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2022 Personal Improvement Plan

In Basketball, Coaching, Leadership, Teaching by Brock Bourgase

If I coach again, here are some of the areas that I will work on: Motion: During the course of the season – due to combination of complicated school rules and players’ health – numbers fluctuated. Also, it seems as if I personally gravitated towards small-sided games that emphasized pick and roll play. In game situations, we did not involve all five players as much as we would have liked until the middle of the season. I think that more passing and cutting will be harder to defend while also energizing more players. Ball Pressure: The season started later than …

Learning from Losing

In Sports by Brock Bourgase

It was an eye-opening loss for me. Some losses you’re angry about and some losses you learn from. That loss, I think I learned the most from in a long time. I got so much better after that loss. I was able to improve a lot. I worked on things. I didn’t see the results straightaway. But months later, I started seeing the results, more and more. Serena Williams, reflecting upon her loss to Garbine Muguruza in the 2014 French Open.

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Make the Most of Gym Class

In Training by Brock Bourgase

To maximize the benefits a period or workout, teachers and students (or coaches and athletes) have responsibilities to keep the class (or team) focused and engaged. Teachers must design meaningful activities that develop athletic abilities and simulate game situations. Students should perform the drills as best as they can, in order to improve their personal fitness and prepare for competitions. Part of this focus comes from understanding the purpose behind the exercise. Ideally, a teacher would clearly explain their reasoning beforehand but sometimes students must think critically and figure things out for themselves. Teachers and coaches rarely fill classes or workouts …

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Coaches Challenge Themselves

In Coaching by Brock Bourgase

He’s always challenging himself.  He has this saying about, ‘Take the lid off it. See where it can go.’ You can tell he’s done all these great things, and he’ll continue to do great things as long as he’s coaching. Tom Thibodeau on Mike Krzyzewski

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School Artwork

In Teaching by Brock Bourgase

Visiting diverse schools over the years, I have had a chance to see some of the different messages posted in gyms and classrooms to instill values and build a culture. Coaches and teachers should be authentic (but why are so many “No Dunking” signs posted by the court?).

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David & Goliath

In Books by Brock Bourgase

The publication of Malcolm Gladwell’s fifth book, David & Goliath, has left him perched atop the bestsellers list, delivering his sermon about how David, in the Blink of an eye, crossed a Tipping Point in his battle with Goliath and became a historical Outlier. The newest book can best be described as food for thought, curious examples illustrating peculiar situations rather than concrete analysis. While this tenet of Gladwell’s writing style engages people and broadens his audience, it also contributes to a work that is often muddled and occasionally memorable.

Watching the N.C.A.A. Tournament

In N.C.A.A. Basketball by Brock Bourgase

As the 2012 N.C.A.A. Tournament reaches the Sweet 16 stage, more and more players, coaches and fans will be tuning in to watch the games. The volume of basketball has decreased significantly from the opening weekend but the viewers’ interest rises exponentially. The games are entertaining simply because of the excitement but they can also serve as a learning opportunity for elite athletes. Apparently, Generation Y prefers to talk more about an issue rather actually addressing it but there is no reason for players to forgo an opportunity to develop their game.

Results Oriented Work Environment

In Leadership by Brock Bourgase

Last week, during an friendly with the Lost Angeles Galaxy, Manchester City forward Mario Balotelli received in a ball in the clear and elected to spin around and attempt to kick it backwards towards the net. He missed badly, fans jeered and teammates threw their arms up in exasperation. Coach Roberto Mancini substituted the striker immediately, which led to a blow up on the touch line (using Italian words which should not be repeated) and a tantrum by the twenty-year old player. For Balotelli, it was another incident in a tumultuous career.

