Basketball Coach Unplugged (A Basketball Coaching Podcast)

TeachHoops.com
The season has started and it already feels like too much. Too many things to teach, too many kids who need something from you, and a practice plan that fell apart by the third drill. In Part 1 of The First Thirty Days, Coach Collins walks through what matters most once the season tips off, and why the answer is not doing more.
In this episode:

The one question every coach should be asking right now

Why your first three practices set your standards for the whole year

How to have the role conversation before game one, with every player, including your stars

Why practice looks good and games look bad, and how to close the gap with pressure instead of more plays

How to handle the first loss: the locker room, the film, and the next practice

Your homework: write your three sentences. What must your team be by February?
For more practice plans, drills, and coaching systems, visit TeachHoops.com
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Things that basketball players need at practice. Simplicity wins practice. Everything you need to know to become a better basketball coach today and tomorrow. Let me know if you have any questions. At steve@teachroops.com. #BasketballCoach #Basketball #coaching

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What your players learn from how you treat the referee, and how to ask a question that actually gets answered.
Four minutes left in the opener, down three, and the whistle goes the other way. Coach Steve Collins knows that feeling in your chest, and he knows the moment that comes right after it, when every kid on the bench turns to see what the head coach does next. Early in his career he thought working the officials was part of the job. Then he watched film of his own bench and saw his players copying every arm wave and every frustrated face while the other team ran back for layups.
In this deep dive for opening week, Steve breaks down how to talk to officials in a way that actually helps your team. He covers why your players borrow your emotions, how to ask a question an official can answer, when to speak and who should do the talking, and how to give your players a real plan for officials that holds up when they are angry. It is about respect, it is about modeling, and it is about keeping good officials in our gyms for years to come.
Part 1: The Mindset

The opening scenario: a late charge call in game one and the five seconds that teach your bench more than a week of practice

Steve's confession about working the officials, and the bench film that changed his approach

Why your players borrow your face, and the two claps and a point that tell them "next play"

The difference between a verdict and a question, with three questions an official can actually answer

The official who told Steve his driver was leading with his off arm, and how that fixed a problem

Part 2: The Timing and the Plan

Waiting for the dead ball, free throws, and timeouts before you speak, and asking only one question

Why only the head coach talks to officials and assistants never do

Teaching players a plan instead of a rule: captains greet officials, captains ask questions, everyone else plays the next play

Practicing bad calls in scrimmages so the reaction is trained before November

The fiery senior who took a breath, sprinted back, and took a charge on the next possession

Shaking every official's hand, raising real concerns through your athletic director, and being the reason officials stay in the game

Chapters

00:00 Coach Unplugged intro

00:16 Opening scenario: the late charge call

01:18 Pre roll: TeachHoops.com bench management and game day checklists

01:40 Watching film of my own bench

02:29 Takeaway 1: Your players borrow your face

03:39 Takeaway 2: Ask a question that can be answered

05:51 Takeaway 3: Pick your moment and one voice

06:57 Mid roll: TeachHoops.com game management library and community

07:20 Takeaway 4: Teach your players a plan for officials

09:07 Takeaway 5: Let it go before the handshake line

10:10 The opening week challenge

10:29 Post roll: TeachHoops.com

This week's challenge: Before your first game, decide your one signal for a bad call and teach it to your team at practice.
Format: Deep Dive, two parts.
Resources: Bench management guides, game day checklists, game management resources, practice plans, courses, and on court clinics at https://teachhoops.com/
Recorded at the Fifth Quarter Studios in Madison, Wisconsin.
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Transition defense, the first three steps after a shot goes up, and the easy baskets you are giving away.
Coach Steve Collins once had a team that was excellent in the half court and kept losing close games anyway. So he sat down with a stack of game film and a legal pad and asked one question about every basket his team gave up: was our defense set, or not? The answer was not even close. Far more than a third of the opponent's points came before five defenders were back.
In this deep dive, Steve takes on the part of defense that starts on offense. He explains why your own shot is the starting gun, why every player needs to know exactly who is back before the shot goes up, why the first three steps go to the paint and not to a man, how to stop the ball and talk, and why the frustration tax after a missed shot is costing your team more than you think. It is a practical plan for the opening weeks of the season, built to take away the easy baskets.
Part 1: The Shot Is the Signal

The film study that revealed where the points were really coming from

Why defense starts the moment your own shot leaves a player's hand, not when the other team gets the ball

The three steps that decide transition, and why nobody gets to stand and admire a shot

Finishing every drill that ends in a shot with a sprint back, so the first step becomes a habit

A safety rule simple enough for a tired sophomore: the point guard is always back, the player at the top is the second man back

Why the rule itself matters less than every player being able to say it out loud

Stopping scrimmage to hold one player to his job, and what it taught him

Part 2: The First Three Steps and Beyond

Sprint to the paint, not to your man: basket, ball, man, every time

Why a sprinting defender beats a backpedaling one

The daily paint touch drill, whistled on the release, with everyone in the paint before the ball crosses half court

Stopping the ball and talking: the first man back makes it change direction and yells "Ball!"

