Basketball and Nature

Today's blog was written by Trenton Templetom. Trenton is a senior accounting major and theology minor at the University of Notre Dame and a student in the Social Foundations of Coaching course taught by Play Like a Champion's Professor Clark Power and Kristin Sheehan.

When someone who is not familiar with the sport of basketball sees a game, on the surface, there might not be a ton of science that goes into it. One might see Steph Curry just running around attempting to get open so that he can shoot the ball and hope it goes in, as it often does. However, new research from the University of Las Palmas de GranCanaria (Spain) recognized quite a bit of science when they observed more than 6,000 NBA games, and their findings are quite intriguing. Researchers found that basketball games resemble different activities that arise in nature.

There is a hypothesis in science called the Red Queen Evolutionary Hypothesis. It contemplates how species must continuously improve in order to simply maintain their status within the environment where they co-evolve alongside other living things. This same hypothesis, when applied to basketball, is highlighted and researchers found that basketball teams can be considered self-organized systems. In other words, basketball teams tend to manage game flow and adapt when new obstacles are presented to them. Teams repeat certain strategies if they continue to work--such as keeping a high offensive tempo, and stop any activities that do not appear to work such as fouling the opposing team’s big man. Faced with a problem, each team can propose several valid solutions. For example, rather than attacking the basket, a team decides to shoot outside jump shots. Many different actions can happen, and sometimes simultaneously. The game play is dictated by each teams’ creativity.

A closer resemblance to nature can be seen at the end of games during the final minute where teams really intensify in hopes of a victory. De Saa Guerra, the head researcher on this topic, highlights the similarities of nature and basketball in the final minute, “In a predator-prey system, for instance, or in a natural changing environment with limited resources, species evolve in their arms race by adapting. They continuously fight and give it their all just to survive, not to ensure their triumph. In such cases, a small adaptive advantage can go a long way. Likewise, basketball teams must fight extremely hard simply to make it to that last minute, and any advantage -as small as it may seem- can be critical at that moment." Whatever happened leading up to that final moment no longer matters, and any mistake, head start or slip-up can determine the outcome of the game.

Just like in nature, the team that is better able to adapt to the changing environment wins the competition. The resemblance is eye opening because most people, even researchers, look at basketball as a random sport dictated by probabilities. However, a closer look reveals that the flow of basketball is quite similar to what we observe in nature. Maybe that is why we love basketball so much: because it highlights the primitive nature in us. 

Teaching Leadership

Today's blog post was written by Mark Egan.  Mark is a sophomore at Notre Dame majoring in Science Business.  Mark is a student in the Social Foundations of Coaching course taught by Play Like a Champion Founder and Director Professor Clark Power and Program Director Kristin Sheehan.  Mark is currently a coach intern at a local high school in South Bend, IN.

People sometimes make the argument that sports do not develop character, they reveal it.  Some say that leadership cannot be taught and that it is something you are either born with or not.  I believe that these ideas could not be any more false.  Everything that my life, experience, and classes have taught me proves the opposite.  In fact, I believe that sports are necessary for kids to develop character and leadership skills.  This semester, I am interning as an assistant coach for a local high school football team, and the following example of a technique used by the coaches of this team is perfect for making this point.

The coaches on this football team have been doing a special thing with their off-season strength and conditioning program.  The guys are broken up into 4 teams, and are constantly competing against each other’s teams, receiving and losing points for every single thing they do. However, despite this competition and the drive to improve for next season, the team also spends a hunk of practice discussing sportsmanship. A typical practice begins with a 20 minute talk on leadership, teamwork, sportsmanship, work ethic, and many other important values. Only after the discussion do the guys warm up and hit the weight room for the competitive stations of practice. After the weight room, the coaches set the teams against each other for physical and agility challenges, and then post-practice stretching.Throughout practice, the coaches are supportive of the players while they work hard and have a good time, and this approach is mirrored by the rest of the team.

During the talks before practice, the guys are constantly reminded what it means to be a good leader.  They are told that they all can be good leaders on the team and are taught that leadership is the process of influencing others to maximize their efforts in achieving a common goal.  During the workouts, they are quickly forced to put what they have just learned into practice as they realize the importance of working together to score points in the intra-squad competition.  The good thing about the way this point system works is that no one person gets the credit or glory if he surpasses his teammates. Therefore, it is important for every player on each team to motivate his teammates to perform at their maximum capacity.  As a result, there is a heavy emphasis on keeping each teammate accountable for their performance and pushing each other at all times.  This type of a dynamic promotes team chemistry, leadership skills, and loyalty.  Without consciously saying anything, this coaching technique in my opinion, builds a better team, as well as better people.