How to Become a Good Basketball Coach

Be prepared. Know the game, including the basic elements of the game and strategies of playing the game. Do your homework by watching basketball on television, attending games for various age groups, and participating in the sport yourself. Determine both the strengths and weaknesses of your players and study which combination of players will work the best together. Study opposing teams that you will be matched up against in games. Attend coaching clinics. Watch coaches you admire and adopt their techniques. Become a learner as well as a teacher.

Stress the importance of being in top physical condition. Before a player ever touches a basketball, a series of stretches and exercise routines should begin each practice and prepare each player before a game. Year-round conditioning is a must, not just during the basketball season. Develop a daily workout routine and accountability method for players. Emphasize that stretching will improve range of motion and decrease chances of injury. Include running, jump roping, jogging up and down steps, sprints, and ball handling in each routine.

Teach the fundamentals of the game, including dribbling, passing, and shooting. Encourage repetition of these skills through drills at each practice and during daily workout routines in the off-season. Determine the best offense and defense for the team to use based on your players' skills and instruct your players using these tactics. Speedy players can easily run an up-tempo, fast-break offense, while the strategy for slower players may include concentrating on passing skills. Combining different types of defense based on the opposing team's strengths and weaknesses may entail running man-to-man defense or using a zone to defend. Incorporate strategies such as diagramming plays, demonstrating skills, walking each player through his assignment, or showing videos. Footage of opposing teams is especially helpful when determining how to play them.

Communicate both with the team as a unit and individually with each player. Outline your expectations and lay out consequences for not following through. Give attention to individual players, discussing shortcomings and strengths observed in previous practices and games. A player evaluation sheet can be used that would include such factors as basketball instinct, following directions, offensive and defensive ability, physical condition, and sportsmanship both as a team and a player. Discuss as a team any problems that need to be addressed at each practice. Resolve player conflicts as soon as they occur.

State clearly a list of rules and assign consequences to breaking those rules. Discuss the rules as a team, why they are important and the repercussions for bending the rule. Be consistent with each player. Just because one player is more talented than the next does not give that player the right to break a rule and not have to suffer the same consequence as everyone else.

Predetermine how you will conduct yourself in public, especially during a game. Implement a strategy of handling yourself in a professional manner when becoming irritated with a player or a call. Expect that spectators may react negatively to you and resolve to conduct yourself in an appropriate manner. At all times, remember that you are an example to your players.