Basketball Coaching 101: How to Coach Basketball

People get into coaching basketball for many different reasons.

Whether it’s because they’re a former player looking to stay in the game, a lifelong fan trying to get more involved, or a parent whose child’s team needs a coach for the season.

Whatever the reason, they soon find out it’s a challenging role to navigate.

Between designing basketball practices, juggling lineups and playing time, and making split-second decisions in the middle of a game, basketball coaching is a complicated job.

However, what they will also come to realize is that the rewards that come from coaching can be immeasurable, regardless of the age or level they may be coaching.

Of course, winning an intense game with a last-second shot is definitely thrilling…

But so is seeing a player make a left-handed layup for the first time, or watching a group come together and truly become a team.

This post will cover many of the different skills necessary for you to be an effective coach.

Including planning practices, developing players, addressing potential issues as a coach, and providing resources for continued improvement.

Let’s get started.

There’s no doubt that winning games is one of your roles as a coach.

But to view that as your ONLY role is doing a disservice to your players and the profession.

John Whitmore once said, “Coaching is unlocking a person’s potential to maximize their growth.”

This highlights the awesome responsibility that you have as a basketball coach.

In addition to creating a successful team, you are also responsible for developing each player to be the best they can be both on and off the court. This means developing their basketball skills, their leadership abilities, and a positive team culture for your entire group.

One of the best ways to do this is to establish a coaching philosophy that fits you and the way you believe the game should be played. This philosophy will guide you as you decide on offenses and defenses, design practices, and establish standards for your team.

Here’s your most important role as a basketball coach:

Being a good role model for your players.

Kids need positive role models in their lives to look up to, and many times, coaches are the adults they look up to for inspiration. The best way to be a good role model is by displaying two main characteristics: respect and commitment.

Treat your players with respect and expect them to do the same to others, whether that be teammates, opponents, or officials. 

On top of this, emphasize the importance of being committed to the team. They need to be a team-first player who is willing to sacrifice for the good of the team and are held accountable when they fall short, regardless of how talented a player they might be.

Remember, as a role model, your players will look up to you for guidance and emulate what you show them. Your actions as a coach will be what your players remember and learn to do themselves, whether you intend for them to or not.

To be an effective basketball coach, you need a few specific skills.

a. Basketball Knowledge

You should understand game strategy, the Xs and Os of different offensive and defensive systems, and player roles. Being able to see the game and identify your team’s advantages is a huge benefit as a coach.

b. Communication Skills

It doesn’t matter how knowledgeable you are if you can’t communicate it effectively to your players. You need to be able to clearly instruct players on what you want them to do, and on top of that, motivate them to do it as well as they can.

c. Teaching Abilities

Knowing basketball and communicating what you know are different than actually teaching your players how to do something. Being able to find ways to help your players understand and then apply this knowledge to a game situation is a sign of an excellent coach.

d. Leadership Skills

You should also have strong leadership skills. Being a basketball coach requires leading your players at all times, so being someone they will listen to and follow is a must.

e. Willingness to Adapt

Basketball coaches must also be willing to adapt to different situations and teams. Teams change constantly, which means you have to be willing to change offenses, defenses, or lineups at times to find solutions to the challenges you and your team encounter.

f. Patience

Basketball is a challenging game, and it takes some players longer than others to grasp different aspects. Showing patience with players like this will help them remain comfortable and confident in themselves, which will likely enable them to contribute to your team at some point in the season.

One of the most popular buzzwords out there these days is “culture.”

Every coach talks about wanting to establish a positive culture within their program.

But what exactly does building a “strong team culture” mean?

First, it involves establishing team values and expectations within your program.

Whether you gather player input on these or come up with your own, you must ensure they are clear and communicated to everyone. And when these team values or expectations are not met, then there needs to be some sort of consequence so players understand their importance.

Having a strong team culture also means developing teamwork, trust, and chemistry between the players. Not only will this help maximize their talents on the court, but it will also help with off-court issues, as players will hold each other accountable. 

Sometimes, the best way to develop this is through players getting together outside of practice, whether it’s a team meal or a fun activity that everyone participates in. These help create strong bonds off the court that will translate to better play on the court.

