Coaching Management 13.3

Coaching ManagementB A S K E T B A L L P O S T S E A S O N E D I T I O N 2 0 0 5

VOL. XIII, NO. 3 ■ $5.00

■ Teaching Mental Skills■ Strengthening Your Center

LOOKINGGOOD!How to have a positivemedia presence

LOOKINGGOOD!How to have a positivemedia presence

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CONTENTS Coaching ManagementBasketball EditionPostseason 2005

Vol. XIII, No. 3

COACHING MANAGEMENT 1

COVER STORY

Looking Good! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16Presenting a positive, effective presence to the media takes more thanpausing to answer a reporter’s questions. Top coaches give their advice onhow to be media-savvy in today’s media-heavy world.

OPTIMUM PERFORMANCE

The Mental Edge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25How can you get your athletes to give maximum effort in every aspect oftheir performance, on every play? Consider the following mental (and life) skillsprogram.

COMPETITIVE EDGE

Center of Strength . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33Size is only part of the mixture that makes a great post player. Strength,agility, and footwork are what keep centers on the ball.

Advertising Sales AssociatesDiedra Harkenrider, (607) 257-6970, ext. 24Sheryl Shaffer, (607) 257-6970, ext. 21

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Mailing lists for Coaching Management Basketball areprovided by the Clell Wade Coaches Directory.

The Coaching Management Basketball edition is pub-lished in July and March by MAG, Inc. and is distributedfree to college and high school coaches in the UnitedStates and Canada. Copyright © 2005 by MAG, Inc. Allrights reserved. Text may not be reproduced in any man-ner, in whole or in part, without the permission of the pub-lisher. Unsolicited materials will not be returned unlessaccompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope.Coaching Management is printed by Banta PublicationsGroup, Kansas City, MO. POSTMASTER: Send addresschanges to: Coaching Management, P.O. Box 4806,Ithaca, N.Y. 14852.

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Publisher Mark Goldberg

Art Director Pamela Crawford

Art AssistantDina Stander

Business ManagerPennie Small

Special Projects Dave Wohlhueter

Editor-in-Chief Eleanor FrankelAssociate Editor Dennis ReadAssistant Editors R.J. AndersonKenny BerkowitzAbigail FunkDavid HillGreg ScholandLaura Smith

Circulation Director Dave Dubin

Circulation ManagerJohn Callaghan

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Prepress Manager Adam Berenstain

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Production Manager Kristin Ayers

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Ad Materials Coordinator Mike TownsendAdministrative AssistantSharon Barbell

IT Manager Mark Nye

LOCKER ROOMBulletin Board . . . . . . . . . . .2NCAA Division I to vote on recruitingreform … Strategies for schedulingequity … John Wooden’s legacy goesonline … Samford U. makes Webcast-ing part of its game plan … Tips onconduct codes … A new institute isgeared for D-III coaches … Big HouseGaines tells his story.

Q&A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13Kevin McCarthy, Head Men’s Coach atSUNY Cobleskill, talks about combin-ing education and athletics, filling threedifferent roles, and the relationshipbetween coaches and administrators.

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Coaching Aids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47Video Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50More Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

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will allow them to better matchtheir schedules to their needsand resources, and perhapshelp level the recruiting playingfield.

Here are the major changessought by the NABC:

■ Grant signed athletes the“full benefits” of enrolled stu-dent-athletes the summerbefore their freshman year.

■ Allow college coaches tocontact prospects who’vesigned a letter of intent duringthe dead period in the recruit-ing calendar. Also allow men’scollege coaches to contactand meet in-person with highschool academic officials toask about a signed prospect’scollege eligibility.

■ Allow college teams to holdtryouts for up to six prospectsat a time, and up to 18 pros-pects a year.

■ Simplify the recruiting cal-endar by creating a flexiblerecruiting period from Sept. 9to April 30, rather than relyingon 40 designated days fromfall through spring.

■ Forbid coaches to evaluateplayers during the academicyear at nonscholastic events.

■ Forbid college coaches towork for or volunteer at non-institutional camps or clinicsand institutional camps andclinics not at their own school.And they couldn’t work forprofessional teams.

■ Have the NCAA run thenational letter of intent processand establish a clearinghousefor international prospects.

Some other proposals aren’tstrictly recruiting-related, butdeal with relations betweenstudent-athletes and coaches.The NABC wants athletes tohave unlimited participation insummer conditioning conductedby an institution’s strength

College CoachesSeek Reform inRecruitingHow can the NCAA Division Irecruiting process become apositive instead of a negativeaspect of college and highschool basketball? Collegebasketball coaches have comeup with some potential answersto this question through awide-ranging set of proposalsthat are now under review byDivision I members. A vote bythe Management Council andBoard of Directors is expect-ed in April.

The overriding goal of the ruleschanges, which were put to-gether by the National Asso-ciation of Basketball Coachesand the Women’s BasketballCoaches Association, is togive college coaches greateraccess to prospects beforeand after they sign with aschool. More contact withyoung athletes, college coachesbelieve, will help steer themin the right direction as theymake the transition from highschool to college.

Another aim of the rules pro-posals is to de-emphasizenoninstitutional teams in favorof high school teams andcoaches in the recruitingprocess. The thinking is thatwhen college coaches areencouraged to depend moreon high school coaches thanclub team coaches for contactwith high school players, therewill be more integrity in re-cruiting. College coaches alsobelieve it will help them bet-ter judge prospects’ readinessfor college and their character.

A third goal of the ruleschanges is to simplify therecruiting process by makingrecruiting dates more flexible.College coaches believe this

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while following the NABC’sproposed calendar.

The packages were greetedwith skepticism by somemembers of the NCAA Divi-sion I Management Council atthe January convention. Theysaw them as a backdoorattempt at getting in morecoaching of incoming freshmen

coach, and to lift the restrictionon more than four playerstaking part in off-season skill-instruction sessions withcoaches. The NABC believessuch changes will help coachesbetter mentor student-athletes.

The WBCA’s proposals arevery similar to those of the

before they enroll, and morecoaching of current student-athletes in the off-season.

The Management Councilnixed one significant proposal,which would have allowedinstitutions to pay for oneparent to accompany a pros-pect on his or her official visit.Small schools argued that itwould give them a furtherdisadvantage. Also, the NABC

University of Kentucky Head Men’s Coach Tubby Smith was one ofthe coaches who helped develop proposals to alter the currentrecruiting rules in NCAA Division I. The Management Council isslated to vote on the package in April.

NABC, except for thesepoints:

■ During the offseason, coach-es could use their allottedeight hours of off-seasonsport activity contact with stu-dent-athletes any way theysee fit.

■ The number of person-daysallowed for recruiting wouldshrink from 109 to 85 butallow for greater flexibility

For more on the Division I recruiting reform proposals, see the NABC Web site at: nabc.collegesports.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/072804aaa.html. The WBCA package and updates can be seen at: www.wbca.org/RAcommittee.asp.

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Vannett, Athletic Director atBowling Green High School,near Toledo. “If there are sixFriday night games, the girlsplay six and the boys playsix.”

The league also experimentedwith bringing the teams to-gether a couple of times aseason. “We took two Fridaynights within the season andscheduled them so that thevarsity girls’ and the varsityboys’ teams played at the samesite and against the sameopponents,” Vannett says.“The first Friday, the girlsplayed first and the boys sec-ond. On the second Friday,the boys played first and thegirls play second,” Vannettsays.

This did require some jugglingof the lower-level teams, how-ever. “For that first varsitydoubleheader, on Thursday,we played the freshman boysat 5 o’clock, the j.v. boys at6:30, and then the j.v. girlsplayed the last game thatnight,” says Vannett. “Thenon Friday, the freshman girlsplayed the first game, thevarsity girls played second,and the varsity boys’ gamewas last.

“The girls draw pretty wellanyway,” continues Vannett,“but there were definitelymore people at that Fridaydoubleheader because boththe boys and the girls wereplaying. The girls’ reactionwas positive.”

Wooden’s LegacySpreads OnlineIt has been nearly 30 yearssince John Wooden last blewa whistle as the coach of theUCLA Bruins, but as mostpeople know, he has neverstopped coaching or teaching.And now, a new online resourcewill ensure that Wooden’slessons continue to extendbeyond the hardwood.


er crowds, and they aresometimes relegated to play-ing a disproportionate numberof their games on schoolnights. But a handful of stateassociations and local confer-ences are pushing their mem-bers to make scheduling moreequitable.

There is more than one way toget there. Some conferenceshave schools play each other’steams on the same night butat different sites—the girls’team at one gym, the boys’ atthe other. In some areas, tra-ditional two-gender double-headers are continued, but thestart times alternate to givegirls’ teams more opportunitiesto play the later game, whichgenerally draws a larger crowd.

Other leagues, however, mustdeal with long-standing tradi-tions in scheduling that aremore difficult to alter.

One such conference is theNorthern Lakes League (NLL)in northwestern Ohio. Theconference wanted to addressscheduling equity in two areas:which nights the genders playand which gets the marqueelate-game starting time.

In the past, NLL girls’ teamstypically played on Tuesday andThursday nights, while boys’teams competed on Tuesday,Friday, and Saturday nights.Freshman and j.v. teams playedbefore the varsity contests oftheir gender.

The league’s solution was toset up a master schedule inwhich the boys and girls wouldeach play the same number ofTuesday, Friday, and Saturdaygames. “With 14 games in theconference season, if thereare games on Tuesday nights,the girls play four and theboys play four,” says Mike


withdrew an earlier proposalfor a flat five years of eligibilitywith no redshirting.

David Milson, Head Boys’ Coachat Cedar Hill (Texas) HighSchool, who regularly has play-ers recruited by Division I pro-grams, likes the idea of allow-ing prefreshmen more time toget acclimated to college life.“Nothing was more beneficialto me than going to summerschool and getting on campusbefore the masses got there,”he says. “The athletic part isoverwhelming, and then thereare the responsibilities andtime commitments. So to geta kid there to be indoctrinateda little in the summer is a hugebenefit.”

But Milson wonders if contactwith a college coach aftersigning will cause problems. “Iwouldn’t be too fired up if thecollege coach was telling mysenior, ‘I saw your game theother night, and you need tobe doing this or that,’” he says.“The kid is already being bom-barded by his parents andpeople in the stands who thinkhe ought to be doing this andthat. I can’t imagine themwanting to be on the phonewith their college coach awhole lot.”

Strategies forScheduling EquityWhen the topic of gender equityin athletics comes up, it usuallyconcerns spending—on equip-ment, uniforms, travel, and thelike. But an emerging area ofTitle IX application is scheduling.And perhaps more than othersports, high school basketballis at the center of this balanc-ing act.

The issue boils down to a simplereality of scholastic basketball:There are certain prime nightsand times for games, and inmany places, they have histori-cally gone to the boys’ teams.This means girls miss out onthe chance to play before larg-

At Bowling Green (Ohio) High School, changing the dates andtimes of both the boys’ and girls’ games is providing females withmore prime time play. Above, BGHS’s Amy Bargiel shootsagainst Sylvania Northview.

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and the National Associationof Basketball Coaches haveendorsed the award.

The site’s educational compo-nent includes downloadableprint and audio-visual materi-als for coaches, parents, andathletes. These materials areoffered in collaboration with“CHARACTER COUNTS!Sports,” and are designed to

teach the ethical, character-building, and sportsmanshipphilosophies fundamental toWooden’s teaching, coaching,and personal life.

The site also offers the Wood-en Virtual Library, an onlinecollection of writings on andby Wooden. The library willinclude unpublished writingsby Wooden, a bibliography ofhis published works, andselected poems, interviews,and articles about him.

The WLC will also feature a“Wisdom Center” that solicitsquestions from coaches andathletes, to be answered byprominent coaches such asWooden, Dean Smith, Joe

The John & Nell WoodenLegacy Center (WLC), namedfor Wooden and his late wife,is a new Web-based educa-tional and interactive tool,providing outreach programsand recognition for outstandingteacher-coaches. Founded bya group of some of Wooden’sclosest friends, including formerplayers Jamaal Wilkes and BillWalton, it is designed around

five aspects, all of which areconsistent with Wooden’steachings.

The first is the John WoodenTeacher-Coach Award, whichbeginning in October will pre-sent $10,000 to an outstand-ing teacher-coach as voted onby the board of directors. Ini-tially, the WLC plans to focusthis award on coaches fromyouth sports, and thus far theAmerican Baseball CoachesAssociation, the AmericanFootball Coaches Association,

Paterno, and Tom Osborne.The coaches’ responses willbe videotaped and posted onthe site.

The fifth aspect of the WLC isthe “Coaches Hall of Honor,”which encourages anyone whohas benefited from a relation-ship with a coach to expresshis or her gratitude by submit-ting stories and photos chron-icling their experiences. TheWLC encourages people of allages to share their experiences,and will provide samples anda template to assist in thisprocess.

Deciphering theConduct CodeIt’s widely accepted that codesof conduct are a good ideafor high school athletic pro-grams—and most schools haveone. But how much autonomyshould coaches have in settingtheir own team policies? TheCedarburg (Wis.) School Dis-trict recently grappled withthis question after a clashbetween the athletic depart-ment’s policy and a headcoach’s team rules landed thedistrict in court.

Former Cedarburg Head Boys’Basketball Coach Ben Sieberthad set a strict rule for hisplayers: Anyone caught drink-ing alcohol was off the team.But when several players weredismissed for violating that rulelast year, parents complainedthat it was inconsistent withthe athletic department’s codeof conduct, which stated thatthe penalty for a student’sfirst drinking offense was onlya one-game suspension. Theyfelt that Siebert’s zero-toler-ance approach held basketballplayers to a different, andtherefore unfair, standard forout-of-school behavior.

