A universal issue faced by coaches in many sports (For the purposes of this article I am speaking more to basketball coaches.) is substitution – specifically how, when and WHY players go in and out of games. Basketball coaches on every level invariably deal with component of substitution, and more to the point, not only…
Spring 1999 Every year at the Men’s Basketball Final Four there is the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Convention. For so many coaches this is the place to be! There are countless gatherings and opportunities to spend time with your peers/colleagues and enjoy all the festivities surrounding one of the biggest events in all…
Learning to serve should be one of our biggest strengths. Most conversations regarding the importance of an assistant coach starts with how well of a recruiter he is. It’s understood by most in our profession that recruiting is the lifeblood of a program. In today’s game with the constant grind of the AAU circuit, rules…
I recently lost my grandfather at the young age of 96, like most grandfathers he was a role model, mentor, and great story teller. My grandfather, affectionally known as “Pop”, leaves behind a legacy: Army Veteran, former Negro League Baseball player and Enshrined in the Harrisburg Bowling Hall of Fame; he bowled a 299 game…
Spring of 2005. What a tough time. The dream opportunity as the Head Coach at a program like Siena College had come to an end. It was a great job with great people at a place that truly cared about basketball…and it was mine. Now after 4 years of ups and downs I was faced…
On Wednesday October 3rd Washington Post Columnist, Sally Jenkins, wrote a perspective on NCAA Amateurism in the wake of the recent FBI probe that has rocked college basketball. In response to her piece, former college coach and Pitt standout Pete Strickland pens a letter to Ms Jenkins to share his perspective… Ms. Jenkins, Good morning….
Dear Coach, I’m almost 39 years old. I’ve been coaching high school basketball for exactly one-third of my life. According to Webster’s, I’m 6 years away from being considered “Middle Aged”. But that’s in human years, not coaches’ years. I’m exhausted. I don’t have the patience that I once had for you…the energetic, hardworking recruiter,…
It’s always amazing how the shot after the “one more” drive and kick extra pass seems to go down. Or how the guy that’s first to the floor usually comes up with the loose ball. The charge? We’ve all seen it make a bench explode, energize an arena, and change the course of a game….
In 2016 I spoke to a group of 200 coaches at “A Step Up Assistant Coaching Symposium” and received so much positive feedback that I thought I would share it with you on Coach-Speak.net. The topic given to me by Felicia Hall Allen was “The Art of Extending Your Career.” I open with this: ”While I am assigned…
Here at NC Central, we have established 10 Standards of Excellence that we hold as our Core Beliefs in our Day to Day Operations. The Championship runs that the Boston Celtics had were predicated on very similar beliefs, so we just adopted it here at NC Central. 10 Commandments of Excellence: 1. Truth– WE WILL…
