THE CHALLENGE

The Sporting News compiled a list of the 50 Best Coaches of all time.  I’m not a big fan of a ‘top anything’ list (but it’s fun sometimes to read them).  Who really knows who was the best at anything? Isn’t it subjective? Everyone has an opinion.  The one thing I will say is I think Pat Riley (ranked 30th) is a little skewed.  I would say he is closer to top 10.  The guy won with three different clubs, with three different styles in three different era’s.  John Wooden was chosen the best overall.

“When I think of Coach Wooden, the first word that comes to mind is execution,” said Gail Goodrich, who wrote an appreciation of his former coach in SN. “We never worried about the opponent, only about how we were going to play.”

WAPT.com wants Coaches to be careful what you read especially if it’s your athlete’s Facebook account.  A former cheerleader is suing her school for $100 million.  The coach invaded her privacy by logging into her account and reading her material.

Three words for today,  EMBRACE THE CHALLENEGE!

-Coach Finamore

Hoops135@hotmail.com

A GREAT READ

Just finished reading Wight Martindale Jr.’s ‘Inside the Cage’: A Season at West 4th Street’s Legendary Tournament. If you want to learn more about the famous West 4th Street basketball league this is a must read.  Martindale Jr. has done a great job in describing the way the game is played at the place they call ‘The Cage’.

Here’s some insight into Martindale Jr. via Leigh.edu

But like the man who wrote it, the book is much more complex than most sports fare these days, tackling meaty issues such as popular misconceptions about inner-city black males and the importance of play in society, as well as giving readers great insight into the men on and off the court and the neighborhoods they come from.

“White America has such a cliched and, I think, bad view of black males,” Martindale says. “But, the dirty little secret that I learned from spending 20 summers at the Cage is that African-American males have the same aspirations as the rest of America … They want to make a good living, they want to take care of their families, they want their kids to be educated, they want to pay their bills on time.”

If you are looking for a solid book to read, I highly recommend Martindale Jr.’s classic.

-Coach Finamore

Hoops135@hotmail.com

READING IS FUNDAMENTAL

ESPN reports that college basketball coaches can’t pay to eat.

AHN on the price for program’s at AAU events.

Success magazine on Pat Summitt.

The key to her on- and off-court success, Summitt is famous for saying, is remembering that “winners aren’t born, they are self-made.”

“And the only way to ensure you become a winner is to set goals every day, and hold yourself and your teammates accountable for reaching those goals,” she says. “Setting up a system that rewards you for meeting your goals and has penalties for failing to hit your target is just as important as putting your goals down on paper.”

-Coach Finamore

Hoops135@hotmail.com

STEP IT UP

What are you doing as a coach to help someone else?

OC Register. com on Derrick Fisher of the LA Lakers and his staff at camp are teaching more than basketball.

“We’re not babysitting form 8:30 to 3:30,” Fisher said. “Our basketball camp hopefully is an extension of what parents are trying to teach their kids at home about having the right attitude in life, about putting in the maximum effort in the classroom and on the basketball court.

“It’s about being a leader in the classroom and on the court. It’s about being mentally tough in life on and off the court. About living your life based on their character and who they want to be.

“We hope those are all the things parents are teaching at home, so when you come in here, and your kids spend a week with us, we are building on a foundation that you’re already laying.”

-Coach Finamore

Hoops135@hotmail.com

FREDDIE ROACH

Saw a great piece the other night on HBO’s Real Sports featuring boxing trainer Freddie Roach.

I love this guy.  He gets after it.  Loves his fighters too; fighters are his family.   He trains guys 12 hours a day, 6 days a week.  He owns his own gym in Hollywood.  “Pain is a state of mind”,  he says.

His slogan, ‘Stay active, get active’.

-Coach Finamore

Hoops135@hotmail.com