Got an interview working on my answers, any advice from those who have been through the process?

 

I just retired from coaching.

Did a few years of assisting at various levels, 3 years of head coaching Freshmen boys basketball, and 1 year Varsity Boys Assistant.

Since I have kids now I decided to give it up so that I can be a full time parent...good luck to those who are pursuing a career in coaching, it isn't easy by any means but it is definitely rewarding.

 

Bringing this back from the dead...

I'm working my way through alternative certification right now and planning on spending time subbing and networking through this school year and searching for a full-time job in the spring... Planning to start at junior high right now and get a little bit more comfortable with the classroom side of things before jumping to high school, but I'm going to take certification tests at both levels to try and open as many opportunities as possible.

Looking to get my hands on all the resources I can find. Playbooks, drills, workout routines, conditioning programs, absolutely anything and everything. Basketball, football, whatever you want to add, drop it on me. Hell, even advice from current and former coaches on the process and what I need to be aware of going forward would be greatly appreciated.

 

Didn't know you were in education ND.

Can never have enough quality teachers.

 

Haven't been, but it took me all of like three months to realize going on sales calls wasn't any kind of future I wanted to pursue...

I've worked camps and coached summer teams for years and loved every minute of it, so this feels like the right path... Only kind of worried about the classroom side of it, but I'm hitting up every possible resource for advice and pounding out every book I can get my hands on to prepare myself... I feel like there's nothing I can do to prepare myself for it, though. Like I can read and listen and do everything I'm doing but until I'm actually into it, I'll have no idea really.

Just really want to get my hands on more resources for the coaching side... I've got ideas and tons of stuff I've used/done in the past, but the more the better. Skimming some of these blogs is though. Great stuff in here for hoops already.

 

Good to see this thread make a comeback! If you're already an established basketball coach, www.hoopdirt.com has lots of great information regarding college coaching openings.  I also check www.d3jobs.com and http://ncaamarket.ncaa.org/search.com on the regular. I'm the youngest division 1 high school coach in Cali and i started my coaching career coaching second grade boys! Stick with it yall!

 

I def wouldn't mind becoming a basketball or football coach. How did yall get into coaching/find yall jobs?

 

Depends on what level you're talking about.  Im a Freshman BBall Coach in Cali, and at the high school level, people are ALWAYS looking for assistants. Now, you in all likelihood wont get paid, but coaches at the high school level are always looking for help.  Shoot, i asked every damn teammate i ever played with to assist for me. Asking is how i got started.  I told my old Var coach i wanted to get into coaching, and he hooked me up as an assistant for the freshman team. After two seasons of that, i became the Head Coach of the Frosh.  If you're willing to work for free/very cheap, somebody will take you.

Now for me to ask a question.  For you High School coaches, how do you guys run your tryouts?  At my school, freshman tryouts are insane, with 40+ kids gunning for spots.  What i threw together for last year worked ok, but i'd def be open to more ideas.  What drills, what you look for in the players, how you guys go about cuts, how many cuts before final team, etc.

Also, from what i've seen from our summer league, the incoming freshman next year are gonna be extremely talented, but not a lot of quality size.  There is one excellent 4/5 with decent athleticism and speed, but the rest of the elite talent is on the perimeter.  Decent size at those positions too, some really really good athletes, and a TON of shooters.  What id like some input on is some ideas for pressure defenses.  In the halfcourt they'll run man 85% of the time, but when i want/need to extend the defense, im open to suggestion.  I don't want to run the 1-2-1-1 Zone press because its been overexposed and everyone seemingly has a play to break it.  I'd also like to avoid the 2-2-1 because EVERYONE is using that around my way and A)I believe its about to be overexposed like the 1-2-1-1, and B) Every school would know what to do since its the press they practice against all the time.  I was thinking of a run-and-jump/scramble type press, but i definitely would like to hear other ideas. Outside of Pops who i learned pretty much everything from already, i don't have a lot of folks to talk ball with.

