The Importance of Molding Your Coaching Around Your Players

We know: Coaching basketball is a job that will always keep you on your toes. Coaches at every level have a ton of pressure to succeed and win. This is especially true now as the game has changed and players have a lot more power than they used to at different levels.

College coaches have the luxury to recruit and bring in players that fit their system (much easier said than done). This allows for the coach to put players in positions to succeed at a higher success rate than a high school coach. At the high school level it is much more difficult because you get what you get in terms of talent and players. Not every high school has D1 players filtering in and out, so this makes skills training and coaching flexibility extremely important. 

Adjusting to your players

It's very important for high school coaches to be flexible with their coaching strategies. This doesn't mean coaches should throw everything out the door every year, but it does mean coaches must take into consideration the strengths and weaknesses of all their players have each year. Depending on the unique make-up of the team, each team should be coached slightly different to maximize the potential.

Oftentimes, coaches have a particular system or set of plays that they try to force on every player that comes through their program. This stems from a previous successful season and a coach trying to relive that all over again. There are certain aspects of a season that can continually be passed on each year, but most of the time these are not things directly correlated with a players skill level or IQ.

Skills Training

Great coaches know the importance of skills training and also knowing the specific skills that each player needs to work on. It's easier to adjust coaching around skilled players, especially when they arrive to a program well polished. Majority of the time, coaches have to be the ones to bring out the best in each player and this takes time and patience. The great thing about training these days is that there are so many tools to help coaches push their players to the next level.

Dr. Dish Basketball has had the opportunity to create a Training Management System in which coaches/players can train, track, and create workouts that all fall under one umbrella. Dr. Dish shooting machines and Skill Builder allow for coaches to select or create complete workouts that include ball-handling, agility, strength and conditioning drills. The Dish will transition through each drill seamlessly allowing the player to simple concentrate on working hard and making shots. Coaches can share created workouts to players through their mobile app. When the player receives this workout, they can simply press a button to push it the Dish. After the workout is complete, the player will press save and their stats will automatically be uploaded to their profile on their Training Management System. This increases accountability for players and gives coaches the chance to really focus on each player's skill development throughout the year.

Coaches: remember that success come from hard work, preparation, and patience. Focus on making your players better and giving them the opportunity to maximize their potential. If you do this, it is much easier to mold your coaching philosophies around your team and will ultimately lead to wins, championships and a fun year.

For more information of Dr. Dish shooting machines, please visit our website at drdishbasketball.com and also be sure to subscribe to our YouTube page for great content weekly. And most importantly, make sure to train hard, train smart, and train with a purpose!

Check out how a small school in Minnesota is revolutionizing high school basketball with the help of Dr. Dish!