POINT GUARD COLLEGE

Cal Lutheran University

June, 27th – July 1st, 2016.

Tyler Coston, Lead Presenter and Coordinator

Dustin Aubert, Assistant Presenter and Coordinator

 

These notes are but a hole-filled outline summary of the lectures at Point Guard College.  They are summarized out of enthusiasm.  I strongly recommend your participating in other camps and clinics as a player or coach.  They run an incredibly tight ship.  Few moments will be wasted.  The advice will immensely improve your basketball and life off the court.

 

https://pgcbasketball.com

 

INTRO

Champions zoom out, not in.  Not me, us.

Disease of me.  If you only lead by example, youÕre a poor leader.

You must engage others.

 

We must do things that are uncomfortable.

We saw how many times we could sign our name with our right hand, then with our left.

We listed words of how we felt when trying to use our left hand.  Lesser than, awkward, frustrated, challenged! (good word) were some that came up.


That is how we want you to feel.  If you come out of this camp doing the same things, with the same habits you had when you came in, our time has been wasted. 

 

You must try things you are not used to doing.  That is the path to growth.  Growth starts at the end of your comfort level.

 

TIPI

 

Temporary inconvenience, permanent improvement.

 

POETRY

 

Which players play with poetry?  Which players do not?

 

Our homework is to write a poem about our style of play.

 

We should play with poetry.

 

ItÕs not what you do it is the way that you do it.

 

If . . .

1 – You will perform better.

2 – You will be happier (for those without disciplined practice, happiness goes up and down with scores). 

 

POUR WATER INTO 4 CUPS

The one is colored with dirt and so stays the same color.  It is full of itself (perhaps is the message) and so cannot change.

 

One is too full, so has no room for more.

 

One is leaky, so canÕt absorb more.

 

One fills other cups and reloads.  This is the good one to be.

 

 

SCHAPE

 

Spirit is energy.  Putting in championship level energy to every day .

A quiet gym is a losing gym.

If your coach is the loudest voice, your team is a losing team. 

 

DonÕt live by feeling, live by principle.  ŅI am an energy raiser.Ó 

 

This is – still under Spirit – a communication checklist:

 

First: 2 positives per minute.  24 per hour of practice.

 

NITE:

Names 1st.  The most beautiful sound in any language is the sound of oneÕs own name.  DonÕt put the name at the end of the sentence, put it at the beginning. People donÕt listen to you?  If you start the communication with their name, it will automatically get their attention and they will be prepared to listen to you.

 

Tyler did a practice with a young lady.  He only meant to shape her into starting every sentence with a name, but she added to the moral teachings.  She said it was odd to call him by his first name because he was an adult.  Beautiful.

 

Anyhow, he got her to start saying, Tyler, . . . . By the way, Tyler Costin was the leader.  He is married to an Asian woman and has two kids.

 

Tone (Again, 2 positives per minute).

 

Eye contact:

No eye contact during huddle and practice, you donÕt get in the game.  Eye contact communicates that you are listening and you understand.  If the coach knows you understand, they will trust you.  Also nod.

 

We later instituted the lock – down drill.  That is that you stand with your hands in front of or behind your back, with the ball on the ground, and eye contact.

 

Hustle: Be a good infection: hustle is contagious. 

 

Debbie Black is a great, little, pesty defender.  Watch her on youtube.

 

And, you had to Ōsheep dogÕ your team mates, the other students.  Lots of drills were run with the intention of instilling or checking for understanding of sheep dogging. 

When players failed to sign in, the people sitting next to them had to do it. 

 

In one beautiful example, Tyler stopped the entire practice and brought the players to court the senior males were playing on. 

 

Tyler said as he walked by he heard the ŅFÓ bomb.  That shows a lack of control.  That can cost you the game via a T.  It is contra good approach.  But it isnÕt the fault of the person who dropped the ŅFÕ bomb.  This frustration and display must have been brewing.  And, the team mates are responsible for noticing and sheep dogging such festering.

 

The team had its score reset to zero.

 

Approach: That is the attitude you bring to a situation (personally, then why is it not called Ōapproach?Õ). 

 

Change happens in a moment. 

 

From the book Resilience, (by whom I donÕt know). 

