Knowing your purpose in life, growing to reach your maximum potential, and sowing seeds that will benefit others. John C. Maxwell
Success Is A Choice Welcome to a great year of basketball. It is truly an honor and a privilege to be the head basketball coach at Ponder High School. Our dream and goal this year is to qualify for the playoffs and to advance in the playoffs. In making this journey, we hope that this will be the best year of your life and one that you will always treasure. As your coaches, we promise to do everything in our power to make this team, and you, a champion on the court and in the game of life. If you need our help or have a problem, please feel free to come and talk with us. What Do We Expect From You? In our attempt to become champions on the basketball court, we must also learn to be champions in the game of life. Below are the high standards and guidelines that we expect you to follow: Act like a Champion. Be a Leader. Leaders are people who show the way and lead by example. Act Mentally Tough. Don t panic and break under pressure. Expect to Win. Doubters don t win. Winner s don t doubt. Play Hard. Always give your best. Play with Enthusiasm. Enthusiasm shows the world that you re excited and have a passion for what you re doing. Get excited and enjoy what you re doing. Play Smart. Stay focused and maintain a high level of concentration. Never Give Up. People, who won t quit, don t. Don t Make Excuses. Learn to accept responsibility for your actions. Work Hard in Practice. This is the time you earn the right to play for the Championship. Excel in the Classroom. You will either pay the price now, or you ll pay a bigger price later. Always Have a Positive Attitude. Positive attitudes are contagious. Be Coach-able. These are the people you win championships with. Put the Team First. Selfish and self-centered people don t.
Action Steps for True Champions 1. Pray and read your Bible. This will someone you re going to do give your life peace and direction. something, then do it. 2. Attend church regularly. Going to 14. Eliminate the word quit from your church motivates and energizes you vocabulary. If you want to be to serve the Lord, and to live your life successful over the long haul, you according to the scriptures. must be willing to stay the course 3. Act like a Winner. We can t stress People, who won t quit, don t. enough the importance of handling 15. Learn from your mistakes. There yourself at all times with class and are four things you should do with a integrity, especially in tough times that mistake: 1) recognize it, 2) admit it, truly test everyone and usually bring 3) learn from it, 4) forget it. out our worst instincts. 16. Be able to admit your weaknesses 4. Always be positive. Positive and establish short-term goals to people can take on the world. overcome them. 5. Be committed to hard work. Hard 17. Dress and look your best at all work is not always fun, but it s the times. price you must pay to be more 18. Respond with a simple, courteous successful. The harder you work, the thank you when anyone pays you a tougher it is to surrender. compliment for any reason. 6. Be nice. Treat others the way you 19. Volunteer your name first in every would like to be treated. telephone call and whenever you 7. Avoid having to be right all the meet someone new. time. Your goal is to connect with 20. Walk more erectly and confident in people, not defeat. public with a relaxed but more rapid 8. Be committed to doing things the pace. right way. Remember that perfect 21. Sit up front in the most prominent practice makes perfect. rows when you attend class, 9. Smile. In every culture it is the meetings, etc. light in your window that tells people 22. Replace the word can t with there s a caring, sharing individual can, and try with will in your inside. vocabulary. 10. Learn to stay relaxed and friendly 23. Be on time. Always be at least no matter how much tension you re ten minutes early. under. 24. Thrive on pressure. The more you 11. Write down your goals and review prepare the better able you are to them often. When you fail to plan, you handle pressurized situations. are planning to fail by default. Pressure often brings out 12. Focus all your attention and extraordinary results. energy on the achievement of your 25. Develop a study routine. goals. Discipline yourself to study one hour 13. Don t put things off. Get in the a night. Your grades reflect habit every day of doing the more how much time you are willing to unpleasant things first If you tell study.
You are a Leader when You firmly believe that the best interest of the team must always come first. You will exchange blood, sweat, and tears for the benefit of the team. You play and know, without a doubt, that you have competed like a champion. You understand that basketball is a team sport. You hustle and give everything you have on defense. You make mistakes and use them to improve, instead of using them as excuses. You do the little things right when no one is watching. You give more than what is asked and take less than what is deserved. You think you can, and you do. You are willing to dive on the floor after every loose ball. You play with pain without creating a scene. You encourage and cheer for your teammates when you are not in the game. You are a leader and not a follower. You do not allow others to talk negative about the team or individuals associated with the team. You expect and demand the best from your teammates. You take pride in keeping our locker room clean and neat. You volunteer your time and energy for the betterment of the program, not asking what s in it me. You play without the option of defeat.
