The Coach Life

 Four P's of Successful Coaching - Passion I absolutely love the game of basketball. I  love coaching the game of basketball. I love the preparation, practices, film study, and battle of the minds between coaches. I am always excited to learn new things on how to improve my coaching ability and understanding of the game. I always say that "The Grind Never Stops" for our basketball teams. This is how I want to be as a basketball coach. I never want to stop learning new ideas and concepts. It is so important to me to listen and learn. Sometimes, you can be surprised where you can learn new ideas from. They can come in the most unique or unexpected places.  “I just love the game of basketball so much. The game! I don’t need the 18,000 people screaming and all the peripheral things. To me, the most enjoyable part is the practice and preparation”  – Bob Knigh t While I have a passion for basketball I also have a passion for coaching in general. There is no b...

Four P's of Successful Coaching - Positivity One of my favorite coaches from high school was our football coach Scott Farley. He had a way to motivate you in the most subtle way possible. He had a pre-game speech my Junior year that included the quote "Tough Times Never Last, Tough People Do" -  Robert H. Schuller. I always look back and think about this quote when I am coaching and try to incorporate it with my team and everyday life  (I would have ran through a brick wall for Coach after that speech).    At times, its going to be difficult to move forward. Sometimes, you will want to quit and take the easy route. Those who persevere will be "Champions". In my view, a champion doesn't always have to equate to successful athletics. You can be a champion at your job, at school, or as a parent. There are many different aspects of life, in which, tough times can be conquered.  This is my biggest struggle coaching basketball. It can be very tough to...

Four P's of Successful Coaching - Progressions The idea of progressions is advancing your abilities through a series of drills and workouts to push you to be your absolute best.  We do not want to become stagnant and complacent with our progressions. We have to constantly move forward and continue to grow as players and coaches. That's right, coaches must get better, they must continue to adapt and grow. When we become stagnant with our knowledge and practice plans, we become stagnant as a team. Watching an athlete improve over the course of a season is absolutely amazing. It's part of why I do what I do.  I want to push every athlete to be their very best at every level of our program. We have to understand as coaches that we are all building towards one goal. Improving our athletes both on and off the court. While progressions in the sense of basketball is important, it is equally important that we make progress as people. We want athletes that show respect to pare...

My name is Ryan Masters, this is my first blog. I am attempting to share my love of coaching with everyone else. I have been a basketball coach for 9 years now. I have coached/assisted from 3rd grade to the Varsity Level. Being around many great coaches I am thrilled to share with you some tidbits I have picked up over the past few years. I hope you enjoy! Through a series of 4 blogs I will take you through "The Four P's of Successful Coaching". This doesn't necessarily apply strictly to the High School level of Basketball. It is quite easy to apply these at every level of a basketball program. Building a successful program or team takes a tremendous amount of effort. It takes every coach and player believing in the same common goal. I believe that the equation to achieve successful program culture rests on 4 P's : Patience, Progressions, Precision, and Presence. To begin, we will discuss Patience . Essentially,  the thought is:  don’t put yourself through a...