 

There are feelings, identity and actions.  Most let their feelings control their actions and the identity follows.  Champions make their identity, drive their action and their feelings. 

 

Energy, excellence and leadership.  Before you can be a leader, people must know 3 things:

 

1)                                        Can you help me?

2)                                        Do you care about me?

3)                                        Can I trust you?

 

Precision:

DonÕt get fouled.  That is if you think  a foul will bail you out or your main goal is to get a foul, itÕs not high percentage.

 

Do what coaches say immediately then they wonÕt have to repeat themselves. 

How you do anything, is how you do everything.

Players under pressure revert to old habits.

Discipline yourself so life doesnÕt have to. (That one got a lot of what we used for applause / agreement, finger snaps).

 

Kobe is a king of precision. It takes work.

 

Enhancers:

 

There are energy givers, takers and fluctuators.  Remember the identity, action, feeling triad). 

Will your school be better because you were better?

You must enhance others.  You cannot win a championship on your own.  For to have a good team, you must enhance your team matesÕ performance.

 

This is a big key to winning or losing.  If you zoom in, you will lose.  If you zoom out to others, your team mates, you will win.

 

People like to touch the ball.  If your big man / goon goes down the court and doesnÕt touch the ball, even if to throw it back, he will not rebound as ferociously.  HeÕll start to droop.  It is the point guardÕs job to distribute the ball and encouragement.

 

Important basketball tip:

 

10 – a shot you will make every time: does not exist.

9 – an open layup. Very rare.

8 – a shot you make 80 percent of.

7 – a shot you make 70 percent of.

6

5 – If your average shot is of this low a percent, your team will lose.  You must take good shots, meaning 70% and above.

4

3

2

1

0 – Shoot from the opposing basket.

 

If you are tempted to yell, ŅKobe,Ó when youÕre shooting a shot, donÕt shoot it.  YouÕre not Kobe.  It is only 70 % shot for him.

 

RACECAR

 

Race the ball from arc to arc. There are five seconds to get to the other sideÕs three point line. 

The area between the top of the keys is dangerous and of no use.  No one scores from there.  Race across it.

If you do not have the ball, swoop to a Ōdangerous place.Õ 

Have control!  Jump to a dangerous place and stop on a dime.

Eagerly hunt the paint.

The four Ps: powerful (hold the ball powerfully in power stance; peak, always peak at the basket when you get the ball; patient, donÕt  rush, take an extra second before you act.  This is the difference between a failed and great point guard.  Purposeful.

 

Some people drive up into the lane with no plan of attack.  DonÕt do it.  Anticipate where things are going.

 

Cleverness is deception:

Arrums are dip fakes.  They are called ŌarrumsÕ because they get the defender in the air.

 

GOOD HABITS

P-Dribbles are where you dribble where you pee.  That is a purposeless dribble that just wastes time and allows the defense to collapse. 

It also kills explosiveness, triggers traps, harder to direct; team mates stand and watch.

Mo-Dribbles; these are momentum dribbles that just go where you want to go.

Kill-Dribble is one dribble and you pick the ball up.  You shouldnÕt catch with the predetermined aim of passing.  Hunt the paint.

 

The manure strip is the couple of feet at the perimeter of the out of bounds lines.  Nothing good happens here.  Stay away from these ways. Avoid sidelines.

 

Your mistake response should energize your team mates. DonÕt droop.  Respond to such situation better than 99 % of players.  They showed a video of a game where the player momentarily looked at the judge twice after what they thought should be a call.  And, the player didnÕt get back.  It cost two points.

 

How many of you lose a lot of games by 8 points or less?  4 points or less?  Even 1 point? So every point is important.  If you respond positively to bad happenstance, youÕll get an additional 2 – 4 points a game.

 

Power position: hold the ball to your upper outside chest and elbows up.

 

If you want life to be fair, you want us to treat you like a baby.  Because life isnÕt fair, and in pointing that out.  One woman and man champion were playing shooting competitions. And, she never won.  Then she challenged him to do it with a ping pong ball and he said he could be her with any known object.   No excuses!

 

When you fail ask what you can control. 

When you make an error applaud (clap twice, because it is awkward and not an angry impulsive gesture) or NBA next best action.