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Star Trek Leadership, Part III: Starfleet Academy in the Delta Quadrant

In Star Trek Leadership, Television by Brock Bourgase

Star Trek remains extremely popular because of how the stories are analogous to many modern situations. It is a science fiction genre that does not overwhelm the viewer with technology; the characters – and humanity – remain the focal point. During a syndicated episode of Voyager entitled “Learning Curve”, Lieutenant Tuvok encountered Maquis crew members who were unwilling to follow Starfleet routines. The renegades were incorporated into Voyager’s crew after both were stranded in the Delta Quadrant although the partnership was not working entirely smoothly. Starfleet demanded strict adherence to procedures which was a stark contrast to the Maquis philosophy …

Mindset

In Books by Brock Bourgase

As they pass through adolescence, most players develop physical performance factors and improve their sport-specific skills. Far few elect to enhance their mental abilities, placing a ceiling on their performance — at school and on the basketball court. Arriving at a practice, training session, or class with the appropriate mindset removes this cap. Players must want to come to the gym. Forcing anyone to do something will not achieve the desired results. An athlete who doesn’t want to train is like a student who is constantly late, they are not motivated to improve. Throughout the year, it is not incumbent …

Watching the League

In N.B.A. Basketball by Brock Bourgase

The League is for entertainment only. Tempting as it may be, it is not sensible to take the games seriously. Professional athletes rarely provide a second thought to their partisan supporters. Even if they did care (and provided total effort, played through injuries, set a good example, used their heads, etc.), the game is almost fixed. Officiating is inconsistent and influences the outcomes of games far too frequently. Nevertheless, professional basketball offers many benefits, ranging from bursts of exceptional athleticism to occasional examples of incredible teamwork. Players and coaches can study the League and learn a great deal, providing they watch the …

Teaching and Coaching

In Teaching by Brock Bourgase

As coaches, we endeavour to guide athletes to the next level. As teachers, we strive to do likewise for students. Along the road to success, the court and the classroom provide parallel paths. What student-athletes learn in one environment is reflected in the other. Coaches value basketball ability and skills such as initiative, teamwork, mental training, leadership, and work ethic. When athletes demonstrate that they have met these expectations, they are rewarded with minutes and touches (along with praise, constructive feedback, and self-confidence). These rewards are not equally distributed; coaches allocate burn and ball based on most consistent and most …

Black Swans

In Books by Brock Bourgase

David Hume remarked that “no amount of observations of white swans can allow the inference that all swans are white, but the observation of a single black swan is sufficient to refute that conclusion.” Too many times, coaches and players become conceited, myopic, or ignorant, unwilling to change their paradigm in order to improve. If you believe that you know it all, there is only one way to learn: teaching yourself. If you are willing to accept that others have valuable knowledge – which may range in significance from high to low – you can learn continuous, even if it …

Teaching Self-Evaluation

In Skill Development by Brock Bourgase

The Globe and Mail posted a curious article regarding how humans learn (and perform) complex skills. Initially, we learn each skill separately and combine the individual actions as we progress. Instead of thinking “jab-step, explosive first-step, jump-stop, and pull-up jumpshot” great players think “make an open shot” and execute all the components together. If told to go slowly, an expert will deconstruct the movement in their mind and make it harder for themselves. On the other hand, a novice needs to consider each skill distinctly in order perform the entire action successful. The article illustrated the point with a putting …

Why We Make Mistakes

In Books by Brock Bourgase

Why We Make Mistakes provides anecdotal evidence about why humans repeatedly commit the same common errors. The books is written like a concise summary of Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink and Outliers books that imparts more information in less words. The book outlines countless ways that someone can make a bad decision, from drivers to surgeons. There is no universal remedy to reduce blunders but overconfidence and a failure to understand and make use of feedback were consistent among multiple missteps. The old adage repeated by Winston Churchill seems to be appropriate: “Those that fail to learn from history, are doomed to …

The Blind Side

In Books by Brock Bourgase

Michael Lewis’ latest novel, The Blind Side, is part-sport, part-economics, part-psychology, and part-sociology. While writing an article about his high school baseball coach that was published as the novella Coach, he re-connected with teammate Sean Tuohy, who was adopting a 6-5, 350 pound offensive lineman who played left guard for the Briarcrest Christian School football team that Tuohy coached. That student-athlete, Michael Oher, became a living example of how sport and money have become intertwined while the rich and poor and black and white have grown apart. At the beginning of the book, Oher is a marginal student and physical …