GREAT TEACHING CONCEPTS FROM KEVIN EASTMAN

You can’t be tired and you can’t be bored. It’s not easy getting better. It takes work and discipline. We have a choice of pain of discipline or pain of regret.

Workout discipline:
•Maximum intensity on every repetition.

•Machine like mechanics

•Focus on every repetition - we’re going to take one shot 500 times.

Philosophy:

•Becoming a good shooter is lots of reps.

•Becoming a great shooter is lots of reps at game speed from game spots at a game angle.

Theory of two:
•It takes two minutes to show any skill.

•It takes two weeks doing it every single day to get comfortable with the skill.

•It takes two months working on a skill everyday to get good enough to execute in a game.

Shooting form:
•Be ready on the catch.

•Ten toes to the rim (if you have ten toes to the rim you will be square to the basket).

•Only change his form if the shot doesn’t go in. Make him the best worst form shooter.

•Two second rule: As soon as it’s 1 cm into our players fingers I’m counting one two. Players don’t have a great understanding of game speed when working out.

•The better the shooter you are, the better your shot fake needs to be. Definition of a shot fake is a real shot that you don’t shoot.

Free-throws:

•Shoot free-throws until you miss, and count how many in a row.

•Players tend to fall forward rather than backward.

Give your players statistical feedback:

•When you chart your players’ shots give them percentages for free-throws, lay-ups, jump shots and three-point shots.

•Break it down so they know what to work on.

•Players can be receptive to stats.

Make time to practice shooting:
•You will be surprised how little your guys shoot during practice when you exclude shooting drills.

•We recorded how many shots our players took in a 2.5 hour practice:

•Paul Pierce – 16.

•Ricky Davis – 13.

•Al Jefferson – 7.

•During an hour pickup we shoot on average 12.8 shots per player.

•Average number of shots taken in a game is 16 per player.

My goal right now is to get everything you can teach in the game down to three bullet points. It makes it easier for players to take in:

For shooting:

•Perfect feet.

•Ready for catch.

•Perfect follow through.

Coaches must maintain their intensity everyday:

•A coach can never get bored.

•The intensity that a coach brings to the floor helps the player have a more intense workout.

•Coaches have body language too. Be careful of your body language, and how it could be interpreted by your players.

Three things skill development can do for you:
•It can create a career.

•It can improve a career.

•It can revitalize a career.

Q & A WITH KEVIN EASTMAN

Those that know me or follow our blog know of our great respect for Kevin Eastman and the responsibility he has assumed in helping us become better coaches.  Last year we brought Kevin in to speak to our team and he had an amazing impact on our Aggies.  His message is dynamic and tailored to your team.  I highly recommend you look into bringing Kevin to your campus -- regardless of what sport you coach.

Now Kevin has a new venture -- Elite Training Camp -- designed again to help coaches reach another level.  If you've attended any of the Coaching U Clinics you can only imagine the level of instruction that you will receive at this event.

Yet another example of Kevin looking to help us?  This 30 minute video "Q's for Coach."  I've watched it twice -- taking notes the second time.

UNTIL

We shared the following post on our HoopBoost blog for players but thought we'd share with our coaches as well.

One of the most important elements to your practice, especially when you are working without your coaches, is that it is both deliberate and intentional.  In other words, don't just pick up a basketball and start shooting.  What shot are you working on?  What move are you trying to develop?

Make sure you are concentrating on the elements of execution and going at a pace and speed that will translate to success on the court.  We had Kevin Eastman speak to our team last season and he told some stories on Kobe Bryant and the "intentionality of his workouts."

Eastman had been told that Kobe might go to the gym and spend two or three hours working on one move -- ONE MOVE!  

When Eastman ran into Kobe they talked about that and he asked Kobe, "How long do you work on a particular move?"

To which Kobe replied, "Until."

That's the mentality of a professional and a great player.  They don't get bored with the repetition of developing their skill.

They work "until."

This reminded me of past post on the same subject.

One of my original mentors in the game of basketball is Marianne Stanley.  During my early years of coaching I worked her summer basketball camps at Old Dominion.  In fact, I was good for two weeks for about nine years in Norfolk.  Marianne ran a great camp -- it was a teaching camp -- because she is first and foremost a teacher.  She is one of the greats of our profession that have fought to get our game where it is now.  That's why Sunday was such a special day as she came by to observe our practice.  Marianne is currently an assistant coach for the Washington Mystics and is doing her homework for the upcoming draft. 

She took the time to talk to our team about elements that go into taking your game to the next level and the word that came to the forefront is passion.  You have to be passionate about your profession to excel in it.

She also took a few minutes to pass on a conversation she had had with Coach John Wooden.  Many years ago she was asking Coach Wooden about what made Bill Walton such a great player.

"He didn't get bored with the repetition that you need to be great," replied Coach Wooden.

How many players are good but don't work at something long enough and hard enough to excel at it?  The word Marianne used was "mastery."  She said the great ones didn't mind the constant repetition because their goal was to master the parts of their game.