When drills aren't enough

As a player development coach it can be hard to embrace the idea that doing the best drills for the most amount of reps likely isn’t enough to get a player to become who they really want to become. This is tough because it means the answer to helping someone is more nuanced than just handing them a workout program. This dilemma is both exciting and a challenge.

There is no perfect drill or rep count, I think we are instead looking to train for flow, grit, and leadership.

Flow: How can we provide the fundamentals so when the athlete trains they can practice with flow. They enjoy practicing and challenging themselves. They arn’t thinking or debating at all; it just comes natural with flow. They take on healthy risks and grow with flow. They do things they never thought possible with flow. No coach, trainer, parent has to remind someone to practice when its flow because the flow feeling is so good. Now we might not always be able to find flow in practice or games but when we do it’s the reason we play. That feeling is addictive its what we chase with sports or hobbies.

Grit: Grit are for the days when their is no flow. Its practicing or doing what you need to do when its the last thing you want to do. Maybe your injured, or busy, or your friends are doing something fun… there are so many reasons why to skip training but you do it anyway. That’s grit, practicing hard when it doesn’t come easy. We need grit in life. Hoops is great way to teach it.

Leadership. We need leaders more than ever. We need the player who holds themselves accountable so they can hold others accountable. The player who creates energy for others by being themselves. The player who dives on the floor, stays for extra reps, and hugs a teamate when they need it. Sports can create leaders almost like nothing else.

Are you not seeing the results you want as a player? Try training for flow, grit, and leadership. Lets goooooooooooooooooooo.