The Captain’s Speech: Unlocking the Power of On-Court Communication
It might be the phrase I hear most in any basketball gym or arena…
During games, at practices, during huddles or briefings…
Coaches to players, players to players, …
“We need to talk!” “You need to communicate!”
As coaches, it’s our responsibility to do more than just tell our players to talk.
We need to specify WHAT to say and WHEN to say it. It’s about creating specific communication habits during practice, defining which verbals to use in various situations.
But there’s a lot more to communication on a team.
We all hope to have a leader on our team—a player who elevates everyone else. Often, this leader is named Captain. And frequently, he’s a point guard on the team.
As coaches, we rely on this player to be our right hand on the court, directing the team and making each individual a better player. This requires a complete asset of communication skills from him.
“The Captain’s speech”
For me, the prime example of such a leader is Belgian guard Sam van Rossom. Mostly known for his decade-long tenure at Valencia Basket, Sam retires this summer. In the video breakdown below, I slice down ALL FORMS of communication by Sam on the court.
It’s important to realize this is NOT a highlight reel spanning multiple games. It’s about all forms of communication within THREE MINUTES of action (!) where Valencia overcame a 5-point deficit to secure a victory against Efes in the final moments of a Euroleague game.
For me, it’s an absolute masterclass in leadership and communication. Zooming in on Sam’s performance reveals a wide array of ways he improves his teammates, both verbally and non-verbally.
While experience obviously plays a significant role, we can’t expect players to develop such leadership and communication skills on their own. We must show, explain and demonstrate these skills.
In Valencia, we organized a classroom session with Sam and all talented guards in the youth program to share Sam’s insights with all these situations in the breakdown video.
Blessed are all the young players that can practice and share a locker room with court leaders like this. All the rest count on us as coaches to be taught how to play and lead the game!
That’s it for now, I’ll be back soon for more!