An Effective Strategy for Equal Playing Time on a Youth Basketball Team

St. Agnes Basketball Player Rotation:
Dear PLC, I'm sure you get all sorts of resources that coaches/league directors use but I thought this one served me very well this past year after hearing some of your thoughts in Play Like A Champion and I'd be thrilled if other coaches found it useful.

As I moved from coaching junior high varsity where I played kids based on a blend of factors to coaching 5th and 6th grade JV where I knew I wanted to play them all equally, I came across a heck of a lot of problems in my first game. Namely at one point to play everyone equally, I had five forwards and centers who needed to play, none wanted to handle the ball, and rightfully so; they weren't prepared to do that and didn't want to be the fall person for the team not functioning well.

In advance of my next game, I created this spreadsheet. The back page lists all my players, their uniform number (for ease of signing in) and the positions they are able to play. Next is a count of minutes (which are checked off as I create the playing schedule) and a total column. The front is a roster for the game, broken down by position, and into boxes which each represent a 2 minute block of the game (in most occasions I try to schedule the same players for four minutes to allow for continuity, but the beginnings and ends of quarters are often 2 minute segments. What I was able to do is make a team policy that everyone plays equally so the kids know that from the start. To show them I was intent on this, I showed them my spreadsheet.

On gameday, all players are required to show up 15 minutes early to keep games on time, and to warm up, stretch, and go over pre-game prep and what we did in practice. As players show up, I circle their names on the roster. At 15 minutes before gametime as players stretch, I create the first quarter roster from all the players on time. If everyone is there on time, the game is split evenly. If players show up late, they forfeit their first quarter minutes and then the 2nd through 4th quarters are split evenly. By the start of the game, I have my rotations filled in so each player knows when they're going in, which teammate they need to be watching before they go in, who they're calling out, if they're moving any players to new positions, and the man to man matchups that they need to pick up or switch around when they sub in. I find this helps the little guys stay focused, pay attention to player assignments, and to communicate with confidence once they step foot onto the court. My assistant coach explains to kids where they're going next, how they run the play from their position, who they'll be guarding or where they'll be in the zone, and what they can do to help the team on the court.

The one downside to this is that it does require preparation right before the game, but I find once I have that done, I can spend all game coaching instead of worrying about playing time and rotations. Also, kids are penalized about 4 minutes of playing time if their parents are late, but once this was in effect, we noticed a lot more students showing up on time and I never once had to deal with parents questioning playing time.

Alas, at the end of the season we got whooped in the championship game (good character coaching on the other side too, they were just way better) but after the game our kids knew the score might have been closer had our best players played all game like they noticed was the case for the other team. That said, one of the most challenging players on my team pointed out that we came in second place as a true team with everyone being a part whereas the other team really was a combination of three players who did all the playing and another 7 who just tried to keep out of the way. They're catching on and top to bottom, I think this will result in a lot of growth in our students.

I hope you find this useful and feel welcome to use it as much as you'd like and share it amongst anyone you believe will find it useful.

Sean
PLC Coach

Uganda Continued!

Over our other days in Uganda, PLC visited with faculty, administration and staff of Uganda Martyrs University, Makerere Business School and we had the pleasure of meeting Jasper Aligawesa who is the General Secretary of the Uganda National Council of Sport (pictured above with Clark and Kristin). Finally, our trip wouldn't be complete without sharing our group picture taken on the Equator.

2nd Day in Uganda

During the PLC team's second day in Uganda, we traveled with the children of the village to the hospital to receive medical treatments. We played together while waiting for treatment and we all shared lunch together. The children loved learning a new game of "Duck, Duck, Goose" but gave it an African specific name of "Cow, Cow, Goat."

