I have been ensconced in elite level basketball for the past 10 years. I know firsthand what it takes for a program to be successful. While talent is obviously a key factor, it is actually the little things that make an average team a good team, a good team a great team, and a great team a championship team. Don’t wait for the season to start until you “sweat the small stuff.”
If you are a coach, you need to ask yourself the following 10 questions. If you are a player, you need to share these questions with your coach!
1) In addition to winning a championship, what are your team’s goals? Are these goals being effectively communicated to your players and staff on a daily basis?
2) Does everyone in your program know their exact role on the team? Are you sure?
3) Does every player know your opinion of their strengths and weaknesses? Or do you just assume they know?
4) Does your staff prepare for pre-season workouts with the same mentality that they prepare for practices? Do your players?
5) Is every player in your program on top of their school work? If academics are a distraction now, what will happen when the season starts?
6) Are your players eating well and getting plenty of sleep every night? Do you just assume they are… or do you consistently remind them?
7) Are your players appropriately addressing minor injuries and soreness? Or do you give them some macho BS like “suck it up” or “no pain, no gain”?
8) Do your players perform exercises to strengthen their ankles and feet? Groin? Low back? Or do they just bench press and squat like a football player?
9) During each pre-season workout, are you an energy giver? Is your enthusiasm contagious to everyone in your program?
10) Does your team go through a standardized warm-up before every workout? Do they prepare for each workout to start, or do they just stand around and wait for each workout to start?
These questions should shed some light on whether or not you are doing everything you can to have a successful season. And for the record, a successful season is not only measured by wins and losses.
Here is video of a pre-season strength workout at DeMatha: http://TinyUrl.com/DeMathaPreSeasonStrength
Next week I will share a video of a pre-season conditioning workout.
“Success always looks easy to those who weren’t around when it was being earned.”
If you have any questions or need additional resources on making your pre-season as productive as possible, please feel free to email me at Alan@StrongerTeam.com.
Train hard, train smart.
Alan Stein
PS: One little thing you can do to make a big difference in your development is to listen to Audiobooks instead of music or the news. Here are 5 of my favorites:
1) The Success Principles by Jack Canfield
2) Always Looking Up by Michael J Fox
3) The 50th Law by Robert Greene and 50 Cent
4) Go Givers Sell More by Bob Burg and John David Mann
5) The Story of You by Steve Chandler
