I attended the Nike Clinic in Las Vegas over this past weekend. Known as the top clinic in the country each year, it did not disappoint. I will make a couple posts over the next week with some notes from the clinic.
I was one of the rare ones to be in attendance on Saturday morning at 8 a.m. to hear National Junior College Coaches' Association President John Spezia speak. And I was not disappointed. Here are some thoughts he had to share...
Assistant Coaches
- Should have "big eyes, big ears, little mouths"
- Need to be loyal to their head coach
- The difference between the head coach and an assistant coach is a grand canyon (speaking in terms of responsibility levels)
Reasons why fundamentals aren't as good anymore
- Kids play too many games in the summer
- The practice season starts later (He pointed out that it used to start October 1 for him. I remember my high school practices starting October 15. Our practices have started the first or second week in November in recent years.)
Coach Spezia said that he doesn't think times have changed with kids. He thinks adults (parents and coaches) have changed. Our expectations and discipline of kids have decreased.
Coach Spezia made the point that if a coach is willing to overlook enforcement of rules, such as showing up late for practice or ignoring team rules, that will be remembered by the kid 5-10 years down the road and won't be respected. (Aren't we in the business of preparing our players for the future? If we're not, we should.)
He makes all of his three-point shooters make 100 in ten minutes before they are allowed to shoot 3's in a game. (Makes a kid work on his shot.)
No comments:
Post a Comment