New Shoes for Summer?

High school age players should look at the condition of the basketball shoes they used during the past winter season. In most cases, they should seriously consider getting new basketball shoes to use for the off-season, especially during summer camps, leagues, and tourneys.

While a shoe may still look good, the problem is the support has probably broken down with four months of regular use. In the past, we find too often players starting up for the summer begin to experience issues with their feet and legs, which often are attributed to wearing shoes which lack support.

Another concern as players go into the summer, is whether they bring feet or leg issues from their spring sport activity. It is not unusual to have girls who ran track in the spring come into summer basketball with shin splints. We have found an effective way to avoid feet/leg problems or overcome feet/leg problems is for the athlete to get an arch support to put into their basketball shoe. In local stores, you can get Dr. Scholl's arch supports which seem to have helped many of our athletes deal with leg/feet problems.

Off-Season Work

Watson in IBCA Hall of Fame

It is fitting that Molly Watson was the first GHS girls basketball player selected to the IBCA Hall of Fame. During her three years as a starter, GHS went 91-11. At the end of the season polls, GHS was rated #1, #2, #1 her three years. She was surrounded by many great players- we had great TEAMS. But in my biased opinion, at 5'4" she was the most dominant girls basketball player in WB6 history. Her senior year, the Streaks were 33-0 before losing to Taylorville in the State semis. 

She went on to play at DePaul University and was very successful on collegiate level. 

Quite simply, Galesburg fell in love with Molly and her teammates. Every IHSA attendance record was eventually set by Galesburg. It was the result of a lot of good players, but the love affair started with Molly.

Congratulations to Steve & Jeanine

There are many great girls basketball fans in Galesburg. Steve and Jeanine Bryant are not only some of the best GHS fans, but they are also the best fans of Illinois girls basketball.

Steve has been willing to drive across Illinois to get tapes when we needed them. In 1999 after winning the Supers, Steve headed to Chicago and got us lots of tapes on Loyola. It is for that reason after we upset Loyola, we presented Steve with the original scouting report on Loyola. Steve and Jeanine have followed the Streaks everywhere, and have hosted them in their homes.

In their nomination, other coaches said the following-

Lori Blade (Coach of Edwardsville)- They have always been a positive and wonderful representative of what a true basketball fan should be.  They have a true appreciation for all participants.  Their nomination for IBCA HOF Friends of Basketball is as deserving as any nomination could be.  They have been and continue to be a true blessing to the game of basketball.

Jay Hatch (Coach of Alleman)- Steve and Jeanine Bryant are a great nomination for Friends of Basketball.  They are strong supporters of Galesburg basketball, but they are also strong supporters of basketball in general. 

Mark Smith (Coach of Maine South)- I would come to find out how special and loyal two of these fans were - not only to 'their" team - but to girls' basketball throughout the state.  Steve and Jeanine Bryant are among the greatest high school girls basketball fans that I know. 

Bill Lapp (former Coach of Carthage)- As the head varsity coach at Carthage High School, I remember the Galesburg teams as some of our biggest fans. Our teams and fans had great respect for one another. The memory of the state tournament where the Streaks cheered at the Bluegirl quarterfinal and vice-versa are still solid in my mind. The two Galesburg fans that most stand out however are Steve and Jeaninne.

The Bryant’s were the type of individuals that supported the game above the team. They appreciated all kids who committed themselves to the game they so loved. The Bryant’s adopted our team. During the summer camp months as well as fall tourna- ments, they would have our Bluegirl teams to their home as a place to relax in between contests. Periodically, they also would be fans in the stands at big games we were in, during the season as well as post-season. Confidently, I know that their attitude to our team transcended into the mutual respect each team had for one another. There is NO one couple I could recommend greater than Steve and Jeaninne Bryant.

Habits

"You make the choice to make great habits. Are the habits that you have today on par with the dreams that you have for tomorrow?"  - Stephen Curry

Takes More Than Talent

Talent- “Talent gets you in the gym, attitude and effort decides where your seat is.”

This summer we played a league game in which Lexi Daniels made 5 or 6 threes in the game. After the game, an adult came up to me and said, “She is just a natural shooter.” I know what the adult meant, but I don’t think it is really an accurate statement.  Sometimes a player can make things look so easy, it is understandable when people look and think it is just “natural.”

When we say someone is a “natural,” the implication is that they were born this way. The reality is that in sports and in life very few people are naturals. They may be born with certain valuable characteristics, but they work and work to develop that ability.

I believe most successful people get there through hard work. From my experience, successful people possess five important qualities.

