by Randy Brown
Basketball coaches are no different than coaches in any other sport. All coaches are obsessed with new information, techniques, strategies, and X and O's. They go to clinics, read books and magazines, watch DVD's and games constantly. What do coaches do with all of this information and can they access what they need when they need it?
Our world is stuffed with information on any possible subject from the trite to the important. Just surf the internet for an evening and the amount of facts, figures, and graphics will astound you. Where did all of this knowledge come from and what will we do with it all? If you ask the average basketball coach they will tell you to "bring it on." To most coaches, more is better.
The reason for this over accumulation of information is simple. In a six hour clinic that may lie a drill, play, or strategy that can make a difference in one game. This may sound silly to those who do not coach. Those who coach realize that when your livelihood depends on the amount of W's you collect from November to March, any edge can make the difference. In this hyper-competitive arena of athletics, coaches will go to any extreme to get a leg up on the competition. Therefore, the more a coach can collect and pile on his desk the better.
As a coach, I know the urgency that accompanies the job of winning games. My collection of basketball information is massive. It includes scouting reports from every game I've ever coached in, almost 700. Do I really need 700 scouting reports? The obvious answer is no, but I am a devout keeper of information like most coaches. Each year the pile gets bigger and more unmanageable. "What are you going to do with all those files, tapes, and notes," I often ask my good friend, Jeff Rutter. Like me, the second year Iowa State assistant is obsessive about keeping every cocktail napkin he's ever wrote on and many he didn't scribble on. "Look," he'll tell me, "JP diagrammed this play last summer on the road. This is the play that beat Bowling Green at the buzzer in '90." As a good friend, and fellow information freak, I nod with approval.
The intent of this article is not to attack the amount of information but the way in which these mountains of paper are organized. Being organized may not be a strength among coaches and for good reason. One reason is that staying organized takes a system of organization and the discipline to do it everyday. Secondly, they simply have too much stuff to organize! What seems like a preventative way to produce wins and keep jobs actually becomes one, big mess.
I have devised a good test to determine your level of organization regarding your basketball information. Challenge yourself to this test and it may reveal some powerful results.
The Organization Test
1. Write down three items that you know you possess. For instance, this could be the baseline OB plays you used last year, notes from a spring clinic two years ago and a scouting report from last season. Sitting at your desk in close proximity to your information, give yourself 30 seconds to find the first item. Take another 30 seconds to find item two, and another 30 seconds to locate the third item. Were you able to recover all three items each in 30 seconds? If so, you are a well organized coach because you can quickly access your own materials.
Whether you are an organized coach or an unorganized coach, the lesson is the same. All of the basketball materials in the world cannot help you win a game if you don't know how to find them. When you total the cost of books, DVD's, clinics, and personal notes and diagrams, it only makes sense to use them to help you be a better coach. Think about your own ability to organize and access your own materials and take inventory of yourself. Being organized does not guarantee more wins, but it does put yourself in a position to win!
Randy Brown has passion for the game of basketball. He works as a basketball consultant and mentor for coaches. Visit him at http://www.coachrb.com for free resources, Q & A, newsletter, and coaching programs. A speaker and writer, he has authored 75 articles on coaching and is nationally published. His 18 years in college basketball highlights a successful 23-year career. Mentored by Basketball Hall of Fame coach Lute Olson at Arizona. Resume includes positions
at Arizona, Iowa State, Marquette, Drake, and Miami of Ohio, 5 Conference Championships and 5 NCAA appearances. His efforts have helped develop 12 NBA players including Steve Kerr, Sean Elliott, and Jaamal Tinsley. To contact Randy, email him at rb@coachrb.com.
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