"The NEXT Play"

"In basketball and in life, I have always maintained the philosophy of 'next play.' Essentially, what it means is that what you have just done is not nearly as important as what you are doing right now.

"The 'next play' philosophy emphasizes the fact that the most important play of the game or life moment on which you should always focus is the next one. It is not about the turnover I committed last time down the court, it's not even about the three-pointer I hit to tie the game, it is about what's next. To waste time lamenting a mistake or celebrating success is distracting and can leave you and your team unprepared for what you are about to face. It robs you of the ability to do your best at that moment and to give your full concentration. It's why I love basketball. Plays happen with rapidity and there may be no stop-action. Basketball is a game that favors the quick thinker and the person who can go on to the next play the fastest."

..... from "Beyond Basketball," by Mike Krzyzewski with James Spatola

There is the end of the bench. Then there is the "dog house."

One of the great coaching challenges all of us have experienced is trying to convince our competing players to have "short memories." The pace at which the game of basketball is played at leaves very little time for regret or

celebration. The best players I coached most often lived in the moment. I always admired players who you had no idea if they were playing well or struggling. I struggled trying to convince several of the players I coached to

let go of previous possessions and focused on the present. I wish I could say I was successful in getting those same players to adopt the next play attitude. I tried to convince our players that celebrating or lamenting a previous possession(s) can adversely affect the present possession.

In other sports, the "pace" of the game often gives the participant chance

to recover before action continues. You can step out of the box and regroup

in baseball or softball. The same is true in a number of other sports. Basketball is a game of continuous action and a lapse in focus can affect

performance.

When I scouted, I always made a note of the player(s) who seem to be unable/unwilling to let go of failure or success. We have all coached the type of player who "had to" make the first shot they took, because if they did not, they would enter the world of grand funk! Some people have a very difficult time dealing with the past and that's exactly what the previous possession in a game is. The past.

As coaches, we need to consider how well we follow our own advice. I had

MANY weaknesses as a coach and one of those was my inability to put a

loss or a poor performance behind me. Not letting go of the past is not just

a player problem. How well do your teams come back from a poor performance? How often do your teams recover from an opponent's run

during a game? How you react to a poor performance or a change in momentum during a game can impact how well your team responds.

Why do some coaches call time outs as soon as they sense a change in

momentum that adversely affects their team? I believe they want to interrupt how their opponents are dealing with the present. A well placed time out can have a positive impact on a game. Some players need to

have a time out during a game to interrupt their own personal momentum

if things are not going well. Getting them out of the past and into the present can be a challenging experience both for the player and the coach.

Some of us "old school types" may not feel it is necessary to explain to a

player why he has been taken out but I believe today's players usually do

need some degree of assurance as to why you (as their coach) are doing

what you are. I believe most players are far more insecure than we realize.