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How to be a team leader in basketball
How to be a team leader in basketball
USA Basketball - 5 Steps to Being a Great Leader
In addition to always finding new exercises, drills, and training techniques, a good portion of my professional development is focused on leadership. I have dozens and dozens of books, have binders full of notes and handouts, and read several weekly blogs all focused on the topic of effective leadership. I have been fascinated by the qualities that make great leaders for as long as I can remember. And continuing to improve my own leadership skill set is one of my top priorities.
I truly believe there is a tremendous lack of leadership in today's game; specifically with today's youth. Basketball is a team game that thrives on leadership; from both the coaches and players.
You can't underestimate the power of a great leader. Great leaders make the impossible seem possible.
Some folks think leaders are born; some think they are developed. I happen to think it is a little bit of both. Regardless, I am confident anyone can work to improve to their leadership skill set.![]()
The traits needed to be a successful leader apply to both players and coaches at every level. If the coach is the only leader in the gym; that team won't be very successful.
Here are five traits that contribute to effective leadership:
Learn From Your Mistakes
To be a good leader you have to take calculated risks and you will certainly make some mistakes along the way. Admit them. Learn from them. Don't repeat them! These mistakes can be in the classroom or on the court.
"Success comes from good decisions. Good decisions come from experience. Experience comes from bad decisions."
Lead by Example
The old adage "do as I say, not as I do" doesn't fly in today's world. If you expect it from the people you are leading, you have to expect it from yourself. You must hold yourself accountable before you can hold anyone else. If you expect your players or teammates to be on time, then you need to be on time. If you expect them to know every play in your playbook, then you need to know them too.
If you want to be a leader, people notice.
"Do what has to be done. Do it when it has to be done. Do it as well as you can. Do it this way all of the time."
Put Others' Needs First
Compassion and empathy are extremely important to quality leadership. It is impossible to be selfish and be an effective leader. If you are a player, are you playing for the scoreboard or the scorebook? Are you playing for the name on the front of the jersey or the back? If you are a coach, do you listen to your players' feedback and thoughts? Treat your teammates and players right and genuinely care about them.
"No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care."
Have Confidence
Your attitude is something you have complete control of and will influence everything you do in life. A positive attitude helps build confidence. You must have a strong self-worth and be confident in your abilities, without being arrogant or cocky. It sounds corny, but you have to feel good about yourself to be a good leader.
No one is going to follow someone who doesn't believe in themselves. Confidence comes from a sound work ethic and from being prepared. If you are going into a game and aren't confident you can win; it's because you know you didn't do what was necessary to prepare!
"Don't ever take a shot you aren't confident you are going to make."
Set a High Standard
If you do everything to the best of your ability, then you can expect it from those you lead. If you are always on time, always work hard, and always put your heart and soul into every practice, workout, and game--then you can expect your teammates and players to do the same. But you have to believe your teammates and players can meet this standard. A good leader will motivate those they are leading to do so. You want to be the type of leader who raises the level of everyone around you. Set the bar high and then lead them to it!
"It is a funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you often get it.
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These are just some of the traits needed to be an effective leader. Whether you are the point guard on a high school basketball team or an assistant college coach, your ability to be an effective leader will dictate your success as well as your team's success.
How to Become a Team Captain
By Daniel Benjamin
Basketball is a team game where player leadership is essential. Player leadership can be the difference from your team being good rather than mediocre.
You may be asking, “ Why do I need to be a leader, when my coach is an exceptional leader?”
The reason player leadership is so important is because athletes typically respond to peer motivation and peer pressure at a much deeper level than when the message is received from a coach.
Being a team captain is not easy but it is a very important part of the composition of your team. Team captains are generally selected a couple of ways; either the coach chooses the team leaders or there is a team vote.
Either way it is a great honor to be named captain and it shows the team and coach have confidence in your leadership ability. Remember you don’t have to be the star of the team or starter to be a captain.
Here are 10 qualities you need to be an effective team captain.