All basketball players and theirparents had signed agreementsbefore the season acknowled-ging that they understoodteam policies, and the students

who were dismissed admittedthat they had broken thecoach’s no drinking rule. None-theless, parents of two of theathletes filed a notice of claim(the precursor to a lawsuit)against the school, claimingthat Siebert’s enforcement ofthe team policy had led to“emotional distress” for theirsons. That litigation has sincebeen dropped, but concernsover Siebert’s zero-tolerancepolicy were central in theschool board’s decision to notrenew his coaching contract.

The controversy raises abroader issue for high schoolcoaches: Should individualteam rules be allowed to trumpathletic department policy?The Cedarburg school boardclearly didn’t think so, and inJuly it adopted a uniform dis-ciplinary code for all theschool’s athletic teams to follow.No separate team rules areallowed on matters addressedby the new code, which coversstudent-athlete misbehavioraway from their sport. Coachesmay still lay down their owndisciplinary policies on internalmatters like punctuality andpractice attendance.

In retrospect, Siebert agreesthat creating higher expecta-tions for players, despite goodintentions, can be problemat-ic. “I set high standards forthe student-athletes on myteam,” he said in a writtenstatement after learning thathe was not being retained ashead coach. “The events sur-rounding this season haveconvinced me that a singleathletic code for all student-athletes would be the bestcourse of action.”

Daryl Herrick, Superintendentof the Cedarburg school dis-trict, says the situation illus-trates the importance of fre-quently reviewing any policiesthat apply to student behavior.“It was very obvious to theschool board that the codeswere inconsistent, and thatsimply wasn’t fair,” he says.



For more informationabout the WLC, go to:charactercounts.org/wlc/.

A new Web site dedicated to John Wooden’s teachings hopes to spreadthe legendary coach’s influence to more than the top teams and players.In this photo, Wooden presents the 2004 player of the year award,named in his honor, to St. Joseph’s Jameer Nelson.

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The benefits of offering sport-ing events over the Web aremanifold, according to JustinFiresheets, Director of Broad-cast Operations at Samford.“Our coaches have found thatone of the biggest benefits isin recruiting,” he says. “Let’ssay we’ve got a kid from Col-orado who might want toplay here, but he’s waveringbecause it’s 800 miles fromhome. This might help sealthe deal for him becausemom and dad know that theycan still watch him play. Andmaybe having that expandedrecruiting appeal helps pushthe program up to anotherlevel. We’ve seen this help


Streaming Outof SamfordThis season, fans of SamfordUniversity’s men’s and women’sbasketball teams could seeevery tip-off and buzzer-beateron the teams’ home schedules,even if they couldn’t makethe trip to Birmingham, Ala.All home games, as well asmost of the school’s football,women’s soccer, volleyball,and baseball games, are avail-able via the Internet on a pay-per-view basis. It adds up toone of the most extensiveWebcast offerings in collegesports.

Samford University broadcast all of its men’s and women’s homegames over the Internet this season, which proved helpful for bothfan support and recruiting. Above, Josh Hare makes a move.

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with fans of teams from longdistances away.

The Webcasts are not currentlybringing in any straight adver-tising revenue, but advertisingspots are being offered as abonus to corporate sponsors.“We’ve noticed a lot of thecompanies want to be involvedjust because it’s somethingnew and different,” Firesheetssays. “They know they’re notgoing to reach thousands ofpeople, but they like beingable to say they’re part ofhelping this new mediumbecome mainstream. And ourathletic department feels thesame way—we’re really proudto be on the cutting edge ofthis new technology.”

The behind-the-scenes workinvolved in Webcasting isminimal once the initial set-upis complete. There is typically

bring kids in for several of oursports.”

Another advantage is thatprospects can be invited tocheck out a home event beforethey make a campus visit. “Aplayer can see what our atmos-phere is like, plus they seewhat we’re willing to do togive exposure and publicity toour teams,” Firesheets says.

Viewers pay between $6 and$10 per event, and specialrates are available throughseason passes. And while par-ents and friends of Samfordathletes make up most of theaudience, the athletic depart-ment reaches out to oppos-ing teams’ fans as well. At thestart of the season, opponentsreceive information to distrib-ute in press releases andamong players, and Firesheetssays it’s especially popular

explore just what it means tocoach at a Division III school.

Titled the “Division III Coaches’Institute,” its aim was multi-faceted: to help coaches andadministrators in D-III get bet-ter at their jobs, to talk aboutthe nontechnical aspects ofcoaching, to encourage net-working and pursuing careergoals, to discuss developmentsin the NCAA affecting thedivision, and to appreciate theDivision III philosophy.

The Institute also aimed to helpcoaches align their coachingaspirations with their owninstitution’s goals and mission.“Division III coaches arecharged with the task of notonly creating successful pro-grams on the playing fields,but also with the educationalpiece and the institutional-mission piece,” says William

only one camera, and play-by-play audio is provided byFiresheets or by feeding in thelocal radio broadcast whenavailable. Samford partnerswith Maxvu Sports BroadcastingNetwork to stream the broad-casts over the Web, andMaxvu receives a share of therevenue collected from view-ers. The athletic department’sonly regular expense is whatit pays the student workerswho set up and run the camera.

Institute ExaminesD-III CoachingThose who work in the NCAADivision III ranks often talkabout how coaching at thislevel is very different from anyother. So, last summer, Haver-ford College hosted the firstedition of what’s envisionedas an annual conference to


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Roth, the Institute’s ExecutiveDirector and Executive Directorof Development at GoucherCollege. “In addition, thecoaching is really much moreintense and involves moregrooming and teaching of ath-letes than in other divisions.”

Session titles included “Recruit-ing and Admissions,” “Ethicsand Sportsmanship,” “Appre-ciating Institutional Missionand Culture,” “The Value ofWinning and Success,” and“Division III Philosophy andPractice.”

For Monica Severson, HeadWomen’s Basketball Coachand Associate Director of Ath-letics at Wartburg College,the sharing of ideas with othersworking in Division III was thebest part of the Coaches’Institute. Ideas gleaned fromthe event that are either in

April Williams, Assistant Women’s Basketball Coach at Hunter College, speaks during a breakoutsession on “Appreciating Institutional Mission and Culture” at the 2004 Division III Coaches Insti-tute. The conference will be held June 12-14 this year at Swarthmore College.

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place or planned at Wartburginclude having Student-AthleteAdvisory Committee membersusher at campus music events,regularly holding an athleticdirector-captains’ lunch, andsurveying student-athletes fortheir views on sportsmanship.

Severson also enjoyed thateverything was consideredfrom the Division III perspec-tive. “There’s a need out therefor more discussion amongDivision III institutions,” shesays. “I’ve been to conferencesthat were open to peoplefrom Divisions I and II, and theyoften focus on their ownissues. I’m much more focusedon Division III because that’swhere I am.

“The really nice thing is that ithelps you realize you’re notalone in the issues with whichyou are dealing, like recruit-ing and campus integration,from the perspective of ourDivision,” she continues.

The second Division III Coaches’Institute will be held June 12-14 of this year at SwarthmoreCollege and will include a newsession on the many-hatsaspect of coaching in D-III,called “Other Duties asAssigned.” The cost is $475for registration by April 22and $525 for registrationthrough June 3, and covershousing on campus.

For coaches who aren’t inDivision III but are interestedin learning about a possiblecareer in the division, the feeis $375. “We know that thiscan also be a really nice net-working opportunity for folkswho want to know what it’slike to be in college coachingand how to become a part ofit,” Roth says.

Big House TellsHis StoryFrom 1946 to 1993 as HeadCoach of Winston-Salem StateUniversity (called Winston-Salem Teachers’ College until1969), Clarence “Big House”Gaines won 828 games, 12conference titles, and an NCAADivision II national champion-ship. He is fifth in career victo-ries among all college coaches,and in 1982 was elected tothe Naismith Memorial Basket-ball Hall of Fame.

But Gaines’s recently releasedautobiography, They Call MeBig House, focuses more onhow the game has changedand the lessons he learnedthan on how to win basketballgames. Having begun hiscoaching career during a timewhen separate white and col-ored water fountains existedand his teams were prohibitedfrom competing against whiteplayers, his words reveal howbasketball helped break downsome of the most egregiousracial barriers.

One of his stories recounts thedays when current CBS broad-caster Billy Packer was a guardat Wake Forest University,Winston-Salem’s cross-townneighbor. In 1959 Packershowed up at a Winston-Salemgame and Gaines invitedPacker to sit next to him on thebench. Packer then convincedhis white teammates that theycould improve their skills byscrimmaging against Gaines’steam—an act Gaines says wasconsidered illegal in manysouthern towns during that era.

For years the scrimmagescontinued and goodwill wasestablished between whiteand black players from thetown, something Gaines callsthe unofficial integration ofWinston-Salem. It was alsoduring this time that Gainesbegan seeing more whitefaces attending his team’shome games.

“I came along at just the righttime in history to witness andto play a small part in thecrossing over of black sportstalent,” Gaines writes. “What Iexperienced … was an awak-ening on the part of whitepeople that the time hadcome to let black peoplecompete on equal terms.”

Throughout all his years ofcoaching, Gaines focused oneducational goals. One of hisplayers, Hall of Fame guardEarl “The Pearl” Monroe,skipped a celebration ceremo-ny after the team’s 1967national championship to takethe national teaching exam,even though Monroe wasalmost certain to be a first-round pick in the upcomingNBA draft. Monroe came to hisdecision after promising hismother and his coach that hewould fulfill the requirements

of his degree—something 80percent of Gaines’s players did.

Gaines’s experiences alsooffer a terrific perspective onrecruiting. For instance, in atime when black collegesoperated with extremely thinfinancial resources, Gainesand rival coach John McClen-don made recruiting tripstogether to save money.“When we headed to my ter-ritory … John would sitbeside me and not say aword,” Gaines writes. “Whenwe got back in the car anddrove on, the roles werereversed. No coaches todaywould trust the others not tosteal their prized prospects.”

Former Winston-Salem Head Men’s Coach Clarence “Big House”Gaines and Willis Johnson pose with the team’s first CentralIntercollegiate Athletic Association trophy. An autobiography byGaines has recently been released.

For more informationabout the Institute, con-tact William Roth at:(410) 337-6097 [email protected].

For more information onThey Call Me Big House:go to blairpub.com.


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CM: What did the Guardians of theGame award mean to you?KM: When I was first contacted, I wasoverwhelmed that such a prestigiousorganization would present an award to,quite frankly, a small-time junior collegebasketball coach. I was also very honoredto receive an award that had been givento John Wooden. But most of all, I appre-ciate the NABC recognizing not only big-time college coaches but also the littleguy in the trenches. I felt the award wasnot just for the success I’ve had, but forall junior college coaches—who oftendon’t get the attention that Division Icoaches do, yet are doing really goodjobs of educating young men andproviding solid coaching.

What do ethics mean to you, and howdo you teach them?I think ethics have to do with one’s owncore values as they relate to life’s rules ofbehavior. It can be something as simpleas sleeping in and then making an excuse

for not being on time, or it can be some-thing as dramatic as using illegal sub-stances to enhance performance.

What we do is set a standard and edu-cate our student-athletes about what isright and wrong. Then we reinforce andmodel ethical behavior. That includesrelating real-life experiences to our play-ers to make them very aware of values,and continually reinforcing appropriatebehavior, self-discipline, sportsmanship,and integrity, both on the court and inthe classroom.

How difficult is it to teach those valueswhen your athletes see some NBAplayers acting without regard tosportsmanship?Professional sports are a very stronginfluence, and they can create conflict inthe minds of student-athletes. So it’s crit-ical to show them positive examples ofbehavior and for them to have good rolemodels who exhibit those values on a

daily basis. I think that if you show thempeople from their own lives who they canemulate, whether it’s a professor, a coach,or even a fellow athlete, then at somepoint it becomes real to them and per-sonal to them. Eventually, it can overtakethe other type of role modeling that maybe more distant.

I also talk a great deal to our student-ath-letes about some of our former studentswho had success here and continue to besuccessful in the next chapter of theirlives. Maybe they moved to a four-yearinstitution, or they’re out in the world asa business owner, teacher, or police officer.This shows our players the parallelsbetween athletic success and academicsuccess.

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Coach McCarthy believes, “It all starts on thedefensive end of the floor.” Above, SUNYCobleskill’s Isiah Forde puts the pressure onvs. Corning Community College.

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KEVIN McCARTHY SUNY Cobleskill

Some might say that Kevin McCarthy’s business card fromSUNY Cobleskill is too crowded. Along with being Head Men’s

Basketball Coach, he serves as Associate Prof-essor and Chair of the Department of PhysicalEducation and Sports Science, and Athletic Dir-ector. But McCarthy says he really has only oneprofession: teaching.

McCarthy’s success on the court speaks for itself,with 10 straight 20-win seasons and a 292-97record in 13 years at the upstate New York two-

year school. His off-the-court successes include a 2004 NACDA/GeneralSports Turf Systems Athletic Director of the Year award.

McCarthy’s passion for teaching was recognized by the NationalAssociation of Basketball Coaches last year when he received aGuardians of the Game award for education. The award isdesigned to focus attention on the positive role coaches playin the lives of student-athletes and the contributions they maketo their communities.

Before joining SUNY Cobleskill in 1992, McCarthy spent six yearsas Head Men’s Basketball Coach at Carthage College. He alsoserved as Assistant Coach at Central Michigan University andthe University of Chicago. In this interview he talks about com-bining education and athletics, filling three different roles, andthe relationship between coaches and administrators.

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What is your basic coaching philoso-phy?From a technical standpoint, I believethat you have to play good defense. Webelieve it all starts on the defensive endof the floor, so we spend an awful lot oftime in practice on pressure defense andteam defense.

But the more years I spend in the business,the more I think the real key is getting agroup of young men together who like

each other, want to play together, andwill share the ball. Ultimately, it doesn’tmatter if you’re going to run the flex, theswing, or the motion offense. You needa team of young men who are veryunselfish and want to play the game as ateam rather than as individuals.