Playing outnumbered: protect the rim, fake at the ball, and force one more pass

The frustration tax: the one second of hanging your head that turns into a layup the other way

The scorer who made a deal to be first back after every miss, and how it became a point of pride

Why the coach yelling at the official is not coaching transition defense either

Chapters

00:00 Coach Unplugged intro

00:16 Opening: where the points really come from

01:08 Pre roll: TeachHoops.com transition defense drills

01:26 The film study and the legal pad

02:21 Takeaway 1: The shot is the starting gun

03:48 Takeaway 2: Decide who goes back before the shot

05:54 Takeaway 3: Sprint to the paint, not to your man

07:11 Mid roll: TeachHoops.com transition defense progression

07:36 Takeaway 4: Stop the ball and say it

08:45 Takeaway 5: Do not pay the frustration tax

10:27 This week's challenge

10:37 Post roll: TeachHoops.com

This week's challenge: Chart one scrimmage and count every basket you allow before your defense is set.
Format: Deep Dive, two parts.
Resources: Transition defense drills, teaching progressions, practice plans, courses, and on court clinics at https://teachhoops.com/
Recorded at the Fifth Quarter Studios in Madison, Wisconsin.
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Lead Like a Pro, finding the toughness and leadership in a crowded gym, building relationships that transcend basketball, and the advice he would give his younger self.
In Part 2, Coach Steve Collins and Dr. Matthew Raidbard dig into how a coach actually changes the way they lead. Dr. Raidbard explains what his book Lead Like a Pro walks you through: figure out the style you are really practicing, decide whether it matches your values, then learn from real coaching stories and practical tools how to grow into the leader you want to be.
From there the conversation turns to the court. Teaching five players to move as one, what college coaches really look for in a recruit, why relationships off the floor earn trust on it, and how to correct a player without tearing him down. It wraps with a rapid fire round and the one piece of advice Dr. Raidbard would give his younger self.
In this episode

A menu of leadership options, and matching them to your own values

Why sport and level matter less than you think for leadership style

What the book walks a coach through, from self assessment to practical tools

Naming the book, and two years from first draft to release

The hardest thing to teach: getting five players to execute one plan

Breaking it down part by part, letting players fail, and repping it over time

What college coaches look for in a recruit: toughness, leadership, and talking on defense

Why the difference between the fifth and ninth best player in the gym is what kind of teammate he is

Building relationships that transcend basketball, and why the wins follow

The one coach he would spend an hour with: Pat Summitt

Rapid fire: game day routines, superstitions, and the best player he has seen in person

Correcting players one on one instead of across the gym

His advice to his younger self: listen, be patient, and have empathy

Chapters

00:00 TeachHoops.com pre roll

00:56 Lead Like a Pro and a menu of leadership styles

01:52 Does the sport or level matter?

02:20 What the book walks you through

04:12 The next step once you know your style

05:08 Naming the book and two years of writing

07:56 The hardest thing to teach

09:20 Letting players fail and repping it over time

10:44 What college coaches look for in a recruit

13:04 TeachHoops.com mid roll

13:32 A coaching philosophy built on relationships

15:24 An hour with Pat Summitt

16:48 Rapid fire questions

20:32 Superstitions and chewing gum

21:00 Correct players one on one

22:24 Best players and the Jordan versus LeBron debate

23:48 One skill, the shot clock, and the jump ball

24:44 Advice to his younger self

25:40 Raidbard Leadership and where to find the book

26:36 Post roll

Coach challenge: The next time a player makes a mistake, pull him aside and ask "What happened there?" before you tell him what went wrong.
Resources: Learn more about Dr. Raidbard's work at Raidbard Leadership, and find Lead Like a Pro wherever books are sold. Practice plans, leadership resources, courses, and on court clinics at https://teachhoops.com/
Missed the start? Go back to Part 1 for Dr. Raidbard's coaching journey and leadership research.
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