Passion-  “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.” (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

To become a great shooter, it requires so many repetitions. If a player doesn’t have a passion for basketball, it will be work and not be much fun. In any sport to do the required practice, you must have a love for the sport. Great artists love painting, great musicians love music. To become great at anything, you must have a passion for it.

Team Cultures

The following is from Jeff Janssen....

WHAT KIND OF CULTURE DO YOU HAVE? DISCOVER THE 8 KINDS OF CULTURES

IS YOUR TEAM’S CULTURE WHERE YOU WANT OR NEED IT TO BE?

Do you have a positive and productive culture firmly in place that helps you win on and off the playing fields?

Or are you frustrated because you seem to have a Country Club Culture where many of your athletes are too soft, lazy, and entitled?

Or worse yet, do you have a Corrosive Culture filled with conflicts, criticism, and cliques that distract, divide, and destroy your team from within?

Unfortunately, many coaches don’t realize the full impact of their culture - until it’s too late. For example, in the frustrating last days of his coaching career at Illinois, former men’s basketball coach Bruce Weber candidly lamented to the media, “You have got to develop a culture. I think the last three years all I worried about was winning rather than developing a culture. I am disappointed in myself for not developing a culture of toughness with our team.”

Your team’s culture has a powerful, persistent, and pervasive impact on everything you do in your program. It impacts recruiting, attitude, commitment, competitiveness, chemistry, etc. Because of this, you must invest the time to continually mold, monitor, measure, and maintain your culture throughout the course of a season.

To build a winning culture, you must first honestly and accurately assess your current culture.Being privileged to work closely with hundreds of programs each year through our Leadership Academies, here are the eight most common kinds of cultures I see when working with a variety of teams. I've categorized the eight cultures based on how much the particular culture values and emphasizes both relationships and results. See which of the eight best describes the current state of your program.

8 KINDS OF 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.

2. COUNTRY CLUB CULTURE

The Country Club Culture is one of entitlement, appearances, and leisure. The priority in this culture is to look good and to have a good time rather than to win championships. It is a superficial and soft culture where little accountability is expected from its members so people are allowed to coast. Playing time and leadership positions are often not based on merit but instead on politics, popularity, and brown-nosing. The currency in a Country Club culture of is much more about style than substance. Status in a Country Club Culture is accrued primarily by the kind of gear people wear. Results are clearly secondary and relationships are superficial at best.

Kobe Bryant's View of AAU Basketball

LOS ANGELES -- Kobe Bryant believes European basketball players are more skillful than American basketball players, and says it's a growing trend that can be blamed on the greed and coaching at the AAU level.

"I just think European players are just way more skillful," Bryant said Friday night after the Los Angeles Lakers' 109-106 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. "They are just taught the game the right way at an early age. ... They're more skillful. It's something we really have to fix. We really have to address that. We have to teach our kids to play the right way."

Spurs Locker Room

ACL Prevention Exercises

The following jump program is based on the Cincinnati Jump Program that was initiated to reduce ACL risk.

Jump Training for ACL

Purpose:

Help athletes develop proper balance and landing techniques in an effort to reduce ACL injuries.

Emphasis:

1. Don’t emphasize speed and height at the expense of form and technique.

2. Emphaize soft landings with knees flexed and on their toes.

3. Landing in line, knees over toes.

4. Landing where you jump from.

Exercises:

1. Stationary Jumps- 30 seconds each

Two foot jump & two foot landing.

-       Stationary

-       Side to Side

-       Front to Back

2. 180 Degree Jumps- 30 seconds

Two footed jump

Rotate 180 degrees- land soft

Hold landing for 2 second

Reverse the direction

3.Long Jump- Go to half-court and back

2 Footed Long Jump

Length of jump is not the priority- land soft.

Land soft, stick landing, hold landing for 2 seconds

Jump Again

4- Hop, Hop, Land- Go to half-court and back

Two footed hopping.

Hop and do not stick it but immediately go into another hop, and

Stick the landing on the third hop

5- One Foot Hop- Go to half-court and back

Stick the third hop.

Use left foot coming back

Strength and Balance Exercises

The following are strength training exercises used to reduce ACL risk:

1- Squats- keep the knees in alignment with hips, don't allow them to bow inward. Eventually you can work on one leg squats with the other leg resting on bench behind you. 

2- Jump Squats- squat, jump, then land softly. Keep knees in alignment, don't allow them to bow inward.

3. Hip Bridges- keep knees aligned. Eventually you can do one leg hip bridges.

4- One Leg Balance- stand on one foot with knee flexed slightly, raise other knee up high in front of you, then move leg back as far behind you as you can. Repeat these- you are making the one leg have to work on balance.