Anger looks back on the past, Frustration looks back too.  Fear is forward.  Play active and present.

 

Grab loose balls.

Stick to what youÕre good at, it makes people better.  He said if you can do two things well the coach can rely on you, if only for those two things.  YouÕll get playing time.  But, if youÕre okay at everything and do nothing really well, youÕll get less time – all else being equal.

 

QUIZ QUESTIONS:

Hunt the Ball, spacing and movement to attack zone. 

Engage two defenders. 

DonÕt marry them.  I saw many examples of this.  A player gets two defenders and goes too close to them, to where they are really guarded and have no options, no freedom.  Go in, draw two, then back up quickly, then youÕll still have options.  YouÕll be engaged, not married to the defender.

 

Get dangerous (Go to the hole, ball fake and grimace, puncture the middle). 

GO- GWO Get open or get way out.

   We did one passing game where the defense was in a diamond zone and players danced in and danced out.  They found dangerous spots on the paint.

Go like water to the open space.

We donÕt hunt the basket, we hunt already open space.

Get away from your defender and give the passer space.

 

5 – WAYS TO WIN ONE ON ONE

Cheetah speed v rabbit speed. Sit, wait, watch, read, burst.

-                                                

-                                               Sit, wait, watch, read, burst.

 

5 FAST BREAK TIPS

Face high passes.

Tyler loves the Celtics and face high passes.  He derides bounce passes as slow.  But, I take it personally as a Lakers fan.  Magic made an artistry of the bounce pass.  Why do we only see a film of the Celtics beautiful getting, dangerous, attacking the paint, and passing Ōface highÕ?  Why not the LakersÕ magic bounce passes?

Use your inside hand on lay ups.  It protects from blockers better.

Talk during fast breaks.

Loud gym

Space, remember, get away from your defender and give the passer space.

 

We went to the gym and did some exercises.

 

Loud gym: championship loud.

We did claps and a crescendo ŌaaahhhhhÕ followed by ŅBOOM,Ó PGC.

 

We timed the transition from the classroom to the gym, running it several times.

 

We quickly learned to line up on the three point, theater posision, etc.  And, it was accomplished via aggressive sheep dogging. When we first lined up, players had to shout, more room, short person needs front, etc.

 

Do e + huppy, skirmish, 3 Q and rabbit speed.

The Huppy is the two foot stop, with peak and fakes.

As for rabbit, Tyler asked us to imagine a cheetah and a rabbit in a small space.  Which is easiest to catch?  The cheetah, because it paces and is easily predicted.  The rabbit waits in the corner, and when you come a step closer what does it do? It waits.  And, a step close, what does it do?  It waits. Then you bend down to pick it up and it sprints to the other side.

 

Do Hoppy with a fake, run at rabbit, stop on a dime, peak and do pivots, elbows high, going up and down via the knees, then rabbit hopping to the other side. This gets to be a shooting drill as well.

 

We also did the guarding the person very closely, then they lose the ball on purpose and then the other person goes and gets it and rabbits up to position.

 

We did rip elbows guarded.  Keep peaking.  And, use the ball against your chest and squat and squat more, (Change heights). 

 

Then 4 players attack 3 players on offense for 5 seconds.  In five seconds they must make something happen.

 

SHOOTING CLASS (optional)

You need to find your authentic shot!

Steph Curry, Kobe, and some other non-Laker all three have very different shots.  It is ridiculous when coaches try to fit everyone into the same formula.  We all have different bodies.

 

Shooting is about feeling not form. Smooth powerful fast.

All powerful movement requires rotation.  We see a student come up and try to hit a hand.  We watch.  What did he do? He rotated his wrist.  When you end with your wrist position, it should be turned outward. 

Stops sap your power.

Your movement should accelerate towards the end of your shot. 

 

8 SHOT EXERCISES HE RECOMMENDED

One is you shoot high, and natural with your right foot further and less out in front of your less powerful foot.  Then, you see how far you must put it forward to get the ball to naturally land on the painted court line youÕre on.

 

Two: wall shots.  You stand so that if you bend forward at 90 degrees, you can almost touch the wall.

Then you shoot shots with one hand the grace the wall.  This is a distance control, not left to right, exercise.