What is the appeal of being a self-described “small-time college basket-ball coach?”When I was a young coach, I had aspira-

tions of being at the Division I level, butthat just wasn’t in the cards for me. How-ever, I have found as I’ve gotten olderthat I continue to need additional chal-lenges, which I’ve gotten from my otherroles. It has been very gratifying to beinvolved in classroom experiences andtouch the lives of the general studentpopulation. I’ve also gotten a great dealof satisfaction out of building a smallcollege athletic program that has beensensitive to the needs of female athletesand athletes in individual sports. I havebeen given a great opportunity to broad-en my focus and be more than just abasketball coach. Now, I also think ofmyself as a coach of coaches and a coachof students.

How does coaching at the junior col-lege level differ from coaching at thefour-year level?The perception is that it’s markedly dif-ferent, but the reality is that we continueto do the same things here that we didat the four-year level. We do a great dealof work on teaching fundamentals, teamskills, and sharing the basketball. And westill spend a great deal of time workingon the psychological issues related toteam success, such as motivation, defin-ing expectations, asking for commitment,and setting personal goals. The one neg-ative associated with coaching at a juniorcollege is that the student-athletes passthrough our lives quickly because they’rewith us for only two years.

What do you think are commonmisconceptions about junior collegebasketball?There is a perception that many juniorcollege programs have issues regardingacademic credibility and the character ofsome of our student-athletes. But if youlook at the landscape of two-year programsand the number of student-athletes whoparticipate in strong, academically credi-ble programs, you’ll find that those per-ceptions are not true.

Are you concerned about how thenew academic progress rules inNCAA Division I affect junior collegetransfers?Yes. The biggest challenge right now forour high quality student-athletes is the40-60 percent rule that the NCAA hasenacted. We are working hard to makesure that when the student-athletes arehere, they’re on an academic track to beable to transfer into a four-year schooland have eligibility at the college level.But the new NCAA rules make it increas-ingly difficult for student-athletes attwo-year colleges to move along and


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Circle No. 109


successfully participate at the scholar-ship level.

How do you balance all of your differ-ent roles?For one thing, I am a workaholic, and mywife constantly reminds me that I spend10, 12, or even 16 hours a day here,seven days a week. But the other imper-atives are the tremendous resources andsupport I receive. I have a very compre-hensive athletic department staff with anassociate director and an assistant direc-tor. I have two assistant coaches in bas-ketball who do the yeoman’s tasks inrecruiting, and we have some excellentfull-time sport coaches who manage andadminister their own sports. So really, alot of what I do is facilitate things. It doesrequire energy and time, but if you have

a good staff and good support, you canstill fill more than one duty—even in thisday and age.

How does being an administrator anda faculty member help you as a coach?I think coaches, especially at the non-scholarship level, need to focus on theprimary role of athletics, which I believeis to support the academic mission. As afaculty member, I’m always very aware ofintegrity issues, ethical issues, and theplace of academics in our institution.

What should coaches know aboutworking with their athletic directors?I think that young coaches need to reallybe cognizant that the world of sportsextends beyond their own individual pro-gram. They need to understand thatadministrators have to take a global lookat all the programs in a school, even ifthat sometimes disappoints coaches who

are working hard to establish their ownprogram.

One of your assistant coaches is yourbrother, Joseph. What are the ups anddowns of this arrangement?He is the life blood of our program becausehe handles almost all the recruiting. Inthis day and age for someone to makethe personal sacrifice for 18 years andnot strike out on his own and look for ahead coaching job is a story in itself.

We not only spend 40, 50, sometimes 60hours a week together on the court andriding busses, we also spend much ofour personal time together. As we’vegrown as professionals and coaches, I thinkwe have learned to respect each otherand each other’s differences of opinions.We know that once we leave the build-ing, we have to set those differencesaside so that we can still have harmonyin the family—not to mention harmonyon the golf course!

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“The biggest challengeright now for our highquality student-athletesis the 40-60 percentrule that the NCAA hasenacted … This makesit increasingly difficultfor student-athletes attwo-year colleges tomove along and success-fully participate at thescholarship level.”

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“The list of things in my head wasendless,” Taylor recalls. “I had no ideahow to answer.” He took a moment tothink, and then responded: “Makingmore than the minimum payment onmy credit card bills.” Everyone in theroom laughed, instantly the mood waslightened, and the rest of the press con-ference went smoothly.

Taylor likes using humor to set aninformal, conversational tone when hetalks with the media. He says it makeshim feel more comfortable and less

Presenting a positive, effective presence to the media means planning ahead, being accessible,and prepping your athletes on the process. Topcoaches give their advice on how to be media-savvyin today’s media-heavy world.


BY GREG SCHOLAND

pressured, and allows him to develop arapport with the people asking thequestions. And because he’s comfort-able, he speaks more freely, openly, andhonestly about his team, which his lis-teners appreciate. Now the Head Men’sCoach at Old Dominion University,Taylor’s reputation for media-friendli-ness has followed him throughout hiscareer, allowing him always to put a pos-itive face on his program, and lettingreporters know that he and his team areaccessible and welcoming.

Developing a good relationship withthe media improves your program’s pub-lic perception. Media-savvy coaches lookbetter in front of the cameras and in thepapers, attract more coverage for theirteams, and represent their programs andtheir schools in a consistently positive way.

Part of the JobCoaches who are most adept at deal-

ing with the media agree on one thing:It’s part of their job description. Under-standing that your responsibilities as acoach go beyond the team’s internaldaily operations is a necessary first stepto being media-savvy.

“Talking to the media should not beseen as a chore, and I don’t understandcoaches who look at it that way,” saysPhil Martelli, Head Men’s Coach at St.Joseph’s University. “The job of a coachis three-pronged: you’ve got to coachyour team, recruit your future teams,

laine Taylor had a lot on his mind as he stepped infront of the microphones for his first press conferenceas the new Head Men’s Coach at the University ofMontana. He had just been promoted from an assis-tant coach position he’d held for the past five years,and the first question he faced was a tough one:What is the biggest adjustment you’ll have to makenow that you’re a head coach?B

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while if they need me. It’s just a part ofexposing your program to the public.”

All About ControlNo two coaches relate to the media

in the same way. Everyone developstheir own style for communicating,based on their personality, comfortlevel, and the way they run their pro-gram. But when a coach has a badepisode with the media, the same culpritis usually to blame: loss of control. Themost important skill that makes a coachmedia-savvy is the ability to remain incontrol under any circumstances.

“Coaches say things they mightregret when their emotions are too fartoward an extreme—whether it’s toohigh or too low,” says Amy Ruley, HeadWomen’s Coach at North Dakota State

need you,” says John Tharpe, HeadMen’s Coach at Lawrence University.“We make time to meet any requeststhat the media has, whether it’s to talkto me or to any of the players, and that’sbecause we understand that they’re try-ing to do their job. And you can’t justdeal with them after victories and whenthings are going well—they have a roleand a job to do, and it’s your responsi-bility to be available to them, even whenthings are not going your way.”

It’s also important to know thatreporters work in a deadline-drivenbusiness, so making yourself availablewhen they contact you will be greatlyappreciated. “The people I’ve dealtwith have enjoyed the fact that they canpretty much walk through the door andbe welcome 24-7,” says Taylor. “Even ifI’m in the middle of other work, whenthe phone rings I’ll drop what I’mdoing to talk to a reporter for a little

Greg Scholand is an Assistant Editor atCoaching Management. He can be reachedat [email protected].

COVER STORY

and be responsible for the public rela-tions of your program.”

For Martelli, working with the mediameans making the best possible impres-sion on the public. “I look at everyopportunity, whether it be print media,television, electronic media, or any-thing else, as a chance to do a servicefor the university and for the basketballprogram,” he says. “The way I presentmyself and the way I present our teamaffects the way people think about us,our reputation, and even which stu-dents might want to come here.”

Once you’ve accepted that it’s yourjob to work with reporters, rememberthat it’s also their job to work with you.In other words, for the media coveringyour team, your accessibility is the keyto their ability to do their work.

“You need to show that you appreci-ate reporters’ interest in covering yourprogram by being available when they

University of Vermont Head Men’sCoach Tom Brennan and two of hisplayers talk to the media after a2004 NCAA Tournament game.

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University. “It’s critical to maintain aneven level of composure every timeyou’re talking with the media. You canthink a lot more clearly when you’re notoveremotional or upset.”

Tom Brennan, Head Men’s Coach atthe University of Vermont, agrees thatcomposure is key. And, he points out,timing is sometimes the biggest deter-mining factor in whether a coachappears composed.

“I’ve always said that if I talked to themedia an hour after the game instead of10 minutes after the game, I’d tell thementirely different things,” he explains.“Your perspective completely changes.Right after the game, you’re so emo-tional that you’re either gushingbecause you won or you’re devastatedbecause you lost, and it definitely affectsthe way you act. That’s when you’ve gotto be especially careful.

“Say you run into a question that youdon’t like, or you feel that a reportertakes a cheap shot with a question—right after a game is the time whenyou’re most vulnerable,” Brennan con-tinues. “If you overreact and get nasty

about it, that doesn’t make anybodylook good.”

Ruley suggests taking some time towind down after a game before you facereporters. With even five minutes toyourself, you can collect yourthoughts—and gather some objectiveinformation about the contest. “I alwaystake a little time to look over statisticsafter a game before I go to a press con-ference,” she says. “Sometimes whenyou watch a game you get an impressionthat isn’t quite accurate. I’ll look at thenumbers and realize that a player Ithought was shooting really well actuallywasn’t. Having the stats in front of youcan help you to focus on the facts andnot your own emotions.”

Keeping your composure alsorequires understanding the questionsand not overreacting to what a reporterthrows at you. “One thing that coachesdo—and I know I’ve done it—is mishearquestions,” Martelli says. “You hear partof a question, and you assume it’s goingdown a certain path. But if you had lis-tened to the whole question andthought about it, you’d realize it was get-

ting at something else entirely. And somaybe a question that you thought youwere uncomfortable with and was mak-ing you upset really isn’t a problem.”

Planning Your MessageComing off well every time you face

the media is challenging, since duringthe course of a season you’re inevitablyfaced with a variety of highs and lows.But knowing what you want to say beforeyou speak can help you to look good,whatever the circumstances.

For instance, when Martelli is prepar-ing for a press conference, he plans amessage in advance to help him get hispoints across. “I go into the game with agame plan, so why not have a mediaplan to focus the message that I want toget out there?” he says. “When I talk tothe media, that’s my chance to deliver amessage—maybe it’s subtly to the team,or maybe it’s to the fans, but it’s impor-tant to face the reporters having a plan.

“Let’s say we lose a disappointinggame to a less-talented team that wewere favored against,” Martelli explains.“My message to the media and to fans

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might be that I’m well aware we’ve gotsome holes or areas where we’re incom-plete, but we’re trying to fix them. So Imight speak in these terms: ‘We knowwe’re not getting the results that wewant, and we’re working very hard tomake it better.’”

Preparing a main message also allowsyou to set a tone and steer the questionsin a direction you’re more comfortablewith. “By having a plan for your openingstatement, you can actually end up dic-tating what the questions are going to beabout,” Martelli says. “That way, theyknow what you think is important andwhat you want to talk about. Of course,you should answer any questions theyhave, but a lot of questions are open-ended, and you can make them thinkalong the same lines you’re thinking.”

Other coaches say they are more com-fortable being spontaneous with themedia—especially if they’ve been answer-ing questions for many years. Brennan,who is retiring at season’s end after a 24-year head coaching career, doesn’t gointo media sessions with any pre-con-ceived ideas. “I’ve never prepared for apress conference,” he says. “I just go in

and shoot. They ask, I tell, and that’s it—there’s no forethought whatsoever.”

However, Brennan is careful to makesure each response sends the right mes-sages. “I always try to really think thequestion through before I answer,” hesays. “You only get one chance torespond to a question, so you’ve got totake a second to think and make surethat your words reveal what you reallywant to say.”

Team EffortWhile the head coach is the most vis-

ible spokesperson for a team, rememberthat there are other components of amedia-friendly program. The way yourteam looks in print and on screendepends on the performance of othersas well.

Your athletes, of course, are consis-tently front and center for the media, andmany coaches take time to prep them oncommunication skills. “I bring our kids tothe microphone with me in a lot of dif-ferent settings,” Taylor says. “The point isto develop their ability to communicate,think on their feet, articulate theirthoughts, and handle questions.

“For example, we hold an event inthe fall to introduce our players to thepublic, and I use that time to give themsome practice speaking for themselves,”Taylor continues. “I walk around with amicrophone and interview every kid onthe team. They don’t know what thequestions are in advance, and they’vegot to stand up in front of hundreds ofpeople and talk about themselves, theirbackground, their expectations, or what-ever I decide to ask them. Part of thekids’ development is learning how tostep up to a microphone and answerquestions and speak to people.”

At North Dakota State, Ruley’s playerssit down with “reporters” from the sportsinformation department for mock inter-views that introduce them to the mediaprocess. “Fortunately for us, most of ourplayers come from pretty successful highschool teams, so they’ve usually hadsome media exposure,” she says. “Butsome of them have only talked to a localnewspaper reporter a few times, andthen when they get here there are radioand television stations covering us. So wetake the time to educate them and makesure they know what’s expected of them

For the typical high schoolcoach, media relations arefairly straightforward—beavailable for the local mediaafter games, and talk toreporters when they seek youout. But there are also someproactive steps high schoolcoaches can take to ensurethat their programs receivemaximum, positive exposure.Providing local media with team informa-tion as soon as it’s available is a good start.“Before the season, I mail out our sched-ule, our tournament schedules, and ourroster information to the local newspaper,”says Mike LeDuc, Head Coach at Glendora(Calif.) High School. “I know that they havetrouble getting that information from someschools, so I make sure they receive ourswell in advance.”

Once the season is underway, it can beworthwhile to keep local media abreast of

anything noteworthy involving your programor your players. “We print a program forevery game, and I’ll include little tidbits ofinformation about things that have beengoing on with our team that week,” LeDucsays. “The reporters who come to ourgames get a copy, and if they see some-thing that interests them, they call me toask about it. Sometimes we’ll get additionalcoverage that way.”