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You must be self-motivated. Team captains are the heart and soul of a team, going all out every minute you are on the floor during games as well as in practice. You also should be the first one at practice and one of the lasts to leave.
Team captains firmly believe that the best interest of the team always comes first.
Team captains are bold, tenacious, fearless, prepared, fluid and enthusiastic.
Team leaders are great listeners and have a thirst to improve. When a coach tells you something, you should listen to the meaning of the words and not how it is said. If a coach didn’t care, he wouldn’t bother to help you become the best player possible.
Team captains expect and demand the best from themselves and their teammates.
Know your role. A key part of being a leader is knowing your role on the team (scorer, rebounder, shutdown defender, sixth man, etc.). If you don’t know, ask.
Team captains choose their words carefully. The words of the team captain mean more than that of any other player.
Encourages teammates. A good leader keeps the team upbeat and positive. If a teammate is down, the captain picks the player’s spirits up.
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Understand that mistakes will be made. Team leaders can’t get down on themselves or others when mistakes because if you do others will follow. So, instead of chastising yourself or teammate learn from the mistake and move on. Simple statements like “I got you next time” or “Relax, I will get the ball again next time”, will do wonders for a player’s confidence after a mistake.
Team captains do not allow others to talk negatively about the team. You should take any insult about a team member as an insult against the whole team.
I want to be a leader ⋆ Basketball information portal
Today we will talk with you about leadership. After all, every team has a leader, regardless of its performances and results. Scientists have long argued who is the leader? Are these qualities inherent from birth or can they be trained? I believe both the first and second statements are correct. Leadership qualities can and should be developed. Let me give you one experiment as an example. Scientists...
Today we will talk to you about leadership. After all, every team has a leader, regardless of its performances and results. Scientists have long argued who is the leader? Are these qualities inherent from birth or can they be trained? I believe both the first and second statements are correct.
Leadership qualities can and should be developed.
Let me give you one experiment as an example. Scientists for the study invited student volunteers, who were divided into several groups, three people each. The students did not know each other before. Each of the groups received some tasks. Each time one of the group members took the main initiative, thereby becoming the leader. The groups decided to mix, those who were leaders before, immediately tried to become leaders in new groups, if not in the whole group, then at least in some specific tasks.
A basketball player can be a leader on the court while remaining quiet in the dressing room.
But there is another type of leadership - a latent (ie hidden) leader. If translated into the language of basketball, it looks like this - the team is playing its far from the best match, the game is clearly not going well, and then one of the middle players takes the threads of the game into his own hands. He can coordinate defensive actions or show his attacking skills, or he can simply take the ball and command him to perform a certain combination, regardless of his position in the team.
Then again demonstrate their usual level of play, not particularly standing out against the general background. You are probably familiar with this situation.
A latent leader, with a high degree of probability, can develop into a full-fledged leader. The whole problem is that he is not yet aware of his leadership or simply does not know how to do it.
So what is the difference between a leader and ordinary players? Here are the main characteristics of a real leader:
1. Responsibility. If a basketball player brings a lot of benefits to the team, scores a lot of points, etc., this does not mean that he is a leader. The leader is responsible for the result of the team, for the result in each individual episode. He must be prepared that at a difficult moment, it is he who will lead his partners along with him.
2. Passionate desire. Passion is a very important quality for a true leader. Passion and a clear goal allow the leader to keep the focus, he should not rush about, he should systematically achieve the task set for the game.
3. Aspiration. The leader must be clearly aware of his goal, he must strive for it with all his might. Even being in a difficult situation, he should not stop, play out each episode, help his partners, and not give up.
4. Creative approach. A leader should not think in patterns. He must be able to improvise, to do unexpected things. It's nice to surprise your partners and leave your rivals in bewilderment.
5. Self-confidence. Only confidence will help you make the right decision in a difficult situation. And in case of defeat, confidence will allow you to quickly recover and continue to follow your goal.
