

If I had been at the Landmark today, I would have just shouted out- "Bo Knows Basketball!!" And Sarah would have been embarrassed about me like always.

Jay Redfern's story on the visit----

http://www.galesburg.com/blogs/jay_talking/x465793075/Jay-Talking-Weekend-in-the-Burg-what-did-Lou-do

Training Camp

This month I had the opportunity to read Jon Gordon's book- Training Camp. I was encouraged to read it after finding out it was required reading for the players and the coaches of the Philadelphia 76er's. The Boston Celtics required their players to read another Gordon book- The Energy Bus.

Gordon's books are interesting reads for athletes, leaders, and business people. He delivers his message through a fiction story. So you have the motivational messages unfold within the story lines. In Training Camp, Gordon talks about 11 traits of the "best of the best." 

William Allen- Memorial Day

Plaques at entrance of GHS.
Plaque at entrance to Galesburg High School
dedicated to the 64 faculty and students
killed in World War II. 

There is a plaque near the entrance to Galesburg High School to honor students and faculty who have died in service of our country. On the plaque honoring WWII dead, there are 63 GHS students named and 1 GHS faculty member named who all died in WWII.

It is hard to put the magnitude of this loss in perspective. From the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 until VJ Day on September 2, 1945, the United States was at war for 45 months. That means in Galesburg from 1941 thru 1945, there was a funeral for a GHS student or faculty member roughly every 21 days. The War effected individuals, families, and obviously communities.

Title IX Complaint at Macomb

A parent of a Macomb HS female athlete has filed a Title IX complaint, with specific focus on fact they have the girls sports use a second gym which the mother considers inferior.

It will be interesting to see the results of this, as many of you are aware, Rocky and Quincy still use a "secondary gym" for their girls sports also.

Macomb, Ill. —

The Macomb Board of Education responded May 15 to a Title IX inquiry alleging inequalities between boys and girls sports at Macomb Senior High School, and as a result of that inquiry, the district will begin providing girls participating in a sport practice at Washington Street Gym — a facility located several miles off the high school campus — with round-trip transportation from the high school.

Coaches Have Favorites?

This is great quote from Get Recruited--

Get Recruited ‏ @NCAARecruitTips

My favorite players are the ones that work the hardest in the classroom + in the floor. = Favoritism.

Wonderful Surprise

Dan Sullivan and I reliving Milwaukee Bucks
Camp days with "Smedley."

Saturday, April 13 we were invited to party for Kyle Barshinger. Kyle was home from college and his birthday is on April 17. Amy told me to make sure to get a card for Kyle. We were going out to eat at Sully's at 6:30pm and then going to the party for Kyle at Side Trax at 7:30pm. At about 6:10pm, Amy asked if I had gotten the card- I had not. She told me to go get one. So I hurried to Walgreen's and got a card.

GHS After 41 Years

The Quad City Times ran an article about the WB6 where they mentioned in boys sports, GHS has not won a WB6 title in baseball, track, football, or basketball since 1998. It mentioned that was 54 total seasons without a championship. People are quick to come up with explanations for success and lack of success.

On the girls side, GHS has won only 1 WB6 title in the last 8 years in basketball, volleyball, track, and softball.

In these 8 "major" sports as determined by the QC Times, 50% of them have not won a single conference title in the last 20 years. Only one of the sports has won more than one conference title in the last twenty years.

Brother Mark With Friends

Mark with Bo Ryan

Mark with Jordan Taylor

Twitter- High School Athletes

The following recruiting tip was posted by an agency involved in helping high school players with the recruiting process--

"Every college coach I know say they've stopped recruiting a player based on their online updates w/ disrespectful language."

Some simple advice to high school athletes--

1- Don't use profanity on twitter.

Jason Shay- Thanks For Your Help

I found when I first starting coaching, the most effective way to learn was to talk to other coaches. Some coaches are very open and very sharing, other coaches can be very secretive. In coaching girls basketball, some coaches could be very condescending and would not give me the time of day. Fortunately I have had many coaches who have patiently listened to my questions.

I have really appreciated Jason Shay’s willingness to listen to my questions, and his willingness to share his expertise. Jason has been a tremendous resource to me. Not only is he willing to field my questions, he is one of the most knowledgeable basketball coaches I have been around. There are a lot of things pretty impressive about Jason as a coach.

