Doug Collins – Coaching Musts: From 4 Decades in the Game
• Work hard to be the best so your team can win
• “I outlived my dream” – How many people can say that?
• “Trust without truth leads to anarchy”
• Once you build trust, then you can tell the truth
• Being consistent builds trust
• Voices and choices decide where a player ends up – “Where does my voice fit and what other voices are above mine?”
• HALT – when a person is vulnerable and susceptible to poor decision making
• H – hungry
• A – angry
• L – lonely
• T – tired
• Focus on positives
• If you did have a “bad practice”, focus on who did have a good practice
• We can’t change people, we can put them in an environment and hope they change
• “Get the right people on the bus and get them in the right seat”
• Don’t get seduced by talent, talent isn’t enough
• Focus on what you can control – you can’t control talent level
• Conditioned
• Always rewards competitors
• Competition in practice is crucial
• Should have to earn spots and playing time, not matter how bad the bench is
• “My goal isn’t for you to like me today, but to love me tomorrow”
• Everybody has a comfort zone and players need to be pushed outside of their comfort zone every single day
• Coaches can’t ever be late – lose credibility
• Don’t ever have a role on your team you won’t enforce on your best player
• Don’t look for problems – you will find them!
• Stay away from negativity
• Be careful when watching film – it always leads to negativity
• Watch film day after the game cause it never looks as good or as bad as you thought
• Roles – believe in your role, stay in your role, star in your role
• Starting doesn’t matter, it’s who is in at the end of the game
• Never stepped on his son’s turf
• You better have talent
• Build a program brick by brick
• Coach K – players must defend but allows freedom on offense
• Not impressive with X’s and O’s, all about relationships
• “I wish I would have been a college coach, because you can build a lasting relationship with players”
• Whose life did you affect? Did I change anybody’s lives?
• “Every day, think about the kids that are counting on you”
• Competitive practices – 4 on 4, stops to score
• Loves 3 on 3
• Always ends practice on positive note
• “When you see what you want, finish it”. Can cut practice a few minutes short when things are going well before things start going bad.
• Start hitting on driving range and eventually you’ll start hitting it bad
• Ask players to tell you about another person on the team’s life
• Where are they from? What do they like/dislike? Etc.
• Perpetual Turd Theory – there is always a turd
• Stats – turnovers, trans d, points in paint, 2nd chance, defend 3pt line, point differential, road record, fg% differential (what you shoot vs. what they shoot), have a star that is respected by the ref late in games
• Didn’t coach for 7 yrs because he wanted to watch his kids play
• Once he is home, he gets away from basketball (no watching games at home)
• Players should get recognition
• Be yourself
• 3 things you want to give your team – faith, hope, and life
• “I haven’t won anything, but I guarantee you nobody has loved the game more than me”