An important key to keeping a good rela-tionship with local writers is working withintheir time requirements, particularly aftergames. LeDuc communicates in advancewith the reporters who cover his team, let-ting them know the routine: When a gameends, he’ll spend one to three minutes inthe locker room addressing his players,and then he will be available for interviews.“It’s mutual respect—they respect that Ineed to talk to my team right after a game,and I respect that they need to finish theirwork in a timely fashion,” he says.

In talking to his players about being inter-viewed by the press, LeDuc keeps hisadvice simple—be polite, always sharecredit with teammates, and speak respect-fully about opponents. He also tells themto always think about what they’re goingto say before they say anything.

LeDuc has found that veteran coaches willoften have more experience than thereporters covering their teams, and some-times a little media coaching is not out ofline. “High school teams are usually coveredby young sports reporters who are juststarting out, and sometimes you might notagree with the angle they’re taking or thequestions they ask,” he says. “If they’recovering your team on a regular basis,instead of getting caught up in the factthat their style doesn’t work for you, tryhelping them out a little bit. Let them knowwhen they ask a very good question, andsuggest that they try something else whenthey ask a bad one. They will probablyappreciate it, and they’ll cover you better.”

H I G H S C H O O L N E W S

and how to handle themselves. Oncethey’re used to it, most players reallyenjoy talking to the media.”

Ruley says that making athletes com-fortable with the press is the mostimportant thing. “Learning to relax isthe biggest part, so we tell them to real-ize that when they’re being interviewed,they’re participating in a conversation,”she says. “We tell them to use completesentences, to be articulate and concise,and to answer questions as thoroughlyas possible. And we also make sure theyknow that if there’s a questionthey don’t want to respond to,it’s alright to let the interviewerknow that, or to request that aquestion be directed to thecoaching staff.”

Aside from athletes, sportsinformation staff members alsoplay a large role in how well ateam relates to the media. Fromproviding up-to-date statisticsand confirming facts, to sendingvideo highlights for local newsbroadcasts and arranging player inter-views, media members rely heavily onsports information personnel when theycover a team. So a good working rela-tionship with your sports informationdepartment can be a big help.

“Our sports information peoplework so hard, and their efforts havedone a lot for our program’s exposure,”Ruley says. “I make sure to provide themwith everything they need wheneverthey ask, so that everything they give tothe media about our team is first-class.In response, they work really hard toincrease exposure for our program bysending out information that’s easy toread, accurate, and useful.”

Avoiding MistakesNobody is perfect when it comes to

public speaking, and almost every coachhas said something that they laterregretted. But experienced coaches sug-gest following some tried and true bitsof wisdom to avoid making mistakes.

Refrain from “coachspeak.” Especiallywhen things aren’t going well, it can beeasy to slip into a routine of saying thesame things over and over. Trotting outthe old maxims about needing to workhard, play as a team, and take one gameat a time may seem like a safe way to getthrough interviews, but it doesn’t com-municate anything meaningful or inter-

esting, and rarely reflects well on a coach.“You hear some coaches going on

and on with these overworked clichés,and when you break them down,they’re really an attempt to say noth-ing,” says Martelli. “I think it’s muchbetter to be honest and say what youreally think, instead of sounding likeyou’re just trying to waste time.”

Brennan agrees that honesty is acoach’s best policy. “I think talking incoachspeak is insulting to the media,”he says. “Of course you don’t want to

come out and kill the kids if they had abad game, but telling the truth and giv-ing real answers to questions is part of acoach’s responsibility.”

Don’t criticize the refs. The officialscan be an easy scapegoat after a loss inwhich it felt like every whistle went theother way. But even if you’re convincedthat the refs did a bad job, taking frus-tration out on them doesn’t comeacross well. “I’ve found that criticizinganybody, other than yourself, can makeyou look bad, and that’s especially truewith officials,” says Taylor. “People areexpecting you to speak about the thingsthat were within your control, not com-plain about the things that weren’t. Ithink you have to say to yourself, ‘Mywords are going to be professional,they’re going to be honest, and I’m notgoing to digress into the negative.’”

Go easy on your players. When aplayer, or an entire team, has an off-night, any reporters who were at thegame will already know it. If you ridiculesomeone’s performance, you won’t beoffering anything new, but you will leavea negative impression of your own abili-ty to handle a rough night.

“My philosophy is that we’re all in thistogether, so if the team doesn’t execute,that reflects as much on me as it does onmy players,” Ruley says. “If someonewho’s normally reliable doesn’t have her

usual game one night, I’m not afraid tosay that she didn’t have her best outing,but I’ll never say that a player cost us agame or call out a player who didn’t per-form. Talking with the media is not thetime to address those things.”

Often, not being too harsh is simply amatter of choosing your words diplomat-ically. “To say ‘So-and-so shot two-for-eight, he obviously didn’t have a greatshooting night’ is fine—it’s the truth,and that just makes you look honest,”says Tharpe. “But to say that the kid who

shot two-for-eight really stunktonight is not something a coachshould be doing.”

Slow down. When you’ve gota lot to say, remember it doesn’tall have to come out at once.Taking the time to organizeyour thoughts allows you tocommunicate clearly and effec-tively. “When you get excitedand you have a bunch of ideas toget across, I’d say the best thingto do is pause for poise,” Taylor

says. “If you choose your words carefullyand don’t rush, you won’t speak in run-on sentences or a flurry of fragmentedthoughts, and that’s when you’ll comeoff looking your best.”

There’s Always TomorrowPerhaps the best piece of advice is

also the hardest to follow—go easy onyourself. You won’t like every articlethat’s written about your team or everysingle quote that you give, so it’s notpractical to expect a perfect perfor-mance every time.

“I go into media settings and just tryto do the best job that I can, and then Iwalk out, and that’s all I can do,” saysTaylor. “You can talk brilliantly for 10minutes, then say one dumb thing, andthat’s what gets printed. You really can’ttake yourself too seriously.”

“The one thing you find out whenyou get a lot of media attention is thatthe things you say are here today andgone tomorrow,” adds Brennan. “Whenyou see your own name and quotes inthe paper, it seems to take on a lot moreimportance, but everyone else thatreads it just takes it in and goes on tothe next thing. When you talk to themedia on a regular basis, there arebound to be great times and bad times.If you don’t take either too seriously,you’ll be fine.” ■


COVER STORY

Especially when things aren’tgoing well, it can be easy to slip into a routine of saying thesame things over and over … “I think it’s much better to behonest and say what you reallythink, instead of sounding likeyou’re just trying to waste time,”says Martelli.

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are more effective during competition.I’ve used the program with teams atmany different levels—youth, highschool, and college—and I’ve watchedthese squads consistently give the mosteffort they can, have fun, and performbetter than anyone thought possible.

Here’s the best part: You will also beteaching skills that will help your stu-dent-athletes succeed in life. Teachingathletes how to think inside and outsidethe classroom setting and to be positiveeven when faced with a pervasive nega-tivism in our society can help them beleaders as adults.

IN MOST ATHLETIC PROGRAMS, coaching is more of an art than ascience. Every coach has his or her own strategies, style, and methodsof motivation. The common understanding is that there is no “one rightway” to coach a team.

But there is one area of coaching that could benefit from more scienceand less art: teaching athletes the mental skills necessary to succeed insports. To fully reach their potential, athletes need to be taught how to“think to win” in a structured way.


OPTIMUM PERFORMANCE

easy basket, it is not because he or she can’tmake the shot, but because some mentallapse caused them to not execute at thatpoint in time. When an athlete is not con-centrating during practice, it is a mentalproblem, not a physical one. If you canteach your athletes to recognize this, cor-rections become more permanent.

As a result, practices are more effi-cient—players end up learning more ina shorter period of time. And athletes

Mitch Lyons is an Assistant Coach for Men’sBasketball at Lasell College. He is also thePresident of GetPsychedSports.org, Inc., anonprofit corporation based in Newton, Mass.

Through research and trial and errorwith my own teams, I’ve developed aprogram for teaching the mental side ofsports that I’d like to share with othercoaches. Its premise is actually prettysimple: If you teach athletes how to beaware of their thinking process andremain positive in all that they do, theirperformance will improve.

Most mistakes made by athletes aremental mistakes. When a player misses an

BY MITCH LYONS

SID

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OTO

S.C

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TheMentalEdgeHow can you get your athletesto give maximum effort in everyaspect of their performance, on every play? Consider thefollowing mental (and life) skillsprogram.

Game of LifeThe program I describe in this arti-

cle aims to make athletes winners bothon and off the court. Most of you prob-ably already subscribe to this ideal. Weall want to win, but any good coach alsothrives on seeing an awkward freshmanmature into a confident senior leader.

And we certainly aren’t the first gener-ation of coaches to think this way. Forexample, today, we take the concept ofteamwork for granted, but 100 years ago itwas a new idea. Back in 1906, LutherHalsey Gulick, the first Physical ActivityDirector for New York City, started highschools operating sports programs (forboys) because, in his words, “Through theloyalty and self-sacrifice developed inteam games, we are laying the founda-tions for wider loyalty and a more dis-cerning self-devotion to the great nationalideals on which democracy rests.”

Gulick was amazingly successful.Today, not only do players and membersof educational institutions understand“loyalty to the whole,” but entire commu-nities support their home teams withabandon. We regularly pepper ourspeech with sports metaphors becausethe teamwork lessons in sports are clearlywhat we experience in our everyday lives.

Gulick’s vision also included teach-ing morals through sports. And whilemost coaches would agree with the ideathat we should be teaching life skills onour teams, this concept has provenmore difficult. One hundred years later,we still don’t have a standard methodfor teaching these types of lessons. Wepoint out right from wrong duringteachable moments, and we hold ourathletes accountable to a code of con-duct, but I think we can do more. I thinkwe can teach life skills—through mentalskills training—in a systematic way. Ithink the time is ripe to fulfill Gulick’sideal of using sport to shape society.

Studies in sports psychology say thatperformance can be improved throughbuilding an athlete’s self-worth. Ourprogram combines self-talk, goal-setting,visualization techniques, and a positiveenvironment to help athletes enhancetheir performance in any sport.

These same mental skills help today’syoung people find the right path andsucceed in life. My belief is that low self-worth contributes to many of our ado-lescents’ problems (violence, addictions,eating disorders). We must teach young

people how to find success by buildingtheir own feelings of value in our society.If our society’s negative attitudes pro-mote feelings of hopelessness, we mustteach young people how to create a pos-itive atmosphere in which people flour-ish and are empowered. Mental skilltraining fills those needs for your team,your school, and our society as a whole.

The ProgramA main tenet of the program and

sport psychology is that people whoengage in positive thinking and feelgood about themselves will probablyperform better in anything they do. Butwhat is not so obvious is that self-worthand positive thinking need to be taught.Helping your teammates, focusing, andeven working hard are all skills. Theymay seem like simple skills to adults, butto youngsters they can be difficult.Thus, we need to teach them, just as weteach sport-specific skills.

Here are the six major skills we teachin the program:

■ Give maximum physical effortbecause when we do we feel good aboutourselves.

■ Be positive with ourselves and withothers because people perform betterand learn faster in a positive environ-ment.

■ Set written goals because they pro-mote preparedness, which leads to feel-ing confident.

■ Be task-oriented and not outcome-oriented, because our own performanceis all we can control and success is morelikely when we think about the detailsthan when we focus on the final product.

■ Visualize performing tasks success-fully outside of practice.

■ Meditate to learn how to changeharmful thoughts to helpful ones.

You may already talk about thesethings, but are your athletes getting themessage? Is there a text that your play-ers follow? Are they absolutely certainwhat they are trying to accomplishthrough sports? Do all players on yourteam understand the concepts?

On the teams I coach or advise, theprogram starts with a 90-minute work-shop where we introduce the principlesof the curriculum. Athletes are alsogiven a text to read and are tested on itwith a short open-book quiz. By readingand writing about the skills, the athletesbetter understand their meaning and

importance. We then apply those skillsat every practice and game, without fail.We push ourselves as coaches the waywe ask players to push themselves.

Of the six major skills, the three weconcentrate on most are effort, goals,and creating a positive environment. Wework as a team on these areas and alsoask each athlete to think about themindividually. In the following sections,I’ll elaborate on these three points.

Maximum Physical EffortGiving maximum physical effort is a

mental skill, not an emotional event.While emotion may aid us, we mustmake the conscious choice to give allthe effort we can muster for as long aswe can sustain it. The following pointsare what we tell our athletes and showthem in writing:

Accept that each practice is a gamein itself. The game is, “How long can Ikeep up my maximum physical effort?”

Identify maximum physical effort asif it were a separate goal so that youknow how it feels kinesthetically, how itfeels emotionally, and what it looks likevisually. Identify maximum effort inpractice when it is happening so youknow what it is.

Demand that you make a choicewhether to give all you have—or not.Don’t kid yourself with your answer.

Expect consequences for bad choicesthat do not fit the identity of the team.Each person on the team has beenasked to give something they have com-plete control over: their effort.

Ask, before each drill, “What am Ithinking about?” (Answer: My level ofeffort.) During the drill, when the effortlevel sags, ask, “What am I thinkingabout?” Sometimes we just forget to givemaximum physical effort as ourthoughts go elsewhere, especially duringlong routine drills.

Rate your effort after each drill, indi-vidually and as a team, until maximumeffort is the rule, not the exception.This means completing each drill allthe way through without shortcuts.(Shortcuts do not improve self-worth,but drive it downward.)

Work all sides of a practice drill, so itis truly game-like (e.g., the defense onan offensive drill should play as if it werea real game).

Stop and reflect on how confidentand prepared you feel when you work as

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OPTIMUM PERFORMANCE

hard as you can all practice, every prac-tice. Stop to reflect on how good youfeel as a person after you’ve worked ashard as you can.

Notice each physical letdown andconsciously try to reduce the number ofletdowns.