Tiffany Sibley- Signing

Tiffany Sibley will be going into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame this spring. This is a picture from her signing to go to Northern Iowa. the picture is from 1991-2 season.

Jeff VanGundy Wisdom

Jeff VanGundy is someone I didn't like when he was coaching, now I love listening to him as he covers games. He falls in the category of Rick Majerus, Doug Collins, and Dan Dakich. When they cover a game, it is a coaching clinic.

Wisdom from last nights Bulls game--

"Good teams can adjust after wins. Bad teams only adjust after losses."

Exploring Our Limits

The following exerpt from Terry Orlick's book- "Exploring Our Limits" was part of todays Psych II lesson on humanist psychology and goal setting. I think it is a great exerpt which makes us think about how we can have the ability to open up our potential or the ability to limit our potential.

     My personal experiences as a competitive athlete have been rich ones. There have been some memorable highs which remain with me. Some involved achieving personal goals, others involved the sheer joy of being absorbed in the experience. One of my achievement highs was when I first did a quadruple twisting back sommersault on the trampoline. Some might say-- so what? Who cares if you can spin your body around in the air four times before coming down? What difference does it make?

Rainee Sibley- Back On Track

The Register-Mail ran an article on Rainee Sibley running track. We have several of our Streaks varsity players out for track this spring. Myra Diggins, Sharron Diggins, Rainee Sibley, Chloe Anderson, and Allison Mangieri. I am especially pleased several of them are running 400 & 800- I think that is great prep for basketball.

Sibley gets back on track with Silver Streaks

By Matthew Wheaton

The Register-Mail

Shaka Smart- Pressing

Coach Shaka Smart (Head Coach – VCU)
 
What are we trying to get out of the press?
 
·      Turnovers (Live Ball)
·      Quick / Bad Shots
·      Create Offensive Opportunities
·      Force Tempo / Disrupt Offensive Flow
·      Difficult to Prepare For
·      Make Opposing Players do things they aren’t comfortable doing
·      Create fatigue (Cumulative Effect)      
-       Who gets tired 1^st? Who recovers quickest?
·      Make depth a factor (Who’s 6-10 is better?)
·      Exciting style of play (Players/fans)
·      Identity/Brand
 

Joey Range- Great Story About A Father Going Into H of F

Joey Range was selected to the Illinois Basketball Hall of Fame in Pickneyville, Illinois. As a basketball player, Joey is very, very deserving. I am biased but I would argue he is the most dominant player GHS has ever had, certainly the most dominant of the last 50 years.

I had Joey in class his senior year. While Joey may not have always been "into the classroom" in high school, he was a good student in my classroom. Joey was someone I enjoyed having in class, and someone who was always respectful to me in the classroom and in the hallway.

Joey's son, JJ is the same age as my son Allen. They have played on youth basketball teams together since 4th grade, and were on the freshmen team together this year. I have both JJ and Allen in my advocacy class this year. I have had many opportunities to watch Joey as a father. I wondered how Joey would be as a "basketball parent." The answer is he is a great "basketball parent." For all the times we have stood together during a game, interacted before or after a game-- I have never heard Joey say anything negative about other players, the coaches, or his son.

Bob Belf- Selling Your Program & Making Adjustments

The following was sent to a coach contemplating going to the "System". This is from veteran coach, Bob Belf. I would argue his analysis of "adjustments' that have to made apply to all coaching. It may be his list is unique to the "sytem" but every coach in every style must have the ability to anticipate adjustments and then make adjustments.

Quickness, Strength, Balance

Some of the basics got from yesterdays coaching clinic by 1440:

1- You don't need to be lifting large amounts of weight to get stronger.

2- Emphasis should always be on proper technique- that is how you isolate muscle groups.

3- Body weight can be used to build muscle.

Coach- Why Don't You?

For years our staple was to play half court man to man defense. People, my brother mainly, would say, "Why don't you play a little zone to throw people off." My stock answer was, "Because we can't play zone."

You are what you are as a team. Our teams were man to man teams. Our counter to half court mm defense was to do some run and jump in the half court, and to do a lot of full court pressing. But the bottom line is you can only do so many things in basketball. I found the more defenses we tried to play, the worse our mm defense got.