 

Next was a swish shot bringing the ball up with one hand in one motion. 

 

Fourth: from the free throw line, rock back and forth, balls of the feet to heel, to balls of the heat and shoot.  It is a 1 – 2 – 3 rocking.  It practices your foot power.

 

1, 2, 3 hops, each time getting lower, leads to a shot.  This gives you  three levels of drop, prior to the shot, builds in taking your time, and makes you explosive.

 

Six, shoot uncomfortably fast.  If you are doing shooting drills and youÕre making all the shots or not shooting air balls occasionally, youÕre not getting out of your comfort zone, youÕre not growing.

 

Seven is squeeze, relax.  I donÕt remember what that was.

 

And, then there is a recommendation of Pistol PeteÕs videos. Starshooting.com.  But I think, in retrospect, a coach recommended those, not Tyler.

 

CHARACTERISTICS OF POPULAR LEADER TYPES:

 We list them.  Then he challenged the players, ŅWhich one canÕt you be?  So if ŌnoneÕ is the answer,Õ why arenÕt you?Ó

 

Never start your day until you finish it on paper.  Wake up and write down 3 things you will focus on during the day.  DonÕt just hope you do these things, make a plan for it to happen.

Wake up and choose your approach (attitude) and mind set.

Fear, anger, and entitlement are killed by gratitude.

 

Fear is a mind killer.  When you have fear, you fight, take flight or freeze.  We see video examples, including one where the player panics and flees, runs out of bounds.

 

The pressure is a fa¨ade, they cannot foul you. 

When you pressure, donÕt foul!

 

ITÕS NOT ABOUT GETTING TO THE RIM, IT IS ABOUT GETTING TO SPACE (this is in caps because it was one of my favorite sayings from Tyler.

 

Rabbit speed allows you to read the space.  

 

You must commit to life as a their commits to their crime.   There is no going back. DonÕt practice drills, practice real situations.  That is where your energy needs to be.  Drills, as drills, do not apply to real life situation.  YouÕll never get an open layup.  Any coach who still has his players do one foot unguarded layups for twenty minutes is out of it. 

 

A game has a trajectory of energy.  It is hard play for the first then a slump.  Then a push as half time comes and the third starts then a lull till the final 1:43.  You need high energy through out.  And, your drills should be like finals championships.  We must be loud and energetic and active as in a game on defense and offense.

 

-                                               - - - -

Good for great.  ŅBeauty is in the rejectionÓ is one of TylerÕs favorite sayings.

All great fakes are great fakes are based on lies; all great lies are based on truth. 

Most 7, 8 , 9 shots come off a pass, not a dribble. 

In the open court, flow like water to the open space.

 

DEFENSE

ŌYou are what you can guard.Õ (I donÕt quite get this one).  Perhaps it speaks to points stopped being points too.

 

You will be good at that which you take pride in.  And, you must take pride in your defense. 

 

We see great enthusiasm over having scored a point.  And, then the other team scores and itÕs a shrug, ŌUh, thatÕs life.Õ   A stop should make you celebrate as much as a made shot.  And, remember, a point made or a point stopped are both worth two points.

 

Ask yourself, ŅAm I in a position to stop a dribble in layup?Ó

Pestitude and anticipation are key.  Imagine you stepped in green paint before the play.  On defense you want to paint the whole floor every play. 

 

One coach gave tremendous punishment when a player said, ŅThat wasnÕt my man to guard.Ó  You are responsible for all five.  Know where your man is and the ball and be scientific.  Cut off passing lanes, Anticipate passes.  You must help and recover quickly to be as much of your teamÕs defense as you can be.

 

Talk about your player and the ball during the play.

 

You donÕt guard people, you guard the passing lanes.

 

GREAT DEFENDERS FOUL 100 TIMES A GAME AND ONLY GET CAUGHT ONCE. (I put that in bold, because it too is one of my favorite Tyler sayings).

 

BACK TO OFFENSE

 

He tells the story of someone running away from a bear.  The moral of the story? Always break tree branches, never trunks.  Go just outside. 

 

Vision indicates every decision.

Shot blockers are opportunists. 

Statue of liberty and chest are powerful ball holding positions, pregnancy isnÕt.