PLC travels to Uganda in Partnership

The PLC team is back under the Golden Dome, but our hearts are fuller and our lives are richer due to the new friendships we have created in the beautiful country of Uganda in East Africa. We began our journey in the village of Kkindu. Attached is a video of the leader of PLC in the village, John Kakande, announcing the official partnership. The village also unveiled a PLC sign at the base of the village for all to see and believe in the philosophy. The village proudly shared their cleared field pictured above and we met the women who weave the Play Like A Champion Today(TM) mats. The whole village celebrated with a shared meal and sport competitions: a bike race, net ball game, sack races and a soccer game. The women and children of the village welcomed us with beautiful songs, drum accompaniment and dancing.
All of this in our first day in the village!

Former ND football player gives back to his community

David Burton of the Denver Broncos is spending the time off during the lockout giving back to his community. 2009 Notre Dame Graduate with a degree in Political Science and Sociology is substitute teaching at his former high school in Dayton, Ohio. To see the full story,
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Broncos-8217-Bruton-spending-the-lockout-as-a-?urn=nfl-wp2141

Uganda update

The PLC team is in Amsterdam on their way home from Africa. Our apologizes for only one blog while we were traveling. We had only one opportunity to get Internet access our entire trip. We will post a full report with pictures and videos in the next few days.
We are feeling grateful and blessed for our life-changing journey. PLC team

UGANDA UPDATE - Just connected to Internet!

After three flights, a 6 hour van ride (totaling 36 hours of travel), the PLC team arrived in the village of Kkindu, Masaka town, Uganda, Africa. On Sunday morning, we celebrated a beautiful mass in the village church with an accomplished choir, dancing, prayer and Eucharist. The village then unveiled a Play Like A Champion Today™ sign at the entrance to the village. John Kakande, the director of the PLC ministries in Kkindu explained to the community that all PLC activities that happen in the US will happen in the village of Kkindu. We then went to see the cleared sport fields and were greeted with more song and dancing. Then, we shared a meal together of rice, cassava, chicken, beef stew and soup. Finally, the sport competitions began: a sack race, a net ball game for the young women of the village, a 30km bike race and a soccer match for the boys. All played like champions while the entire village was entertained with sport.
The next day we traveled with 30 children to the town of Masaka to the clinic for the children to be tested for HIV and for those already diagnosed to receive ARV treatments. We then all shared a nutritious meal together before returning to the village to visit Hopeful School, where orphans and those who otherwise would not be able to attend school, are educated. The parents and students greeted us with love and thanksgiving.
On our third day, we offered a Play Like A Champion Today™ workshop to the coaches, teachers and students in the village primary school.
We have been greeted with love and open arms. We have welcomed the people of this village across the globe into the Play Like A Champion Today™ family.

Marathons: Adults Doing Athletics Right

"The music of a marathon is a powerful strain, one of those tunes of glory. It asks us to forsake pleasures, to discipline the body, to find courage, to renew faith and to become one's own person, utterly and completely."
-George Sheehan

Running was punishment. We ran several laps for being late. Having an attitude or just not getting your head in the game resulted in a few more suicides at the end of practice. Sprints and long runs were devised as torture devices by coaches, right? Well, I believed all of this to be true and thought my older brother tended towards masochism when he ran cross country and track in high school. He then challenged me to join the cross country team my junior year in high school after dropping another sport. Curious as to the appeal and unable to back down from a challenge, I began running over the summer and joined in the fall semester. Since then, I have never looked back. I fell in love with the running culture. I ran two years of cross country and completed two half marathons as well as one full marathon.

There is a culture which surrounds running and within the last few decades has spurred a surge in marathons and shorter distance runs across the United States and the world. The overwhelming majority of participants range from young adults to well beyond middle-aged. In the midst of a society in which kids travel to neighboring states to compete in athletics at an age when cooties are still a very real concern, adults are seeking out a different type of athletic challenge and having the fun. I am not asserting that kids don’t love sports, nor am I attempting to demonize competition at a young age. Instead, I am trying to call attention to the surge of people competing in marathons and emphasize how they are reaping the benefits of athletics—in terms of the physique as well as character—after everyone else has checked them out as too old to “play”. Those who obsess over youth sports could learn from the adults lacing up their shoes, donning their game faces and running 26.2 miles.

