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"HOMEWORK" for
Coaches
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(Print this page out for future
reference.)
Dear Coach,
Thank you for inquiring about learning how to coach with the "Swish" Method. As I said in recent Newsletters, I'm interested in finding ways to train coaches to see what I see with shooting and be able to coach it. The game of basketball needs a definitive way to coach this critical skill.
First, thanks for the information about who you are, your background, and what ages you coach (some of you said a lot, some just a little). I love to hear the stories of coaches and their motivation to work with and help kids I'm honored and humbled that you wish to know more about how and what I coach!. I hope I get to meet many of you personally over the coming years.
If you'd like to start a process to learn more effectively how to coach shooting, here is what I recommend:
A. GET THE VIDEO & LEARN THE METHOD
YOURSELF
The first step is to get the Swish
video and work with it, if you haven't already. Watch it several
times and coach yourself as best you can. You don't have to become
a master of 3's or shots off game-speed dribbling. It's enough
if you can just stand a short to medium distance from the basket
and make shots effortlessly and repeatably. This will allow you
to demonstrate the techniques and will give you credibility with
your students. It's also easier to coach something if you can
do it yourself. In my training for coaching golf, it was put this
way: "You can't give away what you don't own!"
Also, scour my website (http://www.swish22.com) and read everything there. Some of the testimonials are amazing. Read all the articles. Subscribe to the free Shooting Newsletter (see at bottom how to do that) and read the back issues. (The Dec. 2001 issue has an index by subject to the prior 31 issues. Here's a direct link to that issue: http://www.swish22.com/Nltr_312.html) Tell your friends and other coaches about the website and video.
I'll soon be adding a "For Coaches'" Section" where I will place special information, coaching suggestions, lesson plans, etc. Eventually it will have a Discussion Forum, video clips, etc. Keep returning to it.
B. STAY IN COMMUNICATION WITH ME
After you have worked with the video
for awhile, be in communication with me as to what you have learned
and what questions you have. It's a simple, natural process, and
you'll be able to understand and communicate it quite easily when
you can do it yourself. You have to master a couple simple thing
to some degree, and then shooting becomes easier and easier. From
us communicating about your experiences, we've started the coaching
process. As soon as possible I will set up a Coaches' webpage
with a Discussion Forum, where everyone can more easily share
experiences and ask questions and get answers.
C. START COACHING
If you are coach of a team, then
you can start to work with kids immediately. If you don't have
a team, ask a child or a few kids if you can experiment with them
and coach them in shooting. They'll love it, of course, no matter
what you do. Loan them the video or watch it with them, and then
do your best to convey the method and teach the simple progression
of shooting. Don't worry about making mistakes. The goal is to
have them "discover" shooting through the simple exercises
and awarenesses you lead them in.
Experiment with different ways of saying things and observe what happens. You should start to see lots of learning, some of which is inspired by your coaching, and a lot that comes from the distinctions the kids are getting on their own from the awarenesses. Write down what you see and experience and send it to me. Your discoveries could be exactly what other coaches need. See if you can remain judgmentally "neutral," seeing shots as neither good nor bad. When you say "Nice shot!" or "Good one," etc., it puts students in a "trying" mode, trying to please you and trying to "look good," rather than just observing what happens. With time and experience, you'll learn it's more effective to be neutral when it comes to performance in a learning situation.
(The problem with judgments of good and bad, there being "right" way to do something, etc., is that it interferes with learning and the freedom to experiment and explore and make mistakes. If a shot that goes in is viewed as "good," and one that misses is "bad," students will try to repeat the "good" and avoid the "bad." It's just the way humans are wired. But if you can coach that a missed shot is just a missed shot, and that a lot can be learned from it, then there will be more freedom and joy AND learning in the lesson. It's actually the missed shots that train us. I'll say more about this later.)
At first do your coaching for free, since you're learning, but as soon as possible, charge a modest fee to "up the ante," so to speak, to require that you and they be more committed.
D. CONTINUE TO COMMUNICATE
Continue to communicate with me
what you are learning, what you observe, etc., etc. Remember the
first step in learning something new is to come to know where
you are, both as a coach and a student. Start every new group
(or student) with some time to observe how they shoot now. The
document on my Website, "Coaching Shooting with Large Groups,"
goes into the kinds of awarenesses you can invite the kids to
focus on. You don't have to spend a lot of time on this, but the
kids will benefit if they have some idea of how they shoot before
the coaching. Learning is a choice between two different things,
more of this, less of that, etc. Knowing where they are is critical
in that process of learning something new.
Be sure not to say anything about where you're going with this coaching (more height, a relaxed wrist and hand, power from the legs, etc.) before they've done this simple observation of how they shoot. If you do, the kids will try to change their shots rather than focus on how they shoot now.
Encourage sharing with each other and the group what the kids are seeing and feeling. It's in the sharing that a lot of learning takes place. One child's frustration may be just what another needs to break through to a new level. And successes will inspire others. As the kids learn to see in others what is happening (what works, what doesn't work), their own shots will develop.
Later, as they're developing their new strokes, you can occasionally ask them to show you how they used to shoot. If they're truly aware and awake, they should be able to show and compare both methods. Gradually (or quickly) they will adopt the new possibilities we are presenting to them because they flat-out work!
E. ORGANIZE SHOOTING CLINICS IN YOUR
AREA
As your skill develops, then put
out your shingle and organize more and more shooting clinics in
your area. It may be possible that I can come to your area to
run clinics. If you can get 45-50 kids to take a clinic during
a week or over a weekend, it will justify a trip. At such clinics,
you can observe and assist as part of your training, and we'll
also plan a special Coaches' training session while I'm there.
I'll keep you informed of my schedule when I start to travel a
lot this spring and summer (and my website will have the schedule,
too).
F. COACHES' TRAININGS IN CALIFORNIA
As this develops, I will start offering
trainings here in northern California where I will continue the
process to officially "certify" coaches in the Method.
MAKING A DIFFERENCE!
The development of your own shooting
and your coaching of the skill will be of great value for you
personally and for the players and teams you impact. Together
we can make a difference in the great game of basketball. Shooting
is very poorly understood at all levels of the game and this Method
can lead to a revolution. The old ways of teaching this skill
that haven't worked for all these years will not disappear overnight.
We have to gently offer this alternative way to coach shooting
and let the results speak for themselves.
Feel free to coach my stuff any way you can as you develop. I just ask that you credit me as the source when you use my Method. I'll be available to coach you from a distance via my webpage and through email, and gradually some kind of certification process will be developed to help ensure quality for those who want to take it more seriously.
The Vision I see for my work is to shift the way the skill (and art) of shooting is coached in this country, to inspire a "Renaissance" in shooting. A renaissance is a revival, a rebirth. Great shooting has always been possible for players, but somehow it's just been misplaced, overlooked, lost. Now we can rediscover it and, in so doing, revitalize this great game.
As I make progress toward this lofty goal, I'll need all the help I can get from coaches such as you. If you have an interesting story of your history with shooting and your efforts to coach the skill and your recent discovery of my Method, please write it up and I'll post it on my Website and in my newsletters.
Thanks again for the inquiry, and I look forward to hearing from you.
Cheers and best (s)wishes,
Tom