Support teammates, whether you areon or off the court. During games,bench players should help the playersin the game achieve the level of efforteveryone practices daily.

Naturally, athletes who spend thetime and have the commitment towardmaximum effort in every practice willplay better in games. But more impor-tantly, each member of the team learnshow to raise his or her self-worth. Theyfeel more confident and prepared andhave learned that hard work has moredividends than just playing better. Theyrespect themselves.

Writing GoalsSetting written goals is another way to

gain self-worth. Before practice every day,each athlete must write down three goalsto be worked on that day. Why should youinsist that players construct written goals?

1. Scientific evidence shows that set-ting goals, with a coach’s feedback, im-proves players’ performance.

2. When players write down the littlethings they have to do to improve, theyremember them better and make moreprogress.

3. Setting daily goals helps playerstransition to practice time. By handing intheir goal books as they come into thegym, athletes think about their sportbefore they begin to practice and cleartheir minds of whatever they have justbeen doing.

4. The discipline required to run aplay all the way through is the same typeof discipline required to bring writtengoals every day. I have found that if youinform kids of what is expected of them,they see parallels between what they dooff the court and what they can accom-plish on it. As coaches, we establish dis-cipline in a number of ways, andgoal-setting can be one of them.

The type of goals set is very important.Goals should be challenging, yet realistic.They should be performance-related, spe-cific, and quantifiable. And they shouldbe short-term, as we want success everyday so athletes can see their own progress.

For example, a goal of “making bet-

ter passes” is not specific enough.Instead, the coach should work with theathlete to discover how to achieve thatgoal in a more detailed way. If theanswer is, “Look at the defense beforepassing,” then that’s the goal.

Giving feedback on goals is alsoimportant. After the players drop offtheir goal books and start warming up,I, as an assistant coach, make the time toread their goals, make comments, andtry to remember their goals duringpractice so I can see how they are doing.

Creating a Positive EnvironmentBeing positive all the time is not

easy—for coaches or athletes. Thus, theprogram actively teaches the mental skillof being positive and demands thatcoaches model it. Here is what we do tomake a positive environment a constant:

■ We make sure all athletes under-stand and accept that people learn fasterand perform better in a positive envi-ronment.

■ We make sure athletes understandthat it is a skill to be actively positive. We

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OPTIMUM PERFORMANCE

agree to practice this skill every time wemeet and model it for each other.

■ We notice and correct negativebehavior as soon as it happens in our-selves and others. We make sure it iscorrected in a positive way, such as, “Iunderstand your frustration, but staypositive.” To encourage this, we noticeimpatience, sarcasm, negative tone,rolled eyes, and other body language inourselves and others—then we saysomething about it.

■ We frequently ask ourselves andothers, “What are we thinking about?”to determine if we are having negativethoughts that hurt our performance.Everyone practices replacing negativethoughts with positive ones.

■ We encourage loud and frequentsupport from those not in the drill dur-ing practice.

■ We actively attempt and encourageothers to see the good in people, get-ting past old differences for their ownhappiness and the unity of the team.

■ We teach and model that construc-tive criticism from others is instruc-tion—it is not about you as a person,but about your play. We recognizedefensiveness and practice changing it.

■ We acknowledge as a group thatthe bench has the most difficult job onthe team. As coaches, we must take thetime to teach them how to be positivewithout the self-worth gained from play-ing. For example, have them work onreplacing negative thoughts (“Whyaren’t I playing?”) with helpful thoughts(“How could we do that play better?”).My teams have won many games withinsights from the bench.

Too Much Time?For those of you thinking this all

takes too much time, I can tell you fromexperience that because players learnfaster in this environment, the amountyou can fit into a practice increases.More importantly, the quality of thepractice improves.

What you will find over time is that

you are not using more words, just dif-ferent ones. You can concentrate yourcritiques on the cause of the errorinstead of the result, making correc-tions more permanent. And becausethe athletes are grounded in the mater-ial, they will respond to your coachingmuch more quickly.

But, beyond this program helpingyour athletes on the court, it can helpcreate a society that Luther HalseyGulick began to talk about a centuryago, adding in what we now know about

the mind-body connection. If we stan-dardize coaching to include practicingthe skill of being positive, millions ofyoung people will become adults whoknow the power of positive thinking.

Ten years from now, the athletes youhave on your team today will notremember the squad’s win-loss record.They may not even remember yourname. But if you teach them to be awareof how their thoughts affect their per-formance, they will remember that les-son in everything they do. ■

To request a copy of the curriculumoffered by GetPsychedSports.org,the author can be contacted at [email protected]. The group’s Web address is:www.getpsychedsports.org.

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Circle No. 120

tall centers I see: hip strength, corestrength, balance, and body position-ing. The last two problems result from,yet also exacerbate, the first two.Insufficient hip and core strengthinhibits a center’s ability to achievegood body balance and positioning onthe court. Bad habits created by a lackof balance and proper positioning, inturn, lead to further weakening of thecore and hips.

These four classic problems alsocombine to create another deficiency:lack of explosive power. Without goodcore and hip strength, balance, and


COMPETITIVE EDGE

strength and agility to compete, not justtheir height.

I have had the opportunity to coachsome great post players, and my workwith each began the same way, by study-ing them completely. The underlyingquestions I need to answer beforedesigning a program are: What doesthis player need to be a better center?What can I do to help create a strong,dominant center who will play effec-tively on both ends of the floor?

Although each player has differentattributes and needs, there are somecommon problem areas in many of the

Jackie Ansley is the Founder of Sports Excel and Performance Training Inc., both located inKnoxville, Tenn. A former NCAA Division I player and high school coach, she has trained players at the professional, college, and high school levels.

N THE BASKETBALL COURT,post players are often thecenter of attention. Coacheswill develop their offensivegame plans around goodcenters, and may even changetheir offense completely ifthey do not have a dominantone. On defense, a powerful

center can influence the opponent onalmost every trip down the court.

Therefore, these players deserve thesame amount of attention in the weight-room that they receive on the court.Many centers have relied on the advan-tages of their height at lower levels ofplay only to find that advantage negatedas they reach higher levels of the game.To be effective, centers have to use theirEL

SA/G

ETTY

IMA

GES

O

Size is only part of themixture that makes a greatpost player.

Strength, agility,and footwork are whatkeep centers on the ball.

BY JACKIE ANSLEY

CENTER OFSTRENGTH

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Circle No. 121

body positioning, centers can be easilybodied out under the basket.

A comprehensive preseason condi-tioning program for basketball centersshould address all of these needs sys-tematically. This is achieved by integrat-ing stretching, strength training, corework, and speed, agility, and quickness(SAQ) training into one program. Ofcourse, the program should be modi-fied when working with younger play-ers, players with less training timeavailable, or players with a lower overalllevel of conditioning.

Dynamic WarmupIn the desire to make your centers

bigger, faster, and stronger, it’s easy tooverlook the importance of stretching.Many of the players I see are very tight,yet do not take the time to stretch. Thiswill often show up in a player’s inabilityto properly perform certain movementsor as repeated injuries.

Before beginning any of our work-outs, I have players warm and lubricatetheir muscles with some jogging, fol-lowed by both static (stationary) anddynamic stretching (ballistic movementsin all planes of motion). Once thewarmup and stretching are complete,the players’ muscles will be more elastic,and blood flow and muscle metabolismwill be elevated, thus increasing theeffectiveness of their workouts.

To drive home the importance ofstretching before any workouts, prac-tices, or games, I frequently ask playershow many times they have said, “It tookme three trips down the court to finallyget my legs.” Once they have learned tostart every session with stretching, theyalways want to continue because theyfeel ready for whatever comes next.

Don’t forget about post-workoutstretching. Finishing each strength andconditioning session with stretchingallows athletes to relax the muscles andgently return the body to its resting state.It also keeps circulation slightly elevated,which lets the muscle cells deliver nutri-ents to and clear metabolic wastes awayfrom the muscles. Thus, muscles recoverfaster, are less sore, and are better able tostave off cramps and injuries.

Strength TrainingThe bedrock of my preseason pro-

gram for centers is strength training. I

constantly preach to the athletes thatsuccess on the court begins in theweightroom. Power, speed, and agility allrely on strength, so it’s important tobuild a proper strength base beforetraining these other areas. Without theproper strength, athletes can’t do therest of the workouts needed to improve,and the risk of injury is greater.

Since some athletes are a little reticentabout spending a lot of time in theweightroom, I prefer to structure my pro-

gram with shorter weight work sessionsspread throughout the training weekrather than bunching weightroom workinto its own days. I seem to get morestrength built when I split weightroomwork into a four-day program. However,a three-day split can also be effective.

The program design is based on theage of the athletes and their baselinestrength when they report for presea-son conditioning, which should beginabout six to eight weeks prior to the first

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COMPETITIVE EDGE

practice. Ideally, the athletes haveincreased their overall strength in theoff-season so we can focus on power andexplosion as they directly pertain to bas-ketball. If not, this base strength mustbe developed first before specific powerand explosive training can begin. This isespecially true for centers since long-limbed and thinner players will often belacking in upper-body strength.

In Table One (on page 38), I haveshown typical upper- and lower-bodyroutines and core training for the first

week of lifting, which I will vary witheach post player depending on muscu-lar endurance and strength. I chooseexercises that relate directly to what theplayers need to do on the court andadjust the mix to address specific weak-nesses that I have seen.

During the first four weeks of thepreseason, I focus on overloading andincreasing loads as much as possible.But even in this stage of strength train-ing, I encourage the athlete to thinkabout being explosive and performing

the concentric phase of each lift withspeed. They must then be able to con-trol the weights on the negative.

After four or five weeks, I evaluateeach player’s progress and start tochange their sets and reps to get themready for the first day of practice. Whenit comes to the numbers of sets and repsor the amount of weight, I am moreconcerned with increasing the workload each week than reaching any pre-set maximums.

Along with our structured core train-ing, I challenge players to focus on coreactivation and proper posture through-out the entire workout. In everythingwe do—warm up, weights, speed-agility-quickness exercises, and court work-outs—I hammer home the importanceof the core and balance.

Agility AdjustmentBy working intensively on agility

(change of direction/change of speed)and explosive power (first step alongwith vertical leaping), you can create amore explosive, more active, and quick-er center who is able to compete at ahigher level. This process begins withtraining footwork and teaching athleteshow to load their hips and gain moreexplosion and balance.

To develop foot speed, I focus onperforming the positive phase of liftsquickly. Whether they’re doing legpresses, leg curls, or other exercises, Istress the importance of explodingquickly to start, then pausing beforecontrolling the weight on the way down.I also tie their ankles together withbungee cords and put them throughshuffle drills, or even run them throughone-on-one drills with a ball.

Loading the hips is very important todeveloping the explosive power neededto become a better rebounder, post upstrongly, hold space, and be ready toshoot once the ball is received. It alsoputs a center in a better position tomove their feet when on defense. Manyposts are not able to execute multiplejumps without losing elevation eachtime. By improving hip strength andlearning how to get in proper positionwith their hips down in a quarter-squattype of stance, posts can load their hipsand elevate better in multiple jumps.

After footwork and hip loadingcomes specific agility work. Many postscan only play well if they stay in one

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Circle No. 123

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Circle No. 124

COMPETITIVE EDGE

spot. Once they are asked to make cutsthey lose all balance and strength.

I continually challenge the athlete ineach SAQ workout and try to conveyhow this skill comes into the game. I’llconstantly ask, “What are we workingon? Why are we doing these drills?” If aplayer understands how a drill can helpdown the road, then he or she will usu-ally work extremely hard.

In Table Two (below), I have includ-ed a sample SAQ workout that addresseslateral movement and linear explosion.As we progress through the preseason, Iwill change the work level and numberof reps to keep the workout challenging.

I also adjust the workouts to meet eachplayer’s specific needs. For example, oneplayer may be great straight ahead andweak laterally, so I would increase thenumber of side runs or zigzag shuffles.Another player may have the oppositecharacteristics so I would use more high-knee skips or run-throughs.

The drills prescribed to each playershould represent what he or she actual-ly needs rather than a one-size-fits-allagenda. I know some coaches havefavorite drills they like to use, but youmust ask yourself, “Is this player readyto do this particular drill? Will it makehim or her a better center?”

Cardio TrainingMy emphasis when developing the

cardiovascular fitness of any player isavoiding excessive impact. This is evenmore important with centers, many ofwhom are more inclined to foot andankle problems because of their size.

I do not recommend having playersjog long distances. We have all donelong-distance running as athletes orprescribed it to our athletes. But playersneed to prepare for the specificdemands of their position. Post playersneed to develop endurance that allowsthem to recover very quickly betweenrepeated high-intensity efforts thatengage a lot of fast-twitch muscle fibers.They do not need endurance thatallows them to sustain a steady, moder-ate intensity involving mostly slow-twitch fibers. Long-distance running istherefore counterproductive.

I primarily use cardio equipment suchas a stationary bike, elliptical trainer, orcross trainer, as well as sprint drills on thecourt. I avoid treadmills because of theconstant pounding on the legs and feet.

I use workouts featuring sustained,high-intensity intervals. These can go aslong as two minutes at high strides perminute (spm) or revolutions perminute (rpm) with an active rest of oneto two minutes at a lower spm or rpm.As the first practice approaches, wemove to short sprint intervals (15- to 45-seconds at a higher spm or rpm with 15-to 45-second active rest at a moderatespm or rpm).

If your facilities permit pool work-outs, they are another excellent way toperform conditioning work with mini-mal impact. These workouts can incor-porate not only cardio training but alsostrength and power training while pro-ducing a fraction of the impact forcesthat are absorbed on the court.

Regardless of the resources at yourdisposal, you will be able to help yourcenters become more effective on thecourt if you are able to build their corestrength and improve their agility. Thespecific exercises and drills are only toolsand are of little use if not used correctly.So make sure athletes are ready for thedrills you assign and that the drills willbenefit the player on the court. ■

This article originally appeared in CoachingManagement’s sister publication, Training &Conditioning.

