The Key to Success: PREPARATION

I wanted to thank Head Coach Lennie Acuff of the University of Alabama in Huntsville for giving me the heads up on a great article. The article was on ESPN.com and talks about the fantastic job that Michigan’s State Head Coach Tom Izzo and his coaching staff do in game preparation on short turnarounds. Izzo has an impressive 14-2 records in rounds 2, 4, and 6. The Spartan’s video staff consists of a head video coordinator (Jordan Ott), two graduate assistants, and 11 student managers. According to the article the staff tapes almost 1’800 games and they are referred to as the “Peons” because of their amazing work ethic and commitment to Michigan State basketball. Izzo has preached to his Spartans in the past three weekends, "You get me through the first game; I'll get you through the second." It is amazing in reading the article how many people are involved and how much time and effort the Michigan State staff put into game preparation.

In the game of basketball I strongly believe that scouting reports are extremely important to a team’s success. Creating an in-depth scout will take the guessing game out of what you will see when the ball is thrown in the air. I have also learned that scouting reports also help players mentally prepare for a game, and the mental aspect of the game is just as important as the physical aspect. What a great scouting report coaching staff can do for a team is give players added confidence. Michigan State guard Travis Walton had this to say on Izzo’s game preparation, “We're confident he's going to come out with a game plan and have something ready for us. That's why he's coach Izzo, and why he's a Hall of Famer one day. With one preparation day, the things he does are amazing

Dealing with Youth

This year when the Oakland A’s throw out the first pitch, it will come from a starting rotation with a combined total of 63 major league starts. This comes from the same pitching staff that 5 years ago had the likes of Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder and Barry Zito all 20–game winners all peaking in their respected careers. I came across an article on MLB.com that discusses A’s pitching Coach Curt Young and how he is dealing with this young and inexperienced staff. Young makes many good points in the article when he speaks about stressing the fundamentals with his young pitchers, something that does not have to be stressed with veterans.

The Things I like most about the article is when Young talks about having a good mind-set and his syllabus for his pitchers that include off-field demeanor. He also must get the point across that they must establish a strength and conditioning regiment which will help in their development and early success.

As a coach it is extremely important to not only teach young athletes important skills related to their sport but also skills on life. Many of the skills Young talks about in the article are not only physical but are mental. Teaching does not stop once we step off the playing surface but rather it must continue because young athletes need guidance. Coaches cannot take athletes and expect them to know everything; we must guide them in the right direction. We don’t want to just develop good players in the time an athlete spends within a program but rather we want to develop great people that reflect a great program.

Here are some of Young’s great points he made in the article:

"The fundamental things. Making sure our mind-set is [that] we're going to be good because we do pound the strike zone. And once we do get control of the strike zone, then we can start putting the ball in specific areas. If you get guys thinking the right way, then they start performing the right way."

"We pass along things such as how to act around the clubhouse, how to act after a game where you pitched well and a game where it didn't go too well.”

“Less-experienced pitchers must understand that establishing a daily strength and conditioning regimen to "keep them going in the right direction" is just as important as their throwing routine.”