Youth Basketball: What Makes A Basketball Player a Great Leader

What Makes A Basketball Player a Great Leader And Teammate?

Lamar Hull at Inspirational Basketball is the guest blogger for this post.

Strong leadership on the basketball court is a key component to having a unified, successful, and winning team. Leadership does not always come directly from the coach, but can come from within the team itself. Typically, a leader emerges from the team. Some people are born with natural leadership abilities and others have to strive and work hard to obtain that same quality.

There is a saying in the sports that holds true for all sport’s teams, "there is no I in team". A leader will excel as an individual player, while simultaneously helping to improve the effectiveness of the entire team. The first and most important key to becoming a successful team player is to know the game inside and out. Knowing the actions and talents of your fellow teammates will help the strength of the team to prosper.

Leaders are exceptional team players. Usually, a team player does not often have to be the most talented player to be the leader. Skills and natural talent of course help with leadership, but are not required. The leaders is typically the most vocal and leads by example. A leader needs to know the rules of the game, player's positions, duties and the team’s plays. This is one of the most important aspects of a leader, they have to be unselfish. One reason I exceled at being a leader on the basketball court was because I would never quit, no matter the score. A leader must have confidence in themselves and their team; this is a pedigree for a successful team.

Most importantly, along with those other attributes stated above, a leader must set high standards for their team and themselves in order to provide high quality leadership. Here are a few more attributes of a leader. They are on time to practice and games, usually the first player in the gym and usually the last one to leave, hardworking, and they put their heart and soul into producing great outcomes for their team.

An example of a great leader was Michael Jordan when he played with the Chicago Bulls through the late 1980's and 1990's. During this time he was considered a leader and great player because of the character he portrayed on and off the court. Jordan won the NBA's MVP award five times between 1987 and 1998, held the scoring title seven times from 1987 thru 1993, and then three more times since 1995-1998. Michael could not have won 6 championships without his teammates and in every interview he made sure to mention his teammates in the team’s success.

Michael Jordan showed leadership qualities from a very young age. Michael didn't make it onto his high school team when he first tried out. With his perseverance and dedication to become part of a team, he tried out the next year, and so began his basketball career as a team leader.

Leaders and great teammates are not made. Anyone can be a leader if they dedicate themselves to becoming successful communicators and hard-workers. Stats Dad talks about how to lead with passion. This is definitely a characteristic that a leader should have. It doesn’t take talent to lead with passion, it takes heart!

Author: Lamar Hull is a former basketball player for Davidson College and was a great leader on the court because he put his teammates before himself. Because of Lamar’s leadership he was awarded a professional contract to play in Europe. You can follow Lamar @lamarhull20

The Main Point

There is some great advice in this post, especially for the player who is not the superstar talent on the team. Coaches, fans and teammates appreciate the less talented but scrappy kid who out hustles everyone on the court to get it done.

Youth Basketball: The Flu Game

On June 10, 1997, Michael Jordan woke up with a stomach virus. He was so sick that he couldn't even sit up. The Chicago Bulls trainer informed Phil Jackson, the head coach, that there is no way that Jordan would play the next night. Jackson started to prepare a game plan that did not include his star player for Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals.

The Bulls were playing the Jazz, who had won the previous two games to tie the series at 2 games apiece. The Jazz had all the momentum going into the crucial swing game. The Bulls did not want to go to Utah, where the Jazz were so tough to beat, needing to win the final two games of the series to secure a championship.

On June 11, the competitor, Jordan climbed out of bed late in the afternoon and made his way to the Delta Centre. He arrived just before the tip-off. Jordan stepped onto the court visibly weak and slow. The Jazz, with the superstar combination of John Stockton and Karl Malone took advantage and jumped out to a 16 point lead early in the first half. 

But the competitor found a way to endure 44 minutes of play and put up a stat line of 38 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals and 1 block before he collapsed into Scottie Pippen's arms victorious.

On Tuesday, my daughter awoke sick with the flu after a night of trick-or-treating. She missed school Tueday, Wednesday and Thursday. On Friday, she went to school but threw up and was sent home. She lost 5 pounds during the week. At 71 pounds, she did not have 5 pounds to lose.

Youth Baseball: Not a Perfect Game, but a Perfect Teaching Moment

Armando Galarraga was a surprise Rookie of the Year candidate in 2008 posting a 13-7 record with a 3.73 ERA. His career started out just perfectly.

Galarraga's star faded after a disappointing 2009 sophomore campaign, when Galarraga fell to 6-10 with a 5.64 ERA. In March, Galarraga was relegated to the Tiger's minors after a disappointing spring training.

Galarraga was recently promoted to the Tiger's starting rotation again. Yesterday, he took the mound and was absolutely perfect. Unfortunately umpire Jim Joyce was not. On what should have been the last play of a perfect game, Jim Joyce wrongly called the 27th hitter safe at first. The perfect game was erased from the record books. Although there have been two perfect games pitched this year, there have only been 20 perfect games in the entire history of Major League Baseball, so Jim Joyce's blown call was historic.

Did Armando Galarraga get upset, yell and cry about the injustice? Did he pick up the first base bag and throw it like the childish Lou Piniella? Did he spit in the face of the umpire like Roberto Alomar? No, he smiled in disbelief and went back to the mound and recorded the final out.

Jim Joyce, who looks like a steal worker, cried as he apologized to Galarraga, to the Tiger fans and to the game he loves, baseball.

Today, the day after the blown call, Jim Joyce took the field and the Tiger fans were gracious. Armando Galarraga took the line-up card to Jim Joyce and shook his hand. Jim had tears in his eyes again. All was forgiven. All was forgotten, expect how Galarraga and Joyce handled the unfortunate situation perfectly.