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lateral, front, reverse 2x10 eachTriceps overhead cable ext. 3x8DB curls 3x8Pull-ups/dips:

weight loaded if needed 2x10 each

LOWER BODY Hip abductions 3x15Hip adductions 3x15Leg presses (single leg) 3x10 eachLeg curls (single leg) 3x10 eachShort arcs (single leg) 3x10 eachCalf raises (standing or seated) 3x10

DB step-ups 3x10 eachTuck jumps 3x10Box jumps routine:

Single box up (2 feet) 1x10Single box drop off and up 1x10Single box over 1x102 boxes drop off and up: small to big, big to small 1x10 each

CORE STRENGTH Bridges on floor:

front, back, left, right 3x30-60sec. each(add 5 leg lifts at end to challenge)

Push-ups on physio ball 2x10Physio ball pass over and back 1x10Medicine ball routine:

Overhead passes 2x10Chest passes 2x10Trunk twists 2x10Crunch to push passes 2x10

TABLE 1 S T R E N G T H W O R K O U T S

MINI HURDLES (6-8 hurdles):Side runs x2-3Side runs back and forth x2-3Side runs and back x2-3Side hops x2-3Side hops back and forth x2 each

BALANCE AND STABILIZATION: Defensive stance with movement x3-5

(hold 10 sec.)Single leg stabilization x3-5

(hold 5 sec.)Single leg hops (5 sec.) x3-5

PLYOMETRICS: Skate jumps with sidewinders x3Skate jumps without sidewinders x1-2Zigzag shuffles with sidewinders x3Zigzag shuffles without sidewinders x1-2Zigzag shuffles on visual command,

sprint back x4

COURT SPRINTS (build to 1:1 rest to work ratio) Big threes x4Figure eights

clockwise/counter clockwise x2 Shuttle sprints, start left/start right x2

TABLE 2 S A Q W O R K O U T S


Untitled-1 1 2/4/05 4:33:40 PM

Circle No. 125


Uniforms & Apparel

Bassco Sporting Goods800-250-4923WWW.BASSCO.COM

Bassco Sporting Goods offers a basket-ball spirit pack that can be delivered injust 14 working days. The pack includes aheavyweight, 100-percent cotton T-shirt,

reversibletricot meshjersey, bigand baggytricot meshshorts, anda pair ofsocks. Allgarmentsinclude

your choice of custom screen printing withno set-up charges. There are three jerseystyles offered: men’s reversible tank top(shown), men’s reversible cap sleevestyle, and women’s cut pattern.

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Bassco Sporting Goods has created thisunique custom-designed game uniform in

bothmen’sand wom-en’s pat-terns.Offered in10 homeand 10awaycolorcombina-tions,

this dazzle cloth game uniform can be cus-tom lettered in just 14 working days.Complement this uniform with Bassco’sshooting shirt and dazzle cloth tear-awaypants in seven matching colors.

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DeLong Sportswear800-733-5664WWW.DELONG-SPORTSWEAR.COM

DeLong makes the finestcustom uniforms andwarmups available on themarket. Designing youruniforms has never beeneasier. You select the fab-ric and color. Choose oneof three optional neckdesigns, select one of 18side-insert models, andadd a contrasting seam

trim, all at no extra charge. All uniformsare a full athletic cut, and long and extra-

long sizes are available. DeLong uniformsare worn by many of the top-ranked teamsin the game today.

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DeLong makes designing your custombasketball uniforms and warmups easier

than ever. Thecompany’s 34-page 2005 CustomBasketball catalogoffers you a varietyof styles, fabrics,colors, andoptions that canbe combined tocreate the lookyour team wants.Many of today’s

top teams choose DeLong, and thereason is simple: They want to look theirbest.

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Moyer Sports800-255-5299, EXT. 3WWW.MOYERSPORTS.COM

Moyer Sports offers a full line of stock andcustom team apparel for men and women,

including uniforms,warmups, travelsuits, jackets,jerseys, and bags.Top names such asadidas, DynamicTeam Sports, andMoyer’s CustomLine are among themany brands avail-able. The company’sin-house letteringfacility enablesMoyer to offer quick-

er service than the competition. A freecolor catalog is available.

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Moyer Sports Corner offers a completeline of shootingshirts and tear-away pants withcustom styling,available in men’sand women’s cut.Call Moyer formore informationor to place anorder.

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Pro Look Sports800-776-5665WWW.PROLOOKSPORTS.COM

One Price Promise: You get customdesign, embroidery, tackle-twill letters &

numbers, largersizes, and more forone price. Youwon’t be chargedmore for anyupgrades. You don’thave to worry aboutwhat your end costwill be. You knowwhat it will be fromthe start. Pro LookSports’ One PricePromise frees you

to design the perfect basketball uniformfor your team. Go Pro.

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Pro Look Sports’ reputation is built oncustom team sportswear. You choose

your materials andstyle; you applyteam logos whereyou want them; youchoose the style ofthe lettering andnumbering. Noother team sports-wear manufactureroffers this kind offreedom. You get allof this for one sim-ple price; there areno up-charges fornumber of embroi-

deries or tackle-twill applications. Go Pro.Circle No. 507

Russell AthleticWWW.RUSSELLATHLETIC.COM

Russell Athletic combines tradition, perfor-mance, and design to create basketball

uniforms that actuallyenhance athletic per-formance. RussellAthletic uniforms areoffered in a variety ofinnovative fabrics,including Russell’sDri-Power moisture-management technol-ogy, which keepsplayers cool, dry, andcomfortable on thecourt. Russell’s sleeknew uniform with a V-

neck and contrasting back paneling is

Team Equipment


Testimonial

Cho-Pat800-221-1601WWW.CHO-PAT.COM

Cho-Pat’s patented Dual Action KneeStrap provides an extra level of relief for

painful and weakenedknees. It appliespressure to the ten-don below the kneeto reduce patellarsubluxation andimprove tracking andelevation. It alsoputs pressure on thetendon above theknee to provideadded support and

stability. The Dual Action Knee Strapallows full mobility.

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New Balance Athletic Shoe800-253-7463WWW.NEWBALANCE.COM

The BB902 is an ultra-durable performancebasketball shoe built to last from tryouts

to the confer-ence finals.This shoe hasgreat stability,cushioningwith excellentdurability, and

maximum shock absorption. It offerssuperior support in the midfoot whilereducing overall weight. It is constructedwith solid rubber and blown rubber forexceptional durability, natural comfort, andbreathability. The collar and tongue aremade with breathable moisture-wickingfoam.

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The BB887 from New Balance is asupportive team basketball shoe for play-ers who demand long-wearing comfort. It

offersexceptionalshockabsorptionand superi-or supportin the mid-foot while

reducing overall weight. Natural comfort,durability, and breathability make thisshoe a great choice. The outsole patternis designed for increased traction duringlateral motion.

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designed especially for women, offeringease of movement and improvedperformance.

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Russell Athletic has a longstanding tradi-tion of producing team uniforms that are

used at the highestlevels of competition.More than 100 NCAAbasketball teamswear Russell Athleticin practice and duringgames. RussellAthletic uniforms aredesigned with superiorfit and durability toenhance on-court per-formance. The compa-ny’s uniforms are

offered in innovative fabrics, including Dri-Power moisture-management technology,which allows athletes to compete at theirvery best.

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Saxon Athletic866-879-8766WWW.SAXONATHLETIC.COM

Since the game’s inception, basketballplayers have demanded quality uniforms

that withstand rigorousplay. Saxon Athleticdemands the samefrom every uniform itdesigns. That’s why thecompany is excited tointroduce the newestmember of its team:Caliber 1. Caliber 1sublimated uniformsare guaranteed never to

crack, peel, or fade. With a wide variety offonts and logos to choose from, you'llsurely get the look you want. Saxon alsowelcomes all custom orders.

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Also available from Saxon Athletic are custom-sublimated shooter shirts. These

stylish shirts areavailable in avariety offabrics, andthey look andfeel great. Thesky’s the limitwith Saxon. Get

the quality and service you’ve come toexpect from a great company. SaxonAthletic: Get it on.

Circle No. 511

Uniforms & Apparel

University of NebraskaUses Rotating Signs toGenerate ValuableAdvertising Revenue

“We would like to extend our immenseappreciation to you and your crew for yourextra hard work and dedication to theNebraska athletic department. Again,SignCo has gone over and above ourexpectations, hurdling obstacles anddeadlines to help us look our best forfans at kickoff last Saturday. Your servicedeserves more than any ‘thanks’ or ‘goodjob’ we can possibly give you.

“SignCo is definitely one of the best com-panies the athletic department workswith, and we appreciate everything youdo. Thanks for being a big part of our‘team.’”

Marc BoehmExecutive Associate Athletic Director

Paul MilesAssociate Athletic Director

John IngramDirector of Facilities

Dana SaylerMarketing Coordinator

The best and easiest way to generate rev-enue for your program is throughcorporate sponsorship and advertising.With SignCo rotating scorer’s tables, youare able to create 20 spots of inventoryfor your advertisers that are as close tothe action as possible. Call SignCo to findout more about these amazing products.

SignCo300 Speedway Circle, Lincoln, NE [email protected]

WWW.SIGNCO.COM


P R O D U C T S D I R E C T O R YCIRCLE COMPANY PAGE CIRCLE COMPANY PAGENO. NO. NO. NO

541 . . . . Airborne Athletics (Dr. Dish). . . . . . . 47

540 . . . . Airborne Athletics (Dr. Dish Ball Cart) . 47

521 . . . . Spalding/Hydra-RIB/BPI. . . . . . . . . 43

555 . . . . Austin Plastics & Supply . . . . . . . . 52

501 . . . . Bassco (custom game uniform) . . . . . . . 40

500 . . . . Bassco (spirit pack) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

542 . . . . Better Basketball . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

523 . . . . Bison (Baseline 180° Breakaway) . . . . . . 43

522 . . . . Bison (conversion packages). . . . . . . . . 43

515 . . . . Cho-Pat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

556 . . . . Courtclean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

557 . . . . CyberSports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

503 . . . . DeLong Sportswear (2005 catalog) . . 40

502 . . . . DeLong Sportswear (custom uniforms) 40

558 . . . . eFundraising.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

559 . . . . Gatorade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

543 . . . . Human Kinetics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

520 . . . . Spalding/Hydra-RIB/BPI . . . . . . . . 43

560 . . . . JV Pro, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

561 . . . . K&K Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

550 . . . . LRSSports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

505 . . . . Moyer Sports (line of shirts/pants) . . . . 40

504 . . . . Moyer Sports (team apparel) . . . . . . . 40

517 . . . . New Balance (BB887). . . . . . . . . . . . 41

516 . . . . New Balance (BB902). . . . . . . . . . . . 41

533 . . . . OPTP (Stretch Out Strap) . . . . . . . . . . 44

532 . . . . OPTP (The Athlete’s Ball) . . . . . . . . . . 44

524 . . . . Porter (Fair-Court rim-testing device) . . . 43

525 . . . . Porter (state-of-the-art goal) . . . . . . . . 43

534 . . . . Power Systems (Basketball Power Program) 44

526 . . . . Power Systems (catalog) . . . . . . . . . 43

535 . . . . Power Systems (Jump Rope Training) . . 45

537 . . . . Powernetics (Power Trainer) . . . . . . . . 45

536 . . . . Powernetics (The Dominator) . . . . . . . 45

507 . . . . Pro Look Sports (custom team sportswear) 40

506 . . . . Pro Look Sports (One Price Promise) . . 40

508 . . . . Russell Athletic (basketball uniforms). . . 40

509 . . . . Russell Athletic (team uniforms) . . . . . 41

510 . . . . Saxon Athletic (Caliber 1) . . . . . . . . . 41

511 . . . . Saxon Athletic (shooter shirts) . . . . . . 41

544 . . . . Shoot-A-Way (rebounding machine) . . . 48

545 . . . . Shoot-A-Way (The Gun) . . . . . . . . . . 48

562 . . . . Specialized Seating . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

563 . . . . Stadium Chair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

546 . . . . TurboStats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

551 . . . . U.S. Sports Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

530 . . . . VertiMax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

531 . . . . VertiMax (V6) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

539 . . . . Xvest (Don Chu) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

538 . . . . Xvest (Fire Fighter model) . . . . . . . . . . 45

A D V E R T I S E R S D I R E C T O R YCIRCLE COMPANY PAGE CIRCLE COMPANY PAGENO. NO. NO. NO.

128 . . . . Austin Plastics & Supply . . . . . . . . 45

113 . . . . Bassco Sporting Goods . . . . . . 22-23

133 . . . . Better Basketball. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

126 . . . . Cho-Pat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

107 . . . . Courtclean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

118 . . . . CyberSports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

116 . . . . DeLong Sportswear . . . . . . . . . . . 28

135 . . . . Dr. Dish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BC

129 . . . . eFundraising.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

101 . . . . Gatorade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

131 . . . . Human Kinetics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

106 . . . . JV Pro, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

104 . . . . K&K Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

114 . . . . LRSSports Software. . . . . . . . . . . . 24

103 . . . . McDavid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

121 . . . . Moyer Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

115 . . . . Nevco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

102 . . . . New Balance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

105 . . . . OPTP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

119 . . . . Porter (Fair-Court) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

117 . . . . Porter (Torq-Flex) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

122 . . . . Power Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

108 . . . . Powernetics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

112 . . . . Pro Look Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

125 . . . . Pro Look Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

134 . . . . Russell Athletic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IBC

136 . . . . Saxon Athletic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

123 . . . . Shoot-A-Way (Rebounder) . . . . . . . . 36

110 . . . . Shoot-A-Way (The Gun) . . . . . . . . . . 15

111 . . . . Signco. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

100 . . . . Spalding/Hydra-RIB/BPI . . . . . . . . IFC

130 . . . . Specialized Seating . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

132 . . . . Stadium Chair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

109 . . . . TurboStats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

124 . . . . U.S. Sports Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

120 . . . . VertiMax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

127 . . . . Xvest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

AchillesTendonStrapThis patenteddevice will reducestress upon theAchilles Tendonand provide effec-tive relief frompain and discomfort associated withAchilles Tendonitis. Sizes: Sm - Med - Lrg

DualActionKnee StrapPatented deviceoffers an extralevel of pain reliefand protectionfrom knee

degeneration and overuse syndromes.Stabilizes and strengthens the jointwhile allowing full mobility. Sizes: Sm - XL

KneeStrapCho-Pat’sOriginal KneeStrap is designedto alleviate certainknee discomfortsdue to overusesyndromes, arthritis, and other forms ofdegeneration. Nearly two million sold!Sizes: XS - XXL • Colors: Black and Tan

www.cho-pat.com 1-800-221-1601

Great Ideas For Athletes...

