It is easy for us that have been running the system for any length of time to advise others to give it a try. Those that run this are passionate about the style of play, but those that are looking at attempting it find it a daunting exercise to totally change their thinking as to how to play. Some things need to be settled in a coaches mind before they can come to the dark side.
I try to tell coaches some of the pratfalls you may face as you try to get traction with the system. First of all if you hit the ground running and have success it will be very easy. If you do not have those changing moments then it will be the outside influences facing your players that will dictate their effort. This system is based on effort in every phase of the game. PERIOD. If you do not get it then you will struggle to make it work.
Before you implement anything to your players, I suggest you educate your Athletic Director and possibly the Principal (depending on how involved they are) as to what you are going to do. They will not understand it so great detail is not necessary, but they will be supportive longer. Each team gets this at different times as the learning curve can be steep and a little time to develop it is always good.
I have used the substitution pattern as a selling feature to my administration. As a teacher in the classroom you can't just teach to 8 people and while you sit the others in chairs against the wall for the entire class period. The gym is your classroom and they are all involved. As for number of players on your team, I would keep only the players you are comfortable playing. This does not mean you need to play them equal amounts of PT, but they are all playing.
As you introduce this to your squad you need to be sure your best two players are on board. Chances are the first year your better players returning will have their playing time reduced and will resent this. A constant reminder that production will increase with less minutes is important.
I believe, along with every coach that has implemented the System, that you need to adopt each part of the system to achieve the desired outcomes. The things that coaches perceive they will struggle with before they begin are not the areas that will give you trouble. The subbing and layups bother parents. Players love the subbing and understand the 3 for 2 and that is erased early. Fatigue and the ability to play on through mistakes will be the factors that you need to hurdle. Every thing that happens is needs to be sold as an opportunity to press. Each group is on the floor for such a short time that they tend to learn to forget just as quickly. Coaches early seem worried that their team can't shoot or are not athletic enough or even are a poor rebounding team. As you attempt this you will find that shooting percentages are irrelevant in the overall scheme. Nobody can shoot 10%, but you can counter an "off" night. You will find that athleticism is not really a key to if you are a good pressing team, but rather we are looking to create constant pace. Anticipation of what is happening next is the real ingredient. And rebounding....this is strictly position but also knowing where the shots are being taken and when. This is why the 3 is critical. It spreads the defense and assists the rebounding. My leading offensive rebounder is a 5' 5" kid that understands how to get position.
To finish, I had a parent that was a constant complainer about how we played to the AD (never to me = nice protocol). Finally when he did whine to me I asked him if he has ever asked his daughter about it. Answer? No, he hadn't. Next day he apologized to me as he found out his kid loved it and was embarrassed at his demeanor. By putting ownership back to the players will go a long way in loving the system.
I think we are ready to install.....
2 comments:
Great post, Bob. This checklist will be helpful as coaches assess their readiness to implement the System. This blog, the newsgroup, and website are all invaluable resources. Having the ability to refer to other coaches who are System practitioners has been a helpful selling point.
Don
Interesting post Bob.
My feeling is that when we decided to go to the system, our main hurdle was ourselves as coaches buying in. Once we sold ourselves that this was the best thing for the program, it made it easier to sell the players.
Fortunately, we didn't have to do much in the way of selling our Administration because they really trust our judgment as coaches.
I think it is critical to make sure that before you dive into the system...you and your staff have to be fully on board with it. That is the most critical, IMO. Selling the AD, the Admin and players is really secondary to selling yourself.
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