 

I coach at a high school in Central Cali. We won the central section championship last year but lost in the second round of state to Eisenhower high school from Rialto. DCAllAmerican, i turned 25 a few months ago but was co-head coach at 23, and then was named the only head coach at 24. amohoop34, i think its generally a good idea to get away from the standard presses, 2-2-1 and 1-2-1-1, especially at the Frosh level. The only downside in a scramble/run n jump press is that its hard to assign rules. If you play a generic zone press, each player has a pretty good idea what it is they should be doing in each position. A scramble press on the other hand is more about instinct and reaction, two things that can be tough to come by at that level. One suggestion i would have is to use a generic press like you mentioned, but skew the depths and angles. By that i mean, keep the general alignment but maybe push one or two of the players a little bit deeper or shade them towards a particular side. We usually play a 1-2-1-1 press but we're always doing little things to mess with the opposition and their press break. Also, i'm not sure if you currently do it but pressing off the miss can be a really useful tactic. You can either set your alignment while shooting FTs or just drill your kids to jump to their "spot" immediately after a miss. If you practice that enough, its usually good for 3/4 turnovers a game, which can be crucial in a tight contest.

Regarding tryouts, outside of the obvious skill stuff that all coaches need to see, i think its super important to throw in 1 or 2 drills that involve teamwork and/or coachability. Something really simple that i do with new groups is to stop them in the middle of a practice or workout and tell them they have 15 minutes of free time to do whatever they want on the court. Every time i've ever done it, there are at least 3-5 guys who step up and take control of the situation and try to put the other guys in some kind of structured drill or game. That kind of stuff is important in our program so i do it every year without fail.

 

I'd work real cheap if it wouldn't cut into an actual job, I do have a family to support and can't afford to be internin anymore . I think HS would be a good level to coach at, been lookin online through different school district websites but nothin popped up

 

when i took my redshirt jr. year in college my hc wanted me to be similiar to a grad asst. and coach my specific position. It was cool but crazy hours. Its already too many hours when you are player but then to break down film and script everything on top of that is even crazier. At that time in my life i was thinking about coaching as a career, d. cord or position coach. But most coaches in the college level move around so much that its difficult. Also I didnt want to put my family through it. Plus when you first start out some schools will pay crap. I have a few friends that still coach in the college level that are doing good just hope they actually try to go to bigger programs and not just follow their head coach.

When I see my old hs. coach he always ask me if I'm ready to go back and coach. I dont mind helping but if i did i know i would want watch film all day and become crazy.

The easiest way to start is going to your old hs and asking. If your old coaches arent there anymore go to any hs/middle school and talk to the coach or athletic director about the position youre interested in. They might not be able to hire you at that time but if you are willing to help out/volunteer it will help you out. They might give you the freshman or jv team first and just work your way up from there.

 

hey all, i need a little help...a while ago i read this story, i dont remember what football program it was, but the main story line was that a football coach pulled out one of the players and was going to replace him with another, so he grabs the new one and is like get out there and win this, and the new one is like i'll try my best. the coach nabs dude, chews him out and says something like you dont think theyre all trying their best? and picks the next guy on the depth chart to go out and play.

we're on day 4 of our fall camp, all is going well, double days. we've got a big freshman class that have a serious problem explaining how theyre "trying" but really theyre just draggin %@%. thought itd be a good story for them to read, but i cant find or remember where i read it anywhere. it might also be in a movie. any help is appreciated

 

I run a youth basketball league in East Boston, MA. The league has 24 teams in three divisions with players from age 6 to 16. We are entering our 37th season this winter and are going strong. We have a large majority of our players go on to play on the HS teams in the city's public or private schools, and we've had a few move on to college careers. I've never been paid a cent for any of the hours I've been involved as a coach, ref, or now the commissioner, but I've never felt better about anything I've done.
Now I coach exclusively in the 13-16 yr old division while doing the admin tasks for the rest of the league. That age group is a great age, because you can really see kids starting to form their game and understand how to use their strengths and improve their weaknesses on the court. Getting a kid to improve at basketball, and in the process teach him how to improve as a person, is the best success I've ever had.

 

I coach two seventh grade teams and also a fifth grade team. It can be challenging at times but I absolutely love it

 

I love this thread. Thanks for the links on the front page. I am gonna try and study the game more and try to get into coaching.

Favorite thread on NT by far.