YOU KNOW THAT YOUR CULTURE IS WORKING WHEN...

YOUR BEST PLAYERS ARE YOUR HARDEST WORKERS AND YOUR COACHES AND PLAYERS ALL THINK, SPEAK AND ACT SIMILARLY.

BRIDGEPORT BASKETBALL PROGRAM GOALS:

PROGRAM GOALS IN THE LOWER LEVELS:

MIDDLE SCHOOL:

A vital piece in building a program starts at the middle school levels. At this stage, coaches should strive to build a positive environment to retain these young players and allow them to develop a passion for basketball. We want to give the player a chance to get interested and help him learn and develop into a dedicated player. At this level we want to: 

• Teach fundamentals and let the winning take care of itself.

• Implement the high school’s offensive and defensive systems and use the same terminology.

• Teach discipline and do it in way that is positive. Do not tolerate tantrums or signs of individuality. Do not let violations slide and handle them in appropriate places, either on the spot or pulled to the side.

• Develop a consistent philosophy of values and direction by all coaches by placing the athletes and their efforts first instead of “win-loss” records.

• Develop intensity in practice and games. Limit standing and long talking sessions. 

• Develop pride in the basketball program.

• Place an emphasis on team basketball. An individual is only as good as his team. Allowing a single player to do it all might work some at the middle school level, but it most certainly won’t work on the Varsity level.

• Instill sportsmanship values in players.

• If all players practice and suit up they will play. It is the coach’s discretion as to how much.

• Never discourage a player because of their lack of development. That player may someday become a “player”.

• Encourage players to attend the High School Varsity games.

• Encourage players to attend Summer High School Strength and Conditioning, Skill Workouts and Basketball Camp. 

It is imperative that we have coaches at this level that can make positive impressions upon these players and follow guidelines set forth by the High School staff. These coaches will be a major factor in the decisions of these players if they will continue to play at the high school level. Middle school coaches must recognize that skill development and player retention is more important than their “win-loss” record at this level. 

FRESHMAN LEVEL:

At this level, we want to maintain a positive learning environment for these players. We want the experience to be positive so that they continue to develop appropriately. At this level we want to: 

• Continue to teach fundamentals and let the winning take care of itself. Win when possible, but not constantly at the expense of the team’s future or a player’s development.

• Develop and maintain good work habits and intensity levels in practice and games. Allow the players an opportunity to develop.

• Maintain the philosophy of team first.

• Continue to stress discipline and proper attitudes.

• Continue to instill pride in the program.

• Maintain sportsmanship values.

• Explain and instill the philosophy of “pay your dues”.

• Continue to play all players that practice and suit up.

• Instill the values of what it takes to become a Varsity level player. 

JUNIOR VARSITY LEVEL:

This level is the direct feeder for the Varsity team. Attitudes and skill development should be falling into place with concentrated efforts of the coach and players alike.

• Develop Varsity prospects for the future.

• Increase the emphasis of intensity levels during practice and games.

• Maintain discipline, sportsmanship, pride, and team philosophy.

• Maintain interest in players. Carry on the “pay your dues” philosophy.

• Play as many players as possible and win as many games as possible. 

IN GAME:

 I will have every offensive, out of bounds, end of game play, set series, motion offense, and special situation plays printed out to help each player and coach know what we will do for each game plan.

I will also give each player the same packet of plays that the coaches use so they will know what offensive sets and series we will be in for that game. This also makes in game adjustments much easier to relay to players. This also helps coaches know what our players are comfortable with and what we have worked on in practice. I think it is hard to draw something up that the players have never done before and be successful, but it is much easier to adjust something that we already know.

PRACTICE:

I believe that most of the teaching and preparing is done in practice and the games are the adjusting of what you have worked on that week. 

I am a big believer in intense practices where everyone has high energy and is enthusiastic. I feel a shorter high intense practice is much more beneficial than a long drawn out less intentional practice. Games are played at an intense level, and I think you play like you practice.

I want practices to have as much live playing as possible. Players learn by doing and playing against a live offense and defense. Practices will allow players to compete in a game like environment on a daily basis. Certain situations will require skill breakdowns, but we are always going to use our practice time on things that will directly translate to being successful in games. 

I will spend part of every practice working on situational basketball. I believe that if the players are comfortable and know what to do in certain situations, the success rate is much higher in those special situations. 

We will make the weight room a priority as well as individual skill development. Practice is the most important aspect of any championship program. We will compete on a daily basis and put our players in many different situations to help them grow in all aspects of the game. Players will get feedback and graded after workouts. Each player will be held accountable for their effort through our impact point system and competitive cauldron. 

PREPARATION:

I believe preparation may be the most vital part of being a championship team. How we prepare on a daily basis whether it be practice, scouting report, weight room, or film session will have huge impact on how successful we are on game day. I will have all the possible information I can give to each player. Stats, video clips, shot charts, tendencies, and any other relevant information in our scouting report. I will have clips broken down for each player (visual shot chart) for them in film sessions so they can have reference to the paper shot chart. We will give them every possible advantage going into the game. 

Game planning is a big part in the success rate of your team because if you can properly prepare you can give the players the best opportunity to be successful. 

PROGRAM PHILOSOPHY:

In our program, we are going to focus on player and skill development. We will have an emphasis on players instead of plays. We’re going to provide our players a framework that they can play out of and have freedom to make plays while developing a high basketball IQ. We will have a program that our players feel proud to be a part of and want to show up to every day. We are going to have a highly competitive environment that allows players to grow through a game like approach and fall in love with the game of basketball. As coaches, we will be consistent, fair, and push players to be at their very best both on and off the court. 

Before our program can accomplish its goals, it must first start with a growth mindset. We will fall in love with process of development and will find success by adopting the mindset of doing:

With this type of mentality, we will build our program from the ground up. We want vertical alignment from the middle schools to the high school, and we will construct our program on our core values that help promote the mindset mentioned above. These core values are: 

TEAMWORK - “Whatever it takes” to put the team before myself.

WORK ETHIC - “Whatever it takes” to get the job done. 

COMMITMENT - “Whatever it takes” to commit my time, energy, and attention to achieving my goals. 

PERSEVERANCE - “Whatever it takes” to learn from my mistakes and use adversity as a SPRINGBOARD to success. 

DISCIPLINE - “Whatever it takes” to sacrifice now, in order to win later. 

CHARACTER - “Whatever it takes” to become the type of person that does what is right instead of what is easy or popular. 

CONFIDENCE - “Whatever it takes” to know that I’ve done my very best to prepare to win. 

GOAL-ORIENTED - “Whatever it takes” to make my dreams become a reality. 

ENTHUSIASM - “Whatever it takes” to bring excitement and positive energy to what I’m doing, in spite of tough circumstances I may face. 

LEADERSHIP - “Whatever it takes” to set a good example for others and pave the way for their success.