Ignition is not just a motivational tactic, and it’s not merely something you impart to your players. Ignition demands a philosophy and a vision for the program that everyone can be proud of, including players of all ages, alumni, and parents. And this is the responsibility of the head coach to convey to everyone involved.
Here are some more teaching steps for coaches that can help transform your program’s hard work through deep practice into ignition. You need to establish a vision for the program that unifies the youth and the older players and makes the levels interrelated.
Start each year with an organized ceremony, including player introductions and a clear presentation of expectations for that year. Explain to the players that they are part of a program, and they are about to enter a new and vulnerable environment. And the ultimate vision in that new environment is a tall mountain with a state championship on the top.
When kids are younger, in third to fifth grade, their immediate role models can easily be the varsity players on the high school team. If they are at games and see those varsity players, they’ll remember them and feel intrinsically motivated. This helps create an interrelated program across the age levels.
You can use this to be mutually beneficial. Get your varsity players to give back by being a part of as many basketball clinics and programs as you possibly can.
Players Coaching Players
Another way to get your players involved in creating excitement for your program is to have varsity players coach the youth teams. This has numerous benefits, including:
- Teaching your players to think like coaches and see the entire floor. The game should slow down for them.
- Putting your varsity players in front of the youth squad so they further serve as role models.
- Making them teach what they know—your stuff, your terminology, your drills.
- Creating a love for the game of basketball. If they truly love the game, it will cut down on your efforts to motivate them so they buy into what you are doing.
- Teaching players to be leaders.
The youth players will undoubtedly want to go watch their coaches play in the varsity games, thereby fueling their interest in the game and their desire to get better.
If your youth players see the older ones having success, they will begin to have the mindset that “I can do that too.” Studies show that if someone believes they can be good at something, they will work much harder at it than someone that doesn’t have that belief.
I remember in seventh and eighth grade, our high school team won the state championship game. For those couple of years, that is all that motivated me. I really looked up to the guys on the team. I wanted people coming to watch me play, with their faces painted and the band playing. That gave me a vision. And you can build that for your program too.
It’s important to realize that your program is not just a collection of various players with differing ages and skill sets. A basketball program is a community, and unifying the processes of teaching and learning makes it an even stronger community. When players are challenged and motivated, they all want to get better and improve the program.
That’s why building a program’s vision requires a varsity program that embodies disciplined learning, the capacity for teaching, and achievement through hard work. It will continuously strengthen the foundation of your program at the youth level, and provide a vision for success to motivate each player.
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Mike Lee Basketball Services trains thousands of middle school through NBA players across the country each year in their skill development training, camps and coaches Academies. The owner, Mike Lee, is also a former Nike Girls Skills Academy instructor and former assistant director for the Stephen Curry Skills Academy. Recently the company has authored 7 skill development DVDs and created miSkillz Online Basketball training. To host an event in your city please email mike@mikeleebasketball.com
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