coachmccormick
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Rod Thorn on the USA's problems - 2006/07/26 02:10
A great article by Adrian Wojnarowski
http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?
qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkyNjkmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTY5NTQyMDQmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2
Some highlights:
Just because LeBron James and Dwyane Wade have emerged as the next generation of superstars, just as Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett did in the 1990s, doesn't mean our development program within amateur basketball isn't fundamentally flawed.
Exactly.
"And when you're playing games, the coach is trying to win," Thorn said. "So the thinking isn't, 'Well, I've got a big guy here and if I play him outside, it might not help my team as much, but it might help him grow.' "
Why is it that summer games are so important to win? I'm tired of going to message boards and reading teams' summer league record or hearing about coaches playing seven players in summer league tournaments so they can win the game. Summer is for getting better, expanding your game, getting outside your comfort zone, adding a new skill. Coaches need to nurture and guide this development.
The system still needs work, something that could begin with the NBA investing more money in America's summer basketball system. Stern can raise the age minimum again, get it to 20, but it doesn't go the distance to solve our problems. We can still be better, a lot better, something the rest of the world keeps reminding us every year on draft night.
Lack of money in the current system is not the problem. The NBA needs to oversee it, take control of it and guide it. The problem is a void of leadership which creates a free-for-all which is filled by sneaker companies who have the wealth and thus take control of the power, and their interest is profit, not skill development. The NBA needs to fill the void and create a system of skill and athletic development, not a profit-driven model. Coaches need to be rewarded for developing skills, not enticing already talented playrs to join their team and wear their brand.
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Coach
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Re:Rod Thorn on the USA's problems - 2006/07/27 13:34
At camps we like to tell guys, "yo, your wins and the camp championship is not going on your resume."
It amazes me how some coaches go crazy at camps. They act like idiots. I recall being an official at a camp (if your team wasn't playing, you had to ref) and I had to slap this clown with a 'T' because he was yelling at me because the opposing big man was standing in the lane too long.
At camps, let's get the players better and make it a great experience for each camper.
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OState14
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Re:Rod Thorn on the USA's problems - 2006/07/28 13:37
I've seen the same thing happen at camps. Camp coaches going crazy during games, talking trash to opposing teams players. Granted a few of these guys were college kids just trying to work a camp for the summer, but nothing was done about it throughout the week.
Obviously the smaller camps cant offer the money to only hire college and even all high school coaches so they need to get college kids as well, but at least talk to the guy or girl first and see where their head is at. This type of behavior is seen by children as the right way to act and then when they get to high school they can't take criticism because their coach at a camp when they were 13 had them take every shot so they would win the game. (end rant)
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Coach
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Re:Rod Thorn on the USA's problems - 2006/07/28 14:23
You get what you emphasize. When you hire coaches for your camp, you need to meet with them each morning and discuss ethical behavior on the sidelines while their coaching.
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coachmccormick
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Re:Rod Thorn on the USA's problems - 2006/07/28 15:51
I don't work camps anymore because I don't think any of them are any good. I don't think a campenvironment is a good teaching environment; camps advertise and promote the number of hours spent on the court: they choose quantity over quality. After the first couple hours, the camp is diminishing returns. Players cannot give full effort for 12 hours a day, six days a week, especially when the nutrition is less than optimal and rest is poor.
I worked the Cal Women's Elite Camp and sat with the Athletic Trainer as she pointed to a handful of girls who had biomechanical problems and were susceptible to an ACL tear. I asked why she didn't give a lecture or teach them how to move correctly and she said she asked, but the coach did not think it was important. Instead, we did three and a half hours of triple threat moves; when I watched the Cal players play the top campers for an hour, not one player used a jab step move. Everything was an immediate shot or an immediate Go or catch and look for the next pass. Never did it resemble anything like we practiced in the triple threat breakdown because, at that level, jab steps are taught more often than they are used because you are most open when you catch the ball. So, we spent 3 hours practicing things the players never used while putting basketball skills on top of poor and possibly injurious movement skill. Brilliant.
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Coach
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Re:Rod Thorn on the USA's problems - 2006/07/28 18:06
Camps are OK, but you're right, there's a lot of wasted time.
For some good reasons why I like college camps; the college coaches can interact with the HS coaches working the camp, build relationships, etc. The workers (the HS coaches) also get to meet up with guys they haven't seen in years.
Some of my best friends in coaching were guys I met while working camp.
Plus for the kids it's a chance to meet other campers and form relationships. As a coach, you can make an impact on a kids' game and life for that matter. If you are willing to take an interest in the kid.
Great networking tool with the kids' parents.
I enjoy stations in the morning. You work your ass off, that's all you can ask.
The pay's not much, and the hours are long. But we're not in this profession for the money.
Michigan State runs a great camp. As did Xavier when I worked it a couple of summers' ago. Five Star does a good job too, but some say it's not like it used to be. I also heard that Snow Valley was a good camp to attend.
Remember, as a coach, camp wins do not go on your resume.
While at the Final Four this past April down in Indy. I was walking down the street and two guys came up to me, must've been 20-21ish. They called out my name, I had no idea who they were. I told them I was sorry but I don't recognize them.
They laughed and said that I coached them 8 years ago at camp.
Post edited by: Coach, at: 2006/07/28 18:08
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