Offense Style of Play We love to play up-tempo basketball. Our style of play is to run and attack. We push the ball up the court at every opportunity. As we push the ball up the court, we look to score primary break to one of our offenses. Our primary goal on offense is to play team basketball. To us, team basketball is about not forcing shots, making the extra pass, and attacking the basket to pass, not shoot When five are playing as one on the court, basketball is a beautiful game to watch. not to have to lead to a score. 5. Pass away from the defense. Always know where the defense is, and pass away from it. Use twohanded grip as a passer. 6. Play under control. Don t have your mind made up about what you want to do. Read the numbers and take what the defense gives you in an organized and controlled matter. 7. Be patient. Don t play fast. A good rule to remember is to hurry, but don t rush. It s not how fast you go, it s what you do. Besides team basketball, we stress ball sureness, catch-and-face, shot fakes, pass fakes, playing off the elbows with dribble penetration, drawand-kick action, draw-and-kick out action, wise shot selection, crashing the boards, and getting offensive rebounds. 8. Don t force shots. Pass the ball when you are well defended. 9. Dribble with your head up and see the court. 10. Dribble north and south. Attack the gaps in the defense. No wasted dribbles. General Offense Rules 11. Always know the time and 1. Play smart. Understand and know score. what the coach is looking for. 12. Maintain proper spacing of 15 to 2. Play unselfishly. Always pass to 18 feet. Spacing is offense and the open player and don t force shots. offense is spacing. Keep the offense high and wide. Perimeter players 3. Protect the basketball. Handle the should stay three feet above the three ball with sureness. Avoid turnovers. 4. Make the safe and easy pass. opportunities. Don t force passes. Every pass does point line, except of course when executing cuts or screening
13. Try to make three passes before roll or fade. attempting a shot, other than a layup opportunity. 22. Always receive the screen late Wait! Wait! Wait! Wait for the 14. Catch-and-face. Anytime that screener to jump stop and say your we receive the basketball, we face the name before you dribble off the screen basket in the triple threat position. and attack the basket. 15. Always look to go inside first, 23. Read the defense. Think before before shooting outside shots. Our you move. Try to take advantage of first objective every time down the what the defense gives you. Our floor is to go inside. We like for our cutter and screener must concentrate post to touch the ball before any shots on their defender and not watch the are taken. ball. Cutters should always make their cuts away from their defender and 16. Use a jump-stop in the post move with a purpose. area. Keep the ball under chin, with elbows out. 24. Move to be a great receiver. As a pass receiver, you must always step 17. Always look to dribble penetrate to the ball, show a hand-target, and (slash) to the elbows. We love to play off the elbows offensively (jump shot, draw-and-kick, or kick-out). call for the ball. 25. Backdoor cut when overplayed. When your defender has a foot and 18. Look to draw-and-kick. Anytime hand in the passing lane to deny you a weak-side defender rotates to stop ball, we look to pass to our open teammate. Use a bounce pass in the paint to hit the open teammate. from catching the ball, change direction and cut behind the defender toward the basket with your lead hand up. 19. Get fouled. To win the big games, 26. Fake a pass, to make a pass. you must get to the free throw line, and then you must make them 27. Use a shot fake before you Great players get to the foul line 7 to 8 dribble. times a game. 28. Acknowledge (credit) the 20. Communicate on all screens. unselfish pass that leads to the score. Raise your weak hand to let the cutter Point to her, the assist girl. Let the know you re coming to screen for her. fans know who made the play. As you set the screen, call out your teammate s name. 29. Crash the offensive boards. Players 3, 4, and 5 must crash the 21. Set tough, hard ball screens. boards on every shot while players 1 Set your screen on the defender s and 2 sprint back to stop the fast hip (headhunt). The screener needs break. to slip the screen, or get set and then
30. Rebound the offense. We want our shooter to always follow her shot with her hands up. Our other players (3, 4, and 5) are responsible for weak-side rebounds. Most rebounds (75%) are grabbed on the weak-side of the basket. Shot Selection We are big on shot selection. Shot selection is the single most important factor in the development of successful offensive play. We believe a poor shot is just as bad as a turnover. We want to do everything in our power not to force bad shots. Basketball is not an equal opportunity game. Shot selection will vary from player to player, from possession to possession, according to each player s ability to shoot the basketball. ATTITUDE IN (CLASSROOM) ATTITUDE IN (PRACTICE) ATTITUDE IN (GAME)
Defensive System Defense Wins Championships We love to play defense. Our ballhawking, floor-slapping, in-your-face defense is our team s greatest strength. We believe and teach that great defense is all about heart and hustle. Our attitude on defense is that we are going to make them work, on every possession, to score. We are not going to give them any easy baskets. We are going to do everything in our power, within the rules of the game, to keep them from scoring - maximum ball pressure, quick help, taking the charge, pressuring the shot, blocking out, rebounding, etc. If they make a great shot, then that s OK, but it s not going to be easy. We always expect and demand great defense from our players. One thing we will not tolerate on our team is lazy defense. In our mind, no one has a choice about whether or not they are willing to work and sacrifice while on defense. Our players know that, if they want to win the Championship, if they want to win the big game, if they want playing time, then they must play great defense. In our opinion, playing great team defense makes a group of girls a true team. We believe playing great defense helps players understand the need for everyone to play as a team, to always put the team first, to play unselfish basketball, and to bond and believe in the power of the group. In other words, playing great defense builds character, and without character the team will not win consistently We believe that playing great defense teaches players to work, to be selfmotivated, to do what s right, to persevere when challenged, to make wise decisions, to be responsible, and to be accountable. These are the character traits of a true Champion on the court and off the court, and these are the type of players you win Championships with. Defensive Goals In order for us to be a great defensive team, we must constantly focus our energy and determination towards the accomplishment of these seven defensive goals: 1. Hustle. We must sprint back on defense and make a stand on every possession. Gambling, reaching, lunging, over-committing, and fouling is false hustle. 2. Fatigue our opponent. We must wear our opponent down mentally and physically when the legs go, the heart and the head follow quickly behind. The best way to fatigue your opponent is to utilize full-court pressure defense to create an up-tempo style of play. 3. Maximum ball pressure. We must not allow our opponent to see the court and pass the ball when and where she wishes. We must attack and create doubt and confusion. 4. Protect the Power Zone. We must not allow dribble or pass penetration into the paint.
