The 21st Century Basketball Practice: Modernizing the basketball practice to develop the global player.

I know that many of you are already thinking what does this book have to do with education? Here he goes with one of those off the wall posts that he does every so often.I love education. I love coaching. I have been coaching basketball for 12 years and I get so excited every single year. Through my many years of coaching and learning to get better as a leader and coach I have found a deep respect for Brian McCormick.His latest book The 21st Century Basketball Practice: Modernizing the basketball practice to develop the global player. is nothing short of amazing.What I discovered while reading this book is how much teaching/education/parenting/learning/coaching are really all the same. I read the Kindle version and 61 highlights later I could interchangeably use the ideas from this book on the basketball court AND the classroom.The overall vibe of the book is to help coaches learn to connect with the players, allow them to create their own learning, and provide guidance as needed. The way this happens is to provide voice and choice, quality feedback, and preparing the players/students for the real world situations. Sound similar to a classroom? Yes, it does.I won't share all my highlights as you can connect with me on Amazon Kindle, but here are a couple that I think are very important to share.1. Players make mistakes for three reasons. They don't understand. They aren't good enough yet to do what is asked of them or at least not good enough yet to execute consistently. They don't care.Often in practice we focus on helping players understand and develop their skills. Sports are nice in that players not caring is not a huge issue(it does exist however) compared to the classroom. Often times in the classroom we blame students not caring instead of looking at the realization that perhaps they don't understand and we must change our teaching or maybe they simply are not able to process what we expect. In the end I don't think any of these options require punishment, but taking time to improve and explaining the "why" of what we do.2. Use mistakes as teaching moments. Brian states several times not to intervene until the mistake is made three times. Give players time to correct the error. I love this and this is something I have worked to not stop every single play. In the classroom, we rarely use mistakes as teaching moments. We post the grade and move on. Rarely do we give time for students to make several mistakes and try to learn before we intervene. I am not sure how to pull this off in the classroom, but it is important to at least consider.3. [bctt tweet="The only perfect technique is one that achieves the goal"]I love this! It might be my favorite. We are all different and do things differently. If we have a system or technique that works, why would we try to fix it? Whether on the court or classroom we sometimes have to accept that others do things different from us and that is okay as long as they can get the job done.I could go on and on, but you get a small feel for the book. I will blog more based on what I learned from this book, but if you like learning, coaching, and teaching then this book is important to read. Even if you are not a basketball coach there is something for anyone who works with students and/or players in the classroom, court, or field.His ideas on practice goals, feedback, mistakes, reflection, and questioning why we do what we do are essential for all of us to ponder and find answers. We may not like the answers we provide, but then that is the opportunity to try and make change for the better.At the end of the day we only have so much time with our players and students so why not work hard to make the best use of the time so you feel satisfied that you did all you could do to prepare them for the global world they are living in?

***FANTASTIC!!!*** This is by far one of the best basketball coaching books I have read in a while. For about 2-3 years, I felt that I needed to find a way to do more in practice with less time while achieving more significant results as a coach. This book helped me figure it out! My coaching style is based on the teaching of previous coaches, which isn't a bad thing, and some of my own. Somewhere along the way, I forgot about what helped me learn the game at its purest level, on the blacktop in NYC. There were no playbooks, practices, or schemes....we played ball and did what he did best individually. McCormick makes you think about proper skill and player development in a structured setting through an unstructured approach. Chapters 3 and 4 are powerful. If you approach this book with an open mind and are completely honest with yourself as a coach, I am confident that you will appreciate the material and have an urgent desire to apply what you have learned immediately.

The foundation and application of this book is spot on! Love the player centered approach! I have been involved in basketball as a player and teacher for over 20 years plus I have 9 years of teaching physical education tied into that as well. Having the physical education background this book aligns with everything that I believe in regarding life long development combined with tapping into what comes natural to young athletes is to learn through the application of play. This book is an outstanding blueprint that really adds true value to a players basketball IQ as well as the development of a skill set that is necessary to withstand the pressures of the game. I highly recommend that all coaches read and apply if you truly want the best for players!

Brian McCormick is creative and innovative, but perhaps he is simply thinking outside the box in a way that makes perfect sense if we step back from some of the practice patterns most of us coaches grew up with. His ideas are backed up by logic and explanation. I highly recommend this book to coaches who want to get out of the same practice plans their high school coaches ran for the last few decades. Great book

I coached basketball for the first time this year, and in preparation I bought 5 books and watched countless YouTube videos. All of them were only moderately helpful.After the season, I had a clearer sense of what I needed, and I went looking again. This is far better than the 5 books I bought before the start of the season.Aspiring coaches, start here.

This is my third Brian McCormick book, and I cannot stop re-reading it and taking notes. It has truly opened my eyes to coaching, teaching, and developing players. It is science based and out of the box - in a good way. Some coaches may be close minded and not understand, but if you have a growth mindset and love learning you will make this purchase and I guarantee you will be glad that you did. Motor learning applies to all sports - retention and transfer is what we all strive for as coaches. Don't worry this book is not so sciency that you cannot understand it, as McCormick does a great job of using science but also making it simple for the normal reader, providing actual examples.If you you really want to make your players better and reach their potential you have to train in a way that will allow you to do that. Many coaches do some of this without even knowing it, but find out how to take this and create a teaching advantage for your program, no matter the level. I'm a college coach with a growth mindset, and I can apply this in so many ways. Be a lifelong learner!!!

Most coaches just coach the way they were coached without ever analyzing if that is the most effective way to coach. Just because a coach had success does not mean they coached effectively; they may have just had great players. This book analyzes everything about coaching and if you are open minded you will grow as a coach and your players will benefit.

i am a hurling coach and found this book an excellent source of information , really explains the difference between skill and technique ,and the relevance of ssg , in sports coaching , no matter what open skilled sport you coach would recommend you buy this book.

I found the book good, also found fake fundamentals good. The author and I share a lot of ideas and I believe what he does is research various coaches and actually gives you proof in what you have been doing, and arguing about, for the past 20 years. To be able to quote some one should give you a little bit more creditability when putting forward some 'new' idea to your peers.I have found that I have to read his books twice in kindle format as I don't know what is happening at the end.

Love this book...the third I read by this author. I was hooked once McCormick questioned the three man weave...a drill I could never do well...it didn't matter! Just read this book before you plan your next set of practices!

Il testo affronta in modo chiaro e diretto lo sviluppo delle nuove teoria sull'apprendimento motorio, calato nel contesto pratico con esempi e riferimenti ad esercizi, molto utile

Lots of really good information here, You won't read it just once, and it will impact the way you run a practice, if not change it entirely. Applies to all sports, though obviously uses basketball as a focus.I've gone and ordered the paperback version as well so that I can take notes etc...