The Main Point

The non-perfect game was more perfect than a perfect game. It provided the perfect teaching moment for dads, moms and coaches alike. The are ups and downs in baseball as Gallaraga's short career illustrates, but Gallaraga did not take an up moment, winning a game with a 1 hitter, and make it into a down moment. And in the process he gained the respect of baseball fans world wide, more so than if he had pitched a perfect game. His star has never been brighter.

Craig Heimbuch wrote a convincing post on the teaching moment Galarraga gave the baseball world on ManoftheHouse.com

Youth Baseball: The Pressure to be Great can be too Great

Game 13

My son is playing his fourth season with his current select baseball team. During that period, he has the highest batting average on the team. As such, he is expected to hit and hit and hit. He is expected to be great by his coaches and his teammates. It's not unreasonable for them to have these expectations because they have become accustom to my son delivering time and time again. I have become used to watching him succeed, so I go to the games expecting him to be great. He expects himself to be great too. With all these expectations comes great pressure.

My son did not have a hit during the 3 game Tennessee tournament two weeks ago. That was the first time he had gone hitless over a 3 game period. He was bummed about it and had a two week period without games to think about it. During the past two weeks of practice, however, he worked very hard and was mashing the ball. He couldn't wait for the game tonight.

He looked forward to the game all day. He expected to be the starting catcher and get his first hit of the year. When he got to the game, he found out he was not the starting catcher. He was the designated hitter for this game. The coach expected the first game to be an easy win and therefore decided to hold back his ace pitcher for the second game (tonight). My son always catches the ace. This was not communicated to my son. My son just assumed he lost his starting role. He was dejected. He took this defeated attitude to the plate and went 0-5. He has started off the season 0-9.

After the game he was so upset. I of course gave him the speech that every dad gives. You know the speech. It's the Even the great players have tough games - Hitting a baseball is the hardest thing to do in sports - Keep your chin up - Get'em next time - Speech. And of course it had the same effect that it had on me when I was a kid.

After the canned speech. I told him that I understand completely the pressure he is under to be great. I felt it as a kid too and still do. I told him if we think about it rationally, we are going to be loved no matter what. I know it and he knows it yet we still feel the pressure. Why? Because that pressure is coming from inside and it's probably the energy that drives us. This inner energy will most likely drive his success in sports, in school and in business throughout his life.

I did, however, tell my son that I was upset that he didn't play like a captain. I told him that I don't expect hits every game, but I do expect him to play every game like a captain. I expect him to hustle on every ground ball. I expect him to not throw his equipment. I expect him to cheer for his teammates. I expect him to respect the coaches, the umpires and the game. Last night, he sat on the end of the bench sulking. These are not unreasonable expectations.

The Main Point(s)

Don't set the expectation that your kid should get a hit or a goal every game, but set the expectation that they should play like a captain, play with passion, play with respect and be sportsmanlike.

Note to coaches.  Know your players. Know what drives them. Some players are happy that they made the team, others are not happy unless they are starting and batting up in the order. Obviously everyone can not play the position that they want or hit at the top of the line up. My advice is to talk to your players let them know why you have made the decisions you have made and let them know what they need to do to change the situation for themselves.

Leadership: Play with Passion

Game 12

I couldn't make it to my son's volleyball game last night. Did I ever mention that I hate to miss watching my kids play anything? My son's team won the volleyball match 2 games to 1. My wife saw the game and told me that my son had an awesome spike and that he handled the loss in the third game better than he did in his last match.

My son does not like to lose, but losses do not really bother my son. What bothers my son is when his teammates do not try hard or make the same mistakes over and over again. I have been trying to tell him that he needs to lower his expectations when he is playing on a B team. Play for the camaraderie and the fun. Continue to play with passion and others will see that and follow your lead. The team needs a leader. Be the leader.

Send The Coach A Thank You

Here is a thank you I sent a coach and his reply. You can learn a lot about your kids if you talk to their coaches.

-----Original Message-----
From: Stats Dad
Sent: Friday, March 5, 2010 11:44 AM
To: Coach, Matt
Cc: Coach Jon
Subject: Thanks

Hi Matt and Jon,

Great games last night. They were so much fun to watch.

My dad flew in from FLA to see my son (and his sister) play this weekend. My dad, who was a great basketball player for Rutgers back in the 60's, was very impressed. He was impressed with the team, but was really impressed with the progress that my son has made in one year. He could not stop talking about it.

Last year, my son played with passion and made a lot of things happen because of it, but he was out of control most of the time and his basketball IQ was low. He still plays with passion, but he is using it so much more productively and intelligently. For that and for building his confidence, I thank you both.

See you tomorrow.

Stats Dad


On March 5, 2010, at 12:01 PM, Coach Matt wrote:

Thanks for the kind note ...

One thing I must tell you about your son which was most impressive to me happened during a practice...

At the end of practice and a lot of sprints, we were practicing free throws. If the kid made the free throw practice was over for that player. If the kid missed he had to run the up and down the full length of the court. AJ who is normally a good free throw shooter couldn't hit his free throw so he ran and ran and ran. Everyone else stood and watched AJ run alone except for your son who had already hit his free throw but continued to run with AJ until he finally made one. He did this on his own no direction from any of the coaches...

This is something special and shows a GREAT teammate! I know it is a result of learning from someone (his parents)!

Just wanted to share that with you... your son's a great kid and always  has a smile on his face which is very infectious



Coach Matt