Saturday, June 30, 2007

Rick Majerus Book

I just got done reading Rick Majerus' book. It was a pretty good read. It wasn't amazing, but it was entertaining for the most part. It talked a lot about his coaching stops and recruiting. It included a bunch of small stories.

I enjoyed reading about how he approached coaching. How he continually tries to improve by watching other coaches and see if it is better their way or his own way. He really is obsessed with the game of basketball. He lives basketball.

He made a good point about looking to go to different jobs. He said he always listened to offers and see what they had to offer, but every job is going to have problems. No job is perfect, climate and facilities don't make recruits automatically come to play for you.

Lots of small tidbits especially for aspiring coaches.

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Quick Update

I have been working basketball camps all June. It hasn't been the variety of camps I had expected, but that can be a good thing too. I have worked Butler's camp twice now and it just forms a better connection with their staff. That is probably more valuable than just meeting a bunch of random coaches. I have actually got to know them instead of just learning their name.

Camps are going well. I have a lot of patience so dealing with kids that don't necessarily want to be at a basketball camp isn't a big deal to me. I have really been working on the energy and enthusiasm I try to motivate my campers with. I'm a low-key, laid back guy but I need to be able to change gears and instill a high level of energy to my players at times and I have been working on that. It's almost acting where I'm overly enthusiastic and giving praise to get the players going...every coach needs to be able to do that.

IPFW camp...I was the only non IPFW player or coach to work the camp. It was weird in a way, but I really feel awkward so I didn't have a problem with it. I really didn't know any of the players or coaches other than Dane Fife before I got there. The staff was great and I look forward to staying in contact with them and hopefully making it to a few of their games this coming year.

On a side note, I am looking for a coaching website/forum where I can talk to coaches reguarly. I want to talk and read about basketball and coaching basketball 24/7 and there are very few websites for coaching. I've found one decent forum, but it's geared more towards youth coaching. Just looking for more options. Leave a comment if anyone knows of anything.

Friday, June 8, 2007

Butler Camp

I worked the Butler University Boys' Basketball Camp this week. It was my first time working a major camp and I had a great time. The staff and players were very welcoming and friendly. Overall, it was an unbelievable first camp success.

The main goal was to get to know the staff. The staff actually made this easy for me. They made a lot of small talk and got to know the camp workers. I can only hope the coaches at future camps are that easy to talk to and to get to know! I think I made some good connections with the Butler staff...at least maybe for some free tickets next year.

Next up is the Butler University Girls' camp. It's going to be a long week of camp. There are two camps in one. Individual camp from 8am-4pm and then a team camp each night from 5pm-10pm. Definitely should be fun!