One of the most challenging aspects of developing a strong team culture is managing diverse personalities on a team, each with their own priorities.

One of the best ways to get a variety of players all on the same page is to define the roles of everyone on the team clearly. There should be no question what is expected of each player. 

Once you build a strong team culture, it doesn’t guarantee immediate success on the court. But it does mean you will have an enjoyable season where your players want to be a part of it. And on some levels, that’s more important than winning every game.

One of the most challenging parts of coaching for beginners is practice planning.

Even though most basketball coaches have likely experienced many practices as players, they soon find out that designing one themselves is a whole different ballgame.

One piece of advice for this is to ALWAYS have a practice plan going into every practice.

Regardless of whether you are a brand-new coach or a seasoned veteran, you should always have a clear plan of what you want to accomplish at practice.

This plan can be as brief or extensive as you would like, but you at least need a guide so you don’t waste any precious practice time trying to figure out what to do.

The first thing you need to decide on is how you generally want to structure your practices.

A typical split is to spend 50% of your time on skill development, 25% on strategy (offense, defense, sets), and the remaining 25% on games or scrimmages.

For help, take a look at our basketball drills blog post.

It covers all the main categories of drills you need to incorporate into your practices regularly, like shooting, passing, dribbling, defense, and much more.

One of the most challenging aspects coaches face is finding a way to balance skill development, game preparation, and conditioning within a limited amount of practice time.

The best way to do this is by including as many game-like drills as possible. These will not only combine all these skills, but also get your team used to competing.

One of the most popular types of drills to create game-like situations are small-sided games.

They typically involve creating multiple teams of anywhere from 2 to 5 players and creating some sort of specific action or reaction for the teams to focus on in a live setting. These are an excellent way for your players to get lots of focused reps on a specific skill.

No matter what age you coach, focusing on basketball fundamentals should be a top priority.

Because no matter how advanced your offensive or defensive systems might be, none of that will matter if your players aren’t skilled enough to actually execute them.

Offense

On the offensive side of the ball, you can never spend too much time shooting.

You cannot count on your offense generating a layup every time you have the ball, so at some point, your players will need to knock down jumpers regularly. The only way to do this is by regularly working on game shots that your players will see during games. 

In addition, having your team consistently work on dribbling, passing, and footwork will lead to a more effective offense that takes care of the ball.

To further develop their skills in these areas, try making them live whenever possible to force them to read the defense and make decisions, just like they will have to during a game.

Defense

Defensive fundamentals may be somewhat overlooked at times, but that doesn’t make them any less important than the offensive ones.

Teaching your players a proper defensive stance, correct positioning, closing out on the ball, and communicating on the defensive end are all essential skills for any basketball team.

Teaching Skills

In addition to knowing what skills to teach, it’s crucial you also know HOW to teach these skills so your players learn them effectively. 

Here is a proven set of steps you can use when teaching your players new skills:

1. Introduce the skill by name.

2. Demonstrate the skill (use a talented player if necessary) and explain how to do the skill, as well as when and why to use it.

3. Let the players practice the skill independently.

4. Provide lots and lots of repetition of the skill.

5. Incorporate the skill into live play so players get used to using it in a game-like setting.

If you follow this process when teaching your players new skills, they will develop these skills and also learn when to apply them effectively.

As a coach, it’s a comforting feeling to know that your players are improving and you have numerous options for what you can do on both ends of the floor.

When it comes to game strategy, it can be broken into 2 different phases: 

1. Game planning

2. In-game adjustments

For game planning, it’s essential to have a clear strategy for both your offense and defense.

While this could change from game to game, most teams have a certain style they use game in and game out with minor tweaks where needed.

Defensive Strategy

Defensively, if you’re coaching at any level below varsity, you play man-to-man defense.

And even if you are a HS team, man-to-man defense should be your primary defense. 

The reason for this is that man-to-man defensive skills and principles translate to every other defense a team can play at any level. The same cannot necessarily be said about zone defense.

Offensive Strategy

The offensive end has more options a team can run.

The key is to avoid forcing players to learn plays, and instead teach them HOW to play.

Typically, this means running a motion offense like 5-Out Motion that involves passing, cutting, and screening to create advantages for the offense. With this style, players are forced to read the defense and make appropriate decisions based on what is given to them.