5- Hamstring Curls- Kneel on all fours. Raise one leg back straight. Try to curl the leg to have your heel touch your butt. Then extend your leg again, touch your toe to the ground, then curl again. 

Most of the exercises are shown in these videos: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LW8e1sPLwg8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=803MwCDtRTg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sBSRe3melM&feature=youtu.be&a

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajsDsTrn0GI&feature=youtu.be

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pF9wx2iktSs&feature=youtu.be

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76Y6KQ2ipbE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWBSf4BfKRk

Memorial Day

William Allen with younger brother, Ben.

On Memorial Day, we need to remember all of the soldiers gave up their dreams for us. William Allen was a Knox grad, Galesburg HS English teacher, and my wife, Amy's uncle. William Allen was killed in WW2. He wrote this in a letter to his family, after finding a friend killed in action in April of 1945:

“I shall never forget late one afternoon when I discovered dead near his gun position the man whom I respected above all others as a soldier. I calmly reported the fact and got a good night’s sleep. It was not until several days later that his body slouched in his hole began to haunt me and I realized that I had lost my friend. He was every muscle a hero, and he should have died a hero’s death as he stormed an enemy emplacement.”

“He had displayed his ability and his guts often enough before. But he was far behind the lines when the artillery shell with his number on it landed in his hole. That’s another shocking thing about this war- a hero, contrary to fiction and Hollywood, seldom dies a hero’s death. It’s just an unlucky hit which gets him when he doesn’t even have a chance to fight back.”

William Allen was killed a little over a month later when his jeep ran over an Allied land mine designed to protect U.S. troops. It was just weeks before the end of WWII.

Five Ways to Improve

This is from Mano Watsa from PGC Basketball...

Like most people, a lot of basketball players are looking for that one thing that will create an immediate impact for themselves and their team. Let’s take a look at five things any player can do to gain immediate improvement:

1. Take Higher Percentage Shots
All basketball coaches love having a good shooter on their team. The way to instantly improve your shooting percentage is to eliminate shots that are difficult to make. If that seems simple, it is. It’s amazing how an athlete can appear to be a good (or better) shooter when they stop taking shots they don’t make very often.
To evaluate your shot, ask yourself these three key questions:
1. Was your shot on balance?
2. Was your shot within range?
3. Was your shot in rhythm?
If the answer is ‘no’ to any of these questions, you have attempted a shot that will make you a less efficient shooter. In addition, the shots you are taking will cause your teammates and coach to lose confidence in you. Earn your coach and teammate’s trust through your shot selection.
It’s been said that it doesn’t matter how beautiful a swing a baseball player has. If he always swing at bad pitches, his batting average will be embarrassingly low. The same applies in basketball. It doesn’t matter how sweet your stroke looks if you constantly shoot poor shots. Eliminating poor shots during a game can increase your shooting percentage significantly. Good coaches love that.

Shooting Math

Luke Yaklich started out as a girls varsity basketball coach at LaSalle-Peru. Today he is an assistant men's basketball coach at Illinois State. 

Luke Yaklich, posted the following tweet--

Shooter's Math...
200 makes x 5 days per week x 4 weeks in month x next 7 months = 28,000 makes by November! 

Small improvements over time...


The good news for us is that we have 12 players coming back from last year's team. The great news is that many of them are very committed to working and improving. Coach Yaklich-- (1) challenges us to work even harder, (2) shows consistent work adds up to something impressive!

Just Keep Working

What do you do when it appears you are not going to reach your goals? Just keep working!!

Frank Kaminsky is the star of Wisconsin's Final Four team. It would be easy to look at him, and think he is good because he is 7'0".  But he is a great story about the value of perseverance

Frank entered Lisle Benet closer to six foot than seven foot. He started out playing some point guard. According to Bo Ryan, Frank had trouble even getting on the court for his AAU team between his sophomore and junior year. 

In this day of McDonald's All-Americans, ESPN Top 100 recruits, and Rivals,com evaluations. Frank did not show up on their lists after his junior year. He received offers from Bradley, Illinois State, Southern Illinois, Northern Illinois, DePaul, Northwestern, and Wisconsin. He chose to sign with Wisconsin. (Note he was not offered by Illinois.)

Accountability

Often coaches walk a fine line between trying to make their players accountable for their actions and performance, and of making them "over-accountable" for their actions and performance.

Bob Knight always said the greatest motivator was the bench. And coaches often use the bench to get a point across to their players. When a player makes a mistake or error in a game, a coach can make a point by taking them out. Sometimes the player is brought over and is given a chance to "reflect" on their play. Other times, the coach may bring them out to give them quick instruction and send them back into the game.