P.L.A.Y H.A.R.D
From the series: "STAND OUT IN THE CROWD"
by Frank Allocco, Sr.
Series Introduction
Some eye opening basketball statistics:
Some eye opening basketball statistics:
- 2.9% of high school players will play college basketball.
- Less than 1 in 75, or 1.3 percent of NCAA Seniors will be drafted by an NBA Team.
- About 3 in 10,000 players (0.03 percent) of high school seniors will eventually be drafted by an NBA team.
In 2015, after a 38 year career as a youth coach and high school coach, I embraced a new challenge as the Associate Head Coach at the University of San Francisco. In this new role, I had many responsibilities, and one of the most significant challenges was the art of recruiting.
My first recruiting assignment was to attend the Peach Jam, one of the biggest national recruiting events in the country. Hosted by Nike, this event draws the top teams and players in the country to Augusta, Georgia where they are evaluated by hundreds of college coaches. My first day was a bit overwhelming as I had been up all night studying the event rosters and charting players, teams and the times they were playing. The next day I walked into the event with hundreds of pieces of paper that reflected the fruits of my labor the previous night.
As I entered the gym, I was greeted and welcomed to college basketball by Bill Carmody, the current coach of Holy Cross University. I had known Bill for years, since his days at Princeton and Northwestern where I had visited to explore the “Princeton Offense. Coach Carmody asked me how I liked my new position and how I was doing with the new challenge of recruiting. I showed him my carefully constructed bios and notes on the high school players I was evaluating.
Bill looked at my charts and then told me to take those papers and throw them in the garbage. He went on to say that I needed to “trust my eye” and recruit players based on my intuition and the skills that I valued. I was hesitant to junk my work, but eventually took Coach Carmody’s advice and trusted my judgment and actually became a good evaluator and recruiter signing both of the players I targeted.
I thought of that story last week when I spent an evening coaching for ASA Prime. During their well-organized practices, I worked with students at various grade levels, teaching them fundamentals and challenging them to use their time to succeed. At the end of the sessions, I commented that all of us are always being evaluated and we have to work hard to distinguish ourselves and separate from the ranks of the ordinary. I went on to say that in an evening of working with many children, one boy stood out above the others, that his work ethic, attitude, and desire to improve was at a different level.
I stressed to the youngsters assembled that Playing Hard was a habit and instructed them that this skill is built one possession at a time by giving your best effort in every drill during practice. I concluded my speech by saying I was positive that young man would be successful in anything he ever attempted.
My first recruiting assignment was to attend the Peach Jam, one of the biggest national recruiting events in the country. Hosted by Nike, this event draws the top teams and players in the country to Augusta, Georgia where they are evaluated by hundreds of college coaches. My first day was a bit overwhelming as I had been up all night studying the event rosters and charting players, teams and the times they were playing. The next day I walked into the event with hundreds of pieces of paper that reflected the fruits of my labor the previous night.
As I entered the gym, I was greeted and welcomed to college basketball by Bill Carmody, the current coach of Holy Cross University. I had known Bill for years, since his days at Princeton and Northwestern where I had visited to explore the “Princeton Offense. Coach Carmody asked me how I liked my new position and how I was doing with the new challenge of recruiting. I showed him my carefully constructed bios and notes on the high school players I was evaluating.
Bill looked at my charts and then told me to take those papers and throw them in the garbage. He went on to say that I needed to “trust my eye” and recruit players based on my intuition and the skills that I valued. I was hesitant to junk my work, but eventually took Coach Carmody’s advice and trusted my judgment and actually became a good evaluator and recruiter signing both of the players I targeted.
I thought of that story last week when I spent an evening coaching for ASA Prime. During their well-organized practices, I worked with students at various grade levels, teaching them fundamentals and challenging them to use their time to succeed. At the end of the sessions, I commented that all of us are always being evaluated and we have to work hard to distinguish ourselves and separate from the ranks of the ordinary. I went on to say that in an evening of working with many children, one boy stood out above the others, that his work ethic, attitude, and desire to improve was at a different level.
I stressed to the youngsters assembled that Playing Hard was a habit and instructed them that this skill is built one possession at a time by giving your best effort in every drill during practice. I concluded my speech by saying I was positive that young man would be successful in anything he ever attempted.
"Sometimes the value of these lessons are lost as we become single minded in our quest to be a player."
The teams that I coached at Northgate and De La Salle were known for playing hard. As I traveled domestically and internationally doing clinics for Nike, I was always asked the same thing: “how did you get your player’s to play so hard.” I would respond by breaking down the skills a player lives who “plays hard.”
Sometimes the value of these lessons are lost as we become single minded in our quest to be a player. It is essential to remember that the reason we play sports is to learn these valuable Life Skills on the court of competition. At the end of the day, not every player will be a college/pro basketball player. But every drill, each repetition and game experience takes us closer to our goal of being the best player, but more important, the best person we can possibly be.
- P=Physical and mental toughness: Play with minor hurts, be tough enough to overcome physical and mental challenges.
- L= Love: Great teammates and friends will give their best for their friends. What are they willing to do for your family, your program, your friends?
- A=Adversity: Don't fear adversity, rather embrace it as a takeoff for bigger and better things, Sports are filled with adversity, the great ones respond by making the next play, not dwelling on the previous one.
- Y=Yearns for greatness: Challenge yourself to go beyond mediocrity. Set goals that challenge you to be the best you can be.
- S=Sacrifice: Be other-centered rather than self-centered. Always put the team first, whether it is a sports team, your family team, your work team.
- H=Habits: Creates good habits, excellence is a habit. Be a consistent person who gives the same effort in every environment on and off the court.
- A=Accountability: Grades, mistakes, playing time. We are responsible for our own successes and failures. Understand that we can't improve until we realize that we need to. Excuses don't help, they only delay growth.
- R=Respect: Respect for your body, for your families, your school, the game
- D= Discipline: Adhere to all training rules, develop a self-discipline that will carry
Sometimes the value of these lessons are lost as we become single minded in our quest to be a player. It is essential to remember that the reason we play sports is to learn these valuable Life Skills on the court of competition. At the end of the day, not every player will be a college/pro basketball player. But every drill, each repetition and game experience takes us closer to our goal of being the best player, but more important, the best person we can possibly be.
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