Another thing to remember:

Don’t limit players to specific positions when they are younger.

Just because they are the tallest player on the team in 4th grade does not mean you should just stick them on the block to learn post moves, since there is no way to know how tall they will be in high school. Teach all your players to be skilled players who can play both inside and outside.

In-Game Adjustments

Now, after the ball is tipped, that’s when the in-game adjustments need to take place.

Whereas you will have lots of time to get a game plan or strategy together, these adjustments are typically a lot more in-the-moment decisions.

These decisions can range from who and when to substitute players to when to call a timeout, whether it’s in the middle of a run or late in the game.

You may also need to decide matchups for your defensive players, determine which out-of-bounds play to run, and potentially decide on a set play to run at the end of a close game.

Now, these quick decisions will tend to get easier with experience, but it’s also best to prepare for them by thinking about them when the adrenaline isn’t flowing. 

Take some time during the preseason to come up with 3-4 sets that you feel comfortable running late in a game, and have your team practice those sets regularly. And heading into a game, have an idea what your rotation will be and who your players might be guarding. 

You’ll still have to make some spur-of-the-moment decisions, but at least many of them will be pre-decided in a lot less stressful environment.

As should be clear by now, winning should not be your only goal when it comes to coaching basketball. This is especially true if you coach at the younger levels.

At the youth basketball level, your goal is to develop players and foster their long-term growth. No one remembers who won the “state title” for 4th-grade teams.

One of the most effective ways to do this is to create personalized workouts for each player.

Every player will have different strengths and starting points, so it will take a slightly different approach to mold them each into a better finished product. Sharing workouts with your players and their parents will show that you are looking long-term and have their best interests in mind.

And again, an excellent way to develop players for the long term is to play a positionless basketball offense, especially with youth teams.

This style of play allows all your players to develop their all-around games, rather than being pigeonholed into a specific position due to their size or skill set when they start playing.

All of these previous ideas are great when it comes to the physical development of your players.

However, it’s also imperative to work on their mental development.

One way to achieve this during workouts and practices is by incorporating a layer of decision-making into every drill. Instead of running drills against air, have a defender on the floor as well, so the offensive player has to read and decide on the best action for different situations.

In addition, watching film with your players can have a significant impact on their basketball IQ. Using either clips from their own games or highlights from other leagues can show them right and wrong choices, helping them “see” the game at a higher level.

As rewarding as coaching basketball can be, there will be plenty of difficulties along the way. 

Some of the most common:

a. Keeping players motivated during a losing streak

As the losses pile up, players can have an increasingly difficult time remaining committed to the team, especially if they’re an older group with another activity on the horizon. 

The best solution to this (other than never having a long losing streak to begin with) is to remain upbeat yourself and keep your players excited for the next game.

If you can highlight improvements you’ve seen on the floor despite the losses, you can convince your players they are moving forward, and a win is just around the corner.

b. Conflicts with players

Another issue on the court can be player conflicts, whether that means an actual altercation between players, or simply that one player refuses to pass to another.

You must attempt to resolve this issue as soon as you notice it and not let it escalate, as things will worsen the longer it continues. 

Most of the time, a meeting between the involved parties to get to the root of the problem and get everything out in the open is the best way to approach it.

c. Attitude problems

A rising issue these days is dealing with attitude problems from players. Gone are the days when coaches know best and players just do as they are told. 

It’s crucial to remain consistent when dealing with attitude problems, as addressing issues with some players but not others can lead to an assumption of favoritism toward certain players.

Whether you want to discuss the issue or penalize it with extra conditioning or loss of playing time is up to you, but whatever you do for one instance should be applied to all others as well.

d. Unhappy parents

The biggest off-court challenge all coaches face is dealing with an unhappy parent.

This appears to be an increasing difficulty, so it’s essential to have a plan in place.

Here are some helpful tips:

* Have a preseason meeting for all parents that shares your philosophy on how you run your program, including playing time and the correct way to address potential issues.

* Allow a 24-hour cooling-off period following any game, so that both parties have a chance to reflect on things and speak when emotions are not as high.