 

It isnÕt what you do but who you are.  To be a successful point guard, you must manage the teamÕs emotions and growth.

 

POINT GUARD ESOTERICA

DonÕt blame refs for a loss.  It steals your motivation to improve.

Remember refs donÕt have the life they want. 

Just like you wouldnÕt yell at someone at a market for a stupid mistake, (putting cans under bread), you shouldnÕt be mean to refs. You make many mistakes a game, why shouldnÕt they?  They are human.

 

Just acknowledge that all refs are blind, betting against you, and hate you personally.  Now, you have defeated expectations.  So, now what will you do to improve your play?

 

How to treat refs:

 

1)                               Names

-                                               fetch lost balls for them.

2)                               Ask questions.  Rather than, Ōhow can you call that a foul? Ask, ŌWhat do I have to do to avoid being called for that call again?Ó  Now they will teach you and they are responsible for your progress.  You are their son or daughter.

 

WHEN PARENTS WERE THERE HE SAID

 

If youÕre good a coach will find you.  You put in the hours and it will happen – no matter how remote your village. 

 

Tyler hates the AAU.  He counted the minutes it takes and the amount of exposure.  And, it is miniscule. If you would be better off staying home and practicing.  

 

The AAU is part of the reason we donÕt have fundamentals like the Europeans.

 

He said if your wish is basketball, you students should be happy with B grades.  And, you can get these by memorizing 3 essay answers and using them to answer any question.

 

Also sit in the front and ask one question a class. The prof will remember you.

 

No!  Joking!  He didnÕt give the previous scandalous advice in front of teachers.  He did this naughty (we-now-share a secret) advice at another time in the weekend.

 

LEADING DIFFICULT TEAM MATES

Write what frustrates you about others and do the opposite.

Someone somewhere could get to that troubled team mate, could be successful in this situation, why not you?


Later when talking about drugs and such during the private session, he spoke of picking off low hanging fruit.  You may not be able to stop all from doing drugs on your team.  But find one person who only looks like their going on to be liked.  Maybe in the first semester, you get one.  And, then another.  And by the time your 3 years are up at that school, you may have changed the culture. 

 

But it starts with you, the individual.

 

To lead, know peopleÕs lives and work.  As in playing, flow where there is space.  If someone is withdrawn, speak to them.  Find out what is happening.

 

Thank everyone including the janitor.  You can get in the gym from him more than from others. 

Two positives per minute.

The process is important, not the outcome.  If you fix the team relationships and attitudes, it will fix practice, games will come.

A bad shot is a bad shot when it leaves your hand, not when it goes in or misses.

Good leaders attack space. 

 

We are getting ready for the decathlon.

 

BALL HANDLING DECATHALON

There are 10 drills.  These are counted and scored in rapid fire by your partner.

Dribble through the legs.

Dribble two balls simultaneously above your shoulders.

Behind the back V dribbles over the waist.

Ball push ups.

SHOOTING DECATHALON

From either side of the basket, on the baseline, shoot a swish.  Count as you go from side to side.  Then same, but four feet back and banks.  Count.

A layup where you run around someone at the corner of the free throw line. 

Rapid fire shots from the free throw line.

The Mikan: This is under the basket and right one handed, left one handed, right reverse one handed, left reverse left handed.

 

GAME SITUATIONS

To read defense, zone or man on man, on a cut through paint.  If they donÕt follow it is zone.

 

Arrogant is different than confidant.

 

Arrogant: Feels self must define or defend yourself to others.  Must show youÕre good.

Confident: Build others, you know youÕre good and so have nothing to prove, so no need to show off.

 

To increase shooting accuracy, make your passes accurate.  Know your co-playersÕ favorite finger to shoot off of and aim for it.

 

Win the activity game, not the strength game.  Make them earn it.

 

When guarding a star, donÕt give them respect.  Stay in their space, in their grill, disrupt them.  Their reputations have made otherÕs stand offish and given them more space, take advantage of that opportunity.

You wonÕt stop them, but if you can make  them take tough shots, low percentage shots, youÕve done your part.

