Guest Author, Kyle Ohman

Coach Ohman reached out and offered his insight and I am happy to post it here:

Motivating the Right Way
by Kyle Ohman
www.BasketballHQ.com

One of the biggest responsibilities a basketball coach has is to get the most out of their

players. Coaches are supposed to figure out how to motivate each player and maximize that
players abilities on the floor for the betterment of the team. This concept is not something that
is new and has been used by coaches of all different sports for a long time. However there are
different ways that coaches can do this, some better than others. Here are some tips that you
can use as a coach to getting the most out of each of your players.

During my collegiate and professional basketball playing career I was able to play under
several different coaches, and during this time I was able to experience multiple different
basketball coaching styles. I have seen coaches use different tactics for trying to get the most
out of their players. I have seen the exact same tactic work well on one player and then
completely fail on another. So the first thing that you need to do is get to know each player on
an individual level and figure out why they are playing the game and what motivates them.

Once you have done this you can adjust how you coach them. If you tell someone ten different things about themselves, nine of those things positive and one negative, they are only going to hear and remember the one negative thing. It is just the way that we are wired. So as a coach if you want to keep your players motivated and working hard you have to make a conscious effort to stay away from being too negative in your coaching style.

There are going to be times when you are doing basketball workouts or having practice and
you need to get on your players and light a fire under the butts for doing something wrong, but
if this is an everyday thing then you will find your players losing interest in what you want them
to do. Also when you get the chance to praise your players for doing something right take
advantage of it. This will not only reinforce what you want from them, but it will also balance it
out when you have to get on them.

People are more likely to do something for someone that they know and that they have a
personal relationship with. If a family member asks you to help them out with something you
are more likely to say yes then if a complete stranger asked you to help with the same thing.
The reason why is because you know them, you have a relationship with them, and you know
that they have your best interest in mind. Your players need to have this same feeling toward
you as a coach, and the only way to get to this point is spending time getting to know your
players. It is important that you spend time getting to know your players outside of basketball,
not only because it will help you get more out of them on the floor, but also because coaching
is about developing lasting relationships with people.

Conclusion
There are many different ways that you can use to motivate your players, but from my
experience this is the best way. You will not only be able to maximize your players
performance but you will be able to do it the right way by developing lasting relationships with
your players.

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Author Bio
This article was written by Kyle Ohman. Kyle Ohman was a thousand point scorer at Liberty
University (div. 1), was ranked the 19th best shooter in the country by Fox Sports his senior
year. Kyle has also played professionally in Spain. Most recently he coached a high school
team that played on a national level and beat the 12th ranked team in the nation. Coach
Ohman is the Co-Owner and founder of BasketballHQ.com