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All posts for the month August, 2010

Is the coach apart of the team?

Posted by Tim on August 30, 2010
Posted in: Coaching, Contemporary Sports.

In international competitions it is impossible to even think about a player from another country being allowed to compete with a nation other than his or her own. In certain special situations certain players become nationalized so that they are eligible but this is far from the norm. However it is commonplace for the coaches of international teams to be from a different country and not be citizens of the country of the team which they are coaching.

American David Blatt is the current coach of the Russian national basketball team

For me this raises a couple of major questions and concerns:

1- Are coaches apart of the team?

I think so but by these rules they aren’t because they are being allowed to compete with a country other than their own. I know in the Olympics the coaches don’t recieve medals in team sports which I think is ridiculous. In individual sports I understand that a tennis coach or a ski coach is not as involved and does not have responsibilities or a role once the competition has begun, but in team sports coaches have a more active role in the outcome of the competition and to consider them anything other than another member of the team is not correct.

2- Taking away opportunities from coaches within the country.

Yes so you have hired this high profile coach from another country but what about the coaches in your own country. There is no lack of pride in developing top players in any sport, but what countries are taking pride in consistantly developing top coaches (which in turn would surely result in developing top talent if they stay within the country). Very few and this is a prime example, rather than say “shit we need a national team coach, we need to start educating our top coaches and get them the experience to be able to coach at the international level” they go out and get a top level coach from outside of the country.

Italian Sergio Scariolo is the coach of the Spanish National Team, Spain is also the leader worldwide in educating their coaches

3- If I am a coach of an international team one of the motivators I would try to use is “do it for your country” but along those same lines how can I say that if I’m not from that country?

If I say that to them and want them to believe me than on the inside I also want my country to win.

Capello is the head coach of the English National Soccer Team, something many people in England are skeptical of

4- Last but not least I totally understand the motivation of a coach to accept a job coaching internationally the national team of another country.

Many coaches dream of coaching in the Olympics or the World Championships and it is an opportunity that comes “once in a lifetime” (if that). So when the opportunity comes around it is almost impossible to pass up. But what I don’t understand is why countries look for coaches outside of their own.

USA vs España highlights 08.22.10

Posted by Tim on August 26, 2010
Posted in: Coaching, Contemporary Sports, video playbook.

Here is a closer look at the entertaining exhibition match up from last weekend between the United States and Spain. I know the quality of the video sucks but…it is what it is.

Here are a few of the plays and the tactics from the USA. Not surprisingly the Spaniards were much more crisp in running their offensive sets. There are two ways to look at this: 1- The Americans have more room for improvement in this aspect of the game and therefore have more upside or (2) the Americans are more dependent on their 1 on 1 skills and if they have an “off night” shooting or taking of their 1 on 1 capabilities that they’re going to struggle. For personal interest I am hoping for option number 1 but time will tell. Nevertheless I thought (especially for an exhibition game) there were alot of interesting things to be taken from the game.

3 screens

a set the Spanish team ran quite often in which they isolated a wing and a pivot on one side and (1) set a back screen looking for an easy bucket, then (2) a down screen so the wing can receive and once the wing receives the ball (3) the pivot sets a ball screen. A nice set to play pick and roll with space with specific players. Here are a few examples:


A wheel

the two bigs are at each post (low and high) and the guards run a continuous wheel around them looking for an advantage. There is only 1 video but they ran this a number of times with a variety of ways to finish.

Screen the screener

This is a set the Celtics run for Ray Allen and Paul Pierce. They have the player they want to receive set a screen and then receive a screen. I’m not sure if USA could have run it worse but you can see the basic setup.

The Runners

Rubio with a classic example of his ability to anticipate on defense and then a fabulous runner from Navarro to end the attack on the other end. Navarro was really impressive to me in this game, if he finds his accuracy from distance he becomes virtually impossible to guard on the perimeter because of his ability to make this type of shot in the paint.

Here we see an americanized version of Navarro’s “la bomba” as Curry drops in a runner of his own, this time using a quick jump stop (parada en una vez) to get it off quicker. Is this a sign that we may be catching up to the Eurpopeans in terms of their ability to be creative in situations where athleticism is not enough? Even though Curry leaves Rubio behind I love the way that this guy plays defense, he’s a split second away from picking Curry’s pocket.

This may seem like an ordinary penetration and kick out but have a look at where Vazquez was moving along the baseline…he’s almost out of bounds. It’s really tough to defend the ENTIRE COURT, excellent movement without the ball by Vazquez hiding himself behind the backboard.

