The 10 Best Basketball Coaching Tips for New Coaches

When you first start out in coaching, there is nothing more valuable than some essential Basketball Coaching Tips to help you get started and keep on track. Functional Basketball Coaching has compiled a list of the Ten Best Basketball Coaching Tips to help new and inexperienced coaches with developing their craft as a coach.

1. 

   First on the list of the best basketball coaching tips, is for a new coach to find a mentor. Coaching no matter the sport is about doing and learning on court is one of the best experiences a coach can have to develop the core skills associated with being a basketball coach. Being on court with a mentor helps increase confidence, provide a coaching role model and learn how to control and motivate a group of players more quickly than any other activity.

2. Second on the Functional Basketball Coaching best of basketball coaching tips is to find yourself an Assistant Coach. More hands make lighter the work. When first starting out as a basketball coach your ability to watch ten very active children or players on court is a real challenge. Having an assistant helps with behaviour and team management in general. Another great benefit is that two people often enjoy the learning journey of becoming a coach more than one.
3. Third tip is to start compile a drill bank. There are two strategies that will help a coach to quickly develop a drill bank. The first is to use the internet to search for basketball coaching websites. Just like Functional Basketball Coaching, there are many websites that offer a wealth of knowledge about coaching, drills and plays. The second option is to specifically visit You Tube to see some basketball drills in action. All websites including You Tube allow coaches to save search results and this is a very quick option for having some favourite drills kept at close reach for easy reference.
4. Coming in at number four in the best basketball coaching tips is to undertake session planning. You have the drills now learn to put them into session plans so you can think about how to use them in ways best for your players. By having a session plan it will be easier to manage aspects of team training such as what you are focusing on, time and periodization of your teams development overall.
5.  Find the equipment you need! Find a way to get access to the required equipment for your training session. A really simple tip which is often overlooked. If you only have one basketball; that is fine, but make sure it always comes to training with you. If you have access to more substantial basketball training facilities then ensure you have the right keys so you can use these items.
6. Be on time, all the time. If you sign-up to be a coach you have made a commitment to be there for the duration of all the team activities.
7. Basketball coaching tip number seven is to undertake some professional development opportunities every year. This might mean attending a coaching course, taking part in a training camp, or attending a coaching conference. Always try to learn something new that can be added to your coaching.
8. Find yourself a person to act as a Team Manager. The planning preparation of activities on court is enough of a task to keep any one individual very busy. Throw into this mix off court planning and team management and the role can become too big for any one person. Finding a person to become a Team Manager who can look after activities such as collecting monies, organising game communication, and uniforms will make any coaches life a little easier.
9. Tip nine is to try and find the time to become an Assistant Coach or attend some senior coaches training sessions on a regular basis. This is a great tip for coaches to accelerate their learning, knowledge, and skills. By attending a senior coaches training sessions, even on an irregular basis will allow a coach to see someone else’s practices and philosophies in action.
10. Tip ten on the best of basketball coaching tips is to learn how to ask for help. When first starting out as a basketball coach there are always people around who can help with your coaching questions. This might mean a coach at the club, association, or school you are coaching within. Alternatively, there are plenty of online forums where questions can be posted and responses provided by more experienced coaches.

These basketball coaching tips will help fill some of the immediate gaps in a coaches confidence and understanding as quickly as possible. As a coach, you will always be able to improve and do things better. After all the only perfect science is hindsight. Nevertheless, this does not mean you should not apply effort to any task you have as a basketball coach. It just means you need to learn always from your mistakes.

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