5. Contest every shot. We must close 7. Hold our opponent to 10 or less out intelligently and get a hand up on points per quarter. The scoreboard every shot. does not lie. You are either playing great defense, or we have a problem. 6. Block out and Rebound. We must block out and rebound on every shot. We will not give up any second or third shots. You Must Pay the Price!!! You pay a price for getting stronger. You pay a price for getting faster. You pay a price for jumping higher. (But also) You pay a price for staying the same.
Parental Conduct 1. Please don t shout advice to your basketball player. Playing time will not player during the game. Shout be discussed with parents. encouragement. A steady stream of technique suggestions, though, has 4. Please don t talk bad about the no value. Your insightful tips may coach in front of your child. If you conflict with our instruction. have a concern with the coach, then you need to set up a time to meet with 2. Please don t harass the refs. the coach. Support the coach and Parents that loudly harass the referees stand behind his/her decisions. are embarrassing to the player and the team. 5. Please don t razz the other team s When a parent makes a spectacle of players. The other team s players him/herself at a game, the player is should be considered off limits. Yelling embarrassed. If the ref is being reamed at or deriding someone else s child is a by a parent for a bad call (by definition, shameful practice for an adult at a a bad call is any decision made against sporting event. Parents who intend to the parent s child), what does the player disrupt, distract, or upset players exhibit learn? She learns that the mistake wasn t the worst of poor sportsmanship. her fault. It was the result of poor officiating. This is a bad habit to exhibit. As a parent, be involved in a positive Don t encourage your child to place the way. Attend your child s games as often blame for their failures upon others. One as you can. Cheer for all the kids on the of the benefits of playing sports is team. Help the Booster Club by becoming learning to accept responsibility instead a member of the Booster Club. Assist with of making excuses. logistics. If you re not sure how to help, ask the coach. Sometimes a call is hard to take for whatever reason. Such times are tests There is probably a hundred ways to of emotional control. If a player can be a good team member and a good learn to bite her lip and move on, a parent at the same time. When the parent can learn to sit quietly for a larger definition of team is working well, moment and let the emotion pass. the experience can be wonderful for Learning to cope with disappointment is everyone involved. People who see our a valuable life skill. program in action will want to be a part of it. Parents looking ahead to when 3. Concerns over your child s amount their child will be old enough to of playing time. When a player is con- participate will want to fit in and help. cerned with her amount of playing time, This kind of teamwork perpetuates itself. she needs to sit down with her coach and Once it gets momentum, it can be quite determine what she needs to do in order to a force. It just takes parents who care. improve her performance. This is an opportunity for her to decide if she is willing to pay the price to grow as a
Basketball Golden Rules 1. BE ON TIME! 2:38on the floor READY to go! 2 down and back towel pushes for every minute late. 2. Good attitude at ALL times towards EVERYONE! 1 timed transition. 3. Must be at open gym AT LEAST 2 times a week and stay until 4 for it to count! We recommend you come more than twice. 2 minute defensive stance for every day not there. 4. Always have appropriate clothing for practice. 1 timed 4:6:4. 5. Always play hard and give 110% effort. 25 pushups. 6. Do NOT miss practice without letting the coaches AND seniors know. 2 timed 4:6:4 & 2 towel pulls. 7. Missed practice but the coaches and seniors know. 2 timed transitions & 2 towel pushes. 8. Do NOT have a dirty locker room. Everyone in the locker room has 2 timed transitions & 15 pushups. 9. Everyone should be at ALL team activities. 1 minute defensive stance. 10. If injured, you are required to see trainer daily at lunch for treatment. Timed 4:6:4 for everyday missed. 11. For any reason you are not at practice, you will be there attentively and assisting in any way until practice is completely over. 30 pushups for leaving early or not paying attention. 12. ALWAYS wear ankle braces. 2 down and back towel pushes. Varsity Girls can ALWAYS give rides!!
Player / Parent Information 2015 2016 Athlete: Address: Home Phone: D.O.B. Zip Code: Cell Phone: Email: Parents/Guardians: Mom Cell: Dad Cell: Email: Initial below to show that you have received a copy of the following: Lady Lion Basketball Guidelines (On Webpage) Game Schedule (On Webpage) Practice Schedule (On Webpage) SAT/ACT Dates (HS Only, On Webpage) Athlete Signature Parent/Guardian Signature Date Date