Championship Practices

I believe how you practice will determine how you play. Teams who are inconsistent usually are teams who practice in an inconsistent fashion- work hard one practice but not another, or work hard one drill but coast the next.

I believe how you play in the first three minutes of a game reflects how you practice.

When good teams go to practice, you focus on basketball. Coaches don't have to focus on motivation, players are motivated. Coaches and teammates don't have to try to figure out moods, players are focused. I have been fortunate to have many good "practice teams", who won many games as a result. One of our absolute best was our 1995 team- as coaches we focused on basketball, the players took care of effort and motivation and chemistry.



The following is from Coach Mike Neighbors at Univ. of Washington...

1- Absolute concentration- no lapses of focus, attention to details, little things matter.

2- Authentic enthusiasm- genuine excitement, honest encouragement, real joy.

3- Receptive to coaching- nothing is personal, respond to critique, two ears one mouth.

4- Meticulous preparation- prepared to practice, eat/sleep/study balance, training room on point.

5- Positive body language- non-verbals scream excellence, visible confidence, police each other.

6- Effortless motivation- team provides energy, player driven, coaches never address

7- Teammates first- team B4 me, help the helper, respect is earned and given.

8- Competitive family- make each other better, leave it in the tunnel, leave it on the W.