CREATING TEAMWORK: THE GREAT TEAM DIFFERENCE

Championship time is the perfect time to watch the great teams compete. The best teams seem to always have that special something. Unity. Cohesiveness. Most simply put, they have teamwork. We talked former Division 1 College level players and coaches to understand what makes successful teams click. What sets the winning teams apart form the rest of the pack? The intangibles are actually tangible it turns out.

Here's some advice on creating a crucial element of success: Teamwork

HIGH SCHOOL COACH

In my opinion, leadership is the essential element of teamwork. I believe it starts with the coach and works through each person. Teams can have the most talent on the court but if there is a lack of leadership, everything falls apart. Leadership keeps a team together. Quality leadership must have a philosophy of service, compassion and justice. A team needs to know they are loved, that their best is expected, their job is to serve others, and there are consequences when we mistreat each other. Everyone wants fairness and strong leadership knows how to nuance fairness in a way that serves the team. Not everyone will be treated in the same style but everyone will be respected.

College Coach

Teamwork= sacrifice. Individual commitment to the team to sacrifice yourself for the good of the team. Play for the name on the front of your jersey not the back.

Work ethic= success. Players effort and work ethic to improve their games on their own will elevate the entire team.

Love it= Live it. If you love something, you will put in the sacrifice and the long hours. My players know that I believe in them and I expect their very best. They can expect that from me. We walk on the court thankful to play this amazing game. We love it so much we want to be the best.

Former College Player

When I played we were challenged by hard work, commitment, and high expectation. On the back of every practice jersey were the words: Discipline, Desire and Dominate. They were a constant reminder of what we stood for. Our coach worked hard to create common bonds between us including:

1. Quotes everyday of basketball season.

2. Practices were posted every day so we knew the plan and what we were doing.

3. Team breakfasts every Saturday.

4. Everyone had to memorize a team prayer which reminded us to play for the team not just for ourselves.

Conclusion

Teams that find success find a way to come together through great leadership, love of the game, fighting for a common goal or even through a shared prayer. This tournament time, learn from the great teams what they do to compete together for the victory.

7 Ways to Drastically Improve Your Skill Level

1. Imitate-- Find a key player to model his or her skills and become a devoted student. Watch film, keep stats, practice his or her moves.

2. Intensive skill development--- Take a skill and repeat it as slowly but as correctly as you can. Practice the drill two times very slowly, then the third time as quickly as you can, and end with practicing the drill as slowly and accurately as you can. Do this six times.

3. Crucial skill development-- you gain skill when you put consequences on your practicing. Before you start your individual practice time, set up quick but costly consequences to help you master your skill. For example, set a goal to make 5-10 shots in a row at game speed from one specific spot on the floor. Start again if you miss. If you don't get the goal within three attempts you owe 10 knee highs (Jump up touching your knees to your chest).

4. Yagattawanna. This is an old NBC slogan. It means you have to want it with all your heart. You have to desire to be a player as if your life depended on it. If you don't care that much, you won't do what you need to really elevate your skills. What is your passion level? How badly do you want to get better?

5. Be precise. Don't call it practicing if you are just shooting around. You can go shoot around at your hoop for hours and really be doing very little good. Skills are developed in a very specific manner. Your practing should resemble what all great athletes, musicians, students, etc.. know. Painstaking, relentless, disciplined measurable practice like the shooting example listed above. There are many great resources available on how to be practice the right way.

6. Eye of the tiger. There are countless examples in sports about the second born being better athletes than the first. That's because the second often comes on the scene with the eye of the tiger, a hunger to be first, to win. First borns also have strong advantages over second borns, but all of us should find someone to compete against who pushes outside our comfort zone, who challenges us, who makes us better.

7. Mastery is worth it. Research has found those who have learned to master one area can translate that into being able to master more areas more rapidly. Be dedicated for the long term. The more you see your investment into practicing as a lifelong pursuit worthy of your best effort, the more quickly you will develop as a player.


Resources for this article include the following two books: "The Talent Code" by Daniel Coyle and "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell.