* Have someone sit in on the meeting with you to minimize any future disagreements about what was said and clarify any facts that may arise during the meeting.

* Listen to their questions and concerns,, and let them express them all before responding.

* Focus entirely on the player of the parents in the meeting and not on anyone else on the team – comparing different players who aren’t there can lead to further issues.

* Give the parent a couple of different skills their player can work on to see the court more, and make sure to stress the strengths their player possesses, not just the negatives.

If you’re truly interested in becoming a great basketball coach, then the key is to continue learning and improving throughout your whole career.

Thankfully, thanks to technology, this learning is easier than it ever has been.

Here is a list of some things you can look at to continue enhancing your coaching knowledge:

a. Read Books

There are numerous great books available, written by or about basketball coaches.

These books don’t necessarily get into any of their X’s and O’s, but they do give you perspective about how they thought and why they did some of the things they did throughout their careers.

Here is a list of 100 basketball books you should read throughout your career.

b. Attend Coaching Clinics

In the old days, going to a clinic meant traveling somewhere and seeing coaches in person.

This is still an option, and there is something to be said for seeing some of your favorite coaching idols speak in person…

However, there are also many ways to attend basketball coaching clinics virtually from all over the world. This is a much less expensive route to take since there’s no travel or lodging expense, plus you still get to listen to and learn from some of the top minds in the game.

There are even some virtual clinics that you can watch for absolutely free.

Check out this list of 75 coaching clinics when you have free time.

c. Watch DVDs

Championship Productions consistently releases a diverse range of DVDs each year, featuring top names in basketball and covering their drills, schemes, and game plans.

Yes, it takes a little investment to purchase a DVD, but owning it allows you to watch it repeatedly, ensuring you don’t miss any of the information shared.

d. Follow Top Basketball Minds on X

When watching live NBA and NCAA games, having X open on your phone can help you gain insight into how other coaches and analysts are seeing the game and what their thoughts are.

Plus, most of these accounts share lots of other basketball ideas throughout the week, whether there’s a game going on or not. And on top of that, most of them regularly include diagrams or clips to help you understand what they are talking about.

e. Listen to Basketball Podcasts

There are few more productive things to do while driving or doing chores than listening to a podcast. Not only will it help to pass the time, but you’ll learn something in the process as well.

There are tons of great podcasts to choose from, but some of the top basketball coaching ones include “A Quick Timeout with Coach Tony Miller,” “The Basketball Podcast,” and “The Hardwood Hustle Podcast.”

f. Connect with Other Coaches

Having colleagues you can talk to is so beneficial to a basketball coach.

You can bounce ideas off of them, compare notes on opponents, or just get some advice about potentially difficult situations you’re facing.

Now, many coaches treat the coaches they face as the enemy…

However, they can honestly be some of the best coaches you can converse with, as they will likely have a solid understanding of your team and may be willing to share their thoughts.

So after you play, don’t be afraid to reach out to coaches on your schedule and see if they’d want to meet.

Additionally, utilize clinics to connect with and develop relationships among other coaches.

Whether you volunteer at a clinic and get to know some of the other workers or just sit by someone at a clinic you’re attending and strike up a conversation, most coaches love to “talk shop” and would be happy to meet up and discuss things.

If you’re looking for a little bigger name to potentially sit down and talk with, don’t be afraid to send an email to a college coach or a member of their staff seeking some information.

It’s best to keep things brief and to the point, as most college coaches are pretty low on time.

They may not answer, but it’s still worth a shot to spend a couple of minutes putting an email together to potentially get the answers you’re looking for.

Conclusion

Well, there it is, lots of skills and tips to be an effective basketball coach.

Yes, most of them are pretty basic, like running effective practices, teaching fundamentals, developing players, and focusing on their long-term growth. 

But others, like understanding your role and dealing with some of the challenges that come with the position, might be something you didn’t consider before now.

Either way, just remember that coaching basketball gets easier with more experience.

No, this doesn’t mean that you’ll win all your games and have zero difficulties, but it does mean that you’ll get a feel for how you like to coach and become a lot more comfortable with both on-court and off-court issues.

Just be patient and give yourself a little time to get to that point. And continue learning in the meantime with some of the wide variety of resources out there.