Quite a few things make marathon running unique. First of all, it requires infinitely less gear than most other athletic activities. You need a just need cleared space and running shoes. That makes it more accessible to people from all classes. Also, training can be done at one’s own pace and runs can be completed either with peers or all alone at whatever time is most convenient. People can be as fast or slow as they desire and they can still run (with the exception of races like the Boston Marathon). Running is an equal opportunity sport. It’s democratic. A large number of service organizations and charities encourage persons to run and raise money for a greater cause; thus it contributes to the larger society. The race day also has the excitement and atmosphere comparative to a street festival. Marathon races are social affairs! Asking most people who have participated in marathons about their experiences, it is likely to get responses from people raving about how competing in a marathon was a transformative experience.

I am writing this to draw attention to the phenomenon of marathon running and offer it as a sharp contrast to what people criticize about youth sports. The adults have got it right. Marathons are, if nothing else, inspiring—something the world needs. Kathrine Switzer, a women’s marathoning pioneer, said “If you are losing faith in human nature, go out and watch a marathon”. She’s right.


Connie Jones, ND 2011
Social Foundations of Coaching

Consequences of specialization in early ages.

Specialization in early ages is a serious and relevant problem in high school and youth sports due to several reasons. I believe that athletes in young ages should develop different physical skills by participating in various activities and different sports in order to build up the basis for future improvement. The limited range of skills performed during early sport specialization has the potential to limit overall motor skill development. This may affect long term physical activity involvement by decreasing the likelihood of participation in alternative physical activities. In addition, I believe that specialization in youth sport can cause an athlete to burn out at an early age. For example, if a runner is doing a lot of heavy weight lifting too early in his career it can negatively affect his performance on the long term. The athlete will have physical pain and injuries later on because of the excessive forms of training. Finally I believe that early specialization can cause massive drop out of sport because of lack of enjoyment and socialization. Repetitive, monotone and hard practices in early age do not attract youth athletes. Due to the above listed negative consequences of early age specialization, coaches should let young athletes participate in various sports, and focus on creating a fun environment for all kids.

Miklos Szebeny, ND 2011
Track athlete
Social Foundations of Coaching

No Prayer on the Field

I came from a very small public school in Northern California; an area that has only recently adopted a “no prayer in public schools” policy. I had no personal qualms with this subject only because I made the conscious choice to lead a secular lifestyle, but I had friends on both sides of the issue ready to claw each other to death over whether prayer should be allowed in schools or not. As so happened to be the case at my school and schools all over the country, certain high profile faculty members had a habit of reciting a prayer to Our Lady before any athletic contest. The football team in particular did not have any intention of stopping since the prayer was part of preparing them to play. It was tradition, habit, good luck, etc. But the administration soon found a way to get the coach to give up his pre-game prayer, and many team members felt it was unfair. They argued that the majority of the team was already Catholic if not Protestant, and the only non-religious athlete on the team (yours truly) did not mind praying before a game. The administration, however, did not budge on the issue, even less so when angry parents phoned in to harass them. I recall my government teacher and I talk at length over the issue of prayer in school, and we spoke of different ways to interpret the First Amendment. Personally, I hold the belief that the stance on prayer in schools should be taken so that no one denomination or faith suppresses the expression of another one. Yes, this means that the school administration and faculty should not take a vested interest in one religion over another, but this can be argued to include secularism as a basis of faith. I think that the administration should have allowed there to be prayer for the football team or any other team that followed a few simple guidelines, namely, if anyone wants to pray to a different god or deity it should be allowed, and no administration or faculty members can be a lead or be a part of the prayer. The best policy, in my opinion, is to allow students the freedom to choose their religious affiliation instead of trying to suppress it because therein lies a form of exclusionary discrimination. Religion is tied so closely together with language and culture that it seems unreasonable to deny a student the right to show his/her devotion as long as he/she isn’t disturbing anyone. And, in all honesty, praying never hurt anyone; I, an atheist, can attest to that.

Antonio Renteria
Social Foundations of Coaching