10 YEAR PLAN-- 2010-2020 "YOUR DECADE FOR CHANGE"

Take time out of your schedule and sit down for about 30 minutes and begin a 10 year plan.
What do you want your life to look like by 2020?

We believe the more clear you are about what you want, the better chance you have of achieving what you want.

Write out your physical goals.
What kind of shape would you like to be in the next ten years? Where would you like to be with your athletic dreams in ten years?
How can you best achieve these goals?
Who can you partner with to help you reach these goals?

Write out your academic goals.
How do you learn best? Do you value education and where do you see education taking you to over this next decade?

Write out your goals for using your talents as a thank you to God for all He has given to you.
What are your top three talents and how can you best use them to serve others and better the world?
What do you really love to do and is this something you want to be great at 10 years from now?

Write out your goals for your family.
What kind of relationship would you like to have in ten years from now? What character changes do you need to make to be the best family member you can be?

Write out your spiritual goals.
What does your relationship with God mean to you now and what would you like it to mean 10 years from now? What is important for you to do everyday to connect to God and have a mindset that is focused on helping others not just self-focused?


After you write these out, pick a few action points you want to remember everyday. Post these where you can review them and ask someone to hold you accountable.

Make this decade a life changing one.

HELP YOUR TEAM THIS SEASON

You help your team this season when you make your defense foul you. Fouls help your team get to the free throw line, frustrate the other team, and keep the other team from playing too physical.
Keys to drawing fouls:
Maintain excellent balance. Strong pivots, and fake.


Fakes are critical in the game of basketball, but you have to practice fakes and execute them often. Watch how many teams work on fakes, practicing them in warm-ups. Hardly any! If we don’t practice it, we won’t do it. Sell your fakes, get in a mirror and make sure the fakes look like the real thing. Fake high, pass low. Fake right, go left. Shot fake then cross step. Fake to get open and cut backdoor. Use your fakes to your advantage!

A BASKETBALL CHRISTMAS MESSAGE

A Christmas Message for Hoopers
by NBC Camps


T’was the night of the big game
When all through the crowd,
parents hoped that their children would make them so proud.
The players jostled and jockeyed for a top five position,
sitting the bench, a most dreaded condition.



Each hoped to score 30 with pomp and panache
But thirty-two minutes flies by in a flash
The ball lofted high signaling the game’s start
quickly revealing the arrogance in each player’s heart.



Each showed no discernment on good shot selection
corking it up immediately without much reflection.
Each pouted and ranted when subbed off the court,
the coaches criticized and belittled with every retort.



The point spread grew wider, the parents all moaned.
At half-time, the locker room felt like a funeral home.
Then a player apologized for hogging the ball
sparking each to take responsibility for all
of the rudeness, and ego, the critiques and the blame
for losing perspective over glory and fame.



Now humbly, the team re-entered the floor
creating opportunities for others to score.
Those on the bench cheered with great vigor
encouraging play-making with disciplined rigor.



This new attitude changed the final outcome of the game
the victory so sweet, no individual could claim.
And into my mind sprang an old Bible verse
“The first shall be last and the last shall be first.”

And I heard all exclaim as we left from the gym,
the true meaning of basketball is not just the win,
But the sacrifice, integrity and the joy of the sport
by becoming a giving teammate…on and off of the court.

NBC Camps: Change your game, Change your world

Four active steps to help propel you to the forefront of any college coach’s recruiting list

1. Do your homework. Research ahead of time what area of the country you’d like to live in, enrollment sizes, urban vs. rural, private vs. public, the majors you are interested in, and be honest about what divisions in which you can potentially compete. NCAA Division 1 is definitely the most competitive; NCAA Division 2 and some high level NAIA Division 1 schools are comparable, and NCAA Division 3 and lower level NAIA schools are very similar. Every school has a different balance of athletics, academics, on-campus social life, and local attractions. It is important for you to have at least a general idea of “your perfect college.” Once you’ve established some parameters, find all the schools that fit your description. This is your foundation.