Circle No. 126

Basketball Goals

Spalding/Hydra-RIB/BPI800-435-DUNKWWW.SPALDING.COMWWW.HYDRA-RIB.COMWWW.AMERICANATHLETIC.COM

Spalding, Hydra-RIB, and BasketballProducts International (BPI) share a long

history of provid-ing quality prod-ucts to athletesworldwide, fromhigh school to thepros. The compa-nies’ extensiveproduct linesinclude portableand ceiling-suspended bas-ketball backstops,

backboards, rims, basketballs, pads, train-ing equipment, and accessories. For a freeproduct catalog, please call or visit thecompanies’ websites.

Circle No. 520

The Slam-Dunk Pro Goal, available fromSpalding, Hydra-RIB, and BasketballProducts International (BPI), is ideal for

collegiateand highschoolplay. Thisperformancebreakawaygoal isfactorycalibratedto meetrebound

elasticity requirements and includes contin-uous ram for easy net installation. TheSlam-Dunk Pro Goal meets all NCAA andNFHS specifications and comes with a five-year warranty. For a free product catalog,please call or visit the companies’ websites.

Circle No. 521

Bison Recreational Products800-247-7668WWW.BISONINC.COM

Convert old side-court, fan-shapedbackboards to competition glass with oneof Bison’s easy-to-install conversion pack-ages. With a single order, you’ll get a glassbackboard with a lifetime warranty, a break-away goal, and DuraSkin backboardpadding, all official products of the NFHS.Bison has money-saving gym upgrade

packagesfor 42-inchand 48-inch back-boards,and stan-dardmount orfan-conver-

sion mount in premium and standardgrades to fit existing wall or ceiling mountstructures, regardless of manufacturer.

Circle No. 522

Bison has introduced the Baseline 180°Breakaway, an innovation in breakaway

goal tech-nology.Whetherplayers arecomingfrom theleft, theright, ordown thelane,Bison’s

new Baseline goal will protect them, andprotect your facility’s equipment as well.This is the only 180° breakaway with a pop-ular positive lock release mechanism and“any angle 180°” movement. Bison break-aways are the official goals of the NFHSand meet all applicable rules, including thenew NCAA rule for rebound elasticity testing.

Circle No. 523

Porter Athletic EquipmentCompany

800-947-6783WWW.PORTER-ATH.COM

New NCAA Division I Ruling! To improve theintegrity and fairness of the game of bas-ketball, beginning with the 2004/2005

season, rim testingis mandatory for allDivision I CompetitionCourts andTournaments. TheFair-Court® rim-test-ing device by PorterAthletic EquipmentCompany wasdesigned to measurethe rebound perfor-mance of the basket-

ball rim and entire support system. ContactPorter for more information about the Fair-Court® rim-testing device.

Circle No. 524

This state-of-the-art goal by Porter Athleticflexes around a 180° arc at the front of therim, at the sides and anywhere in between.The accuracy and simplicity of this adjustable

goal make itsuperior indesign andperformancefor the high-est levels ofboth NCAAand FIBAcompetitionrequirements

by providing proper elasticity and ballrebound characteristics and increased play-er safety. The goal is maintenance-free andwill provide years of slam-dunks.

Circle No. 525


Catalog Showcase

Power Systems, Inc.800-321-6975WWW.POWER-SYSTEMS.COM

Since 1986, Power Systems has been aleading supplier of sports performance, fit-ness, and rehabilitation products and pro-gramming. The companyprides itself onbeing the oneresource for allyour trainingneeds. The2005 cataloghas a newlook, with bet-ter graphicsand photos. Itincludes sections on core strength, medi-cine balls, speed, plyometrics, agility,strength equipment, strength accessories,and fitness assessment. The catalog fea-tures hundreds of new products anddozens of products available exclusivelyfrom Power Systems. The company haseven lowered some of its prices, enablingthe customer to purchase premium prod-ucts for less. Call or visit the company Website for your free copy.

Circle No. 526


Strength & Cardio Equipment

VertiMax800-699-5867WWW.VERTIMAX.COM

No matter what kind of lower-bodystrength and speed training you are doing,

it falls into one ofthree categories:heavy resistance, ply-ometrics, or low-load,velocity-specific train-ing—the VertiMax. Ifheavy resistancewere 10 on a scaleof one to 10, and if

plyometrics were one, VertiMax would befive. It’s plyo with overload: the best ofboth worlds. VertiMax offers maximumtransfer to the field.

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”Only the VertiMax V6incorporates upper-bodyloading into an alreadyhighly effectiveexplosion trainingdevice. Training theupper body to improvethe lift aspect of verticaljump is a giantbreakthrough. You can

use it for arm action in the running phase,

jam techniques, or combine all resistancebands for run-into-jump maneuvers. I cansay without hesitation that this device canbe of great importance in any training pro-gram.” – Garrett Giemont, ProfessionalFootball 2002 Strength & ConditioningCoach of the Year

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OPTP800-367-7393WWW.OPTP.COM

The Athlete’s Ball, by Rick Jemmett, PT,provides a cutting-edge, research-based

exercise approachfor athletes at all lev-els. The basis forthis book is a com-prehensive approachto physical condition-ing known asIntegrative Training.This training simulta-neously incorporates

balance and strength exercises to helpathletes perform at higher levels andreduce their injury risk. Special sections,such as one on knee injuries for femaleathletes, are also included.

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The patented Stretch Out® Strap by OPTPdelivers the benefits of PNF stretching

without a partner.This type ofstretchingcombines isoton-ics, isometrics,and prolongedstretchcapabilities. Themultiple-position

grips allow deep and gradual stretching ofmajor muscle groups with greater safetyand effectiveness than is possible unaid-ed. This strap is made for athletes oversix feet tall. Included with the strap is atraining and conditioning poster that con-tains over 20 stretching exercises.

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Power Systems, Inc.800-321-6975WWW.POWER-SYSTEMS.COM

The Basketball Power Program by PowerSystems is a 12-week training programdesigned to bolster the performance ofbasketball athletes. The package includesequipment necessary to develop thespeed, agility, and quickness needed toexcel in this very competitive sport. The

The Xvest is considered by many of the Major Leaguestrength coaches to be an essential tool for “the edge”.

“We have used the Xvest and have foundit to be the best, most comfortable andeffective weight vest. We have seenmeasurable improvements in range ofmotion, strength and power.”

Gene Coleman, Ed. D.Strength and Conditioning Coach – Houston Astros

Xvest can be used in your strength, conditioning,speed, agility, plyometric and sport specific drills ortraining. You will see dramatic improvements in speedand power as well as conditioning and strength.

A few Major League Baseball Teams using the Xvest:

2002 World Champions Anaheim AngelsHouston Astros (Divisional leader)Chicago White Sox (Divisional leader)

It’s not a coincidence.Get the Xvest if you want to compete.

If you want to play XPLOSIVE,

you have to train

XPLOSIVE !

Voted “Best of the Best”in Testosterone Magazine

If you want to play XPLOSIVE,

you have to train

XPLOSIVE !

Call 800-697-5658 281-693-4034

Email [email protected]

www.TheXvest.com

Lance BerkmanHouston Astros

Circle No. 127


Strength & Cardio Equipment

programincludes: a ProAgility Ladder, a6-lb. PowerMed Ball, aLateral Stepper,a VersaDisc, a

Power Builder, six Agility Cones, a nyloncarry bag, a Power Program manual, andyour choice of a VHS or DVD. The videoshows the proper way to use theequipment, and the training manual takesyou step-by-step through the program.Contact Power Systems for more informa-tion on this and other products andprograms.

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Develop quickness, agility, strength,power, and endurance, all from one train-ing source. Six-time national wrestling

champion andOlympic athleteBuddy Lee usedrope jumping aspart of his trainingregimen, and heexplains properjumping and turningtechniques forwarmups and sport-specific training inhis Jump Rope

Training instructional DVD and manualfrom Power Systems. Both includeexercise progressions, and the fully illus-trated manual also includes sample train-ing programs. For a total-body workout,use the Buddy Lee Hyperformance JumpRope, which maximizes rope speed whileeliminating tangle.

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Powernetics800-829-2928WWW.POWERNETICS.COM

Powernetics offers a line of strength train-ing machines that develop power by pro-viding a consistent ratio of speed,

resistance, and intensity.The Dominator buildsstrength in one unbrokenline from the feet to thehands. The machine’sground-based torquingmotion works both sidesof the body, and providesan explosive chest punch.The unit will more than

double strength in the 90-degree torsorotation.

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Powernetics also offers the PowerTrainer, which for more than 10 years hasmade the power clean a safe exercise for

athletes fromjunior high tothe collegiatelevel. ThePower Trainerenables an ath-lete to not only

do cleans safely, but also to reverse theclean. The unit can be used to performseven different exercises: the clean,reverse clean, dead lift, lift jump, high row,bench press, and shoulder press. ThePower Trainer has proven over the years tobe the safest and most effective way toperform the power clean.

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Xvest800-697-5658WWW.THEXVEST.COM

Xvest has a new weightconfiguration, and it’sheavy: 84 pounds ofheavy. The new Xvest,known as the Fire Fightermodel, was developedespecially for fire fightersand their rigorous training.It has the same basicdesign as the original

Xvest, but internally it has a new weight

configuration that allows for 84 pounds ofweight. Because of the ability to adjustweight like the original Xvest, everyonefrom body builders to military personnel isbuying them. For more information on allthe Xvest models, call the company or visitits Web site.

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“I have found the Xvest to be an excellenttool for providing overloads in plyometric,

strength training, con-ditioning, and rehabili-tation programs. Thefit and adaptability areexcellent. The Xvestallows freedom ofmovement and doesn’tinterfere with any ofthe agility, bounding,or running programsthat I write for a widevariety of athletes, col-legiate and profession-al. The Xvest has

proven itself in my programs. Thank you forall your efforts and help in improving mycapability as a strength and conditioningspecialist.”—Donald A. Chu, Ph.D., PT, ATC, CSCS,author of Jumping Into Plyometrics.

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ATHLETIC RECORD BOARDS“Strive For Athletic Achievement”

What a great way for motivating your basketball players!

Austin Plastics & Supply, Inc. 2415 A Kramer Lane, Austin, TX 78758(800)290-1025 www.athleticrecordboards.com

48” x 66” board shown

$895.00 with engraved records or

$750.00 using ourperforated card stock

Record boardsavailable for all sports

Custom boardsavailable

“RECORDS ARE MEANT TO BE

BROKEN”NOW DISPLAY THEM

FOR ALL TO SEE!

austinplastics 133.indd 1 2/21/05 10:08:52 AM

Circle No. 128

The Most Innovative On-Line Buyer’s Guide

for Athletic Organizations

AthleticBid.com is a free service to help buyers at schools and athletic organizations contact many companies in the most efficient fashion to request product specs and pricing information. It used to take hours to contact dozens of companies to research products

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Athbid133.indd 1 2/23/05 12:29:43 PM

Testimonial

Stay Active withCho-Pat’s Dual ActionKnee Strap“Just thought I would drop you a note.Several years ago I had knee replacementsurgery as a result of too many hours onthe tennis court. As a part-time tennisteaching professional, the pain was

almost overwhelm-ing—even after thesurgery. I boughtone of your DualAction braces afew months ago. Ihave tried everybrace on the mar-ket, and I can’t tellyou what this onehas done for mycomfort as well as

my game. I am playing competitivelyagain and can chase down balls with con-fidence and without pain. This is thegreatest thing since graphite tennis rack-ets. I just ordered another one! Thanks.”

M. John Velier, Las Vegas, NV

“I have osteoarthritis, which is now affect-ing the mobility in my knees. The Cho-PatDual Action strap has provided great sup-port and pain relief when I’m walking andrunning. It is a great product, far superiorto anything I have tried before.”

Dennis Kenney

“Several months ago, I purchased a pairof your Dual Action knee straps. I’mhappy to report that they are the finest ofseveral different kinds of straps I’ve tried.They offer just the kind of support I need.I’ll be looking forward to using them forhiking in the Canadian Rockies in a fewweeks!”

Arthur Jensen, New Wilmington, PA

Cho-Pat, Inc.P.O. BOX 293HAINESPORT, NJ [email protected]

WWW.CHO-PAT.COM



Coaching Aids

Airborne Athletics, Inc.888-887-7453WWW.DRDISHBASKETBALL.COM

The Dr. Dish™ Ball Cart is more than astorage cart. Its unique design keeps bas-ketballs conveniently located at hip level

for fast, easyaccess, which isespecially impor-tant when runningfast-paced drills.Coaches can nowhave a tough,multi-purpose cartbuilt specifically forbasketball. The Dr.

Dish Ball Cart can also collect balls whenused with the Dr. Dish basketball shootingmachine and BallBoy net collection system.It holds up to 18 balls.

Circle No. 540

Dr. Dish™ from Airborne Athletics is an all-in-one machine that handles shooting,passing, and rebounding. Like traditionalmachines, Dr. Dish can pass balls aroundthe perimeter to outside shooters. Butunlike traditional machines, Dr. Dish canalso throw game-like passes fromanywhere on the court, training all yourshooters. Plus, it can simulate missed

shots for rebound-ing and tippingdrills. Dr. Dish’sCourt SmartTechnology™includes program-mable operations,pre-programmeddrills, and memo-rization of yourfavorite drills. It’savailable with acounter to keep

track of shots and calculate shooting per-centages.

