PLAYER DEVELOPMENT
Each player has their own journey in basketball and player development is not a linear progression. Our philosophy for player development within the constructs of the Rockets Program are:
Compete in Practice:
We believe in maximizing every moment of practice time that we have available. Competition raises the stakes for players, engages them at a higher level, and makes practices more game-like. In almost everything we do in practice, competition is part of the expierence.
Integrate Skills and Concepts into Game-Like Contexts:
While there is a time and place for on-air drills and skill work, we believe in spending the majority of our time with our players on integrated approaches so that we have the highest likelihood of skill transference. Integrating skill work and concepts into actual competitive games is a core philosophy of the Rockets.
Play the Right Competition:
We strive to schedule a balance of games against a mix of competition. We want our players to play teams that are a match for them competitively, but also we want to play teams that may be more talented or bigger than us as well. If we are winning every game then we are scheduling incorrectly. This means at times, some of our teams may need to play up a grade level higher. This balance of competition allows our players to experience challenges and to also build confidence.
Allow Mistakes:
Our players have to have some freedom to grow in their abilities. Thus, we want players to take risks, expand their games and test boundaries within the constructs of our team settings. If we don’t allow for this flexibility, our players will never reach their fullest potential.
Give the Right Feedback:
As coaches the words we choose and when we choose to use them have an incredible impact on our players. Thus, we never want to overcoach, because then our words become meaningless. Our feedback to players will be specific and at chosen times as opposed to constant verbal input for the players. We also do not believe in giving verbal input to players while the ball is in their hands. They need to be empowered to make decisions on their own.