Basketball Advice

[Weeks]

Stand out.

Make the coach have a reason to pick you, play with an edge but at the same time play your game.

In the scrimmages drive to the rim whenever possible, and make sure when he is watching you that you get the ball in your hands rather than defer to teammates.

Don't mess around, be the first to the gym everyday. And practice lay-ups/FTs/Mid-Range jumpers rather than 3s and half court shots or whatever.

And depending on what his personality is like try to suck up/ask him for advice, but if he will know that you are obviously trying to get on his good side that will likely make him mad so don't do it then.

[Weeks]

And if he tells you to do something different, whether or not you agree with it do it. Getting on a coaches good side is the most important thing.

Good luck, keep us posted.

[For The Win]

Thank you for all of the advice. I don't want to really sound like I am knocking the team or anything but the team's supposed star player takes steroids and it is a widely known fact. On road games whenever he touches the ball the crowd chants "Roid Rage" and everyone knows that he takes them and the coach is ok with it. It would be impossible to prove but there are a lot of weird things that go on at my school.

I will keep you guys posted and anymore advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[TMagic]

Quote: Originally Posted by WTF

But back on topic... If you want to talk to the coach, I wouldn't disrespect him at all nor question his selections. One way to make sure you get watched, is to just politely tell him that you've worked on certain aspects of your game throughout the summer (maybe throw in an "unfortunately I couldn't make it to the camp... blah blah) and ask him if he could give you some critiques after each session that you could work on to improve your game. That would be a way to make sure he takes notice of you... and also a way to get some more interaction with him.

Agreed 100%.

Best piece of advice here is to just say SOMETHING. Anything to get him to notice you and recognize you during tryouts. If you go into tryouts without him having any idea about who you are, you are going to go above and beyond to get noticed.

The worse thing you can do is wait up until tryouts in hopes of having an outstanding showing. There are so many other kids trying out, that he can not watch every single one of you at once. Plus, if he/they are just going off of names, there's no way he can remember every person's name that tried out. So when he goes back to see who he liked, you want to make sure he associates your name with you.

I moved in my first year in high school, so I didn't get to try out my freshmen year. Then I tried out my softmore year. Didn't make it. Like you said, I don't want to sound cocky, but I was clearly better than guys that made it over me. When I didn't make the team, everybody that had played with me before were like "How the hell didn't you make it? And then (insert name) did?". I was just trying to let my game do the talking.

So the next year, I went to the coach on several occasions to ask about tryouts, to ask about what he looked for in a player, to ask about open gym, etc. Pretty much anything that would lead to him being more familiar with me and my face for when tryouts came. That year I made Varsity.

From there I actually moved again and ended up at a different school. Did the same process. Going to the coach for random things. "Hey Coach. Dominique Davis. What GPA do you need to play?" "Hey Coach. Dominique Davis. When are tryouts?" "Hey Coach. Dominique Davis. What position would you have me play with my size on this team? Just like to know so I have an idea on what skills to work on." lol

I went to open play after school and played. I literally did one thing right in front of him. I stole the ball from one of the guys on the team. Took the ball down, one guy tried to step up in front of me and go for a steal. I went around my back, leaving him behind me. I took two steps from the free throw line and finished over the top of someone trying to contest at the rim. Point game.

Right after that coach walked up to me and asked what my name was again. Nodded his head. And asked, "You still going to try out for the team right?".

So my best advice is, make sure he gets familiar with you before the tryouts so that he will make it a point to watch you during tryouts. Then you can really let your game do the talking.

[Mo]

Best Player out there?
Star on team is using Steroids?
Bribes?

Something is not adding up with me

[For The Win]

By no means am I the best player out there. There are many parts of my gaming that could use work. However I do feel that if given a fair shot, I should at least be able to make a team. The rest of it is true though, unfortunately. But by no means am I the best player out there. Sorry if I rubbed off that way.

[Money99]

Work hard at practice and maybe talk to the coach and ask him what you can work on.
It'll show him you're humble and are willing to learn.

[Po Pimp]

Quote: Originally Posted by For The Win

The thing is the coach only seems to watch the players that have gone to his camp. One kid who made the team had his parents pay the coach $3,000 so that he could play. The kid that backed me up in 8th grade made the team. I just need some way to get the coach's attention so that when I make the plays, he will watch them.

And there you go. Sadly, it has nothing to do with your talent. A lot of time, it's pure politics. I know this first hand.