John Wooden Talks Basketball

3. OVER COACHING
Over-coaching can be more harmful than under coaching. I think the tendency is for inexperienced coaches to give too much. They don’t have enough patience. The younger coach is going to try to impress to show his youngsters how much her knows and so is the older coach. If you over-coach, you don’t do many things well. Teach well what you do and don’t tie your players down so much that you take away all their initiative. You have to take away some to keep it within the framework of your system.

4. CONDITIONING
Better condition usually will pay off, providing pressure is put on early and kept on constantly throughout the game. If you are better conditioned team than your opponent at the time and you are not putting pressure on all the time to make them on all out it doesn’t make difference whether you are in better condition or not. They will be in good enough condition that they can stay with your. I think the better conditions will probably come out a little better in the end, if they keep the pressure on. If they don’t, it doesn’t make any difference. I like defensive and offensive pressure. I always told my players to that we were going to be and accept the responsibility of being able to attain and maintain that. This is a dual responsibility- coach and player. The coach must plan his practice in such a way as to attain this. Some players need more work than others. It is the coach’s responsibility to know and provide for this. The player’s responsibility begins when they leave the practice floor and until they return. A player can tear down between practices faster than you can build up. The lack of moderation, not getting enough rest, not eating regularly, not having the proper diet, over-eating the wrong things. Theses are harmful to physical conditioning. Of course, immoral conduct can tear you down. Players must accept this responsibility.

5. OFFENSE
On offense most of the player’s time will be without the ball. Use and use it wisely. Its what you do without the ball that is going to determine a great extent what you are going to be able to do when you get the ball.

6. DEFENSE
A man-to-man defense that is any good is played with zone principles. Your object in a man-to-man defense is not to keep your man from scoring, but to keep the other team from scoring. Sometimes you have to leave your man completely to keep another man from getting a really easy shot. That’s defense.

7. ESSENTIALS FOR THE COACH
1. You must be industrious. There is no substitute for work.
2. You must be enthusiastic.
3. You may have sympathy, but you have to be objective. You must do what is best for the team.
4. You must have patience.
5. You must have self-control. You cannot reason otherwise.
6. You must prepare. Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.
7. You must be disciplined. Discipline is not to antagonize, but o improve, help; and correct and not to punish. You cannot antagonize and influence at the same time.
8. Be attentive to detail. It’s the little things that make the big things happen.
9. Impartiality- this means you can treat all your players alike, because treating all players alike is a sure way to show partiality. Players don’t earn all the same treatment nor deserve the same treatment. You have to be the judge. You wont always be right and if you find out you are wrong then change.
10. Give your players an optimistic picture – not an idealistic picture. Idealism is unrealistic and I think you have to be a realist. I like realistic idealism.
11. You have to be a teacher. Nowhere are the laws of learning quite as directly followed as in teaching the fundamentals of a sport.
12. Firm, but not bull-headed.


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