You will not get greatness without sacrifice.  You canÕt bargain the price down for greatness.  If you try to get it on the cheap, you will not get it.  Tyler tells players, ŅI canÕt hear your words over the sound of your life.Ó

If you say you want to play college ball or whatever, and you donÕt put in the time either: a) you donÕt really want it, or b) you donÕt understand the above about bargaining.

 

In the private session, we learn of 2 week decisions, 2 month decisions, and 2 year decisions.


Your decision to play in college is a 2 year decision. 

 

Your two week decisions are all the time you spend on the internet, wasting time.  Usually the things you do at night are a waste of time.  So, go to be early.  Think of all the time you waste, when you could be achieving your dreams.

 

A two month decision is your girlfriend: high school relationships add up to nothing.  In 3 years youÕll change so much.  So in having serial relationships or a long one, this is investing resources into someone you wonÕt know for a long time. 

 

During this story, he tells us how he got lots of opportunities at his big college.  The town gave them free bars for publicity, sex and drugs were available.  And, the whole team got corrupt and lost the championship by  only a few points.  If he had been in the gym, those few points would have manifest.

 

End of private session:

NOB: Nothing Off Balance.

 

SHOOTING

Shoot 500 a day.

Count your shots, chart your results, your improvement.

Do the shots in groups of 20, then write down the makes.  This makes counting possible.

 

This will build confidence.

 

A parent hired him to coach their son /daughter because the school coach was just undermining the playerÕs confidence. 

Tyler said the player shouldnÕt have confidence.  You earn that by shooting 500 shots a day.  And, if you do so, even when you go on a missing streak, you will know yourself and not worry.  YouÕll come back in the second half and hit 5 in a row to do what you consistently do in practice.

 

Practice making your shot in your mind.  If you think about your missed shot all day, when you go to shoot, that feeling will come up.  That is a mistake. 

 

In a study, one team practiced and another visualized practice.  The latter did better.  Why? Because they never imagined misses.

 

One things we practiced was YES SHOTS. 

In these you had to say yes, if your shot felt like it was in flow, and say it early.  You did not need to say Ōno.Õ 


Flush away a bad day.  For that he had us draw a toilet.

 

Be your number one critic and your number one fan.

 

-    -       -    -    -   -

PERFORMANCE based evaluation looks at the outcome

COMMITMENT based evaluation is about the players being who they have agreed to be.  W as a group have a commitment to what we as individuals and as a group commit to be.

 

Handshakes create culture.

Energy and persistence conquer all things.

 

DURING OUR COACH MEETING HE SAID

If someone transgresses, give them the opportunity to recant.  During our coaches session, Tyler said ultimately you could just stop a practice.  You could say, ŅI donÕt like the way youÕre behaving, (not who you are, not with anger).  I donÕt like who I am becoming around you.  LetÕs see if we can come back tomorrow with a more positive approach.

 

This gives them an option to change. And, losing one hour of bad practice in nothing in comparison to the buy in this will buy.

 

He recommended the book Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer to remember names.

 

He said he read 42 books a year.  At an early session, he recommended that the player students all take at least 2 speed-reading courses.  He said he read 2/3rds non-fiction. 

 

TEMPO

That is the number of possessions during any period of time.

 

He told us of his game winning behind the back pass to a 7 foot English man whom he subsequently yelled at. 

 

The cigar smoking coach told him: A missed pass is always the fault of the better player.  You need to know your team matesÕ weaknesses. 

 

If youÕre the worse team, you want fewer possessions.  This increases the odds something odd, a slump or something will impact the outcome. 


To slow do traps.  Also, wait for your shots.

 

To slow, keep them out of the paint.

 

If the other team scores three in a row, you should be worried.  They have a streak going on.  Scientifically, the hot hand is not real, momentum shifts are.   People droop when they feel all is going their way.

 

If you are on a streak, take 3 point shots.  This ups the tempo.   They are quicker to shoot and lead to more rebounds.

 

Do time outs end streaks?  It is a coachÕs philosophy.  He is like Phil. Let them figure it out.

 

AT THE END WAS JAI LAI

Everything we learned was a violation: especially failure to peak.  This imposed memory in quick lived repeats.

 

Also, they called all sorts of arbitrary comical calls.  This taught that life was not fair. You laugh and keep on playing.