Coaching is Teaching

Unique to this organization is the major focus on helping coaches become better coaches, better teachers.

Naturally, the better coaches become at teaching the game the right way, the more learning and growth occurs for their student-athletes. Therefore, a great deal of effort is made to help teach, train and support the overall development of our coaches. Whether within the struture of a league setting or in our summer camps/academies, we focus as much time and attention (if not more) developing our teacher-coaches as we do our athletes. By developing the ethics, knowledge, technique, and overall teaching skills of our coaching staff over the years, the level of instruction continues to improve.

In many respects, each teaching program serves as a "coaches clinic" (although there are separate coaches clinics for coaches only). Coaches are given notebooks detailing specific coaching philosophies, explaining specific motivational theories, outlining step-by-step teaching techniques, and providing numerous basketball drills to use during the assigne program and beyond.

Motivating...
“To get young men to do what they don’t want to do in order to achieve what they want to achieve. That’s what coaching is all about.” – Tom Landry

"At Boston University, I motivated negatively, and I found that although it can work at first, by the end of the year everyone is dying for the year to end and you have lost them. The last two years at BU, I motivated positively and got much better results.“ – Rick Pitino

Maximizing...

"Individual commitment to a group effort – that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.” - Vince Lombardi

I tell them to play hard, play together, play smart, defend and have fun. If you do those things, you maximize your chances. You don't win as individuals. You win by maximizing everybody's talent and being unselfish and doing your job.” - Larry Brown

Preparation...

"Coaching is preparation." -Pete Carill

"Practice structure determines success." -Bob Knight

"Prepare for every practice like you lost your last game." -Don Meyer

There are many definitions of coaching. Coach Wooden said, "I think parenting and coaching or teaching are the same thing. And they are the two most important professions in the world."

We firmly believe that coaches have such an important and influential role in a young person's life, and we take this responsibility very seriously. Furthermore, we believe we can make an integral impact on our community by providing and training coaches. Here are some definitions of coaching that help our staff in the way we help develop our young athletes.

Serving...
"A coach is a servant."
-Tom Osborne

"I seek to leave this world a little better place than the way I found it." -James Naismith

Teaching...
"A coach is a teacher first."
-Bob Knight

"They call it coaching, but it is teaching. You do not just tell them...you show them the reasons." -Vince Lombardi

Like Parenting...
"Treat each player as your own son or daughter if you can...the parents have invested in you." -Hank Iba

Defining Reality...
"Coaching is...defining reality. A coach must keep everyone on the team in touch with present realities - knowing where they stand, where they're falling short of their potential - and knowing it openly and fairly." -Pat Riley

"The dream begins with a teacher who believes in you, who tugs and pushes and leads you to the next plateau, sometimes poking you with a sharp stick called 'truth.'" -Dan Rather

Getting kids to play together...
"Basketball is sharing." -Phil Jackson

"Recognize and reward players who put the team first, not just the gifted ones." - Don Meyer

"Don't do anything as an individual that will make you stand out from your teammates." - Mike Krzyzewski

“Everyone stands for the man coming out of the game.” -Dean Smith

Videos

	Are you coming back next year??? YES! August 8, 2010 Well - after a tough, but fun, four days of camp here are some reflections on the experience by Corey,...
	Camp is over....but the fun isn't! August 8, 2010 Corey Johnson, Destinee McDonald, Kendall Johnson, Murray Hill, Immanuel Wells and Rece D'Alessandro...
	Steve Brown talks about his son's experience at camp! August 8, 2010 Steve & Debra Brown brought their son to the Advanced Skills Youth Camp in August of 2010 not knowing...
	Captains rally their troops for the final Skills Test... August 8, 2010 Allowing the young campers the room to lead and motivate themselves brings these teams together and...
	Energy & Desire - the themes of a Coach Rock huddle August 8, 2010 Kids having fun with their team huddle - "Nothing great has ever been accomplished without enthusiasm."...
	"Stance!" Drill Sequence has been a camp tradition... August 8, 2010 ...it gets interesting when led by a camper!
	Jacoby Jackson gets the camp pumped for the Defensive Practices! August 8, 2010 Throughout camp, coaches step back to allow leaders to come forward - the ultimate goal is not only...
	Murray Hill, Corey Johnson and Rece D'Alessandro jokin' around in the morning before camp. August 8, 2010 At camp you make new friends - and there's lots of fun before the day starts!
	Immanuel Wells gives a defensive lecture... August 8, 2010 At the Advanced Skills Youth Camp teams work on their Team Defensive Drills - and a special young man,...
	Coach Skinner talks and talks and talks...about VABA! July 31, 2010 The BEST coaches in America - together talking about the Total Skills Camp experience.
	Coach Crocker talks about how VABA teaches TEAMWORK! July 31, 2010 Coach Crocker, a five-year veteran, is now a coach...and a good one at that! The Virginia Basketball...
	Coach Barry, Coach Rock, Coach Chambers share their thoughts on the VABA Total Skills Camp 2010! July 31, 2010 Our coaches pour their hearts and souls into the kids they teach - after 5 days of training and drills,...
	It's a "FAMILY AFFAIR" with the Brennans! July 31, 2010 Bill Brennan, an assistant coach at Tallwood HS, and his two sons, Billy and Brian, talk about their...
	Quan Jones learned some new moves and also...how to be a LEADER! July 31, 2010 Sharon Jones has been sending her son, Quan, to camp for years - and its produced some wonderful dividends...
	Josh Casteen & Dylan Weiss talk about their improvements! July 31, 2010 Josh and Dylan will take all they learned to the Developmental League this winter -
	Jack Lee and Brandon DeJong - camp was AWESOME! July 31, 2010 Jack and Brandon talk about how their team came together...and their DEFENSE improved!