Circle No. 541

Better Basketball, Inc.800-238-8372WWW.BETTERBASKETBALL.COM

If you believethat playerdevelopment isthe key to yourteam’s success,you will benefitfrom the BetterBasketballvideos. The pre-cise teachingprogression and

detailed techniques in the BetterBasketball videos have earned the respectof coaches at all levels. To learn exactlywhat is on the videos, there is acomprehensive breakdown of each DVD onthe company’s Web site. Visit the sitetoday to learn more.

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Human Kinetics800-747-4457WWW.HUMANKINETICS.COM

The Basketball Handbook puts Coach LeeRose’s 45 years of experience as a player,

coach, clinician, anddirector of the annualNBA Pre-Draft Camp towork for you. Thisdetailed player- and team-development manualcombines technical andtactical instruction withtargeted drills to improveperformance offensively,

defensively, in transition, and in special sit-uations. Rose also shares his time-testedorganizational skills, performance ratingsystem, expert assessment of talent, andtactics and insights for mastering everyfacet of the game.

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CM Ad rev.indd 1 2/23/05 10:04:26 AM

Coaching Aids

Shoot-A-Way800-294-4654WWW.SHOOTAWAY.NET

Shoot-A-Way has introduced its newrebounding machine. This machine will

help teachplayers torebound withpower and con-trol by forcingthem to pullthe ball downthrough armsof resistance.An adjustableball height ofseven to 11feet makesthis rebounder

versatile enough for almost any team. Theoptional block-out pads allow a player toblock out into spring loaded pads, thenrebound with authority.

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Dependability and simplicity best describeThe Gun from Shoot-A-Way. It has peopleexcited about shooting again. The Gunzips out passes from 15 to 35 feet.

Multiple settings allow it to throw to thesame spot consistently, or to throw as it

rotates to aseries ofspots aroundthe perimeter.The fast-pacedworkout forcesplayers toshoot andmove, catchquickly, andget their shotsup. Call Shoot-A-Way formore informa-

tion and a free demonstration video.Circle No. 545

TurboStats Software Company800-607-8287WWW.TURBOSTATS.COM

TurboStats has introduced Version 6.0 forthe PC, and ScoreKeeper for Basketballfor the Palm OS handheld computer.Either product can be used alone, butwhen used together they create the mostadvanced and versatile product in their

class. Track unlimited games for unlimitedteams with shot charts and statistics right

on your PDAscreen, printgame summariesand play-by-playreports on yourPC, and updateWeb sites auto-matically withHTML output. AProSeries versionof TurboStats,with an animated

playbook, is also available.Circle No. 546


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Chair Caddy

stad chair 133.indd 1 2/17/05 1:21:40 PM

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CM Ad rev.indd 1 2/23/05 10:04:26 AM

Circle No. 136

Video Editing


Company Spotlight

CoachComm’sTechnology SolutionIntegrates VHS andDigitalCoachComm’s MiniDV and S-VHS,integrated into one deck, make the CC-DVS300—the perfect deck for making thedigital transition.

Many athletic programs have made themove to MiniDV for capturing their game

footage, but are still required to swaptapes in VHS format. Faced with this situa-tion, most programs have been using theirdigital camcorder as a source deck fordubbing to VHS, thereby greatly shorteningthe life of the camcorder.

The CC-DVS300 is a great investment,because it plays and records MiniDV andS-VHS tapes. The CC-DVS300 is also com-patible with the Commando PRO DVSremote, making the combo a great viewingstation for your coaching staff. Take yourvideo to the next level with the CC-DVS300 Dual Deck VCR fromCoachComm.

Call the company or visit its Web sitetoday to learn more about this great prod-uct.

CoachComm205 TECHNOLOGY PKWY.AUBURN, AL [email protected]

WWW.COACHCOMM.COM

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LRSSports Software

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LRSSports Softwarewww.LRSSports.com888-577-0001See ad on page 24

Background: LRSSports Softwareprovides innovative, high-quality digitalvideo editing and scouting solutionsdeveloped by the LRSSports team of cre-ative software engineers based on sug-gestions and comments received fromcoaches and video coordinators. SinceLRS offered its first digital editing systemin 1996, more than 300 sports teams,from Division I to high school, haveturned to LRSSports products.

Primary Advantages: Gamer™ systems forbasketball provide the affordable, portablesolution for video editing and game analysisneeds. Gamer utilizes today’s technology tohelp you analyze video anywhere—on busesand planes, in airports, and in hotel rooms. Search and sort events, including changesof possession, attempted shots, missedshots, or other types of possessions.Integration with Microsoft® PowerPoint®gives you the power to include video framesand full video with your presentations. TheLRSSports Viewing Station gives coachesand players one-button control over viewingand studying game video.Gamer’s unique versatility allows LRSSportsto meet the needs of programs large andsmall, from Division I to high school.Support Services: LRSSports offers theoption of 24/7 or business day toll-free tele-phone technical support, along with installa-tion and on-site training. The companyprovides guides for getting started, user’smanuals, and online help with each product.Upgrades Available: Upgrades of allLRSSports products are available. The nextrelease of Gamer for basketball will be ver-sion 9.0, due out later this year.Customer Quote: “If you want to enhanceyour team’s ability to improve through post-game and practice edits, prepare for oppo-nents, and have a teaching tool for yourteam, then you need to look into the LRSproduct. The ease of use and time-savingelements in editing alone are worth themoney. When you add the versatility, com-prehensive training program, and tremen-dous customer service element, I know youwill not find a higher quality, more usefulproduct.”

Larry Davis, Head Basketball Coach,Furman University

LRSSports is a registered trademark and Gamer is a trademarkof Levi, Ray & Shoup, Inc.

US Sports Video

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US Sports Videowww.USSportsVideo.com800-556-8778See ad on page 37

Background: Inventor, developer andmanufacturer of custom-built sportsvideo systems. Sports video has been100 percent of its business since 1988.

Primary Advantages: Sports video is thiscompany’s only business. U.S. Sports Videodeveloped the “MARK” camera, a portablerecording system so coaches start with thebest quality game tape. The Video EDITTOWER is second to none. The integratedediting system is quick and easy to learn.The company’s exclusive remote controlvideo recording systems, SKYHAWK andFALCON, are the best end-zone and wall-mounted units, respectively, on the market.The FALCON operates from anywhere withinthe gym complex. This wall-mount system isgreat to record action on the floor from anelevated view. Optional decorative “basket-ball” cover is available.

Support Services: U.S. Sports Video offers24/7 technical support.

Upgrades Available: Upgrading is the nameof the game as technology changes. Thecompany works with coaches to provide thebest system to fit their needs and budget.

Customer Quote: “We have used USSports Video systems since my last fewyears at Kent State, where we won threechampionships and played in three post-seasons. I believe that the addition of thetower, and its capabilities, helped our pro-gram take another step forward. Since hav-ing the US Sports Video system, the KentState program has won four NCAA gamesin the past two years. When hired atRutgers, the first call I placed was to USSports Video, and we now have a state-of-the-art video package with linear and digitalcomponents at our disposal. I highly recom-mend US Sports Video!

“At Rutgers, we use all US Sports Videoequipment, from the camera for practiceand game action, to the four portable lap-tops, the six-deck tower, and editing desk-top computer. It has been the most usefuland practical application to teaching thegame of basketball for our players that Ihave ever used. Without US Sports Video,we would be light years behind.”

Larry DeSimpelare, Assistant BasketballCoach, Rutgers University

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Austin Plastics & Supply, Inc.800-290-1025WWW.ATHLETICRECORDBOARDS.COM

Athletic record boards from Austin Plasticsare a great way to motivate your basketball

players to dotheir best.The boardsare easy toinstall, madeof durableplastic, andavailable inmany differ-ent colors.The 48” x66” board isshown,allowing

space for all the most important basketballstats, and other sizes are available as well.Use engraved record nameplates, or you canprint your own using perforated card stocksupplied by the company. Record boardsand custom boards are available for allsports.

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Courtclean800-900-2481WWW.COURTCLEAN.COM

Are slippery gym floors and wrestling mats aproblem? Courtclean is the answer. It’s

fast, easy,safe, andaffordable. Withthe Courtcleansystem, oneperson can eas-ily damp mopyour floors ordisinfect your

mats in less than five minutes. And play canstart immediately. 100-percent satisfactionguaranteed.

Circle No. 556

CyberSports315-732-4333WWW.CYBERSPORTSINC.COM

Georgia Southern Assistant BasketballCoach Craig Kennedy has been working

with CyberSports forfive years now, andthe reason is simple:The company continu-ally works with basket-ball coaches to expandits services for recruit-ing student-athletes.“Their new CyberMail

product is amazing,” says Kennedy. “Itallows me to track which recruits open upthe e-mail and which ones click on the linkto our Web site. Plus, their hands-oncustomer service is incredible. They are

always there to help us and to make ourwork as easy as possible.”

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eFundraising866-825-2921WWW.EFUNDRAISING.COM

Try eFundraising’s On-line FundraisingProgram, a new way to raise money quickly

and easily. Withyour free,personalizedWeb site, com-plete with a mag-azine store, yoursupporters canpurchase maga-zine subscriptionson-line and 40percent of eachpurchase

amount will go back to your group. Simplyenter the site and send e-mails to friendsand family across America, inviting them tovisit your on-line store and buy, renew, orextend their magazine subscriptions to helpsupport your group. They’ll save up to 85percent off the newsstand price on over 650magazine titles while you earn 40-percentprofit.

Circle No. 558

The Gatorade Co.800-88GATORWWW.GATORADE.COM

After years of extensive research, scientistsat the Gatorade Sports Science Institutehave developed Gatorade Endurance

Formula for athletes’ longer,more intense workouts andcompetitions. GatoradeEndurance Formula is a special-ized sports drink with a five-electrolyte blend containingnearly twice the sodium (200mg) and three times the potas-sium (90 mg) of GatoradeThirst Quencher to more fullyreplace what athletes lose in

sweat when fluid and electrolyte lossesbecome substantial.

Circle No. 559

JV Pro, Inc.800-962-2440WWW.JVPRO.COM

JV Pro offers custom-made, freestanding,and convertible bleacher-mounted scoringtables. Standard options include an LED

possessionarrow with bonusindicators,illuminated shat-terproof lexanpanels, andheavy-duty soft

rubber casters for easy movement. Thetable collapses down to 16 inches for easystorage. JV Pro also offers heavy-duty court-side chairs in school colors featuring yourlogo or mascot to complement your scoringtable. These products create the perfectimage for your sports program.

Circle No. 560

K&K Insurance Group, Inc.866-554-4636WWW.KANDKINSURANCE.COM

K&K offers a variety of insurance productsfor the sports industry. The company’s camp,

clinic, league, andteam programsoffer low minimumpremiums, simpleself-rating applica-

tions, quick turnaround time, and superiorcoverage. K&K also offers quality coveragefor school athletic programs, stadiums, andsports complexes. A total commitmentencompasses everything K&K does, fromcompetitive pricing to prompt claims resolu-tion. K&K Insurance is there to help whenyou need help the most. Applications arenow available online.

Circle No. 561

Specialized Seating877-SEATINGWWW.SIT123.COM

Sit back and relax with the seating profession-als at Specialized Seating. The company

has seatingfor teambenches, side-lines, lockerrooms, meet-ing rooms,fundraising,and even fortime outs.

Call the company to design your own customsideline package and sit with the pros.

Circle No. 562

The Stadium Chair Company888-417-9590WWW.STADIUMCHAIR.COM

The SidelineChair is the best seat on themarket in its price range,with the durability andquality you’d expect fromhigher-priced products. Itfeatures two- or three-inchpads covered with qualityvinyl that provides twolarge imprint areas. Theextra-sturdy, powder-coat-ed frames come with dualreinforced steel support

bars on the back legs, and carry a 10-yearlimited warranty.

Circle No. 563

More Products

©2005 Russell Athletic, a division of Russell Corporation.

The biggest success comes to those who have been working for it their whole lives. Athletes who know that are Russell Material. Just like the 500 NCAA® Division I teams we outfit. Visit us at www.russellathletic.com.

NO TIME ON THE CLOCK, A SEASON HANGING IN THE BALANCE. NO TIME ON THE CLOCK, A SEASON HANGING IN THE BALANCE.

AS SCRIPTED FOR 15 YEARS IN THE DRIVEWAY OF 53 POPLAR CIRCLE.AS SCRIPTED FOR 15 YEARS IN THE DRIVEWAY OF 53 POPLAR CIRCLE.

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Circle No. 134

Tool Multi-tool

Dr. Dish delivers chest, lob and bounce passes to the low post (or anywhere).

Dr. Dish simulates missed shots for automated rebounding/tipping drills.

Dr. Dish rotates baseline to baseline and anywhere in between. It's adjustable and it's up to you!

Dr. Dish can be positioned anywhere on the court for game-like passes from game-like locations for game-like training.

Get more bang for your buck with Dr. Dish, the shooting, passing and rebounding machine!

The “other” basketballtraining machine

Multi-tool

Tool

Low postOutside shooters

SpecialtyRebounding

Airborne Athletics, Inc. • 116 West Main St. Belle Plaine, MN 56011

For your FREE video, please call toll-free 1-888-887-7453or visit drdishbasketball.com

Now counts made shots, calculates shooting percentage!

Court Smart Technology™1. Programmable operation2. Pre-programmed drills3. Memorizes your drills

Introducing

“Allows our players to train from all areas of the court”.

Roy Williams, Head Coach,North Carolina Tar Heels

“Great versatility...well designed”.

Steve Alford, Head Coach,Iowa Hawkeyes

Think outsidethe gun...

™

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Documents

Coaching Management 13.3