Learning and maintaining skills is a vitally important part of basketball training. Whether a player is at their first practice ever or is preparing for Game 7 of the NBA Final, this will always be true. As such, it is necessary to have a coach that understands this.
The best coaches are the ones that teach the basics before going into anything advanced, as this is the best way for beginners to learn. While this seems rather obvious, there are some trainers who attempt to teach their young charges how to do fancy maneuvers and unnecessarily showy plays, in the hopes of making a name for themselves. These are not helping those they teach, but are instead inflating their own egos to the detriment of others.
When young athletes learn how to do basketball skills the wrong way, it can adversely their entire game. Therefore, it is key that they are taught the correct ways to play from a young age, and have these reinforced through constant practice.
Sure, sometimes the easy way seems like the best way, and over time, practice can wear on even the most motivated of players. However, the hard way is always the best way, no matter what. This is true in regards to going to every practice, and true in regards to acting the right way in practice.
This is one of the things that can set an excellent coach aside from a mediocre one: tough love. While it is never good to have a coach who constantly screams at his or her players, knocking them down without ever building them up, it is good to have a coach who won’t take any guff and cares enough about his or her players to force them to get better. A good coach rigidly enforces attendance at practice, barring a legitimate excuse, as keeping players training for basketball makes them better. Similarly, a coach who truly cares will keep his or her players from neglecting the basics, as these are the building blocks of any player’s game.
Mediocre coaches are a dime a dozen; the truly excellent ones are harder to find, but can make all the difference in the long run. Some of the best basketball skill training takes place at STACK Sports in Mahwah, NJ with their professional coaches and trainers.
