subject: The Checkerboard Coaching Technique SM for High School Basketball Coaches [print this page] The Checkerboard Coaching Technique SM for High School Basketball Coaches
The Checkerboard Coaching Technique SM for High School Basketball Coaches
Daniel C. Bryndle Author
We all know what a checkerboard is. To start take the imaginary board you have and fill each space with the portion of your game you want to improve or analyze. After your board is filled with as many spaces as you care to fill, chose the 20 percent of those items that are the most critical to your performance and place them in sequence from most important to least. Now take the most important or first on the list and ask yourself what is the most effective 20 percent aspect of your performance. Understand that area and expand it. Expand the opportunity to use it next in the game as you now recognize what it is.
I have one real life practical application from a championship high school basketball coach. This coach who's name shall not be mentioned came to coaching as a teacher and coached for many years in Upstate New York. I had the opportunity to talk with him years after his career ended. I explained the Checkerboard Coaching Technique SM to him. He immediately said he used it to win the state championships he won, and did not realize it. The truth is he applied the Law of the Significant few to his players and where they shot from on the court, and did not realize there was such a Law.
Here is how he applied it. He realized after years of coaching that players had a favorite spot to shoot from and almost never missed from that spot. Each player had a different spot they were accurate from. He had the equipment assistant watch in practice and mark where each player made shots from in practice on a piece of paper. Once he had every players best spot he shot from and made the basket he instructed all the players on the team to give that player the ball to shoot when he was on that spot. He had five players on the court with five separate spots that they were very accurate from. Each player knew the other players spot. They would run all over the court, stop at the spot they were best at scoring from during the game and when the opportunity presented itself, the other players knew it and passed to that player and swoosh.
A state championship was born. If you try this with your team you should gain similar results. Coach, maybe you should give this a try. Apply it to new areas of the game as well. I wish you and your team a championship too!!