Pavel Beskhitrov
sports psychology consultant
7 leadership lessons you can learn from playing basketball
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To win on the court, as well as to win in business, teamwork must be more effective than the activity of each individual player.
Spring in America is always associated with basketball, whether it's three-pointer Stephen Curry or NCAA title-winning Villanova.
Some leaders in the business world are guided by the discipline and strategies inherent in this game in life.
Not long ago, I met with the CEO of Basho Technologies Inc. Adam Ray and his team in an informal setting at Final Four in San Francisco. Ray is a devoted fan of the University of Kansas. Its perfectly tuned distributed database provides network access for large and well-known companies such as Best Buy, Riot Games and Comcast. He credits Basho's success to a leadership style similar to basketball leadership.
“A team is more than just the sum of the players on the Basho staff,” Ray explains. It should be so, because the company consists of workers scattered all over the world. “We are a distributed database platform, while at the same time we enjoy all the advantages of an organizationally decentralized company,” he continues.
According to Ray, you can ask anyone in Basho and they will talk about their personal role and how their work fits into the overall business game.
And then ask him what the tasks and goals of the organization are, and you will probably hear the same wording that all the other employees of the company will give out: to participate in the game and win matches.
Ray, he says, made Basho that way because he treated his company more like a basketball coach than like a boss. The coach relies on the talent of his pupils, quite often so does the rational CEO.
Ray and his team drew 7 parallels between basketball and business that contribute to the success of the organization.
1. Hire the best
Following legendary basketball teams, Basho believes in attracting the greatest talent, no matter where they live. Satisfy the needs of your players so they can join the team.
As Rey explains, it's impossible to get the best database expert from Scotland if you need him to move to California's Mountain View. However, if you create for him the infrastructure, conditions and team that will allow him to stay at home, he will be in your ranks.
2. Treat everyone with equal respect
Yes, Villanova's Josh Hart was leading the NCAA season in points, but in the last second of the game, a three-pointer to win against North Carolina was thrown by his teammate Chris Jenkins.
All players matter, and at some point someone can excel and benefit the whole team. This is true both during the match and when implementing the strategy of the corporation, notes Rey.
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3. Support others
“Hungry for brilliant results? Then inspire!” Ray comments on his approach to leadership. Nurturing and empowering a team of successful assistant coaches, team leaders and specialists is key to being able to delegate responsibilities. Such a distribution of rights, replacing micromanagement, builds trust, stimulates and turns the fulfillment of duties into the main goal.
“Victory is forged from small things, and I physically can’t keep track of everything,” Ray says. “You need to hire, train and inspire every member of the team so that he/she can do their job.”
4. Encourage open communication
Duke University men's basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski calls communication one of the fundamental things that makes a great team. A sociable person is distinguished not only by the ability to speak clearly, but also by the possession of non-verbal signals and written speech, as well as a willingness to listen. Reward players for the positivity they bring to the team and encourage them to improve.
In business, this type of communication has demonstrated its asymmetry. Everyone on the Basho team speaks and listens in much the same way and, according to Ray, is very interested in talking and doing.
5. Encourage energetic play
In basketball, energetic matches are often not reflected in the statistics, they are necessary for the success of the team as a whole.
If the players know their roles, then they are not afraid of some fuss. “It is the energy that allows you to win if the chances of winning are equal,” Rey notes.
By rushing for a free ball, you put the interests of the team first. And it's the same in business: if you care about your employees, you put collective goals above all else.
6. Be an altruist
The eminent Bill Russell of Celtic once said: "The main measure of the quality of my game is the benefit that I have brought to my teammates." You can win in business, as well as on the field, only if the team is stronger than each of the players individually. In basketball, help allows you to hit the ball into the basket. In business, facilitation can lead to a deal.
7. Formulate a general concept
The head coach must have an idea of the mission of his team. American college men's basketball coach Mark Gottfried said, "Create a mental image. Sell your software. Your team will be your reflection.
