Trying to sum up my coaching philosophy into three words is not an easy thing to do. There are a handful of words that can describe what I would focus on as a coach, and from my personal experience working with other coaches I know that they focus on a large variety of things as well. When it comes down to it, my the three words that best describe my coaching philosophy are commitment, discipline, and teamwork.
Every player on my team will need to be committed to excellence, both to themselves and to the team. Commitment involves not just being committed during practice, but also in the weight room and in the classroom. Without commitment towards school, players cannot expect to see the floor, no matter how hard they work on their basketball skills. A committed team will put the work in to succeed, no matter the price, and that will allow us to consistently have successful seasons on and off the court.
I will put a disciplined basketball team on the floor every game. We will be focused, disciplined, and have great execution. I have seen many teams that have more talent than their opponent, but lost the game because of a lack of discipline. We will be fundamentally sound and play the game the right way.
Duke men's basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski once said, ""A basketball team is like the five fingers on your hand. If you can get them all together, you have a fist. That's how I want you to play." Teamwork is essential to having a successful basketball team. 5 hard-working, committed, disciplined basketball players working together in unison with the common goal of winning can be a great thing. In my opinion, one of the reasons the US Men's National Basketball Team struggled in the past few years against European teams was the style of play. The European teams emphasize ball movement and teamwork, while the US tried to make one-on-one plays. Teamwork trumps talent when that talent isn't used wisely. My teams will use teamwork and discipline while on the court, and combine that teamwork and discipline with a commitment to excellence both on and off the court, and that philosophy will carry me and my teams to success.
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