How do you get your confidence going? How about a little shoulder shake at the free throw line…

Jeremy Lin is "de casa"

Posted by Tim on August 5, 2010
Posted in: Contemporary Sports, NBA. Tagged: , , .
In Europe there is a term in professional sports that perhaps gives more pride to a team or club than any other: “jugador de casa.”   Literally translated as a player from home.  These are the players that were developed in the youth ranks of the club and made it all the way to the clubs top team.  A rarity but necessity for any professional team that provides a connection between the players and the fans that cannot be achieved any other way.  Because these players are “one of them.”  They used to be in those same stands and now are on the court of their dreams.  This concept is not apart of American sports because the professional teams are not related to any of the teams that develop the players in the area, but it seems the Warriors may have the first player “de casa” in the NBA.

Hopefully Lin's desire to play for the name on the front of the jersey not the back will be contagious

Jeremy Lin is a Bay Area native and grew up an avid Warriors fan.  He even played on the Warriors court multiple times during his youth while playing in National Junior Basketball (NJB).  He is as close to “de casa” as it gets nowadays.  And although these players are usually not the stars on the team as will be the case with Lin (atleast in the beginning).  These are the guys that have something that every coach wants from all of their players- PRIDE IN THE NAME ON THE FRONT OF THE JERSEY.  Something that is all but lost in professional sports.  And sometimes it is simply the presence and energy of these players is contagious and the team takes on the correct attitude of playing as representatives of the fans of their team.  If this happens in Golden State the future is much brighter.

Related to the topic it should be noted that one of the most remarkable things about F.C. Barcelona’s success in the last couple of years is that they are dominating soccer with players “de casa.” Players they brought up through their system and gave them the teaching and opportunity to lead Barcelona to where they are now, on top of the world (especially after Spains World Cup victory backboned by Barcelona players). Hopefully Lin can be apart of a new look Warriors that reach that same level of success.

Players "de casa" provide a connection from the fans to the field that can't be achieved any other way

Curso Superior days 6-6,000

Posted by Tim on August 2, 2010
Posted in: Coaching, Curso Superior 2010. 3 comments

The Curso Superior has finished it’s “parte presencial” or the part of the course in San Sebastian but in reality this course will never end, figuratively and literally.

Literally because we have a number of projects and time requirements before we officially become “entrenadores superiores.”  The main portion of the remaining workload is an investigation into a topic of our choosing related to basketball.  Similar to the paper I did in college on Motivation in Team Sports…maybe I will do a follow up?

And figuratively this course will never end because of the relationships formed during the 2 weeks in San Sebastian.  More so than the online portion, spending the time together with other coaches is when you really get to know them.  One coach told me he thought I was 6’4 based on my photo.  To know someone you need to meet them, you can stay in contact online but you can’t create the same level of relationship online as in person.  For me any contact in the future with the people that I had the pleasure of spending the last two weeks with will just be an extension of this course.  And based on the quality of people in the course, I don’t see an end in sight, hence the title “Days 6-6,000″ because 6,000 days from now this course will still be apart of my life.

900 hours of basketball in 2 weeks may seem like a lot, for me it was a dream come true

There were so many highlights from the course that it’s hard to select just a few but here are my thoughts on the course although I am sure that as time passes my perspective will change because there was simply so much information it’s difficult to process it all:

• The importance of “teaching the teachers”- There were 160 coaches at the Curso Superior this year, and there are not 160 new jobs in the professional ranks.  So where are these coaches going to go?  To the “canteras” o youth ranks and if you think that the increased capacity of the coaches in Spain is not having an impact you really just need to open your eyes and look at their results in international competitions in any category and the fact that the ACB has become hands down the second best league in the World.  Spain has become a hotbed for basketball and the “Metodo FEB” of educating their coaches has to be considered as a major player in this development.

• The mix of past/present professional players and lifelong youth coaches- The diverse experiences of each of the different students provided for some really rich interactions and conversations, perhaps my favorite part of the whole course was walking to and from the “residencia” and talking with the different coaches about a wide variety of things (of course related to basketball).  Also included in this portion would be the conversations in the cafeteria.

• The notes- In school I was a terrible note taker because I knew the notes were just to pass the test.  But these two weeks I took the most detailed notes I’ve taken in my life because I clearly saw the importance of the information.  I had the fortune before the course of a friend telling me that the you will really truly apreciate the coure years down the road when you look back at your notes and remember the different moments and details.  I had this thought in my head the whole time and took notes accordingly.

I am just really thankful for having been able to experience this course.  Basketball is what I enjoy most in life and to be able to have an experience like this was like a dream come true.