2. Create your personal profile. There are a lot of recruiting agencies and companies that can do this for you, but it’s not really necessary to have them put it together. Coaches see so many profiles that they tend to blur together anyway. You want to be organized and professional, but you can do this by putting together an athletic/academic resume on your own, or with the help of your school college counselor. Be sure to include: your name, contact information, GPA, SAT/ACT scores, community involvement, academic honors, athletic honors, years of basketball experience, kinds of experiences, positions played, height, weight, standing reach, basketball stats and any other athletic info you have available.



3. Have film available. You are so fortunate to live in a day and age where information is constantly accessible through the internet. No regular person could put up videos online when I was in high school. Now it’s simple and free to just copy the link to your YouTube account where a coach can see your skills. It’s also more convenient for the coaches, instead of giving them a DVD they have to find a player for, and time to watch it. You need to make at least four kind of videos. Different coaches want to see different things; if you make all these options available, it will be easy for us to find what we’re looking for. You should have a full game film, a partial game film (1-2 games is enough), a highlight reel, and a skills video from practice. It’s best to set up the camera in a wide angle so it captures the full court. If you can also include a short introduction video where you speak directly to coaches about your strengths, it shows your communication skills and personality in another light.



4. Make the effort in the details. Communicate to the coaches what you are looking for in a college: kind of playing style and goals for your basketball career, also what major and vocational career you're interested in pursuing. Say things like, "I am definitely interested in the Journalism emphasis in your Communications department," and "My beliefs match up well with the doctrinal statements at your school," and "I'm really looking to become actively involved with (name a variety of the programs you found that the school has)." You want to communicate that you will be a good fit for their school and their basketball program. Be professional, but be approachable; make sure all grammar and punctuation is correct, and include contact information for your parents, coaches, high school counselors, and yourself. Communicate that you would like to talk with them over the phone and eventually visit the school to meet the team and tryout.



Yes, college visits can get expensive. But after your initial contact with coaches, you can begin to narrow down your top choices to two or three schools. You really do need to visit all of these schools, meet the basketball teams, observe the coach’s style, stay in the dorms, and sit in on classes. A website cannot do justice to the actual feeling you experience while on campus.



And remember, you want to be marketable. High grades and SAT scores are always more attractive to coaches because they know you have the probability to succeed in college level academics. Earn as many scholarships as you can through academics, community service, and local organizations. Be the well-rounded person every coach wants to add to their program.

October training for basketball season

Basketball season is coming! Here are some keys college coaches recommend to get you prepared to walk on the court ready to show your best.

1. Be in great shape. A good way to get back into top condition if you are not is to jog at a brisk pace for 4 minutes then sprint as hard as you can as if a man-eating tiger where trying to catch you. Sprint hard for one minute, then resume to your brisk paced run for 4 minutes. Do this a total of 4 times (4 minutes of brisk running with 1 minute all out sprinting). Each week, add 15 seconds to the all out sprint.

2. Practice passing-- Find a wall at your house and work at least 15 minutes each day on this crucial skill. Pick a spot on the wall and hit that spot 20 times with each type of pass (overhead, chest, bounce) Try with two balls going at a time and see how accurate you can be. Practice cross-overs and behind-the-back as well.

3. Shooting. Get a ball and lie on your back. Practice perfect form shooting with one hand. Close your eyes and practice visualizing making your shots. Design a 15 minute workout focusing on different key spots on the court. Practice catching the ball and shooting after a pass, making the shot after a drive. Have a goal of how many you can make in a row. Also set up a consequence if you miss -- such as a down and back sprint or a few push-ups.

4. Play lots and lots of one-on-one. Coaches want players who can attack the basket within the offense. When you play one-on-one, make it as real to a game situation as possible. In games, typically you can't use the entire floor to beat your man, you only get one side of the basket-- so do this when you are practicing. Make boundary rules, limit your dribbles, remember to rebound so that you train your body for muscle memory.

5. Post your goals on your mirror and/or in your locker.


Have questions on how to prepare for the season? Email us
nbc@nbccamps.com