Great circuit workouts

I am fortunate to be surrounded by innovative people who care very much about the continuous evolution of their professions.  I rely on these friends to push my professional growth.  We often enjoy exercising in groups during the summer and trying different workouts.  Thanks to my good friend Remi Falquet, we never have a shortage of challenges during our group workouts.  Checkout this workout "Spartacus 2.0" that we have been working on this summer.  For more sport specific workouts take a look at Alan Stein's Stronger Team site.  Best of luck!

Enthusiasm

Often the most important fuel for setting our vehicle in motion is enthusiasm. It's really hard to get the most out of yourself if you "play it cool." While watching a 16 year old basketball game today, I constantly saw the team with smiles, energy, and enjoyment - outplaying the other team who simply looked disinterested. Talent was pretty even in this game, but enthusiasm was the "edge." Vision and purpose... do you have it?

Olympic Hoops Oberservations

   Got to watch a few games yesterday and was excited to see how styles of play differed between the qualifying countries.   While Team USA ran past France, they showed serious versatility in their attack.  Doug Collins pointed it out beautifully, "Even with all of the offense on Team USA, defense is still their calling card."  They defended and rebounded superbly.  As for France,  it looked as though they were trying to emulate Tony Parker's offensive flow with the Spurs.  Parker had great success utilizing ball-screens and gaining the paint, thus forcing defensive rotations by the US.  France simply didn't have the finishers to take advantage. 

   I may have taken the most away from watching the Team USA Women play.  I like the open-motion sets that Geno is running.  They have utilized off-ball screens so well to create switches.  They have been curling a lot of screens which just constantly attack the rim.  Defenders have been locking and trailing, forcing help which has been a step slow.  I am interested to see their offense evolve over the course of the tournament. 

Enjoy the games... have your notebook handy!

Pick and ...

I have been very fortunate over the past 10 years, that I have been in coaching, to get the opportunity to speak at camps and clinics. Topics have ranged from shooting to defensive philosophy.  I learn something new from every group.  Today, I spoke for about an hour on options off of a ball-screen.  The campers were engaged and thoughtful  and a pleasure to be around.  As I prepared to speak, my notes were very simple.  I had 4 options that I wanted to speak about.  When I opened it up for questions, it very quickly became apparent that the campers had a very strong knowledge base.  So, after some prompting, we added another two options off the ball-screen.  Tremendous participation.

Here is a good site by Ryan Goodson.  His points of emphasis are very good - http://goodsonbasketball.com/2012/01/12/ball-screen-scoring-options/

Different styles

Last week I had the pleasure of fulfilling a personal and professional goal of running a Elite Basketball Skills Academy with my Father (who is also a high school basketball coach).  Combined we have about 700 wins...he owns 600 of them!  We agree on most things when it comes to basketball instruction.  However, when the discussing the "jump stop" versus "1, 2 step"we differ on what the preferable action should be.  The elder Coach Chadwin likes the jump stop for it's stability whereas I like the rhythm that is created from the 1, 2 step.  Who is to say which is better?  


So in our basketball camp last week, we took some time to experiment and really examine the merits of both styles.  Campers progressed through some intense footwork stations developing their own preferences.  Ultimately, we stuck to our individual preference.  Like Ron Burgundy said, "agree to disagree." 


The point of this post is to make you think about accepting different styles of instruction.  Tolerance and understanding makes for dynamic learning environments.  I am lucky to have such a great resource (my Father) on speed dial.  Our debates only make us better teachers and leaders.

                          FYI, if you are curious, 1,2 step 

And the Jump Stop

Communication... direct does no always have to be confrontational.

I am a Teacher, Coach, and Camp Administrator.  I have the privilege of working with many talented educators.  My colleagues vary in their backgrounds, demographics, and experience.  I am always fascinated to listen and watch how they communicate.  I often walk away from the observation thinking to myself, "wow, I would never have thought to take that approach."  I have witnessed a few one-on-one chats over the past month.  A common theme in each encounter has been the "stern" tone in the conversation.  What has impressed me though, is the ability to be direct without being condescending or confrontational.  So this made me reflect on my approach.  Am I listening enough? What's my body language like?  Do I think or react before I speak?  Clarity is paramount, but tone can often affect clarity.  So my goal in communicating over the next week is to really focus on matching my tone to the message. What do I want people to remember when they walk away from the meeting?


Below is great resource on communication:
Checkout this blog post by Coach Bob Starkey about New Charlotte Bobcats Head Coach Mike Dunlap and how he is creating a different culture in Charlotte.

Inaugural Post... The Power of a Smile

Wrapping up a week of intense basketball camp work.  I am constantly amazed by the resiliency of kids these days.  I am lucky to have the opportunity to learn from them each and every day.  I recently had the opportunity to spend some time with the dynamic author and speaker Jon Gordon.  Jon spoke about the "power of the smile."  This was never more apparent than this week at our Top Basketball Camp.  Smiles are the consumate mark of credibility.  The smile gives energy to another person without saying or touching a thing. Many smiles this week which lead to feelings of validation.  Make it sincere but don't be afraid to show some teeth!  You'll be amazed at the affect it has one those around you.